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Oral Medicine Graduate Program

MSD Requirements and Responsibilities

Master’s of Science in Dentistry (MSD) Requirements

To earn an MSD through the Oral Medicine Graduate Program students must complete the following requirements:

  1. Completion of the core curriculum offered by the program.
  2. 24 months of full-time clinical training with evaluation of clinical competencies, didactic competencies, and favorable recommendation by graduate program faculty.
  3. Completion of an approved research project and Master’s thesis

The program does not permit part-time enrollment during the 24-month graduate curriculum.

The didactic curriculum and clinical training portions of the program are designed to meet the University of Washington graduate school requirements for Master’s degree.

It is the department’s desire to support students with unique abilities and/or interests within Oral Medicine. To this end, the department maintains flexibility in programming to facilitate rotations, elective coursework, and other opportunities within the context of the core curriculum requirements.

Additional Obligations and Responsibilities

1. On-Call coverage

  • Graduate students begin On-Call responsibilities for OMCS, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and UWMC in September of their first year.
  • Call responsibilities continue during the duration of the 24-month program.
  • Call is distributed equitably; however, frequency of coverage may vary based on program enrollment (estimated 1 week On-Call every 4-8 weeks)
  • While On-Call, students must be in the greater Seattle area to provide inpatient consultation when required (including after hours and on weekends).
  • Students must respond promptly to all pages, thoroughly document all encounters, and communicate directly with the OM Attending On-Call and the patient’s medical team.

2. Absence Policy

  • Vacation – Each graduate student receives up to 4 weeks of planned vacation during the entirety of the 24-month program.
  • Educational Training – Each graduate student receives up to 1 week of educational training in each year of the program.  The Department encourages you to attend the Annual Academy of Oral Medicine Meeting for this educational training.
  • Approval – Requests for vacation and education training must be placed at least 1 month in advance of the expected date of absence. Students are required to obtain approval from the relevant course directors, attending clinical faculty, and program director (using the Graduate Student Absence Request form).
  • Sick leave – Each graduate students is allotted one day per month sick leave without penalty. Sick leave may be rolled over to second year if not utilized during the first.
    1. Students are responsible for contacting the Program Director and administrative staff as soon as possible so that clinical coverage can be arranged in their absence.
    2. All academic coursework must be remediated; however, course directors reserve the right to decide if makeup sessions, exercises or exams are possible
  • Extended leave – If additional leave is required, students can apply for the Medical Leave/Family Leave/Childbirth/Adoption.  The University will grant a student reasonable request for leave of absence for appropriate duration due to:
    1. Personal illness and/or disability
    2. Care of a family member, childbirth, or adoption
    3. Bereavement due to a death of a Family member

The University may require appropriate documentation for extended leaves.

Please note that leave requests do not supersede requirements of a matriculated graduate student.   Consequently, you are responsible for making appropriate arrangements and providing necessary notification to relevant parties in the event of an absence.

3.  Practice privileges, compensation, professional liability coverage, and outside activities.

  • Practice Privileges – Extramural practice is not permitted during the program. Graduate students are only permitted to perform clinical care within the UWSoD in the context of the Oral Medicine program with the exception the WREB examination (where applicable). Graduate students must abide by all institutional policies regarding the WREB.
  • Compensation – While enrolled in the program, individuals function as graduate students (rather than clinic/hospital employees) and receive no financial compensation. 
  • Professional liability coverage – Information regarding professional liability coverage.
  • Other activities outside of the graduate program – Activities with the potential to interfere with student responsibilities (e.g. extramural scholarship, volunteer service, attendance at conferences/continuing dental education, etc.) will be considered by the Graduate Program Director, Department Chairman, and relevant administers on a case-by-case basis.

4. Tuition

  • Estimated tuition costs are available through the UW Office of Planning & Budgeting’s Graduate Tuition Dashboard.
  • Select the following parameters:
    • Campus – Seattle Campus
    • Residency – either Resident or Non-resident based on your Washington State residency status.
    • Student Level – Masters
    • Graduate Program – Oral Medicine

It is recommended that independent calculations be completed for Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer quarters.

  • Stipends and other financial support are not available at this time.