Admission to a graduate dental certificate program is competitive. Primary focus is on the applicant's academic record while in dental school, including national board scores. Emphasis is also placed on information gathered from PASS application materials and professional evaluations  (such as quality of professional practice experience, continuing education experience, research activities, leadership and involvement and participation in professional societies and community service). Another fundamental source of information is supplied by a personal on-site interview that is required of most programs and is by invitation.

Applicants to a graduate dental certificate program must hold a D.D.S. degree or equivalent from a program accredited either by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CDA) or the Canadian Dental Accrediting Commission (CDAC).

Admission

The Advanced Education Committee (AEC) serves as the admission review board for each of the graduate dental certificate programs. Each program has its own admission review board. At a minimum, the admission review board consists of the respective program director and at least two other full-time faculty members.

Each program's admission review board submits its recommendations for acceptance to the AEC for consideration. Recommendations for acceptance include those identified as prime candidates (equal in number to the number of available residencies in the program) and those who serve as "alternates." Acceptance or denial of each recommended candidate is made by the AEC.