Dental Hygiene - BS

Dental Hygiene

Take advantage of the full Pacific experience by enrolling as a first-year dental hygiene major, or apply for the program as a transfer from another college or university.

Pacific has created a distinctive accelerated Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene for highly qualified students. In addition to clinical practice, the baccalaureate hygiene degree allows entry into many positions in teaching, research, administration, public health, private industry and other areas of hygiene practice, as well as application for entry into advanced degree programs.

First-year admission to the Dental Hygiene program is competitive and based on merit. A student may apply as a first-year student in a Dental Hygiene major, completing the prerequisite coursework listed below at Pacific. A high school GPA of at least 2.7 is required, as well as courses in biology, chemistry and other college-preparatory classes.

To advance directly to the upper-division major coursework at the Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, students must complete their prerequisite coursework with a minimum 3.0 GPA. In addition to the successful completion of the pre-requisite coursework, transfer students are required to have 2 letters of recommendation of their choosing, and have completed a minimum of 20 hours of shadowing with a dental hygienist. Dental Hygiene majors who began our program as freshmen at the Stockton campus who earn a GPA below 3.0 may still apply to the upper-division dental hygiene courses. Since matriculation is not automatic, they will be guaranteed an interview, but not guaranteed admission. 

The clinical portion of the Dental Hygiene program takes place at Pacific's San Francisco campus, home to other dental programs offered at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. This provides increased connection to the school's San Francisco-based dental clinics and programs; enhanced intraprofessional opportunities in the field of oral healthcare; opportunities for dental hygiene students to learn alongside dental students in the DDS, IDS and residency programs; and a large base of patients who utilize the school's clinics. The San Francisco campus is a state-of-the-art facility located in the South of Market (SoMa) district and is highly accessible by all major forms of public transportation, including BART/Muni.