Admission

Reading through all of the admission procedures and requirements detailed below is strongly recommended. Reading through the Frequently Asked Questions for Entry-to-Practice is also recommended.

Entry-to-Practice Option

Admission to the Dental Hygiene Degree Program via the Entry-to-Practice option is based upon:

• academic performance
• supplemental (personal profile)
• online interview (mandatory)

Among the factors considered in the application review are demonstrated leadership skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, ethics, substantial volunteerism, active participation in extracurricular activities, and knowledge of the dental hygiene profession.

Indigenous Applicants

All applicants to UBC, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, are required to meet university general admission and program-specific admission requirements. The Faculty of Dentistry welcomes applications from qualified Indigenous applicants. At least one seat is reserved in each admission year for a self-identified qualified Indigenous applicant. Most Indigenous students are admitted based on meeting the requirements set out by their program of choice.

For more information about the Faculty of Dentistry’s Indigenous Admissions process, please visit this page.

Please visit the Indigenous Students page for more information on life at UBC as an Indigenous student.

Pre-Entry Requirements

All applicants must meet the following pre-entry requirements to be eligible for admission to the Entry-to-Practice admission option.

1. UBC’s general admission requirements, English language admission requirements, and Grade Point Average
Applicants must meet UBC’s general admission and English language admission requirements. Applicants with post-secondary education or secondary school are eligible. Secondary school graduates must have a minimum overall academic average of 70% based on the system of grading used at UBC and calculated using required course equivalents. The UBC minimum requirement for post-secondary applicants is a 2.0.  However, the competitive overall academic average may be considerably higher. Conditional offers of early admission are subject to satisfactory completion of secondary school graduation results and maintenance of the current admission average. Offers of admission will be withdrawn from students who do not meet these conditions.

If you have taken 0-6 credits of post-secondary university transferable coursework, your GPA is calculated on your secondary school coursework and is used as a basis for admission to the Entry-to-Practice admission option.

If you have taken 7-23 credits of post-secondary university transferable coursework, admission is based on high school average and college grade point average (GPA) calculated using all transferable credits taken.

If you have taken at least 24 credits of post-secondary university transferable coursework, your GPA is calculated on those credits and is used as a basis for admission to the Entry-to-Practice admission option.

In the case of applicants with more than 30 credits of university-transferable coursework, your GPA will be calculated on the most recent 30 credits of study and is used as a basis for admission to the Entry-to-Practice admission option.

For more information on whether your GPA will be calculated based on your post-secondary or secondary school grades review the UBC system of grading.

2. Prerequisite Courses
There are no post-secondary level prerequisite courses for the Entry-to-Practice option.

For applicants who have graduated, or will be graduating, from Secondary School in BC the following secondary school courses or International Baccalaureate / Advanced Placement (IB/AP) equivalents are required:

English 11
One of: English 12, or English First Peoples 12
A language 11
Life Sciences 11 (Biology 11)
Anatomy and Physiology 12 (Biology 12)
Chemistry 11
Chemistry 12
One of: Pre-Calculus 11, or Foundations of Mathematics 12

Applicants from outside BC should consult the UBC admissions website for province-specific, applicant-specific, or country-specific requirements. All inquiries about transcript receipt and evaluation should be directed to the general UBC admissions office (Enrolment Services).

All students are admitted to the first year of the Entry-to-Practice admission option and must complete their degree over four years.

Steps to the Entry-To-Practice Application Process

Step 1:

Apply for general undergraduate admission to UBC. You can do this online through the UBC admissions website. The general UBC Enrolment Services (admissions office) will handle evaluation of your transcripts and English eligibility. The deadline to complete the UBC online application and send all required documents to the UBC Enrolment Services (Admissions Office) is January 15, 2025. Please see UBC Vancouver’s Academic Calendar for further details.

Step 2:

Apply to the Faculty of Dentistry in the Dental Hygiene Degree Program with the Dental Hygiene Entry-to-Practice (BDSc 4-year degree program) Supplemental Application. The Supplemental Application (Personal Profile) deadline is January 31, 2025.   All inquiries about the Dental Hygiene Supplemental application should be directed to the Faculty of Dentistry admissions office. See below for more information on how to do Step 2.

How To Do Step 2: The Supplemental Application (Personal Profile)

The Dental Hygiene Entry-to-Practice (BDSc 4-year degree program) Supplemental Application must be submitted on-line via the Faculty of Dentistry website before the deadline of January 31, 2025 in order for your application to be eligible.

Fill out and submit the online application to the best of your ability. Please keep in mind that your answers to the questions on this application are evaluated as part of our broad-based admission policy. Be sure to choose ‘Dental Hygiene Entry-to-Practice (BDSc 4-year degree program) Supplemental Application’.

$130.25 Supplemental Application fee
Payment is accepted by credit card only.

To obtain more information about the Supplemental Application (Personal Profile), see Entry to Practice Supplemental Application.

NOTE: Applicants must meet the pre-entry requirements for admission to the University and to the Dental Hygiene Degree Program in addition to completing both applications (the application for UBC admission and the supplemental application to the Faculty of Dentistry). If you do not meet all of the pre-entry requirements and fail to complete one or both of the applications your application to the program will not be considered.

Step 3: Open House/Interviews

Only short-listed applicants are invited to the mandatory-attendance Dental Hygiene Admissions Open House/Interview process.  Applicants not invited to the Open House/Interview will not be considered further.

Interview
Members of the Interview Teams are comprised of faculty members who have completed an Interview Training Workshop. The Interview Team is unaware of the contents of an applicant’s file or his/her level of academic performance.

How To Proceed in Step 3: Open House/Interview

Applicants in Phase I will be selected for an interview based on academic performance (overall GPA) and the supplemental (Personal Profile) scores. Applicants not selected for an interview will not be admitted to the program.

Applicants in Phase II will be considered for admission based only on their interview score. Academic performance (overall GPA) and the supplemental (Personal Profile) will not be considered in making offers during Phase II of admission.

The mandatory-attendance open house/interview’s objectives are two-fold; firstly, applicants are provided with the necessary information (academic, financial and professional) of the four year program to ensure applicants can make the most informed choice about their post-secondary education in Dental Hygiene and secondly, an opportunity for the Faculty to evaluate the applicant’s personal characteristics.

The interview consists of multiple mini interviews (MI). These types of interviews evaluates personal characteristics (non-cognitive traits) important for success in the health sciences including but not limited to, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, problem solving, empathy and communication.

LOCATION: The open house and interviews will be conducted online (NOT on campus). Additional information will be forthcoming.

INTERVIEW DATE:    TBA April 2025; Online Platform

Acceptance

Applicants should be aware that the Dental Hygiene Degree Program has limited enrollment. Since the number of qualified applicants typically exceeds the number of places available, fulfillment of the minimum requirements is not a guarantee of admission. The Faculty reserves the right of selection of all students for admission to the Program.

New students should be aware that clinical sessions are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well as Saturday mornings.

New students should be aware that starting in the first year the time commitment required to succeed in the program will make working, while attending school, very difficult. Thus new students are strongly discouraged from working during the school year during the course of their degree. Because our program is in one of Canada’s top universities, with a state of the art clinic, new students are strongly encouraged to view our Financial Information webpage to understand the financial commitment required to complete the program. New students are strongly encouraged to contact Awards and Money Management because they have excellent services to help new students understand the various options available to help them finance their education such as loans, lines of credit, awards, grants and bursaries.

New students will be required to submit a health record that evidences immunizations (Tetanus/Diphtheria-Toxoid, Polio, MMR, Chickenpox, and Hepatitis B) and a negative TB skin test. Immunizations are available from your family doctor or community health department. Being a carrier of any one of the conditions may restrict students’ educational opportunity to fulfill requirements for graduation and subsequent practice as a dental hygienist. Counselling is available to individuals who have, or are carriers of, communicable diseases. Applicants should be aware that dental hygiene practice may be very difficult for people with back problems or latex allergies. Students are required to be vaccinated against flu in years 2, 3 and 4.

New students should be aware that disability may result from practicing dental hygiene. Included are exposure to infectious diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis, musculoskeletal injuries and the possibility of physical assault. Injury during training may preclude a student from continuing and from practicing dental hygiene. The Faculty recommends that students purchase disability insurance and continue coverage during training and practice.

Selection of the Class

The Admissions Committee meets in April to select students from the interviewed applicants for acceptance to the first year Dental Hygiene class. By the end of April, applicants will be notified of the Committee’s deliberations. Accepted students will be sent conditional offers of early admission and are subject to satisfactory completion of secondary school graduation results and maintenance of the current admission average. Offers of admission will be withdrawn from applicants who do not meet these conditions or fail to meet the required deadlines.

To accept the offer of admission a non-refundable deposit of $1,000.00 will be required. This non-refundable deposit will be applied towards the tuition for the session for which the student has been accepted.

PLEASE NOTE: Given that the number of applicants exceeds the number of positions available, a record that satisfies the minimum requirements does not guarantee an invitation to interview and admission to the program.