Application process

Once the candidate’s application is received in our office, it is then reviewed and a decision is made on whether or not an interview will be granted. Our application cycle is very long, there may be large intervals of time between communications from our office. We appreciate your patience during the admissions cycle. We highly discourage applicants calling our office to find out the status of their application.

Please submit the following information:

    1. ADEA CAAPID® (ADEA Centralized Application for Advanced Placement for International Dentists) application
  • Official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score 
    • Applicants must submit an official iBT TOEFL score through ADEA CAAPID. The program prefers a total score of at least 90 with a minimum of 20 in each section. This requirement may be waived if the applicant has received a degree from an accredited US institution
  1. Transcript evaluations 
    • Applicant must submit an official, detailed, course-by-course evaluation by Education Credential Evaluators (ECE) to ADEA CAAPID
  2. Letters of evaluation
    • One letter of evaluation from the dean or a faculty member of the dental school from which the applicant graduated
    • One letter from a dentist practicing in the United States who supervised or worked with the applicant in a clinical or educational setting
    • One letter from someone the applicant has been supervised by in a professional setting
    • Letters must be less than two years old
    • Please send all letters to ADEA CAAPID
    • Letters beyond those accepted by ADEA CAAPID may be mailed directly to the program or sent by email from the letter writer to idp@vcu.edu
    • Please remind letter writers to include letterhead and signatures on all letters
  3. Application fee 
    • A non-refundable application fee of $85 should be paid directly to the VCU School of Dentistry after submitting the ADEA CAAPID application
    • Please make sure to use only the last seven digits of your CAAPID ID when submitting your payment
  4. National Board Dental Exams

    You must do one of the following prior to applying:
    A. Pass NBDE Part I AND Part II
    B. Pass the iNBDE (Integrated NBDE)

  5. Advanced Dental Admissions Test (ADAT) score (OPTIONAL)
    • The ADAT is optional for this program but if an applicant has taken the ADAT the applicant should submit scores to the program. The absence of an ADAT score will not negatively impact the chances of an applicant being granted an interview.
    • More information about the ADAT can be found at the American Dental Association.
    • Review the ADAT Guide for more information.

You MUST include your full legal name, address, telephone number and email address with every mailing sent to the VCU International Dentist Program. Send all information to the following address:

Attn: International Dentist Program
Virginia Commonwealth University
School of Dentistry
520 North 12th Street, Suite 309
Box 980566
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0566

Please allow 72 hours for our staff to process your application before contacting our office. We will contact you and let you know that your application has been received.

If you have any questions, please email them to IDP@vcu.edu.