Doctor of Science in Dentistry (DScD) in Dental Public Health
The DScD program in Dental Public Health aims to train dentists for leadership roles in the practice of dental public health, research, and teaching in an academic setting. Successful completion of coursework, a public health project, and an oral competency examination—along with an original dissertation—are required in this minimum three-year degree program. The program provides the student with in-depth knowledge and practical experience in epidemiology and biostatistics. The program also provides broad knowledge and practical experience in healthcare management and finance, social and cultural determinants of health, preventive dentistry, health education, and behavioral sciences. Students take courses at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and relevant courses at the Boston University School of Public Health. Students have several opportunities to conduct research and publish papers in professional journals. Graduates of the DScD program are educationally qualified to challenge the American Board of Dental Public Health examination.
Curriculum
The following list shows the core courses and some, but not all, suggested elective courses that are available for DScD students. The Year 1 curriculum encompasses the core requirements of the Dental Public Health training (i.e., required courses for the MSD in Dental Public Health). In addition to the required courses, the curriculum for each student is designed based on the student’s interest and research requirements.
Year 1
- SDM OB 830 Research Writing
- SDM PH 763 Bioethics and Law
- SDM PH 803 Biostatistics
- SDM PH 804 Applied Statistical Analysis in Dental Public Health
- SDM PH 806 Environmental Health
- SDM PH 808 Healthcare Management and Finance
- SDM PH 810 Fundamentals of Dental Public Health
- SDM PH 812 Oral Epidemiology
- SDM PH 821 Dental Public Health Literature Review
- SDM PH 872 Dental Public Health Policies, Programs and Advocacy
- SDM PH 888 Seminars in Dental Public Health
- SDM PH 892 Dental Public Health Grand Rounds
- SPH EP 813 Intermediate Epidemiology*
- SPH PH 720 Individual Community and Population Health*
Year 2
- SDM PH 822 Dental Public Health Literature Review
- SDM PH 889 Seminars in Dental Public Health
- SDM PH 893 Dental Public Health Grand Rounds
- SDM PH 911 Public Health Project
- SDM PH 992 Research in Dental Public Health
Year 3
- SDM PH 823 Dental Public Health Literature Review
- SDM PH 890 Seminars in Dental Public Health
- SDM PH 894 Dental Public Health Grand Rounds
- SDM PH 993 Research in Dental Public Health
Years 2 and 3 Elective Courses
- SPH BS 722 Design & Conduct of Clinical Trials*
- SPH BS 805 Intermediate Statistical Computing & Applied Regression Analysis*
- SPH BS 810 Meta-Analysis for Public Health & Medical Research*
- SPH BS 820 Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis*
- SPH BS 821 Categorical Data Analyses*
- SPH BS 852 Statistical Methods for Epidemiology*
- SPH EP 721 Survey Methods for Public Health*
- SPH EP 762 Clinical Epidemiology*
- SPH EP 854 Advanced Epidemiology*
- SPH SB 820 Assessment and Planning for Health Promotion*
- SPH SB 822 Quantitative Methods for Program Evaluation*
*See the School of Public Health Bulletin for a detailed description. Course selection may vary according to the School of Public Health schedule.
Completion is not tracked by credit accumulation but by successful completion of individual courses and duration requirements.
Clinical Specialty/DScD in Dental Public Health
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine provides opportunities to pursue a combined program that fulfills the requirements for a certificate of a clinical specialty and the requirements of the DScD degree in Dental Public Health. The program exposes future clinical specialists to healthcare issues at a societal level through in-depth clinical training and study of a wide range of current issues in healthcare delivery and public health. The duration of the program may vary depending on the clinical training requirements, whereas the DScD in Dental Public Health is a minimum three-year program. Applicants wishing to pursue the DScD in Dental Public Health and a clinical specialty must apply separately to both programs through the ADEA PASS website.
