Doctor of Science in Dentistry University of Pennsylvania Penn

The DScD will prepare students to successfully enter the field of academic dentistry for careers as clinical or basic science researchers. The program combines the research and clinical strengths of the School, drawing faculty mentors from throughout the clinical and basic science departments. With the goal of providing the opportunity to pursue research across disciplines, students have the option to not only work with researchers from Penn Dental Medicine, but also with faculty from Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Veterinary Medicine.

DScD with Postgraduate Certificate Program: The Doctor of Science in Dentistry (DScD) program is tailored for each specialty. For Endodontics, Orthodontics, Oral Medicine, and Pediatric Dentistry postgraduate programs it is 5 years, for Periodontics 5.5 years and for Periodontic/Prosthesis 6 years. The program is tailored to meet the CODA requirements for each clinical specialty. Clinical, didactic, and research aspects of the program are integrated so that in all years students experience both clinical and research training. In years one and two, there is greater focus on clinical training, while in later years there is greater focus on research training with clinical activities continuing in all years. All courses taken as part of clinical training are credited toward the DScD degree. In addition, three didactic courses from Penn’s Biomedical Graduate Studies program related to the research topic are required and typically taken in years two through four. Each student will write a K08 or K23 grant award; the application becomes the basis of a qualifying exam for the program. Only US citizens/green card holders will actually submit their K08 or K23 proposal to the NIH. This represents important training in grant writing as well as training in writing a scientific paper for publication, both of which are important aspects of academic success.