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University of Kentucy College of Dentistry 
Building a Foundation for the Future
 
Postdoctoral Program

Prospective Students and Residents

We hope that the following material will provide the information you need to make an informed decision about whether the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry is the right place to pursue your post-graduate dental education. We encourage applications from Kentucky residents and non-residents with outstanding academic and professional records.

The College has six postgraduate education options. General Practice Residency, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pediatric Dentistry are residency programs leading to specialty certification. Students enrolled in post-graduate programs in Orofacial Pain, Orthodontics and Periodontics receive both a specialty certificate and a Master of Science degree from the University of Kentucky Graduate School. The UK College of Dentistry programs are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Master of Science Degree Program
The goal of the Master of Science degree program is to produce graduates who are clinically adept, well-grounded in research and the biological basis of dentistry and prepared to function at a high level of accomplishment in clinical practice and academic dentistry.
The program is interdisciplinary.  Faculty are drawn from the College of Dentistry clinical and graduate faculty, and from departments throughout the University of Kentucky. 

Master of Science Admissions Requirements
Students pursuing specialty training in Orthodontics, Periodontology, Pediatric Dentistry and Orofacial Pain or a Predoctoral DMD Research Track in general dentistry are eligible for the Master of Science degree.  This degree is granted through the Graduate School. Successful completion of the MS degree is prerequisite to awarding of a specialty certificate (Orthodontics, Periodontology or Orofacial Pain tracks) or DMD degree (Predoctoral DMD Research Track). Only dental students or dental graduates of high academic standing will be accepted into this program.

Applicants to the specialty tracks (Periodontology, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry or Orofacial Pain) must have a D.M.D./D.D.S. degree from an accredited United States or Canadian dental school or equivalent.  Applicants to the Predoctoral D.M.D. Research Track must be in good academic standing in the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry.  Admission to these programs is very competitive and is based on academic performance in dental school, professional recommendations and a personal interview. Applicants must submit official scores to the specific program of interest for one of the following tests: the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Part I of the National Dental Board, or Part II of the National Dental Board for the Master of Science Programs; the Dental Admission Test (DAT) for Predoctoral DMD Research Track . To determine which of these tests is recommended for your specialty track, please consult the student handbook or web site for that specific program.  Applicants who are not native English speakers must score at least 550 (paper,) 213 (computer) or 79 (internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). To determine which of these tests is recommended for your specialty track, please consult the web site for that specific program.

Master of Science Degree Requirements
Requirements for the Master of Science degree are: 1) satisfactory completion of program requirements; 2) 24 hours graduate credit (Plan A Thesis option) or 30 hours graduate credit (Plan B Non-thesis option), at least 13 hours of which must be from a “core” curriculum; 3) submission of an acceptable thesis based on an individual research project (Plan A) or submission of the results from the individual research project to a peer-reviewed journal (Plan B); and 4: passage of a comprehensive oral examination and thesis defense (Plan A) or passage of a comprehensive oral examination (Plan B).  Foreign language credit is not a requirement.

You are welcome to browse the links attached to this page for a more detailed view of specific programs, the College, Medical Center, University, and the community in which we are located. Additional information also can be found in the Enrolled Students/Residents section of this site.
Thank you for your interest in postgraduate education at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry.