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DDS Students

The Program
Students in the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree program at the New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) pursue an integrated educational experience that combines in-depth and extensive clinical practice with rigorous course work in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences. This integration fosters students' understanding of dentistry and its relationship to overall health. Students at NYUCD work side-by-side with outstanding educators, clinicians, and researchers. NYUCD has built a world-class faculty whose members pool their talents to support students in the service of investigation, instruction and discovery.

The College houses sophisticated, state-of-the-art clinical facilities, and offers the largest and most diversified patient pool of any dental school in the nation. The faculty is committed to teaching and research. Teachers who are also clinicians work diligently to partner with students to enable them to reach their academic and professional goals

The College of Dentistry has a long tradition of providing academic programs of distinction. In keeping with New York University's mission to serve "all the people," many of the College's first students were the children of immigrants who settled in New York City. Today, students enroll from every state in the U.S. The College views its diverse student body as one of its greatest strengths. The end result is a unique and progressive center for dental education.

The goal of the predoctoral DDS curriculum is to educate healthcare professionals who value health promotion and possess the knowledge and skills to diagnose, manage, and prevent diseases, abnormalities, and other conditions affecting the oral and perioral tissues. The academic program demands a broad understanding of the biomedical sciences, behavioral sciences, and clinical sciences, as well as the social issues related to the general health and well being of the public. The educational process develops and reinforces the ethical responsibility of the healthcare professional to the public and develops a keen sense of the role of the dentist as an integral member of the health professions team. Throughout their education, students are stimulated to model values and beliefs that demonstrate the commitment of the profession to the public welfare.

Students admitted to the DDS degree program enter a four-year, full-time program, accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. www.ada.org Upon successful completion of the program, culminating in the D.D.S. degree, the graduate dentist has met the educational requirement for licensure. Additional board examinations are required depending upon where the graduate plans to practice dentistry. The graduate dentist may sit for board examinations, or enter a residency or postdoctoral program in a specific dental specialty.

In New York State, a bill known as "PGY1," passed in May 2004, requires that, beginning in 2007, all New York State dental school graduates must complete a clinically-based ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-approved postdoctoral general practice or specialty dental residency program of at least one year as a prerequisite for initial licensure in New York State. This new legislation eliminates the clinical exam as a requirement for licensure in New York.

Admission to the DDS program is highly competitive. In 2007, less than 6% of the more than 4500 applicants were selected for admission to the College. Applicants are encouraged to apply well in advance of the College's deadline of February 1st.