Entry-Level Track

Prerequisites

*Important Announcement: Starting with the Fall 2025 application cycle, PHT 58 (Fundamentals of Pharmacology) will no longer be required as a prerequisite for the Dental Hygiene Program.*

Complete ALL prerequisites before applying is highly recommended. A limited number (1-3 courses) of prerequisites may be in-progress at the time of applying; however, it may affect the chance of acceptance into the program. All in-progress courses must be completed before starting the program in summer quarter.

• A grade of "C" or higher is required for each prerequisite. 
• Cumulative College GPA of 2.5 or higher
• Biological Science courses* GPA of 2.75 or higher (Anatomy&Physiology, Nutrition, and Microbiology must be taken within six-year of the current application cycle)
• Completion of one of the following general education (GE) patterns:
  1. • Cal-GETC (California General Education Transfer Curriculum)
     • CSU General Education Breadth Requirements
     • IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum)
     • Foothill College General Education

     List of Prerequistes

      

     COURSE NAME	COURSEWORK EQUIVALENT
     Human Anatomy & Physiology with labs*	BIOL 40A & 40B & 40C or equivalent
     Introduction to Human Nutrition*	BIOL 45 or equivalent
     Microbiology with lab*	BIOL 41 or equivalent
     Survey of Inorganic, Organic & Biochemistry with labs	CHEM 30A & CHEM 30B or equivalent
     Introduction to Speech or Communication	COMM 1A or 1AH or 1B or 2 or 3 or 4 or equivalent
     Introduction to Dental Hygiene (must be taken at Foothill College)	DH 200L - no substitution
     English Composition & Reading	ENGL 1A or 1AH or ESLL 26 or equivalent
     English Composition, Critical Reading & Thinking	ENGL 1B or 1BH or 1C or 1CH or PHIL 1 or 7 or equivalent
     Health	HLTH 21 or HLTH 20 or equivalent
     Statistics	MATH 10 or PSYC 7 or SOC 7 or equivalent
     General Psychology	PSYC 1 or equivalent
     Introduction to Sociology	SOC 1 or equivalent
     Intercultural Communication (excluding CSU Area F)	COMM 12 or COMM 10 or equivalent

     DH Entry-Level Track Education Plan Example

     • Majors courses & upper division GE: 100.5 units
     • Total units for BS in Dental Hygiene: a minimum of 180 units is required for the student to be awarded the bachelor degree, which includes lower division general education and prerequisite courses.
     • Entry-Level Education Plan Example

     Course Equivalency

     To help assess how your previously earned college credits may transfer to Foothill College, you are encouraged to use the Transfer Equivalency System (TES) to view how courses from other regionally accredited institutions may transfer to Foothill College

     ⚠️ Please Note: TES is only a preliminary tool and does not replace an official transcript evaluation. For accurate degree planning and verification of credit transfer, please see an academic counselor.

     📌 Courses that are not listed in TES may still be eligible but must be petitioned through the Foothill Counseling Department for review and approval.

     Counseling and General Education Certification

     It is strongly recommended that prospective applicants meet with an academic counselor to:

     • Review and evaluate college transcripts
     • Determine if any course petitions for equivalency are necessary
     • Verify General Education (GE) completion for the Bachelor of Science degree 
     • Important: petitions for course equivalency must be submitted by the end of the Fall quarter to be considered before the application deadline.

     To make a 30-minute counseling appointment, you must have a valid Foothill College CWID (student ID).

     • Bring transcripts (official or unofficial)
     • Course outlines, syllabi, or other relevant documentation (if petitioning courses)
     • Click here to schedule a counseling appointment.

     Students who have fulfilled local GE requirements at another California community college may also be eligible to use those to meet Foothill's GE requirements. Meet with a counselor to confirm whether your GE is complete and applicable.

     Transcripts

     All transcripts must be sent electronically to Foothill College Admissions and Records at fhtranscripts@fhda.edu before the application deadline. If your college does not offer electronic transcripts, official sealed transcripts should send to Admissions and Records will suffice. Transcripts should include all work shown as completed on the application.

     Submit a Transcript Evaluation Request: Evaluations will be completed even if you haven’t earned units at Foothill College. You will be contacted directly once your evaluation is complete.

     Note:  ALL college transcripts from US colleges and universities are required, even if the courses don’t seem relevant. An application that is not complete and/or does not have all transcripts included will not be considered.

     Previous Applicants - All previous applicants must re-apply via MyPortal and resubmit all updated transcripts electronically to the Foothill College Admissions and Records Department.

     International Transcripts - Dental Hygiene program will not accept international transcripts for program prerequisites. Students looking to use coursework from their international transcript for general education credit, will need to have it evaluated by one of the following agencies before following the course substitution process.

     Educational Credential Evaluators https://ece.org 

     World Education Services, Inc http://www.wes.org 

     For addition list of agencies, please click here: Foreign Transcript Evaluation Services.

     If a student is not using their international transcripts for general education, there is no need to submit transcripts to Admissions & Records.

     Once students have their international transcript evaluated by one of the above agencies, they will still need to follow proper protocol for course substitution process.