Dental Hygiene Programs in Minnesota
Minnesota has 10 CODA-accredited dental hygiene programs, spread across 10 cities from the Twin Cities metro to the state's northern and western edges.
Each program is listed below with its city, address, website, and current accreditation status, pulled directly from the Commission on Dental Accreditation's own program directory.
Graduating from a CODA-accredited program satisfies the education requirement for licensure in every U.S. jurisdiction, though how a program prepares you for the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and Minnesota's own licensing process is worth understanding before you apply.
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At a glance
In Minnesota
Programs
10
With a program
Cities
10
Approval without Reporting Requirements
Fully approved
8 of 10
Every CODA-Accredited Program in Minnesota
Source: CODA program directory, index dated 2026-09-09. Status terms (“Approval without Reporting Requirements,” “Approval with Reporting Requirements,” “Initial Accreditation,” “Discontinued,” etc.) are CODA’s own.
Reading the Accreditation Status Column
The programs above carry three different CODA statuses. "Approval (without reporting requirements)" means, in CODA's own words, the program "achieves or exceeds the basic requirements for accreditation." "Approval (with reporting requirements)" means specific deficiencies exist that the program must resolve within a timeframe CODA sets — it is not a warning to avoid the program, just a status mid-correction. "Initial Accreditation" applies to a program that is not yet fully operational because it has not yet enrolled and graduated its first class.
The last and next accreditation visit years shown are CODA's own site-visit schedule, not a measure of the program itself — contact the program directly, and CODA, for current admissions requirements and cost.
Why CODA Accreditation Matters for Your License
CODA accreditation is the credential jurisdictions look for when they evaluate a hygiene applicant's education.
Graduating from a CODA-accredited program satisfies the education requirement for licensure in every U.S. jurisdiction.
The National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) fulfills or partially fulfills the written-exam requirement most jurisdictions set, though acceptance of it — like every licensing requirement — is at that jurisdiction's own discretion, including Minnesota's.
For the full path from enrollment to license, see our step-by-step guide to becoming a dental hygienist, and for degree-level and timeline questions, associate vs. bachelor's in dental hygiene and how long dental hygiene school takes.
After You Graduate: Licensure and Work in Minnesota
A CODA-accredited program is the first step, not the last.
Minnesota's own board sets the exam, application and continuing-education requirements a graduate must meet to hold an active license, and those requirements can change.
See our Minnesota dental hygienist requirements and scope of practice page for what the state itself requires, and confirm anything you intend to rely on with the Minnesota Board of Dentistry before enrolling or applying.
Once licensed, our Minnesota salary page and current Minnesota dental hygienist job openings are the places to look next.
Where Minnesota's Programs Are Located
Four of Minnesota's 10 programs sit in the Twin Cities metro — Minneapolis, Bloomington, St. Louis Park and White Bear Lake — putting a cluster of options within commuting distance of each other for applicants in that region.
The remaining six are spread outstate: Duluth in the northeast, Mankato and Rochester in the south, Saint Cloud and Brainerd in central Minnesota, and Moorhead on the western border with North Dakota.
That spread means most of the state has a CODA-accredited program within a reasonable drive, though each sets its own admission requirements and application cycle — contact a program directly for current details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CODA-accredited dental hygiene programs are in Minnesota?
Minnesota has 10 CODA-accredited dental hygiene programs, located in Bloomington, Brainerd, Duluth, Mankato, Minneapolis, Moorhead, Rochester, Saint Cloud, St. Louis Park and White Bear Lake.
Each is listed above with its current CODA accreditation status, address and website.
CODA's own directory is the definitive, up-to-date list — confirm a program's status directly with CODA before applying.
Does a program's accreditation status affect whether I can get licensed?
Not if the program holds any active CODA accreditation status — "Approval (without reporting requirements)," "Approval (with reporting requirements)" and "Initial Accreditation" are all accredited statuses, and CODA accreditation is what jurisdictions require for the education portion of licensure nationwide, including Minnesota. "With reporting requirements" means the program is correcting specific deficiencies within a CODA-set timeframe, not that its accreditation has lapsed.
Do I have to attend a Minnesota program to work as a hygienist in Minnesota?
No. Minnesota licenses hygienists who graduated from any CODA-accredited program, not only ones located in Minnesota.
What matters for licensure eligibility is the program's CODA accreditation and passing the required exams — see our Minnesota requirements page for the state's own licensing rules.
What does "Initial Accreditation" mean for an applicant?
It means the program has not yet enrolled and graduated its first class, so CODA has not yet evaluated it as a fully operational program.
It is still an accredited status, not a warning — but an applicant to a program at this stage may want to ask directly how its first cohorts are progressing before enrolling.
What comes after I finish a CODA-accredited hygiene program?
Graduates typically sit for the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and a regional or state clinical exam, then apply for licensure with the Minnesota Board of Dentistry.
Our step-by-step guide to becoming a dental hygienist walks through that full sequence.
Is every program on this list accredited?
Every program above is shown with the CODA accreditation status CODA had published for it as of 2026-09-09, the date this directory was last pulled from CODA's own program search. "Approval without Reporting Requirements" is CODA's standard fully-accredited standing; other status terms on this page — such as "Approval with Reporting Requirements," "Initial Accreditation," or "Discontinued" — mean something different, and a status can change after that date.
Confirm a program's current status directly with CODA before applying.
More Minnesota & Dental Hygienist Resources
Sourced from the CODA program directory (index dated 2026-09-09). Verified September 2026. Program details change. Confirm accreditation status, admission requirements and costs with the program and with CODA before applying.