Woody L. Hunt Dental DMD Admissions Guide (2027)

Quick facts

• Degree: Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), four years.
• Location: El Paso, Texas.
• Application: TMDSAS; no school secondary.
• Entry Year 2027: application available May 1, submissions May 15, deadline October 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CST.
• Education: at least 90 semester or 134 quarter hours from a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian institution.
• Residency: no more than 10% of the 60-seat cohort may be nonresident.
• Interview: September through January, focused on nonacademic criteria. Current Woody Hunt FAQ

Admission requirements

Applicants need at least 90 semester or 134 quarter hours from a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university; a bachelor's degree is highly desirable but not mandatory for an exceptional applicant. Each prerequisite must be completed with C or better and science courses must be for science majors. Requirements are 14 hours biology, including 12 lecture and two formal lab, with three hours microbiology counting inside the biology total; three biochemistry in addition; eight each of general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics with labs; three statistics; and six English. Current application requirements

Pass/fail prerequisites are not accepted apart from the published 2020 exceptions. AP can count only when the official transcript names specific courses and units. The DAT is required and scores more than three years old are not considered. Although the live FAQ still names 17 as a minimum on the former two-digit scale, it does not publish a 200-600 equivalent; this page therefore does not treat 17 as a current-scale threshold.

The application requires two evaluations or a health-advisor packet and patient exposure. No hour minimum is set, but breadth and depth across practitioners and community clinics are preferred. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Woody Hunt does not accept transfer, advanced-standing or international-program applicants.

Important dates

For Entry Year 2027, TMDSAS became available May 1, 2026 at 8 a.m. CST, submissions opened May 15 at 8 a.m., and complete dental applications with payment are due October 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Evaluation letters should be uploaded or postmarked by October 15. Dental schools may begin offers December 15, 2026; after April 15, 2027 they cannot offer a seat to an applicant holding another dental-school seat. TMDSAS Entry Year 2027 deadlines

Woody Hunt interviews from September through January and follows the TMDSAS timeline. The current sources do not publish the exact incoming D1 orientation or matriculation date for 2027.

How selection works

Woody Hunt reviews the full application across cognitive and noncognitive evidence, including academic record, personal statements, recommendations, life experience, extracurricular activities, volunteering and employment. The school says its admissions data are not weighted and no single factor is used exclusively to admit or eliminate an applicant. Admissions philosophy

Published personal factors include motivation, maturity, interpersonal skills, empathy, integrity, communication, knowledge of issues in dentistry and health care and problem solving. Interest in the border region is considered; with equal qualifications, preference may go to residents of El Paso, the U.S. border region and West Texas. Texas law limits nonresidents to 10% of the 60-seat cohort, or at most six. The school does not publish committee voting, interview scoring or wait-list ordering.

Interview details

Confirmed

Interviews are held September through January. Woody Hunt says the personal interview focuses on nonacademic criteria: life experiences, motivation for dentistry, knowledge of issues in dentistry and health care, personal characteristics, interpersonal and communication skills and problem solving. Woody Hunt FAQ Admissions philosophy

Not published

The current official sources do not publish modality, location, whether interviews are individual, panel or station based, number or duration, interviewer identities or file access, prompts, rubric, scoring scale, interview weight, accommodations or travel support.

Who this program may suit

Woody Hunt explicitly recruits applicants interested in the oral-health needs of greater El Paso and West Texas and considers border-region interest in selection. Applicants should connect patient exposure, service and relevant lived experience to a specific understanding of the region without claiming ties they do not have. Admissions philosophy This page covers the regular DMD only, not the DMD/MPH option, Texas Tech Paul L. Foster School of Medicine MD, transfer, advanced standing or an international dentist route.

Practice and next step

Record a response about a patient-facing or community experience that changed how you understand barriers to oral health. Ask a reviewer whether you explain your own actions, show what you learned and connect the lesson to the border region without overclaiming. Make one adjustment, record a second attempt and compare specificity and humility.

Frequently asked questions

Is Woody Hunt the same as Paul L. Foster School of Medicine?

No. Woody L. Hunt is Texas Tech Health El Paso's School of Dental Medicine and awards the DMD. Paul L. Foster is the separate School of Medicine and awards the MD.

Is there a secondary application?

No. Woody Hunt uses the TMDSAS primary without a school secondary.

Is a bachelor's degree required?

No. At least 90 semester or 134 quarter hours are required; a bachelor's is highly desirable.

Can a nonresident apply?

Yes, but Texas law limits nonresidents to no more than 10% of the 60-seat cohort, or six students.

Sources

Verified August 12, 2026. Current official sources: Woody Hunt application requirements, Woody Hunt FAQ, admissions philosophy, TMDSAS Entry Year 2027 deadlines and TMDSAS residency and citizenship guidance.