Fresno (Calif.) City College is offering a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene for the first time, according to a Sept. 27 report by ABC 30.
The college has offered an associate degree in dental hygiene for 50 years, but is phasing it out and replacing it with a bachelor's program.
Here are four things to know about the new program:
1. Lorraine Smith, the dean of applied health programs at the college, said that many students were completing the associate's program in four years and graduating with more than 100 units, leading to the decision to convert to a bachelor's degree program.
2. The school has been working on the program for nearly 10 years, which was formally approved in 2023.
3. By switching to a bachelor's program, graduates have the opportunity to work outside of clinical environments and can also work in the corporate, education and hospital sectors.
4. Thirty applicants were selected for the program through a lottery system, the report said.