The Graduate School, in collaboration with the School of Dental Medicine, offers one graduate degree in Dental Science: the Master of Dental Science (M.Dent.Sc.). The M.Dent.Sc. degree program is an interdepartmental program whose primary objective is to provide instruction in dental science that enhances the student’s scholarly ability to instruct and undertake research, and may serve as preparation for careers in dental academia. The M.Dent.Sc. degree program is only offered to individuals who are concurrently pursuing advanced dental education in one of the residency certificate programs offered by the School of Dental Medicine. Advanced dental education coursework is required to fulfill M.Dent.Sc. degree objectives.

Requirements

In addition to the Graduate School requirements outlined in the Academic Regulations section of this catalog, the M.Dent.Sc. program requires completion of a minimum of 30 credits with an overall GPA of 3.0. Nine of the 30 credits should be designated as Master’s Thesis Research credits, GRAD 5950 Master's Thesis Research or GRAD 5960 Full-Time Master's Research. Six of the 30 credits may be accumulated through the candidate’s clinical certificate program. The remaining 15 credits must be fulfilled through the completion of other graduate level coursework, including up to six credits of Independent Study, DENT 5495 Independent Study. A major component of the minimum of 30 credits of course work must be related to the student’s specific research area, which is accomplished by a formal review and approval of the student’s plan of study by their Advisory Committee. M.Dent.Sc. students may enroll for a maximum of nine graduate credits per semester. In addition to the minimum number of course credits required for the degree, a candidate’s respective Advisory Committee may require the student to take additional coursework in consideration of the student’s objectives and previous preparation.