Master of Science (MS) in Dental Public Health
The MS program is a minimum of two semesters and is designed for dental hygienists, therapists, and dental assistants to develop and enhance the managerial and analytical skills essential to attain leadership roles in today’s changing dental healthcare field. Career-oriented applications of knowledge, theory, and experience are an integral part of the curriculum, including biostatistics, epidemiology, research methods, dental healthcare management, and finance. A project or practicum of the student’s choice is a significant part of the program, because learning by experience teaches additional skills important in career settings. Projects may include survey design and analysis; educational program development; community program planning, implementation, and evaluation; media development; and marketing/public relations. Graduates of this program will be sufficiently trained to play an active leadership role in a wide range of career venues, including, but not limited to, public and private sector dental care delivery, dental education, research, and government. Applicants must be educationally qualified in dental hygiene, dental therapy, or dental assisting, and should have a bachelor’s degree.
Curriculum
The following courses are required to complete the MS degree in Dental Public Health. Additional course selection is available contingent upon specific needs of each student.
- 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 Health Care 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
- SDM PH 900 Directed Study in Dental Public Health
- SDM PH 991 Research in Dental Public Health
- SPH PH 720 Individual Community and Population Health*
*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.
