At a glance: requirements & format
Sourced from UCLA School of Dentistry's own PPID admissions pages and the ADEA CAAPID program listing. Confirm anything decision-critical with the coordinator.
- Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), CODA-accredited
- Minimum 25 consecutive months, beginning late May
- 30 students per year
- March each year (the 2026 cycle opened March 6)
- June 30, 2026 — postmarked and supplemental PDF emailed by 4:00 PM Pacific; no exceptions
- Required for all PPID applicants — schedule with Acuity Insights; tests taken after the deadline are not considered
- Yes — Day 1 of the finalist evaluation, $300 non-refundable testing fee
- In person at UCLA, 1–2 days after the bench test
- 95 combined for tests before Jan 21, 2026 (MyBest accepted), or 5.0 (R4.5 / L4.5 / W5.0 / S5.0) after — official sealed hard copy to UCLA, code 8354; electronic reports not accepted
- Required — NBDE Parts I and II, or the INBDE, sent directly to the PPID coordinator
- Required — course-by-course evaluation submitted through CAAPID
- Three — your dental school dean or head, a clinical instructor who can evaluate your potential, and one of your choice
- Required — combined PDF of the application and CV emailed to UCLA, labeled LAST NAME, FIRST NAME or it will not be processed
- $250, non-refundable, paid online
- $300, non-refundable, due when finalists are notified
- Mid-October
- Genevieve Cedillo, PPID Coordinator — ppid_admissions@dentistry.ucla.edu, (310) 825-6218
Requirements change — verify before you spend money
Fee amounts, TOEFL scoring bands, and testing policies are revised between cycles, and some details (such as whether the discontinued bench preparatory course has returned) only change quietly. Before you book exams or book travel, email ppid_admissions@dentistry.ucla.edu or call (310) 825-6218 and confirm the current requirements in writing.
How the UCLA PPID evaluation actually works
UCLA runs the most sequential evaluation of any major CAAPID program. The three stages test three different things, in a fixed order, and each stage filters who reaches the next. Prepare for all three as separate projects — because that is how the admissions committee will treat them.
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Stage 1: Casper — the situational judgment filter
Every PPID applicant completes the Casper assessment through Acuity Insights — a 90–110 minute online test of video-based and written scenarios with open-ended written and video responses. It measures non-cognitive attributes: empathy, communication, ethics, professionalism, collaboration, and resilience. There is no right answer to memorize; the test scores how you reason through interpersonal tension when the clock is running.
UCLA is one of the very few CAAPID programs that requires Casper, which makes it a genuine differentiator in the applicant pool. The committee reviews Casper scores alongside your CAAPID application before deciding who to invite as a finalist — a strong score can offset weaker metrics elsewhere, while a weak score from a technically excellent applicant is hard to explain away later. Two logistics rules matter: schedule your test early (exams taken after the deadline are not considered), and remember you may submit supplemental documents before taking Casper, so a late test date never blocks the rest of your file.
You cannot cram Casper — but you can train it
The format rewards one trainable skill: identifying the core ethical or interpersonal tension in a scenario and addressing it in a clear, structured, empathetic response — in about five minutes. Work through Acuity Insights' free official sample questions until that structure is automatic, and practice speaking your answers aloud for the video-response sections.
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Stage 2: Skills evaluation (bench test) — Day 1
Applicants selected as finalists are notified in mid-October and pay a non-refundable $300 testing fee. The finalist evaluation then opens with the skills evaluation on Day 1: a clinical bench test at UCLA's simulation facilities covering preclinical operative and prosthodontic procedures — the core restorative drills that US dental programs standardize on.
The sequencing is the point. UCLA deliberately tests your clinical skills before anyone meets you, and only applicants who demonstrate adequate competency advance to the personal interview. The bench test is not a hurdle you clear alongside an interview — it is the prerequisite that earns the interview.
UCLA no longer offers a bench preparatory course
The preparatory bench course that used to run through UCLA's Continuing Dental Education office has been discontinued — you are responsible for your own preparation. To check whether it has been reinstated, call the CDE office at 310-825-6238 before you build a prep plan around it.
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Stage 3: The personal interview — 1–2 days after the bench
Personal interviews run one to two days after the skills evaluation, which gives the admissions committee time to review bench results before they meet you. The interview is behavioral in focus — why you want to practice in the United States, what you will contribute to the PPID cohort, where you see yourself in the profession — and it is held on campus in Los Angeles.
The style is relaxed and conversational, and it appears to be open file: interviewers have read your application before they greet you. Expect questions that start from your personal statement rather than from a script.
Your bench result walks into the interview with you
Because the committee sees your bench performance first, a strong Day 1 sets the frame for Day 2 — and a borderline result invites deeper probing of your clinical background. Treat the interview as evaluated independently, but assume the two days are one continuous first impression.
What UCLA's admissions committee is really evaluating
UCLA publishes its admissions criteria, and each one maps onto a stage of the evaluation. Build your preparation around these five, not around generic interview advice:
Clinical competency and technical readiness
The bench test is the primary filter. PPID opens with a rigorous summer of didactic and preclinical instruction before students join the 3rd-year DDS class, and the committee needs confidence you can keep that pace from week one.
Non-cognitive professional attributes
Casper is UCLA's structured instrument for empathy, ethics, communication, professionalism, and resilience — measured before anyone meets you. The committee treats these as predictors of success in an integrated program and with patients, on par with clinical skill.
Commitment to US dental practice
The PPID exists to produce dentists who can practice competently in the United States — not just hold a credential. That means fluency in US clinical philosophy, patient-communication standards, and evidence-based practice culture. Show that you understand the difference.
Diversity of background and perspective
UCLA explicitly values a diverse student body, and its international cohort brings clinical systems and patient populations from dozens of countries. Your background is not a liability to minimize — it is a perspective the program actively wants, if you can articulate what it adds.
Fit with the integrated model
After the summer preparatory curriculum, PPID students join the 3rd-year DDS class with the same research, clinical, and professional opportunities as domestic classmates. The committee is deciding whether you will thrive in and contribute to that environment — so your answers should engage with it specifically.
UCLA PPID interview questions (with coaching notes)
The questions below reflect the behavioral, ethical, and Casper-style prompts UCLA's evaluation is built around, organized by category. Practice every one aloud — these coaching notes tell you what a strong answer must contain:
Motivational & background
4 questionsWhy do you want to practice dentistry in the United States?
How to answer
Be specific and grounded, never aspirational. Anchor it in real US clinical exposure (assisting, shadowing, US CE courses), a defined professional goal — a population you want to serve or a specialty you want to pursue — or a genuine connection to the US dental community. “Better technology” and “higher standard of care” sink answers.
Tell me about yourself and your dental career.
How to answer
Build a 90-second arc, not a CV recitation: how you trained, what your practice looked like, what pushed you toward US licensure, and why UCLA's PPID is the right vehicle for it. End forward-looking. The interviewers have read your file — they are listening to how you narrate your own story.
Why UCLA's PPID specifically?
How to answer
Name concrete program features: the fully integrated curriculum (PPID students join the 3rd-year class with identical opportunities), Los Angeles patient diversity, research access within an academic health system, the sequential summer-prep structure, or faculty whose work matches your interests. If your answer would survive a find-and-replace of “UCLA,” it is not an answer.
How has practicing dentistry in your home country shaped your approach to patient care?
How to answer
Do not downplay the differences — leverage them. Resource-limited settings build clinical resourcefulness; patients with little preventive access teach the systemic origins of dental disease. Then connect that perspective to the West LA patient population you would serve.
Behavioral
4 questionsDescribe a time you adapted your communication style to reach an anxious or difficult patient.
How to answer
UCLA integrates you into a multilingual, multicultural West LA community, so communication adaptability is directly relevant. Pick one real encounter: the specific barrier, what you actually said or did, and the outcome.
Tell me about a clinical decision you made under uncertainty.
How to answer
Use STAR structure but spend the time on your reasoning: what you knew, what you did not, how you weighed options, and why you chose what you chose. The committee is scoring clinical judgment, not just execution.
Describe a disagreement with a colleague about a patient's treatment plan.
How to answer
Frame it as a legitimate difference of clinical opinion, not a conflict. Show how you voiced your view, genuinely heard theirs, and let the resolution put the patient first. Handled well, this answer demonstrates clinical maturity.
What is the most significant professional challenge you have faced?
How to answer
Choose one with real stakes — INBDE preparation, credential evaluation, rebuilding in a new country, a hard clinical situation — and focus on what you did and what you learned, not on how hard it was.
Ethical & scenario
3 questionsA patient disclosing domestic abuse sits down for routine care. How do you respond?
How to answer
Know that California dentists have mandatory reporting obligations for suspected child abuse, while adult situations are more nuanced. Walk through: create a safe space and acknowledge, provide resource information, document appropriately, and follow jurisdiction-specific requirements. The key signal is knowing your obligations vary by jurisdiction.
A fellow PPID student is visibly struggling with the curriculum but hasn't asked for help. What do you do?
How to answer
This tests peer support inside UCLA's integrated cohort model. Approach privately with genuine concern, point them to student support resources — and if the issue touches patient safety rather than academic struggle, the threshold for escalation changes.
A patient refuses treatment you believe is necessary and chooses an option you consider inferior. What is your responsibility?
How to answer
Patient autonomy is the ADA's foundational principle; your duty is genuinely informed refusal. Present your recommendation, explain the clinical consequences, answer questions, document, and respect the choice — then address how you keep the therapeutic relationship positive afterward.
Casper-style prompts
3 questionsYour supervising faculty member corrects your technique in front of the patient, more harshly than you think was necessary. What do you do?
How to answer
Name the tension — professional hierarchy versus personal dignity, with patient care constant. Address any patient concern first, finish the procedure, then raise it privately with the faculty member. Emotional regulation plus a direct, professional conversation is the winning pattern.
A classmate borrowed your notes for a claimed family emergency; you later learn they routinely skip sessions for non-emergencies. How do you handle it?
How to answer
The tension is peer support versus academic integrity. Investigate before judging, address the pattern directly with the classmate, consider what support they may need — and keep academic honesty non-negotiable while leading with empathy.
A patient asks you to record a treatment in the chart that was not completed so their insurance will cover it. What do you do?
How to answer
This is insurance fraud — say so plainly, without ambiguity, while staying empathetic to the financial pressure behind the request. Offer legitimate alternatives (payment plans, reduced-cost clinics, dental school services), and document both the request and your response.
Want feedback on your answers — not just the questions?
Practice these questions freeYour UCLA PPID preparation timeline
Work backward from June 30. The evaluation rewards applicants who treated Casper, the bench, and the interview as three separate training programs — here is the sequence:
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8–10 weeks before the June 30 deadline
- Submit your CAAPID application and pay the $250 UCLA supplemental fee online
- Schedule and complete Casper with Acuity Insights — do not leave the test date until the final week (late tests are not considered)
- Request the official sealed TOEFL hard copy from ETS using university code 8354 — electronic reports are not accepted
- Arrange for NBDE Parts I & II or INBDE results to go directly to the UCLA PPID coordinator
- Email the supplemental application and CV as one combined PDF labeled LAST NAME, FIRST NAME by 4:00 PM Pacific on June 30
- Confirm your three letters of recommendation are in through CAAPID: dean or head of school, a clinical instructor, and one of your choice
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Casper preparation (ongoing before your test date)
- Complete all of Acuity Insights' free official sample questions
- Practice structured written responses to ethical scenarios in five minutes or less
- Practice video responses under time pressure — the format is spoken, not just typed
- Review the ADA ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice
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Bench test preparation (after finalist notification, mid-October)
- Secure typodont access — a simulation lab, a dental supplier, or a colleague's office
- Drill US preclinical crown standards: taper, reduction depth, margin placement, finish-line quality
- Practice operative preps for composite and amalgam until they are routine
- Run timed sessions that simulate exam-day pressure
- Call the CDE office (310-825-6238) to check whether the preparatory bench course has been reinstated
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Personal interview preparation
- Practice every question category aloud until the answers are natural, not memorized
- Build your “Why UCLA PPID” answer around the integrated curriculum model specifically
- Re-read your personal statement and CV — open file means the interviewer has them in mind
- Prepare two or three specific, researched questions to ask your interviewer
- Plan Los Angeles logistics: accommodation, transportation, and a 45–60 minute arrival buffer
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Day 1 — skills evaluation
- Arrive early; LA traffic is genuinely unpredictable
- Confirm what UCLA provides versus what you must bring
- Professional attire — a lab coat is likely provided, but confirm in advance
- Work methodically and keep communicating your process if evaluators are observing
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Day 2 (or later) — personal interview
- Full professional dress
- Reset mentally from the bench — the interview is evaluated independently
- Have genuine questions ready for your interviewer
- Keep the tone relaxed and conversational — UCLA's culture is warm, and the interview reflects it
UCLA PPID interview — frequently asked questions
What is the UCLA dental advanced standing interview format?
The PPID evaluation has three stages: the Casper situational judgment test (all applicants), then a two-day finalist evaluation — a bench test skills assessment on Day 1 and a behavioral personal interview one to two days later, in person at UCLA. The bench test must be passed for the interview to happen.
Does UCLA require Casper for the PPID program?
Yes. Every PPID applicant must complete the Casper assessment through Acuity Insights — a 90–110 minute online situational judgment test. Schedule it early; Casper exams taken after the application deadline are not considered.
Does UCLA require a bench test for PPID applicants?
Yes. Finalists complete a skills evaluation (bench test) on Day 1 of the on-campus evaluation, covering preclinical operative and prosthodontic procedures. A $300 non-refundable testing fee is due at finalist notification, and there is no longer a UCLA-run preparatory course.
How many students does UCLA accept in the PPID each year?
The program admits 30 students per year. Applicants join a rigorous summer preparatory curriculum and then integrate fully into the 3rd-year DDS class for a program of at least 25 consecutive months.
How do I submit my TOEFL scores to UCLA for the PPID?
Request an official sealed hard copy from ETS and have it sent directly to the UCLA School of Dentistry Office of Student Services using university code 8354. Electronic reports are not accepted.
What TOEFL score does UCLA require for the PPID?
For tests taken before January 21, 2026: a combined 95 iBT (MyBest scores accepted). For tests taken after: a 5.0 — either Reading 4.5, Listening 4.5, Writing 5.0, and Speaking 5.0, or a combined 5.0. The score report must be within two years.
What is the deadline for the UCLA PPID application?
June 30, 2026 — the application must be postmarked and the supplemental application plus CV emailed as a single combined PDF by 4:00 PM Pacific the same day. It is a hard deadline with no exceptions; the cycle opens in early March.
When are UCLA PPID finalists notified?
Finalist notifications go out in mid-October. Finalists pay the $300 testing fee and then complete the bench test on Day 1, with the personal interview following one to two days later.
Practice the UCLA interview out loud
Reading about the PPID evaluation prepares you for maybe half of it. The other half is delivering structured answers under pressure — Casper-style scenarios, behavioral questions, the works. Our AI interview practice scores your structure and delivery instantly, as many reps as you need.
Working on other programs too? Our MMI preparation guide covers the multiple-mini-interview format used by a growing share of CAAPID programs, and the AI interview practice tool lets you rehearse any school's questions with instant feedback. If you are still building your school list, our dental school guides break down each program's interview format and requirements.