Admission to the Dental Hygiene Program

Application Period & Deadlines

Applications are only available during our application period. We only accept applications filled out and submitted online during the following times:

  • March 1 - April 1: Admission to the program will begin with the first courses in the Fall semester.

All materials must be received by the deadline date. Application and transcripts are not accepted late.

Please review the updated information on how to submit your official high school and college transcripts by clicking on the "How to Apply" tab.

Please periodically return to this page for updates and announcements about the Dental Hygiene Program at PCC.  

Adrine Reganian, RDHAP, BSDH, MSHS, Program Director and Dr. Micah Young, M.D, Dean of Health Sciences

Watch this page for the latest updates

General Admission Information

  1. To be a candidate for the Dental Hygiene Program, you must have the ability to communicate safely, accurately, and effectively in both written and spoken English. To enhance success, students who have English as a second language are encouraged to enroll in Speech 3, 121 and/or 125, and Health Sciences 115.
  2. All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to applying. Work in progress is not accepted.
    Some prerequisite courses including upper-division courses completed at another institution may require a "Prerequisite Clearance/Placement/Challenge Online form". If you have taken courses and you are unsure if they are transferable or equivalent to prerequisite requirements it is your responsibility to determine course equivalency prior to applying to the program.
  3. The PCC Dental Hygiene Program does not accept transfer students from other Dental Hygiene Programs.
  4. Jobs for Veterans Act
    Pursuant to the Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) eligible U.S. veterans and eligible spouses, discharged under conditions other than dishonorable and who have met the requirements for the program will be given priority in the admissions process.

Selection Criteria

As an applicant to the Dental Hygiene program, you will be contacted by email and a phone call and informed of acceptance status as well as information regarding the next steps in the process. Placement on the alternate list does not guarantee acceptance for the following year. All alternates who are not accepted into the program must reapply.

Program Prerequisites
The following courses must be completed prior to applying for admission to the program. “In Progress” work for the prerequisites will not be considered during the selection process.

The required prerequisites are requirements of the Dental Hygiene Board of California consistent with requirements for admission of all DH Students effective April 2022. 

Prerequisites
Anatomy 25 & Physiology 1 - Human Anatomy (4 units) & Human Physiology (4 units)
Chemistry 2A(4 units) & 2B (4units) - General, Organic & Biochemistry 
Microbiology 2 - Microbiology (4 units)
Nutrition 11 - Human Nutrition (3 units)
English 1A - Reading & Composition (4 units)
Psychology 1 - Introductory Psychology (3 units)
Sociology 1 - Introductory Sociology (3 units)
Speech 1 - Fundamentals of Speech (3 units) OR  Speech 10 Interpersonal Communication (3 units)

AP scores can be used for only English and Math prerequisites.

In addition, all students must be eligible to receive an associate degree in dental hygiene upon completion of the program in order to be licensable in the State of California. As such you will need to complete the above course work in addition to satisfying one of the approved general educational patterns of the college to be eligible to be awarded an associate degree.

https://pasadena.edu/academics/degrees-and-certificates/aa-degrees/degree-requirements.php
Local General Education Pattern
California State University (CSU) General Education Pattern
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) General Education Pattern 



Additionally, acceptance into the program may also be based on the outcome of a criminal background check. A grade of C or better is required in all prerequisite courses. ALL applicants must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in the prerequisite courses in order to be considered for acceptance into the dental hygiene program.

Applicants are admitted to the program using a random selection method following all applicable State and Federal laws.

How to Apply

1   Complete Your Application Packet

To apply to the Dental Hygiene program you need to submit an application which includes:

  • A completed Dental Hygiene Program Application (available online during the application cycle only)
  • One official transcript of High School or its equivalent and ALL U.S. colleges and universities attended, including Pasadena City College*
    *If you have foreign transcripts, please read our information on how to have your transcripts evaluated.

Be aware that unofficial transcripts and photocopies of diplomas are not acceptable and incomplete applications will not be considered in the selection process. If you are accepted into the program, the college’s Admissions and Records Office will also require official transcripts.

2   Submit Your Application

Submit your completed application online. Application, transcripts, and supporting documents MUST be received by the division office by the deadline.

Apply Now

3  Submit Your Transcripts

Once your online Dental Hygiene application has been submitted, you will receive a form sent to your Pasadena City College email account to securely upload your high school and college transcripts.

An official transcript from an accredited U.S. High School (or GED or Foreign Equivalency Report) and each college attended (this includes an Advanced Placement report from the College Board and PCC transcripts) must be opened, scanned, and uploaded as a PDF. This means your official transcript must be received by you through postal or electronic mail. Once you open the transcript it is now your personal record. When uploading your transcripts, formats such as JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIF, screenshot, word documents, etc. will not be considered. All college transcripts must be provided even if the coursework is not applicable to the program.

Create a folder on your desktop and place all of your required transcripts into the folder. When you upload your transcripts, you must have all of your transcripts files in the folder. Multiple files will be combined into one document after you upload your documents.

A confirmation email will be sent to your PCC email account when your transcripts have been received.

Follow these basic directions for scanning documents as a PDF file:

  • Open your official transcripts that you will be uploading to the application
  • Scan the official transcripts using a device such as a printer or scanner
  • Follow the scanner manufacturer's directions to scan each document to your computer or USB drive
  • Select the PDF file format option before scanning. Only PDF files of your transcripts and other supporting documents will be accepted. Formats such as JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIF, screenshot, word documents, etc. will not be accepted for the application process.
    Save your PDF document to a folder in a location on your computer or removable drive that you can easily access (Desktop or Documents folder is suggested)

NOTE: Students who do not have access to a personal scanner may choose to use a commercial copying center to have their required documents scanned and made into PDFs that then may be uploaded as part of your application.

Program Acceptance

The Health Sciences Division will inform you of the status of your application by email upon submission of all required documentation.

Upon acceptance to the Dental Hygiene program, you are required to:

  1. Complete the application for admission to Pasadena City College.
  2. Complete a health clearance. Clinical/laboratory instruction begins the first week of the semester (forms will be provided)
  3. Submit a copy of a current American Heart Association Health Care Provider BLS card (Must include live hands-on portion).
  4. Purchase student malpractice insurance during the first
    semester in the dental hygiene program. Additional information about the insurance will be addressed through the Student California Dental Hygiene Association
    (SCDHA) in which you are required to be a member.
  5. You must provide your own transportation to off-campus clinical sites.

Transcript Evaluation

If you are a student with foreign transcripts, you must have your transcripts evaluated by one of the following three companies before applying:

International Research Foundation (IERF)
(310)-258-9451 | www.ierf.org

Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI)
(310)-275-3530 | http://www.acei-global.org/application-for-evaluation

American Education Research Center (AERC)
(626)-339-4404 | www.aerc-eval.com