Detroit Mercy DDS Admissions Guide (2027)

Quick facts

• Deadline: all application materials complete and AADSAS-verified by December 31, 2026. Admissions
• Education: at least 60 semester or 90 quarter credits; specified sciences and English.
• GPA: 3.0 overall and science GPA minimum for consideration; 3.5 is described as competitive, not guaranteed.
• Test: DAT within the school’s two-year validity window; no DAT after December 31 is accepted.
• Experience: 100 hours with a non-relative general dentist practising or educated in the U.S. or Canada, completed by application.
• Letters: two science faculty plus one qualifying general dentist, or committee evaluation replacing the science letters.
• Assessment: interview invitees must complete a mandatory Kira online assessment; Casper is no longer required.
• Interview: invitation-only; current modality and structure are not published.

Admission requirements

Applicants need at least 60 semester or 90 quarter credits and a minimum 3.0 overall and science GPA for consideration. A 3.5 GPA is described as competitive. Required courses, completed in 2019 or later for this cycle with grades of C or higher, are eight semester credits each of biology with lab, general chemistry with lab, organic chemistry with lab and physics with lab; six credits of English; and three credits each of biochemistry and microbiology. Admissions

Community-college credit is accepted under the school’s outlined conditions. AP, IB and CLEP may apply when specific course credit appears on the transcript. Outside the school’s COVID exceptions, no more than two online prerequisite courses are accepted, and in-person work is preferred.

DAT is required and is valid for two years under the current rule. Detroit Mercy describes scores near 390 in each section as a target and 420 as competitive, not minimums. Scores after December 31 are not accepted. For 2026–27 only, CDAT is accepted from students enrolled at Canadian colleges or universities; the school says CDAT will not be accepted in the next cycle.

Applicants need two letters from science faculty who taught a graded course and one letter from a non-relative general dentist they shadowed; a committee letter can replace the two science letters. At least 100 hours with a non-relative general dentist practising or educated in the U.S. or Canada must be complete when applying. Dental-assisting hours can count, but the qualifying dentist requirement still applies. The school accepts domestic and international applicants; foreign-trained dentists must complete the regular prerequisites in the U.S. or Canada for this route.

Important dates

ADEA’s 2026–27 AADSAS application opened May 12, 2026 and first accepted submissions June 2. Detroit Mercy requires all materials to be received and AADSAS-verified by December 31, 2026. The school’s fee is $125 and includes a required photo; AADSAS Fee Assistance Program recipients receive a waiver. Admissions

Offers can begin December 15 and continue until the class is full. The current pages do not publish interview dates, the Kira deadline before an invitation is issued, the Fall 2027 start or orientation date, or a detailed wait-list schedule.

How selection works

Detroit Mercy names undergraduate performance and rigor, DAT, recommendations, personal statement, interview, and cognitive and noncognitive qualities as selection factors. Files meeting initial consideration standards are reviewed for interview invitations. Invited applicants must complete the Kira online assessment within the timeframe stated in their invitation. Admissions FAQ

The interview is required for serious consideration, and offers begin on the national notification date. Detroit Mercy does not publish numerical factor weights, Kira scoring or weight, academic screen mechanics beyond its stated 3.0 GPA minimum, committee vote rules, post-interview formula, residency preference or wait-list order.

Interview details

Confirmed

An interview is required and offered by invitation to applicants being seriously considered. Interview invitees must also complete a mandatory Kira online assessment within the invitation’s stated timeframe. Kira is a separate assessment and should not be described as the interview itself. Admissions FAQ

Not published

The current pages do not publish interview dates, modality or location, number or duration of encounters, one-to-one versus panel structure, interviewer roles or file access, question domains, scoring rubric or anchors, numerical interview weight, Kira format or scoring, or the post-interview committee process.

Who this program may suit

Detroit Mercy’s regular DDS seeks strong academic preparation, informed knowledge of dentistry, sustained general-dentist exposure and personal qualities visible across the statement, recommendations, Kira assessment and interview. A fit response should use a concrete general-dentist experience to demonstrate observation, professional judgment and a changed understanding of care. Admissions

This page covers the regular first-year DDS in Detroit. International-dentist accelerated routes, advanced standing, graduate, specialty and residency programmes are separate and must not supply requirements to this page.

Practice and next step

Record a response explaining what 100 or more hours with a general dentist taught you that you could not learn from coursework alone. Ask a reviewer to identify whether the example, your own interpretation and your motivation are concrete. Make one adjustment, record a second attempt and compare specificity, maturity and evidence of informed choice.

Frequently asked questions

What is Detroit Mercy’s Fall 2027 deadline?

All materials must be received and AADSAS-verified by December 31, 2026.

What GPA does Detroit Mercy require?

The current minimum for consideration is 3.0 for both overall and science GPA. A 3.5 is described as competitive, not guaranteed.

Is Casper required?

No. The school says Casper is no longer required. Interview invitees instead complete a mandatory Kira online assessment.

What is the interview format?

The current pages confirm an invitation-only required interview but do not publish modality, location, structure, interviewer roles or scoring.

Sources

Verified August 12, 2026. Current official sources: regular DDS admission requirements, deadline, test, letters, experience and assessment, regular DDS admissions FAQ and selection, regular DDS identity and ADEA AADSAS 2026–27 dates.