MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University School of Dentistry has entered into collaborative agreements with West Liberty University and Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania for a Dental Early Admission Program (DEAP) at each school.
The purpose of DEAP is to help facilitate pre-dental students’ transition into the Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) program at the WVU School of Dentistry. These two new programs have similar goals as an existing early admissions agreement the school has with Shepherd University. Participating undergraduates at each school take part in pre-health professions seminars and community service activities while enrolled at their respective schools.
West Liberty and Slippery Rock are responsible for DEAP student recruitment. There are variations in the requirements for each school based on the differences in their curriculums. Specific academic benchmarks must be achieved, and students must complete community service hours and spend time shadowing in multiple general dentistry practices.
Annually, the School of Dentistry will reserve two spots in the entering dental class for students from each participating school meeting DEAP requirements. Priority will go to West Virginia residents at each school, but qualified non-residents could be selected as well.
Shelia S. Price, D.D.S., Ed.D., associate dean for admissions, recruitment, and access for the WVU School of Dentistry, said she is pleased to establish these partnerships with West Liberty and Slippery Rock.
“This will be a win-win-win situation. For us, we will be able to bring highly qualified, well-mentored individuals into our School. West Liberty and Slippery Rock will offer customized guidance to allow their students to progress into dental school. And for the students themselves, they will be able to enter into our School fully prepared to begin the program,” Dr. Price said.
“Our mission states that we should model a culture of diversity and inclusion. We must take a proactive approach in student recruitment and outreach efforts to attract and retain the best and brightest students.”
Eventually, the goal is to expand and establish DEAP agreements with other schools.
“These new DEAP agreements further our pipeline programs to identify exceptional students with an interest in pursuing careers in dentistry and expand on our current program with Shepherd University,” David Felton, D.D.S., M.S., dean of the WVU School of Dentistry, said. “We are excited to be able to recruit the best and brightest from West Liberty and Slippery Rock to WVU. And, we look forward to developing similar programs with other colleges and universities.”
Interested students at West Liberty University can contact the office of the dean of the College of Sciences at 304-336-8062. At Slippery Rock University, interested students can contact the director of undergraduate admissions at 724-738-2015.
For more information on the WVU School of Dentistry, visit http://dentistry.hsc.wvu.edu.
