Joint B.A./D.M.D. Program (Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Rutgers School of Dental Medicine)

Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences/Rutgers School of Dental Medicine Joint Bachelor of Arts/Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (B.A./D.M.D.) Program

Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences/Rutgers School of Dental Medicine joint program started in the spring of 2002. The purpose of the program is to permit students to begin their dental education after their third year or at least 98 credits at Rutgers. Specially selected students will obtain bachelor's and dental degrees in a seven-year program of study taken at Rutgers undergraduate units and Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

This program is open to students enrolled at the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The program is administered by the Health Professions Office.

Admission is a two-phase and competitive process. In the first phase, undergraduate students are admitted into the program by the Executive Committee of the Joint Program consisting of faculty from the appropriate units. The executive committee reviews applications and selects those students who are deemed most qualified for the program. The second phase occurs typically after the third year of study. It is the responsibility of the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine Admissions Committee to review the credentials of students recommended by the articulated program executive committee. The purpose of this second review is to ascertain that the student has maintained adequate academic and nonacademic qualities appropriate for admission to the dental school. It is expected that students will have grades of A or B in courses taken at Rutgers University. Students must complete the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) and earn scores of 20 or better in Total Science and Academic Average. This second review is noncompetitive. Students who are deemed to have met the academic and nonacademic standards of the program will be recommended to the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine Admissions Committee. However, recommendation is not automatic. The final decision rests with the Dental School Admissions Committee. Upon approval by the Dental School Admissions Committee, the student will be permitted to continue into the next year of study and will be matriculated formally as a candidate for the Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (D.M.D.) degree at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

Applicants to the program must be in their fourth semester at the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers-New Brunswick. Applications are available in the Health Professions Office starting April 1; they are due by the end of May. There is no rolling admissions policy. Decisions are expected to be made in July. By the end of the semester of application, applicants must have completed a minimum of 60 credits of which 30 credits must be at Rutgers and must have been in attendance at the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers-New Brunswick a minimum of one year. Additionally, applicants must have a minimum cumulative and science grade-point average of 3.5 by the end of the third semester, which must be maintained through the end of the fourth. The applicant must have completed, or be in the process of completing, by the end of the fourth semester, two semesters of biology with lab, two semesters of general chemistry with lab, two semesters of organic chemistry, one semester of college-level mathematics and one semester of English. Applicants who have not taken General Biology I and II at Rutgers, either because they have been awarded advanced placement biology credits or because they have transferred equivalent courses from another institution, must have at least one year of upper-division biology courses at Rutgers (i.e., two courses of at least 3 or more credits each at the 200 level or higher). Those students who are admitted to the program without having two semesters of physics, organic chemistry lab, and two semesters of English must complete these requirements by the end of the third year of study. 

The B.A./D.M.D. program is a seven-year program with year one being the first undergraduate year. Students will be admitted at the end of the spring semester of year two and be formal members of the articulated program beginning with year three. Prior to leaving the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers-New Brunswick, students must satisfy all college and major requirements, except for the credits which they will receive from Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (please see below). For a student at the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers-New Brunswick who has elected to major in biological sciences, 15 credits from Rutgers School of Dental Medicine will be applied toward the major.

The baccalaureate degree will be awarded upon completion of the general education and major requirements, usually by end of year four or five, but no later than the end of year six, before clerkships begin. Upon satisfactory completion of year seven or eight and all Rutgers School of Dental Medicine requirements, the student will receive the dental degree.

A student enrolled in the joint program completing a major in biological sciences at Rutgers-New Brunswick is required to take General Biology 01:119:115,116, and 117; Genetics 01:447:380; and three approved life sciences electives (3- or 4-credit courses) at Rutgers-New Brunswick. Students who have not taken General Biology I and II at Rutgers-New Brunswick, either because they have been awarded AP biology credit or because they have transferred equivalent courses from another institution, must take Genetics 01:447:380, and four approved life sciences electives (3- or 4-credit courses) at Rutgers-New Brunswick. A maximum of 15 credits from Rutgers School of Dental Medicine courses will be accepted toward the biological sciences major. No more than one independent study/research course may be applied toward the biological sciences major for students in the B.A./D.M.D. program. Please be sure to meet with a biological sciences adviser when selecting life science elective courses because not all course combinations are allowed given overlap in subject matter taught at Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

For further information on this program, you may contact the Division of Life Sciences, Health Professions Office, Nelson Biological Laboratories, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082, at 848-445-5667.