Transfer Protocol

Procedure Details

I. Eligible transfer candidates
A. Students who are currently or previously enrolled in an accredited U.S. or Canadian predoctoral dental program (program) may be considered for transfer into the program at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry (CoD) if there is an open position in a dental class for which the transfer candidate is qualified to join, as determined by the DDS Admissions Committee. Due to differences in the sequence of courses across programs, students transferring into the CoD program usually repeat one or two years of the program. Placement is determined by the DDS Academic Progress Committee as described below.

B. These students, hereafter referred to as transfer candidates, must be in good academic and disciplinary standing currently or at the time of last enrollment in their previous program. Transfer candidates who received disciplinary sanctions will not be accepted into the predoctoral dental program.

C. The transfer candidate must meet the minimum admission requirements of the CoD predoctoral dental program.

D. All prerequisite undergraduate course work must have been completed at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university. Transfer candidates who have passed Part I of the National Board Dental Examination or the Integrated National Board Dental Examination on the first attempt are exempt from completing all prerequisite undergraduate courses.

II. Application process

A. Students who are interested in transferring into the CoD program should contact the Office of Admissions. The Office of Admissions will contact the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to determine which dental classes have open positions.

     1. If there are open positions in the appropriate dental class, the transfer candidate will be informed of the application materials that are needed by the Office of Admissions.

     2. If there are no open positions in the appropriate dental class, the transfer candidate will be informed by the Office of Admissions that the candidate will not be considered for admission to the program through the transfer process.

B. Required Application Materials (sent to the Office of Admissions within 20 (twenty) business days of being notified in writing that there will be an opening in the potentially appropriate class) 

     1. Written statement by the transfer candidate explaining his/her reason for requesting a transfer;

     2. Personal statement on why the transfer candidate wants to become a dentist (this can be from their original application to dental programs);

     3. Essays as requested on the CoD dental program supplemental application;

     4. Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended (both pre-dental and dental);

     5. Official Dental Admissions Test scores;

     6. Official National Board Dental Examination score(s), if taken;

     7. Current resume listing all undergraduate and graduate employment, research, student organizations, and community service;

     8. Letters of recommendation from two (2) faculty members from the current or past dental program addressing the transfer candidate’s character and professionalism; and

     9. Letter from the Dean (or designate) of the current or past program that verifies the transfer candidate is (or was at last enrollment) in good academic and disciplinary standing, provides the transfer candidate’s GPA and class rank for each academic year, and indicates whether and when the student has ever been on academic or disciplinary probation. Dental programs without GPAs and/or class ranks would be required to provide other evidence of the transfer candidate’s academic performance.

III. Review process

A. Initial Review by the DDS Admissions Committee

     1. The DDS Admissions Committee will review the transfer candidate’s required application materials within thirty (30) business days of receiving all required application materials. The DDS Admissions Committee will decide whether the transfer candidate would enhance the quality of the class to which the candidate may join. The DDS Admissions Committee may request additional information from the transfer candidate or others (with the permission of the transfer candidate).

     2. If the DDS Admissions Committee decides that a transfer candidate would enhance the quality of the class, the transfer candidate will be invited for an in-person interview. The invitation will be extended in writing within five (5) business days of the decision. In some cases, interviews may be conducted remotely using technology.

     3. If the DDS Admissions Committee decides that a transfer candidate would not enhance the quality of the class, the Office of Admissions will notify the transfer candidate in writing that their request has been denied within five (5) business days of the decision

B. Transfer Candidate Interview

     1. If the DDS Admissions Committee invites a transfer candidate for an interview, the interview must occur within 30 (thirty) business days of the invitation.

     2. Dental students and faculty members who are not members of the DDS Admissions Committee will interview the transfer candidate using a process similar to that used for admission of candidates directly into the program. This process provides assessments of the transfer candidate by those who have not reviewed the candidate’s application materials and parallels the process used to admit students into the program directly.

     3. Additional qualifying written and practical examinations may be required during the interview depending upon where in the curriculum the transfer student is to begin.

C. Admissions Decision

     1. Consideration for admission into the program by the DDS Admissions Committee will be based on the academic quality of the transfer candidate relative to students in the class to which the transfer candidate will join. Additional consideration will be given to the transfer candidate’s performance in their current or past program.

     2. The transfer candidate’s credentials must fulfill the program’s admission requirements regarding grade point averages prior to their dental program and Dental Admissions Test scores of the most recently admitted predoctoral dental class.

     3. The decision of the DDS Admissions Committee regarding acceptance of the transfer candidate into the program will be communicated in writing to the transfer candidate by the Office of Admissions within five (5) business days.

     4. If the DDS Admissions Committee determines that the transfer candidate will not be offered a position in the program, there will be one opportunity for appeal to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

     a. The transfer candidate can only appeal for the following reasons:

          i. An update to the required application materials occurred after it was submitted to the Office of Admissions.
          ii. The required application materials were incorrectly interpreted by the DDS Admissions Committee.

     b. The transfer candidate has ten (10) business days to submit an appeal of the DDS Admissions Committee’s decision in writing to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

     c. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will approve or reject the transfer candidate’s appeal within twenty (20) business days.

     d. The decision of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will be communicated to the transfer candidate in writing within five (5) business days.

D. Course Credit and Placement within the Curriculum Decision

     1. If approved for admission by the DDS Admissions Committee, the Office of Admissions will request syllabi from all courses for which the transfer candidate would like to receive credit.

     2. The transfer candidate will submit requested course syllabi to the Office of Admissions within twenty (20) business days.

     3. The Office of Admissions will forward the course syllabi from the transfer candidate to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs who will distribute them to the relevant course directors, within five (5) business days.

     4. The course directors will determine if the courses successfully completed by the transfer candidate are roughly equivalent to those required in the CoD program and communicate their decision to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs within twenty (20) business days of receiving the course syllabi.

     5. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will inform the DDS Academic Progress Committee of the decisions on course equivalency from the relevant course directors.

     6. DDS Academic Progress Committee will determine which courses the transfer candidate has taken in their previous program will be accepted for transfer credit.

     7. The DDS Academic Progress Committee will determine the appropriate placement of the transfer candidate in the CoD program based on which courses will receive transfer credit and in relation to the current dental curriculum.

     8. The decision of the DDS Academic Progress Committee regarding placement of the transfer candidate within the CoD curriculum and acceptance of courses for transfer credit will be communicated in writing to the transfer candidate by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs within five (5) business days of the decision.

     9. There is no opportunity to appeal the decision of the DDS Academic Progress Committee.

E. Accepting the Offer to Join the Program

     1. The transfer candidate shall have twenty (20) business days to accept the offer to join the program as indicated in the letter of offer.

F. Miscellaneous

     1. If the transfer candidate fails to meet any of the previously stated conditions or deadlines, the DDS Admissions Committee may elect to end the evaluation process.

     2. Once the transfer candidate joins the program, the Office of Admissions, Office of Student Affairs, and College Registrar will manage the matriculation process.

     3. The newly admitted student will be required to meet all conditions for graduation for the appropriate graduating class, including meeting all program competency statements.

     4. The transfer candidate must complete the D3 and D4 years in the Ohio State University COD’s predoctoral dental program.

     5. Transfer students would not be eligible for any academic awards based on GPA unless they begin the program as an entering first-year dental student.