Dual Degree D.D.S./Ph.D. Program

Admissions Requirements

A student who wishes to obtain both a D.D.S. and a Ph.D. must obtain the entrance prerequisites of both the School of Dentistry and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Students submit applications for admission to the Dual-Degree Program through the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service and to the Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences during the fall prior to attendance. Approval for admission is made by the D.D.S./Ph.D. Admissions Review Panel (through the School of Dentistry Dean and Associate Dean for Student Affairs) and by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Degree Requirements

Students will spend the first three years focusing on the Ph.D. component. They will enter the customized dental school training component only after completing the Ph.D. qualifying exam and making significant progress with their dissertation research.

The remaining requirements of the Ph.D. program (dissertation research and preparation) will be conducted concurrently with requirements of the D.D.S. curriculum. The combined program will take at least seven years to complete.

Accepted applicants must meet the full requirements defined for both the professional and the graduate degree. The total time for the dual degree program curriculum is designed to be at least seven years. However, utilization of summer sessions and elective periods is mandatory for this total time span.

The detailed logistics of pursuing a dual degree program will depend on the specific graduate program undertaken and, in every instance, should be worked out among the student, the appropriate Committee on Graduate Studies, the faculty mentor, the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Associate Deans for Academic Affairs and Research of the School of Dentistry.