The MS in Oral Health Sciences is a one year credential-enhancing pre-dental master’s program.
Our mission is to prepare students as strong candidates for future admission to dental school.
Oral Health Sciences (OHS) students take courses through Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BUGSDM) and Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Through immersion in a rigorous graduate biomedical sciences masters curriculum including several first year dental school courses (DMD-1), students develop essential critical thinking and research skills. The program fosters an environment of high standards for professionalism, integrity and collegiality where students build upon their abilities to enable future success.
The MS program takes four semesters to complete. The majority of enrolled students complete the degree in one calendar year enrolling in classes in late July and completing the program the following July; this allows students to matriculate to dental school without requiring an additional gap year. A small percentage students opt to spend the fall semester or second year to build their credentials as needed. In addition to dental school coursework, students also are able to take courses across a variety of disciplines including public health, ethics, evidence-based dentistry and research.
Program Foundation
The Oral Health Sciences (OHS) program was initiated in 2005 as a track within the well-established masters in Medical Sciences program. Of the 400 students who have completed the OHS program since its inception in 2005, 90% have been accepted to US dental schools. Due to the program’s success and increased recognition nationally, the OHS track was approved as a new masters degree in 2013.
The 32 credit master degree is completed in 4 semesters over 1, 1.5 or 2 years. This flexibility allows students to choose a completion path that best fits their individual credentials, dental school application timeline and DAT test prep schedule. The Oral Health Sciences (OHS) program now enrolls 40+ students per year due to a highly qualified applicant pool. To maintain this unique environment for students, two DMD courses are now offered in a blended live lecture and online streaming format (50:50).
Students completing the program in 12 months will complete a Capstone over Summer I/II.
Students wishing to spend an extra year earning valuable clinical and/or biomedical research experience or enrolling in additional coursework may choose to complete a thesis in Year 2 Fall/Spring.
Credential-Enhancing Masters Program: Provides students with the opportunity to build academic credentials for dental school admission.
Housed in Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s Graduate Medical Sciences: Housed in Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s Graduate Medical Sciences: The BU Medical Campus which houses the Graduate School, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center and the Goldman School of Dental Medicine provides a diverse campus for both academic and professional growth for pre-dental students.
Boston: Located in the vibrant city of Boston, rich in history, art, sports, medicine and education.
Rigorous, graduate-level curriculum: Students take a rigorous 32 cr curriculum with 18 cr of first year dental school classes taken side-by-side BU’s dental students.
Improve Academic Preparedness for Dental School Admission: Develop strong study and test taking skills as well as the ability to network and multi-task.
Strong Advising, Career Mentoring and AADSAS Application Assistance: Advising throughout the program on not just academics but also professionalism and DMD application support.
Strong Community:Students build a strong community with fellow students, near-peers and faculty and have excellent exposure to life as a dental student.
Stresses Academics, Professionalism and Critical Thinking: Through academic and professional enrichment events, students are supported at all steps towards program completion and dental school admission.
Admission to Dental School:More than 90% of OHS graduates are successful in matriculating to US dental schools.
