Dental Hygiene Degree Completion

Students enrolled in a fully online program pay in-state tuition regardless of where they live, making it an affordable option. The tuition and fees will vary depending on how many semesters you take to graduate and how many credit hours you will need to complete in the program.

Learn more about tuition and fees

Undergraduate Program: For bachelor's degrees, time to completion depends on your schedule, transfer credits and the program you choose.

Graduate Programs: Most Master's degrees at WSU require between 30-36 credit hours. How quickly you finish is up to you.

Credits from other regionally accredited colleges and universities will transfer to WSU. Credits will also be evaluated by your program of interest to see how many credits will count towards your major and how many will count as elective credits. Please note that if you have attended more than one higher education institution, you will need to submit an official transcript for each one. 

For undergraduate programs: Try the Transfer Gateway tool to help estimate how many credits will transfer over to Wichita State.

Learn: Where to send incoming transcripts

These programs are designed to be completed entirely online offering students the flexibility to learn on their own schedule (within a specific timeframe). Courses within an online program are likely asynchronous, allowing students to login independently of a set time to participate with instructional materials.

Some courses may be offered in 8-week blocks while other courses are in 16-week sections.

Our program builds on the skill of the registered dental hygienist’s previous educational program. The BSDH expands on the RDH’s knowledge base to provide a means for continued advancement in the profession, career options in alternate settings, and meeting the necessary requirements for pursuing a graduate degree.

 

Application Requirements

• Current Dental Hygiene License
• Associates degree in dental hygiene from a regionally accredited school
• Cumulative GPA of 2.5

Apply to Wichita State

• Complete the application process through the application portal.
• Under the Academics section, select "yes" if you are interested in completing a fully online program. A drop-down menu will appear, select, the "Pre-Dental Hygiene Completion" option.

Provide Proof of RDH license

The next step will be to email a copy of your dental hygiene license to our academic advisor John Sandlin, john.sandlin@wichita.edu.  Once you have been accepted into the program our online academic advisor will help you create an individualized plan of study.

The 32-credit-hour program is completely online, is accessible 24 hours a day, and can be completed in as little as 15 months or up to six years of part-time study. Twenty-eight (28) hours of retroactive credit can be applied to the degree. 

In WSU's online RDH to BSDH program, Licensed Dental Hygienists are able to:

• Take all dental hygiene courses online anytime, anywhere, full or part-time.
• Complete your degree in as little as 15 months, or at your own pace.
• Earn up to 28 hours of credit for prior coursework.
• Pay in-state tuition.
• Earn a credential (BSDH) that will qualify you to be a full-time dental hygiene educator.
• Build an educational foundation for advanced degrees (MSDH, MPH, etc.)

Program Coursework

A Note About Degree Requirements for Clinical and Classroom Teaching in Dental Hygiene Programs

The Commission on Dental Accreditation has adopted new guidelines to require full-time and part-time faculty of a dental hygiene program to possess a baccalaureate or higher degree to teach in clinics and classrooms. Clinical faculty hired prior to July 1, 2022 will be grandfathered in and are not required to have the bachelor degree to teach in clinics. Wichita State University’s online RDH to BSDH program meets these requirements and is designed to prepare licensed dental hygienists to become dental hygiene educators.