Dental Schools in Illinois
Illinois has 3 CODA-accredited predoctoral dental programs, located in Alton, Chicago and Downers Grove.
Each 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 dental school satisfies the education requirement dental boards look for nationwide, though what a program's accreditation status actually means — and what Illinois itself requires for licensure — is worth understanding before you apply.
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At a glance
In Illinois
Programs
3
With a program
Cities
3
Approval without Reporting Requirements
Fully approved
3 of 3
Every CODA-Accredited Program in Illinois
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.
What CODA Accreditation Means for Your License
CODA accreditation is the credential dental boards look for when they evaluate an applicant's dental-school education.
The accreditation status shown for each program above — "Approval without Reporting Requirements," "Approval with Reporting Requirements," or "Initial Accreditation" — is CODA's own classification, and the site-visit years listed are CODA's visit schedule, not a marker of the program itself.
Graduates still need to pass the INBDE, dentistry's national board exam, on the way to a license.
Contact a program directly, or CODA itself, for anything about admissions or cost — neither appears in CODA's program directory.
For the full path from dental school to license, see our step-by-step guide to becoming a dentist.
Choosing Among Illinois's Dental Schools
Illinois's programs sit in Alton, Chicago and Downers Grove, and each sets its own admission requirements, prerequisite coursework, and application cycle.
Contact a program directly for its current curriculum, application deadlines, and clinical-site details — the CODA accreditation status shown for each program above reflects the program's last accreditation visit, not its admissions process.
If you're still weighing how dental school itself works — length, structure, and the DAT that gates admission — see our guide to dental school: length, cost, and the DAT.
After Dental School: Licensure in Illinois
A CODA-accredited dental degree is the first step, not the last.
Illinois'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 Illinois dentist licensure guide for what the state itself requires, and confirm anything you intend to rely on with the Illinois Board of Dentistry before enrolling or applying.
Once licensed, see our Illinois dentist salary guide for what the field pays, and browse current dentist openings to see what practices around the country are hiring for right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CODA-accredited dental schools are in Illinois?
Illinois has 3 CODA-accredited predoctoral dental programs, located in Alton, Chicago and Downers Grove.
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 it matter which Illinois dental school I attend?
Not for licensure eligibility — every program listed above holds CODA accreditation, and CODA accreditation is what dental boards require for the education portion of licensure nationwide, including Illinois.
Beyond that baseline, programs differ in location, campus and admission requirements, so contact each one directly to compare them.
Do I have to attend an Illinois dental school to work as a dentist in Illinois?
No. Illinois licenses dentists who graduated from any CODA-accredited dental program, not only ones located in Illinois.
What matters for licensure eligibility is the program's CODA accreditation and passing the required national and state exams — see our Illinois licensure page for the state's own licensing rules.
What comes after I graduate from a CODA-accredited dental school?
Graduates typically sit for the INBDE, dentistry's national written board exam, then meet Illinois's own clinical-exam and application requirements before applying for a state license.
Our step-by-step guide to becoming a dentist 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 Illinois & Dentist 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.