Bachelor of Science Dental Hygiene

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Science Dental Hygiene is a three-year full-time program. Applicants must complete at least one year of university-level coursework before admission.

Students applying to the program need to be aware that they will be expected to meet the Technical Standards Policy.

The Dental Hygiene curriculum includes courses in biomedical, behavioural, and clinical sciences. In each year of the program, students participate in external practicum experiences within the city and surrounding districts in various community settings, such as hospitals, schools, long-term care facilities, and community agencies/clinics. An experience in an external rural clinic is required.

Information about courses taken in the Dental Hygiene program can be found in the University Calendar.

Back to top ↑

Application Process

The admissions cycle is a year-long process. Applications are submitted in the year prior to the Fall term admission is sought. The current academic year is considered, e.g., applications for Fall 2025 admission include Fall 2024/Winter 2025 coursework.

Late applications will not be accepted.

Applications Open	July 1
Applications Close	November 1 11:59 PM Mountain Time (MT)

Non-refundable Application fee:

• CAD$75 for University of Alberta students
• CAD$125 for non-UofA applicants

See the DH Admissions Checklist for a summary of all admission requirements and deadlines.

The following documentation is required:

1. A submitted online undergraduate application with a paid application fee
2. Transcripts of your academic record. All previous and current post-secondary academic records must be declared and provided.
3. Personal Experiences forms
4. Situational Judgment Test (Casper) results
5. English Language Proficiency/Spoken English Requirement documentation (if required). More information can be found at uab.ca/languagereqs.

Indigenous applicants interested in this program are encouraged to contact the Indigenous Health Initiative Program at ihi@ualberta.ca or 780-492-2209 for further information and assistance with the admissions process.

Back to top ↑

Academic Requirements

Applicants to the Dental Hygiene program must complete at least one year of university-level coursework before admission. All academic requirements must be completed or in-progress (registered) at the time of application.

See the DH Admissions Checklist for a summary of all admission requirements and deadlines.

Applicants must present:

• a minimum of 30 units of transferable post-secondary coursework (i.e., 10 half-year courses)
• a course load of at least 27 units in one Fall/Winter academic year (i.e., 9 half-year courses). A Fall/Winter academic year is September 1 to April 30 inclusive.
• all required courses with the minimum grade
• the minimum overall GPA

Required Courses

For required courses, a minimum grade of C- (or equivalent) is required for transfer (Non-University of Alberta) courses. For University of Alberta courses, a minimum grade of D is required. Pass/Fail or CR courses are accepted.

Some required courses can be met through advanced credit from International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP) programs.

 Note:

• 3 units is equivalent to one half-year course
• 6 units is equivalent to one full-year course or two half-year courses

Course Requirement	Accepted UAlberta Courses*
3 units of General Chemistry	CHEM 101 or 103
3 units of Organic Chemistry	CHEM 261 or 264
3 units of Cell Biology	BIOL 107
6 units of English	See additional information
3 units of Statistics	STAT 151 or equivalent
3 units of Sociology	SOC 100 or equivalent
3 units of Psychology	PSYCH 104, 105 or equivalent
6 units of options in any Faculty	Any 2 half-year university transferable courses

* The listed UofA courses are intended to assist prospective applicants in planning their coursework for the Dental Hygiene program. We are not able to provide a comprehensive list of all courses from all institutions.

Transfer Tools:

• Equivalent course lists for select Alberta post-secondary institutions
• Transfer Alberta search tool for Alberta institutions
• University of Alberta Transfer Credit Search tool for all institutions

Additional Information:

English courses offered by the Department of English (ENGL) should meet the English requirement. ENGL 150 will not meet the requirement. Classics, History, Linguistics, WRS, WRITE or Philosophy do NOT meet this requirement.

Overall GPA (OGPA)

A minimum overall GPA of 2.7 is required for admission. In order to be competitive, applicants should strive for an overall GPA of 3.0.

Statement Regarding Winter 2020 Term Grades

Overall GPA (OGPA) is comprised of all transferable post-secondary work completed as a full-time student. Full-time study is equivalent to a minimum of:

• 18 units taken during Fall/Winter Terms or;
• 12 units taken during Spring/Summer Terms.

For applicants who have completed four or more years (Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer) of full-time transferable post-secondary work, the overall GPA is calculated with the deletion of the lowest GPA year, provided it is not:

• the most recent full-time period or,
• the only Fall/Winter where 27 units was taken.

Special Consideration Request

Applicants who have extenuating circumstances may submit a request for special consideration to the Admissions Committee, with supporting documentation, to exclude certain years from their Overall GPA. Applicants must contact Dentistry Admissions for the Request for Special Consideration form. The Dentistry Admissions must receive special consideration requests by January 2 in the year admission is sought. Special consideration can not used to waive admission requirements.

Back to top ↑

Transcript Deadlines

Applicants must submit several transcripts throughout the application cycle. Unofficial transcripts can be uploaded to your UAlberta Launchpad. Official transcripts must be sent by the issuing institution directly to the University of Alberta.

Requesting Transcripts on your Behalf

University of Alberta transcripts will be requested for previous and current UofA students. If applicable, we may be able to obtain transcripts from certain participating ApplyAlberta institutions on your behalf. Please carefully review the status of your documents in UAlberta Launchpad. You are responsible for requesting any other transcripts and/or documents required in support of your application, as indicated in UAlberta Launchpad.

Post-Secondary Transcript Deadlines

November 15: Unofficial transcripts showing completed coursework to date, and Fall/Winter registration if currently attending.

February 1: Unofficial transcripts showing Fall term grades and Winter term registration

Important: Applicants who fail to submit the required documents by February 1st cannot be considered for interview selection. Applicants planning to take Spring term courses in the year admission is sought must notify the Admissions Office of their intention to register by February 1.

June 15: Final Official transcript with Fall/Winter grades.

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Transcripts

Official transcripts must be sent directly by the issuing institution to the Office of the Registrar by January 2 to determine advanced course credit.

Post-secondary education completed outside of Canada

All applicants are required to provide detailed course syllabi or course descriptions for each post-secondary course completed outside of Canada by February 1 in the year admission is sought. Please compile all syllabi or course descriptions into one document for upload.

Please submit final official transcripts to:

Via email: transcripts@ualberta.ca

Office of the Registrar and Student Awards
Administration Building
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T6G 2M7

Back to top ↑

Situational Judgement Test (Casper)

All applicants are required to complete the Casper test (CSP-10202 – Canadian Undergraduate Health Sciences) from Acuity Insights to assist with our selection process. The Casper test is a standardized, two-part online assessment of non-cognitive skills, interpersonal characteristics, and personal values and priorities that are believed to be important.

Note: the DDS and Dental Hygiene programs require different assessments. If you are applying to both programs, you will need to complete the required assessment for each program.

The Casper test results must be received by January 2 in the year admission is sought. Note: scores are only valid for the current application period.

All available test dates offered by Acuity Insights will allow for test results to be received by the deadline above. Visit AcuityInsights.app for additional information, important dates, and requirements. Snapshot is not required.

Back to top ↑

Personal Experiences

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta values diversity in our entering Dental Hygiene class. The Personal Experiences section provides you the opportunity to highlight the life experiences that you feel will enhance your application.

Following application submission, the Personal Experiences forms will be available in your Launchpad checklist. The deadline for submission of the Personal Experiences form is November 1 11:59 PM MT.

Submission of the Personal Experiences forms is mandatory. If you do not submit any forms by the deadline, your application will be closed.

Please be selective and concise in the activities you choose to include. By not including any items in any of these sections, you are accepting a zero for that section.

For ongoing activities with no end date, you may put November of the current year as the end date. 

The Personal Experiences section is comprised of four subsections:

Personal Experiences Verifiers

Activities included in the Employment and Leadership/Volunteer Experience sections must be verified. For each activity, applicants must provide an email address for a person that for someone who can confirm the details provided. We strongly recommend that you discuss the information you are choosing to include with your verifier and notify them that they will be contacted. Discrepancies in the information provided may affect your application and eligibility to receive admission. You should NOT use yourself as a verifier. When possible, avoid using family members or close friends as verifiers.

Applicants should ask verifiers for regularly monitored personal email addresses where possible. A verifier may lose access to a work-related email address. Additionally, email address domains linked to health services, government services, and the military typically have firewalls preventing verification emails from going through. 

If we have any issues during this process, we will contact you directly. If you do not hear from us, assume that there are no issues.

Back to top ↑

Interview

A personal interview is required of all competitive applicants annually. Applicants who fail to submit the required documents by February 1 cannot be evaluated for interview selection.

Competitive applicants will be interviewed to determine if they have the personal qualities necessary for the profession. The interview evaluates an applicant's maturity, motivation, initiative, ability to communicate, personal qualities and interests.

Interview selection is based on:

• Overall GPA, including current Fall term grades
• Casper test results

Interview Date - Fall 2025:

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Applicants selected to interview will be contacted by email by the end of February. Applicants not selected for an interview will have their application closed.

Interview Format

The interview format is the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). In this format, the interviewee will be exposed without interruption to a series of stations, each of which will take 10 minutes to complete.

At each station, the interviewee will be provided with a question/scenario, and given two minutes to read the question and formulate a response. After these two minutes, the interviewee will discuss the response with an interviewer for the remaining eight minutes before moving quickly to the next station.

Back to top ↑

Admission Selection

Enrolment is limited annually to 46 students. Of the 46 positions available, 42 are reserved for Alberta residents, and up to 4 available for non-Alberta residents. No non-resident shall be admitted to the Dental Hygiene program less qualified than any Alberta resident who is denied admission to the program.

See recent Admission Statistics for number of applicants and competitive averages.

All applicants must meet the academic requirements. Selection factors will include, but are not limited to:

• Overall GPA
• Situational Judgment Test (Casper) results
• Personal Experiences
• Interview score

Alberta Residency

For admission purposes, a resident of Alberta is defined as a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident who has been a continuous resident in the Province of Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, or Nunavut for at least one year immediately prior to the first day of classes of the Fall term in which admission is sought. Applicants may be required to present proof of residency status. Please visit the Residence Requirements of the University of Alberta Calendar for more information.

Indigenous Applicants

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry is committed to the recruitment, retention and graduation of Indigenous students. All qualified Indigenous applicants who are successful in the Indigenous admissions process will be recommended by the Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee for admission. Applicants interested in this program are encouraged to contact the Indigenous Health Initiative Program at ihi@ualberta.ca or 780-492-2209 for further information and assistance with the admissions process. 

Back to top ↑

Program Cost

Note: All costs noted below are estimates only and are subject to change. Students pay the fees in effect at the time of registration. Loupes, textbooks and software are separate from the above fees. Students are responsible for any costs associated with these requirements.

Learn more about Scholarships and Awards.

Back to top ↑

Acceptance of Admission

Admission Offers are sent between mid-May to early July.

An admission decision is valid only for the Fall term for which the applicant applied. Admission offers can not be deferred.

Back to top ↑

Licensure

The possession of a dental hygiene degree does not automatically confer the right to practice dental hygiene in any province of Canada. Each province has a licensing authority. A dental hygienist desiring to practice dental hygiene in Canada should contact the appropriate provincial licensing body.

The Registrar of a Provincial licensing body may refuse to issue a registration certificate to practice dental hygiene to any applicant possessing a criminal record. If you have concerns in this area, please contact the appropriate licensing body.

To practice in Alberta, a dental hygienist must be registered with the Alberta College of Dental Hygienists. 

Back to top ↑