Dean: Elsbeth Kalenderian, DDS, MPH, Ph.D.
School of Dentistry website

Degrees Offered

Master of Science degrees in five disciplines

Graduate Program Overview

The School of Dentistry offers graduate programs in dental biomaterials, endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics and prosthodontics. These programs can be modified to allow conjoint interdisciplinary graduate work to be undertaken in any other unit of the university, and a master of science or doctoral degree can be obtained through an appropriate graduate degree-granting department of the university or through the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program. Faculty for each dental graduate program are drawn both from full-time Dental School faculty and from practicing specialists in the field who serve as adjunct faculty (part-time faculty).

The full-time dental biomaterials program is a non-accredited 2-year program leading to a master’s degree.

The master of science programs in endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics and prosthodontics are clinically and research based, offering specialty certification with the master’s degree. Graduates are prepared to handle complex clinical cases and to work effectively with both general dentists and other dental specialists. Full-time programs in endodontics is 24-months, orthodontics is 26.5-months, and periodontics and prosthodontics are 36 months each. Tuition for the specialty programs is charged at a flat rate as per the Tuition, Fees and Housing section of this bulletin. Any applicable instrument or service fees are charged during the fall term each year.

Course work requirements for each graduate program are determined by the director of the specific program in accordance with accreditation standards. Courses include study in basic health sciences, dental biomaterials, research methodology, clinical dental specialties and other related science disciplines, as appropriate.

Non-Degree Students in Dentistry Courses

Normally, students with non-degree status are not permitted to enroll in dentistry courses. Graduate students from approved dental residency programs may enroll in any dental graduate courses but need prior approval from the School of Dentistry’s associate dean for research and graduate studies.

Dental Biomaterials Master of Science

Graduate students in dental biomaterials pursue the application of scientific principles to the study of dental biomaterials including relationships among compositions, physical properties and clinical properties for dental biomaterial systems.

A student in the dental biomaterials program must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work, consisting of a curriculum of graduate dental biomaterials courses (23 credits), statistics (1-3 credits) and thesis work (6 credits). The dental biomaterials graduate program is an interdisciplinary program covering principles of materials science, engineering, chemistry, physics, biology and dentistry. Satisfactory completion of the didactic and research components of the program results in a master’s degree through the Marquette University Graduate School. In addition to the courses offered by the School of Dentistry (described in detail under the Dental Biomaterials course description section of this bulletin), master’s candidates may be required by their program adviser to select courses offered through other departments. 

A student may choose to take an additional, optional elective for 1 additional credit hour that is not required for the degree. Typically, the topic of this course is tissue engineering within the School of Dentistry's dental graduate core curriculum. Elective courses in other appropriate areas in the dental graduate core curriculum or materials science (from the College of Engineering) may also be selected according to the backgrounds and interests of the individual students.

Master of science degree applicants may only be admitted to the program under Plan A, which has two options: the traditional thesis option and the publication option. In partial fulfillment of the requirements to obtain the master of science degree, all candidates must conduct a research project on an appropriate clinical or basic science topic, and successfully defend their research project. Format and content of the public defense is determined by the advisory committee.

Candidates are encouraged to pursue research that originates in their chosen dental specialty. Research projects are selected in consultation with the graduate program director. Where possible, graduate students are encouraged to do clinically relevant research. 

Graduate students who choose the thesis option have their research and thesis preparation supervised by a primary adviser and approved by a thesis advisory committee that consists of at least three members. The publication option, in addition, culminates in the acceptance of a first author, original, peer-reviewed publication based on a research project. Selection of the publication option requires completion of a traditional thesis in the event the submitted manuscript is not accepted by the submission deadline listed in this bulletin. All graduate students are required to present their research formally.

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Graduate Dental Programs