Dental Hygiene (BS)

This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2024–Spring 2025 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.

Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene
Unit: School of Dentistry (SD)
Program: Dental Hygiene 
Academic Plan Code(s): DHU_BS

Program Information

The Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program is a four-year program with Lower and Upper Division requirements. Students complete the lower division requirements on the Belknap campus and then apply for competitive admission to the Dental Hygiene Upper Division, which is housed in the School of Dentistry on the Health Sciences Center Campus.

Because the program is housed within a school of dentistry building, hygiene students learn their skills in an environment that emphasizes their important place in the dental health team.

Degree Summary

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Some courses required in this degree program satisfy multiple requirements. To complete the degree in the minimum number of hours listed, some hours from the General Education Requirements must be satisfied by courses defined by the unit and/or program. Using other courses to satisfy General Education requirements will require additional hours to complete the degree requirements. See the Degree Requirements for specific coursework.

Specific coursework information can be found on the Degree Requirements tab.

Departmental Admission Requirements

Admission into the Dental Hygiene program is a tiered process: Lower and Upper Divisions. Students apply to the UofL Lower Division to complete general education and program pre-requisite courses on the Belknap Campus. Students apply to the Dental School Upper Division to complete the professional component of the Bachelor of Science Dental Hygiene Degree Program on the HSC Campus in the School of Dentistry.

Admission to the Lower Division does not guarantee admission to the Upper Division. Admission to the Upper Division is competitive.   

University of Louisville Students Changing Majors

Students who have completed at least one semester in another school of the University earning a grade point average of at least 2.8, and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.8 or above for all college coursework may apply to the Lower Division Program in Dental Hygiene.

Please refer to catalog pages containing admissions details for the Dental Hygiene program.

General Education Requirements

All degrees require the completion of the University-wide General Education Program (link provided above).  To complete the degree in the minimum number of hours listed on the Overview tab, some hours from the General Education Requirements must be satisfied by courses defined by the unit and/or program.

College/School Requirements

Dental Hygiene Lower Division Curriculum

Program/Major Requirements

Dental Hygiene Upper Division Curriculum

Students must earn a letter grade of C or better in all Dental Hygiene Upper Division Clinical and Science courses. 

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Students must make a C or above in these courses and must have completed them within 10 years of applying for Upper Division admission. To complete the degree in the minimum number of hours listed, some hours from the General Education Requirements must be satisfied by courses defined by the unit and/or program. Using other courses to satisfy General Education requirements will require additional hours to complete the degree requirements (or decrease the listed electives).

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 Ethics course recommended.

Flight Plan

Degree Audit Report
Degree Audit reports illustrate how your completed courses fulfill the requirements of your academic plan.  What-if reports allow you to compare the courses you have completed in your current academic plan to the courses required in another academic plan.  Should you have questions about either report, please consult with your academic advisor.

Flight Planner
The Flight Planner tool is available for you to create a personalized Flight Plan to graduation.  Advisors have access to review your Flight Planner and can help you adjust it to ensure you remain on track to graduate in a timely manner.

To create these reports:

1. Log into your ULink account.
2. Click on the Academic Progress tile.
3. Select the appropriate report.
   1. To run a Degree Audit report, click on "View my Degree Audit."
   2. To create a What-if report, click on "Create a What-if Advisement Report."
   3. To run a Flight Planner report, click on "Use My Flight Planner."

Click here to run a Degree Audit report, create a What-if report, or run a Flight Planner report.

The Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program is broken into distinct academic plan codes for lower and upper division requirements. Incoming students complete the lower division preparatory coursework requirements on the main Belknap campus and then apply for competitive admission to the Dental Hygiene upper division program, which is housed in the School of Dentistry on the Health Sciences Center Campus.  Completion of the lower division program does not guarantee admission to the upper division program.  The lower division program does not prepare students for licensure as a dental hygienist.  The upper division program is considered a licensure program designed to meet educational requirements for licensure as a dental hygienist.  Upon acceptance, enrollment in the upper division program’s academic plan code is considered the first term of enrollment in the licensure program under the Program Participation Agreement for Title IV federal financial aid eligible programs of the Higher Education Act (CFR § 668.14 (b)(32)).

If you plan to pursue professional licensure, first determine the state’s criteria for examination and licensure to better understand how UofL's program meets those requirements prior to enrollment. We recommend that you also contact the state’s licensing board directly to verify that the requirements have not changed and determine if there are additional requirements beyond the degree. 

More information about licensure is available at the following website:  https://louisville.edu/oapa/licensure-information (you may search by school or by the name of the program then click on 'View Details' to display the information).