Seven Year Bio-Dental Program

The accelerated dental program is is a seven-year joint program of the College and Penn's School of Dental Medicine. Application to the program must be made at the time of application to Penn. Applicants will be notified of their conditional acceptance into the program when they are notified of their admission to Penn. Full acceptance into the program is made after the student's junior year and is based on academic performance during those three years and meeting the admissions standards of the Dental School. The Bio-Dental submatriculation program is highly structured and may not allow students to pursue multiple majors or dual undergraduate degrees. The requirements of the accelerated dental program are outlined below: 

 

 

FALL SEMESTER     SPRING SEMESTER  

Freshman Year

   

Freshman Year

 
Biology 101 1.5 cu   Biology 102 1.5 cu
Math 104 1.0 cu   Chemistry 101 1.0 cu
Language 1.0 cu   Chemistry 053 0.5 cu
Freshman or writing seminar 1.0 cu   Math 115 (or statistics course) 1.0 cu
      GE requirement 1.0 cu
  4.5 cu     5.0 cu


Sophomore Year

   


Sophomore Year

 
Biology 205 recommended 1.0 cu   Additional Biology course 1.0 cu
Chemistry 102 1.0 cu   Chemistry 241 1.0 cu
Chemistry 054 0.5 cu   Physics 101 1.5 cu
GE requirement 1.0 cu   GE requirement 1.0 cu
GE requirement 1.0 cu      
  4.5 cu     4.5 cu

Junior Year

   

Junior Year

 
Biology 221 recommended 1.0 cu   Biology 204 required 1.0 cu
Physics 102 1.5 cu   Chemistry 245 1.0 cu
Chemistry 242 1.0 cu   GE requirement 1.0 cu
GE requirement 1.0 cu   GE requirement 1.0 cu
      GE requirement 1.0 cu
  4.5 cu     5.0 cu

 

a.  This plan assumes students are following Track 2 of the Biology major. If following Track 1, Biol 121 with 123 in the fall semester should be followed by Biol 124 (0.5 cu) in the spring and an additional higher level BIOL course (200 and above) selected in consultation with undergraduate chair.

In their freshman and sophomore years, students should complete introductory biology and most of the required chemistry and physics courses including:

1) introductory chemistry (Chem 101 & 053 and Chem 102 & 054). Bio-Dental students are required to take introductory and organic chemistry with lab. Chem 241 should be taken by the end of sophomore year. Three semesters of Chemistry will count for the Biology major and the other courses will count as free electives (see b).

2) 2 semesters of Physics chosen from: Phys 101 or 150 and Phys 102 or 151 are required for the Bio-dental program. Phys 102 will count for the general requirement.


b.  The College requires all students to complete the General Education curriculum. Usually, a total of 20.0 credit units appropriately distributed for the sectors, foundational approaches, and free electives are needed. The requirements include competence in a foreign language and a writing seminar. For information on General Education curriculum, please see the College website.


c.  Two semesters of math are required for the Biology major. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking two semesters of calculus (Math 104 followed by Math 115 or 114) or a semester of calculus and a semester of statistics (Math 104 followed by Biol 446 or Stat 111 or Stat 102). Biol 446 may be counted toward the Math requirement or as an additional Biology course but not toward both.


d.  A Dental School Submatriculation student must take Biol 204. Biol 205 and 221 are recommended intermediate courses, as they provide a strong general background for dental education. Other recommended courses include Biol 215, 330, 375, and 376 as these are important foundational courses for dental school. Any Biology courses taken beyond the minimum required courses will count as free electives.

 

Notes: 

  • Dental submatriculation students are required to take at least 28 course units in the College in order to graduate with a Biology Major.  The remaining 8 courses can then be taken in the Dental School.
  • Applicants for the 7-Year Dental Plan are only accepted at the time of admission to Penn, before freshman year begins.
  • Bio-dental students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher and a GPA of 3.5 or higher in their science courses.
  • Bio-dental students must take their DATs no later than October 1 of their junior year.
  • See the Undergraduate section of this website for a complete list Biology Major Requirements.

 

Summary of Biology Requirements for Bio-Dental Program

 

Introductory Biology (3 CUs)

Track 1: BIOL121 with BIOL123, BIOL124 and other Biol course (200-level or above)

Track 2: BIOL101 and BIOL102 

 

Chemistry and Physics (4 CUs count for major)

CHEM101 or 115 with 53 (1.5 CUs)
CHEM102 or 116 with 54 (1.5 CUs)
CHEM241 (1 CU)
CHEM242 (1 CU)
CHEM245 (1 CU) 

PHYS101 or 150 or 170 (1.5 CUs)

PHYS102 or 151 or 171 (1.5 CUs)

 

Calculus and/or Statistics (2 CUs)

MATH104 (1 CU)
MATH114 or 115 (1 CU) or 

STAT102 or STAT111 or BIOL446 (1 CU)

 

Intermediate Biology (2 CUs)

BIOL204 (1 CU)

BIOL221 (1 CU) or any other approved 200-level course


Additional Biology Courses (1 CUs)

Any other intermediate or advanced BIOL course