Program Pathways

The Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene prepares graduates to become licensed prevention specialists within the dental health team by providing oral assessments and health education, exposing radiographs, removing hard and soft deposits and stains from teeth, administering local anesthesia and nitrous-oxide analgesia, placing temporary restorations, polishing teeth, and applying topical fluoride.  The curriculum is designed to prepare graduates for enhanced roles and responsibilities of dental hygienists in administration, business, education, management, public health, research, and related fields.  

In order to qualify for admission to the program, the applicant must have met all of the following conditions and submit a Program Application:

1. A high school diploma or equivalent, or General Education Development (GED) test with a score of at least 45 overall and with no subtest lower than 35.

2. Have a minimum cumulative college grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 or higher.

3. Have completed the following program prerequisites with a letter grade of "C" or better. Biology 20, Human Anatomy, and Biology 22, Human Physiology, (or equivalent), or Biology 21A and Biology 21B (or equivalent); Chemistry 3A, Introduction to General Chemistry (or college equivalent); Chemistry 3B, Organic and Biological Chemistry; Biology 31, Microbiology; English C1000, Academic Reading and Writing; Statistics C1000, Introduction to Statistics, or transfer level math; Communication Studies C1000 or 2, Introduction to Public Speaking or Interpersonal Communication; Psychology C1000, Introduction to Psychology; and Sociology 1A, Introduction to Sociology. 

4. Completion of a minimum of 60 transferable lower division semester units

General Education Requirements: In addition to all courses required for the Dental Hygiene major and Licensure, students must complete one of the three different general education patterns with a letter grade of "C" or better:

Option 1 - Cal-GETC - California General Education Transfer Curriculum, OR

Option 2 - CSU GE - California State University General Education, OR

Option 3 - IGETC - Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum

Program Information:

All Dental Hygiene courses in the program are taken in a cohort, i.e., all students take the same courses each semester.

The program requires four full-time semesters for completion of a Bachelor's Degree. Students must complete the required 9 units of upper division general education at Fresno City College.

Classes, clinical training, and related activities are conducted on the Fresno City College campus. Mandatory external rotations and observations take place at off campus sites affiliated with the program. 

Students accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program will be required to complete a background check and drug screen.

Students must be in good physical and mental health and have no physical impairment, which would preclude the performance of all dental hygiene duties.

The successful completion of the Dental Hygiene Program requires the completion of the Bachelor of Science Degree. Graduates who pass the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) and a regional clinical licensing examination may apply for state Licensure.