The highly respected research environment at the School of Dental Medicine and throughout the University of Pennsylvania provides a valuable opportunity for students applying to the School's graduate dental education programs to combine their specialty training with advanced research and academic opportunities through a Doctor of Science in Dentistry (DScD) degree. The DScD will prepare students to successfully enter the field of academic dentistry for careers as clinical or basic science researchers.
The program combines the research and clinical strengths of the School, drawing faculty mentors from throughout the clinical and basic science departments. With the goal of providing the opportunity to pursue research across disciplines, students also have the option to work with researchers from the School of Dental Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. Both rigorous clinical and research experiences are central to the DScD program and students devote from 40% to 80% of their time in each year of the program to research; clinical training also occurs in each year of the program to ensure maintenance of clinical skills throughout.
The DScD program is open to students with a DMD/DDS degree or equivalent who are pursuing advanced training in the School's Periodontics, Endodontics, Orthodontics, Periodontics/Prosthesis, or Oral Medicine postgraduate programs. Candidates concurrently complete their clinical specialty training and DScD degree, engaging in an intensive research program that culminates in a thesis and oral defense. The program is also open to individuals who have completed their clinical specialty training, but are interested in obtaining a DScD degree; students in this track complete all of the didactic courses and research requirements but do not directly participate in clinical care. Those interested in applying to the DScD program should indicate so on their application to a clinical specialty program. If the applicant already has a certificate in a clinical specialty, he or she can apply directly to the DScD program.

