PhD Program

Course Work. Students will continue to take courses that will include the remainder of the core courses required in Oral Health Sciences and courses in other disciplines relevant to the student’s dissertation research.

Teaching.  Students are encouraged to take elective courses offered through the Medical Education and Graduate School which will help them in their future teaching careers.  Also, beginning in the second year, graduate students will have the opportunity to take part in teaching one of the Department courses for undergraduate dental students.  This experience prepares students for teaching responsibilities after receipt of the PhD and provides a good opportunity for consolidation of the student’s general oral biology background.

Research. Early in the second year of study, the student is expected to choose a thesis adviser and to define a dissertation problem.

The Supervisory Committee. Once a thesis mentor and research direction have been chosen, the student and mentor will select a Supervisory Committee.  This should be done in year two of the training.  The committee is composed of at least four faculty members, at least three of whom (Including the Chair and the Graduate School Representative) must be members of the Graduate Faculty with an endorsement to chair doctoral committees.  The Graduate Program Coordinator will forward the list of recommended committee members to the Dean of the Graduate School who will officially appoint the Supervisory Committee.  In accordance with Graduate School regulations, the Supervisory Committee will be responsible for advising and directing the student throughout the PhD program.

The General Examination. Early into the third year, the student will take the General Examination.  This examination is in the format of a written research grant proposal that is presented to the PhD supervisory committee. All required coursework must be completed at this time.  The purposes of this examination are (1) to determine whether the student is capable of recognizing an important research question in oral and craniofacial sciences, (2) to determine whether the student is able to develop this question into a comprehensive proposal complete with preliminary findings and suggested methods of procedure, and to orally defend the proposal, and (3) to provide the student an opportunity to receive feedback from the Supervisory Committee on the proposed research project. More detailed guidelines on the General Exam format and requirements can be found here – https://grad.uw.edu/policies-procedures/doctoral-degree-policies/general-examination-admission-to-candidacy-for-doctoral-degree.

The student will primarily engage in thesis research and additional advanced coursework.

The Dissertation and the Dissertation Examination. When the candidate has completed the research project, written the dissertation, and had it approved by the reading committee, the mentor will obtain approval from the Graduate School and set a date for the Final Examination.  The Final Examination will be concerned principally with the subject matter of the dissertation and is conducted as an open seminar followed by examination by the Supervisory Committee.

The research project for the PhD dissertation will be chosen by the candidate and adviser and be approved by the candidate’s Supervisory Committee.  The research must represent a worthy and fundamental contribution showing originality in concept and implementation.