Doctor of Science in Dentistry (DScD) in Dental Public Health
Changes to this program will take effect in the 2024–2025 academic year.
This 36-month program in Dental Public Health prepares dentists for leadership roles in health policy, academics, and government settings. Successful completion of coursework, a public health field project, and an oral competency examination—along with an original dissertation—are required. The program provides the student with in-depth knowledge and practical experience in epidemiology and biostatistics, healthcare management and finance, social and cultural determinants of health behavior, preventive dentistry, and health education. 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 opportunities to conduct research and publish papers in professional journals. The combined DScD/CAGS program is a 36-month program suitable for dentists who do not hold a CEPH-accredited MPH or equivalent and seek a career and board certification in dental public health. This program is aimed to meet the eligibility requirements of the American Board of Dental Public Health, preparing the students for the ABDPH Qualifying and Certifying Examinations. International dental graduates are eligible to apply.
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 unit 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 Advanced Graduate Study in a clinical specialty and the requirements of the DScD in DPH. 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 specialty requirements, whereas the DScD/CAGS in DPH is a minimum 36-month program. Students in the DScD/CAGS program in DPH meet the residency requirements of the American Board of Dental Public Health. Applicants wishing to pursue the DScD in DPH and another clinical specialty must apply separately to both programs through the ADEA PASS website.
