Which Dental Schools Use Kira Talent? Verified 2026-27 List

A verified list of US dental schools using the Kira Talent video assessment — domestic DDS/DMD and CAAPID programs, how each uses it, and how to prepare.

A verified list of US dental schools that use the Kira Talent video assessment — domestic DDS/DMD and CAAPID advanced standing programs, plus how to prepare. Updated 2026–2027. return ( If the MMI is the rare, misunderstood format in US dental admissions, Kira Talent is its opposite: increasingly common, quietly spreading, and often the very first gate an applicant has to clear — sometimes before a single human reads the application. Yet most applicants don't find out a school uses Kira until the invitation lands in their inbox with a deadline attached. This page is the verified, US-specific list of dental programs that use Kira Talent — separated into domestic DDS/DMD programs and CAAPID advanced standing programs, because Kira is far more prevalent among the latter. Every entry has been checked against the school's own materials or consistent applicant reports, and we flag exactly how confident we are. Formats change year to year, so

always confirm with the program for your cycle. What Is Kira Talent? Kira Talent runs two kinds of assessment: its applicant help center says “Kira has two types of assessments: an asynchronous assessment and a live interview.” This page is mostly about the first, an asynchronous, timed video assessment . You're sent a link, you complete it on your own schedule before a deadline, and there is no live interviewer on the other side. Questions — a mix of text-based and video prompts — appear on screen, you get a short preparation window (often 30–60 seconds), and then you record your answer within a strict time limit. Some assessments also include a written or typed component. Programs use Kira for two reasons: it screens large applicant pools efficiently (one dental school publicly credited Kira with saving its faculty hundreds of review hours), and it standardizes an early look at communication and presence before committing interview

slots. For you, that means Kira is frequently a pre-screen you must pass to be considered — not an afterthought. Kira needs its own preparation. Because there's no live interviewer to build rapport with, Kira rewards structure and clarity under time pressure. Practice recording timed answers on camera until the format feels routine, prepare a school-specific "why this program" answer in advance, and treat your setup — lighting, framing, audio — as part of the evaluation. The full preparation walkthrough — answer structure and technical checklist — is further down this page . Domestic DDS / DMD Programs That Use Kira These US dental schools use Kira as part of their domestic DDS or DMD admissions. Confirmed against each school's own materials or consistent applicant reports: School. Degree. How Kira Is Used. NYU College of Dentistry. DDS. Required for all applicants as Stage 1; an in-person Candidate Day follows for finalists.. Columbia

University CDM. DDS. Designated applicants complete an asynchronous Kira assessment as part of screening.. Roseman University CODM. DMD. Required of all applicants who meet minimum requirements — a core, holistic screening step.. Indiana University (IUSD). DDS. Required alongside the application and IU supplemental, separate from the interview.. University of Detroit Mercy. DDS. Required after an interview invitation; must be completed within the invitation's window.. University of Minnesota. DDS. Select applicants are invited to a first-round interview via Kira, with seven days to complete it; select applicants who complete it are invited to a live second-round interview.. Stony Brook University. DDS. Applicants who have submitted all materials, paid the required fees and met its preferred criteria are invited to an online Kira Talent Assessment, which the committee uses with the AADSAS application to select applicants for an

interview. Stony Brook doesn't publish its format (video, written or both).. UNLV School of Dental Medicine. DMD. Reported, not on UNLV's pages: SDN's invite tracker (2025–26 and 2026–27), several 2025–26 applicants and one 2026–27 applicant so far report a Kira step after an invitation, followed by an in-person visit. UNLV's own DMD pages don't mention Kira; confirm with your invitation.. University of New England (UNE). DMD. Reported, not on UNE's pages: SDN's invite tracker lists Kira for UNE in 2025–26 and 2026–27, and three of the four 2025–26 applicants who posted invitations in SDN's UNE thread gave “Kira Assessment (Virtual)” as the method of interview. UNE's own DMD pages don't mention Kira; confirm with your invitation.. UAB School of Dentistry. DMD. Reported, not on UAB's pages: applicants in 2025–26 and 2026–27 report a Kira step after the supplemental application (2026–27 applicants call it “Phase 2”), which three 2025–26

applicants completed before their interview invitations. UAB's own DMD pages don't mention Kira; confirm with your invitation.. High Point University (Workman). DMD. Adopted for the 2026-27 cycle. HPU states an application "will not be considered for an interview" without it. Applies via HPU's own portal, not AADSAS.. We have full interview guides for several of these: NYU , Indiana University , and Detroit Mercy . Not every school with a 'video interview' uses Kira. A virtual or recorded interview is not automatically a Kira assessment. For example, Boston University's DMD interviews are “conducted online via Zoom” (its admissions FAQ), while Tufts' international DIS program says its interviews “are conducted virtually through Kira Talent” (see below). Tufts' own DMD pages publish no interview format, and one 2025–26 applicant reported Kira steps. Confirm the specific platform and format in your own invitation rather than assuming.

CAAPID / Advanced Standing Programs That Use Kira Kira is significantly more common among CAAPID advanced standing programs for internationally trained dentists, where it frequently serves as the first screening stage before an in-person evaluation. Verified programs that use Kira include: Program. How Kira Is Used. Notes. NYU (Advanced Standing). Required for all applicants. Kira async precedes the in-person Candidate Day.. Tufts DIS (international). Interviews “are conducted virtually through Kira Talent” (Tufts). Tufts doesn't say whether its Kira interview is recorded or live, or how many stages there are; its FAQ says interviews are “conducted either in-person or virtually.”. Columbia CDM (Advanced Standing). Designated applicants. Kira as a primary screen after paper review.. University of Minnesota PASS. Stage 1 async Kira. Reported among the earliest Kira invites (as early as April).. Indiana University (IDP). Kira as a distinct

stage. Separate from the interview and bench components.. UT Health San Antonio (IDEP). Kira virtual interview screens before the in-person stage. An in-person interview with skills testing follows for those who pass it.. Our CAAPID guides cover several of these programs in depth: NYU Advanced Standing , Tufts DIS , Columbia , and University of Minnesota . Practice Kira Talent With AI Feedback. Record timed, on-camera answers to real Kira-style prompts and get instant feedback on structure, clarity, and delivery — before the assessment that counts.. Start Practicing Free →. How We Verified This List Every school above was confirmed against the program's own admissions materials or consistent, recent applicant reports — not copied from stale aggregate lists. We deliberately excluded schools where the evidence was ambiguous or outdated. Two honest caveats: Kira adoption is growing. Programs that screened only on paper a few cycles ago are

adding Kira as an intermediate step. A school that didn't use Kira in 2024 may use it in 2026 — absence from this list is not a guarantee. Formats change year to year. A program can add, drop, or restructure its Kira stage between cycles. Always confirm the current requirement and deadline directly with the program when you apply. Comparing formats across schools? See our companion guide, which dental schools use the MMI . How to Prepare Once You Know a School Uses Kira Kira is one of the most preparable stages in dental admissions precisely because it's predictable: timed prompts, no live interviewer, and a near-universal "why this program" question. Three priorities: Rehearse on camera under a timer. The gap between a first take and a tenth practice run is dramatic, and reviewers watching dozens of candidates a day can tell. Write your school-specific "why this program" answer before you open the Kira link. It appears at virtually

every assessment and is the easiest to prepare and the most obvious when it isn't. Fix your setup. Lighting, framing, and clear audio are part of what reviewers see. Test them in the exact spot you'll record. The four-part Kira answer structure Absorbed from our full Kira preparation guide, which now lives on this page: whatever the prompt, competitive recorded answers share one shape. Evaluators watching forty recordings a day reward answers that tell them immediately where they are going. Opening position (10–15 seconds). State your main point first — not context, not background. "The challenge I'd highlight is..." beats a warm-up sentence every time. One specific example (40–60 seconds). A real situation with a real patient or decision, not a category of situations. "I developed visual treatment-planning aids for patients who spoke only [language]" signals genuine clinical experience; "I have experience with diverse patients" signals

nothing. Reflection (15–20 seconds). What the experience changed about how you work. Forward connection (10 seconds). One sentence linking it to the program you're applying to. The technical checklist before you open the link Kira is one-take. Check these in the exact spot you'll record, on the exact machine: camera at eye level; face lit from the front, not behind; wired internet or your strongest wifi; browser permissions for camera and microphone granted before the session; phone silenced; and the practice questions inside Kira's own interface used at least once — they exist so the format isn't a surprise, and skipping them wastes the one rehearsal the platform itself gives you. Get Kira-Ready in a Weekend. DentPrep's AI coach runs realistic timed Kira drills and scores your answers on the dimensions programs actually evaluate. 5 free sessions, no documents, no credit card.. Try DentPrep Free →. ); }; export default

DentalSchoolsThatUseKira; Which US dental schools use Kira Talent? For domestic DDS/DMD admissions, confirmed Kira users include NYU College of Dentistry (all applicants), Columbia University CDM (designated applicants), Roseman University (all qualified applicants), Indiana University (IUSD), the University of Minnesota (select applicants, as a first-round interview), Stony Brook (applicants who have sent all their materials, paid its fees and met its preferred criteria), the University of Detroit Mercy (after an interview invitation) and High Point University (without it, an application “will not be considered for an interview”). SDN's invite tracker (2025–26 and 2026–27), several 2025–26 applicants and one 2026–27 applicant so far also report a Kira step at UNLV, though UNLV's own pages don't mention it; the tracker and applicants report one at UNE, and applicants at UAB, though neither school's pages mention it. Kira is even more

common among CAAPID advanced standing programs, including NYU, Tufts DIS, Columbia, University of Minnesota PASS, and Indiana. Formats change by cycle, so confirm with each program. Is Kira Talent common in dental school admissions? Yes, and it's growing — unlike the MMI, which remains rare in US dental admissions. Kira is used as an efficient early screen, especially in CAAPID advanced standing programs, and several domestic DDS/DMD programs now require it. A school that didn't use Kira a couple of cycles ago may use it now. Does NYU use Kira Talent? Yes. NYU College of Dentistry requires the Kira Talent asynchronous video interview of all applicants as the first stage of its process; finalists are then invited to an in-person Candidate Day. NYU's international advanced standing program also uses Kira. Does a virtual interview mean a school uses Kira? No. A recorded or virtual interview isn't automatically Kira. For example, Boston

University's DMD interviews are “conducted online via Zoom” (its admissions FAQ), while Tufts' international DIS program says its interviews “are conducted virtually through Kira Talent.” Tufts' own DMD pages publish no interview format, and one 2025–26 applicant reported Kira steps. Always confirm the specific platform and format in your invitation. How do I prepare for a Kira Talent assessment? Because Kira is asynchronous and timed, it rewards preparation. Practice recording answers on camera under a timer until the format feels routine, write a school-specific 'why this program' answer in advance (it appears at nearly every Kira assessment), and set up good lighting, framing, and audio. See our full Kira Talent preparation guide for a step-by-step approach.