Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, PhD Program

The Oral Biology major was renamed effective Spring 2021. Students currently enrolled in the program will be given the option to complete the program under the original major name or transfer to the new name. The last semester that students can be admitted under the original major is Spring 2021 and the last semester a student can graduate from the original major is Fall 2026.

The PhD Program requires approximately four to five years to complete and employs a curriculum which is separate from the MS Program  . Students may enter the PhD program directly following their undergraduate degree and do not necessarily have to earn a master’s degree first. Earning a master’s degree can be incorporated into the PhD program without increasing the total length of time in studies.

Requirements for the PhD degree (a total of 72 credits of coursework; 50 didactic and 22 research)

• Scientific ethics/fundamentals of research course;
• Quantitative methods and design course(s) (two for students in the Craniofacial Genetics Tract);
• Written comprehensive examination after the sixth semester (for advancement to PhD candidacy);
• Dissertation proposal defense;
• Approval of a Dissertation Committee and dissertation research; and
• Dissertation defense.

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in required courses to be eligible to take the comprehensive examinations, as well as to graduate.