Dental students will have the opportunity to pursue health-related fields

Dental students interested in public health now have the opportunity to complete a Master's Degree in Public Health simultaneously with their dental degree.

In the fall of 2003, the executive faculty of the School of Dental Medicine approved a joint degree program with the graduate programs in public health within the School of Medicine. Students enrolling in the School of Dental Medicine may now also apply to the Graduate Programs in Public Health to be candidates for a Masters in Public Health degree.

"The state of oral health is under-serviced in many areas of the U.S., most significantly in children and the elderly, thereby emphasizing the importance of integrating public health and dental education," assistant director of admissions for the Dental School Katherine Wasilenko said.

Through this program, students may be able to obtain both degrees in the same four year period required to get the DMD degree.

Students taking the program in four years can concentrate in epidemiology and biostatistics or in health services management and policy. A five-year program offers nutrition, health communication, and environmental health.

Each student in the program must either take four summer courses or one Public Health course each semester of Dental School.

Unlike other dual-degree programs, the DMD and MPH program is not offered as a formal dual degree. Because of this, admissions, registration, and financial aid for the two programs are separate, but the administrative staffs of the schools work to make sure the program is cohesive.

"The dean's office at the School of Dental Medicine, the graduate programs in public health, and the Office of Graduate Degree Programs at the medical school work together with each student to make sure that his or her individual needs are addressed in crafting the two degree schedule and in managing the administrative and logistical issues," said Anthony L. Schlaff, Director of the MPH Program said.

"We are very pleased to be able to offer this outstanding opportunity to obtain specialized training in public health while enrolled in the pre-doctoral D.M.D. program at Tufts," associate dean for admissions and student affairs Mark Gonthier said

This opportunity is accompanied by the November 2003 U.S. News and World Report ranking, which placed the Tufts MPH program as the number one community health program in the country. This ranking was among all programs offering masters degrees and doctoral degrees accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The number one ranking of Tufts' community health program placed it ahead of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, Oregon State University and the University of Rochester.