Oral and Craniofacial Sciences (MS)
Degree Offered: MS
Program website URL: N/A
Program Leadership:
Nathan M. Young, PhD, Program Director
Admissions Inquiries:
Roger Mraz, Program Coordinator
Program Description
The Oral and Craniofacial Sciences (OCS) Master of Science degree is a "Plan I" program, requiring a minimum of 30 academic units and a written thesis, including at least one full year of research and didactic study. Students are encouraged to publish their MS thesis work in a peer-reviewed journal with their mentor.
Postgraduate programs at UCSF allow the combination of academic/research training for the MS degree with clinical training leading to a specialty certification, usually over a three-year period.
Like the Oral and Craniofacial Sciences PhD program, the MS program is interdisciplinary in focus, and provides students with the knowledge and research tools needed to study oral and craniofacial tissue and organ systems. From a variety of approaches, students learn about the functions of these tissues and systems, and about the conditions and diseases to which these tissues and systems are susceptible. The OCS program emphasizes the importance of translating scientific discovery into advances in patient diagnosis, treatment, and clinical care.
Faculty
Fifty faculty members are associated with the OCS programs, representing several departments in the UCSF School of Dentistry as well as many departments in the UCSF School of Medicine. This ensures a program curriculum that spans a range of disciplines. See a list of faculty and their research areas.
Career Outcomes
Since the OCS/MS program is taken in conjunction with a professional program, most program alumni are working in a dental practice setting.
The OCS program office is located at the Parnassus campus. Please contact Roger Mraz, program administrator, if you have any questions.
The Oral and Craniofacial Sciences program is offered by the UCSF Graduate Division, administered by the UCSF School of Dentistry, and delivered by faculty members in the UCSF schools of dentistry and medicine.
Admission Requirements
Students must be accepted and enrolled in a UCSF School of Dentistry residency program.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this program, students will have:
- Completed coursework and learned best practices in dental-based research including ethical considerations.
- Obtained statistical skills to appropriately design and test a research hypothesis.
- Developed an independent and novel hypothesis-driven research project from background reading to data collection to analysis and write up.
- Performed independent research leading to a published master’s-level thesis.