Ï㽶ÊÓƵ

McGill.CA / Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences / PhD Oral Health Sciences

Curriculum and Comprehensive Exam

Students typically complete the requirements of the PhD program in PhD 5 or PhD 6. Students must complete the requirements of the PhD program by the end of PhD 7. This includes required courses (12 credits), complementary courses (6-12 credits), a required comprehensive exam, research, and the writing and defense of a thesis. In total, students take 18-24 credits. Required courses are taken during the first 2 years of the program (PhD 1 and PhD 2). Complementary courses can be taken at any time during the program.

All students must complete a mandatory Academic Integrity Tutorial by the end of their first semester. The Tutorial can be accessed through MINERVA’s student menu. If students do not complete the Tutorial, they will not be able to register for the following term.

For Fast-track applicants, all mandatory and complementary courses will be transferred from MSc to PhD.

McGill students who have completed any of the mandatory PhD courses during the MSc must choose field relevant elective courses to fill these requirements. Kindly inform the faculty graduate studies office of the substitute course to receive approval.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Oral Health Sciences

    Offered by:Dental Med & Oral Health Sci
    Degree:Doctor of Philosophy

Program Requirement:

The Ph.D. in Oral Health Sciences provides training for health science researchers in advanced research in oral health problems. It will build upon an approach to scholarly knowledge that embraces discipline specific training in tandem with an understanding on one’s position in research and possibilities for collaboration.

Thesis

A thesis for the doctoral degree must constitute original scholarship and must be a distinct contribution to knowledge. It must show familiarity with previous work in the field and must demonstrate ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend the approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented must meet current standards of the discipline; as well, the thesis must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Finally, the thesis must be written in compliance with norms for academic and scholarly expression and for publication in the public domain.



    Required Courses (9 Credits)


    • DENT 663 Principles of Health Research 1 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 664 Health Research Communications 1 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 665 Lrdship & Mgmt Skills in Res 1 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 671D1 Advanced Research Seminar 1 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 671D2 Advanced Research Seminar 1 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 700 Comprehensive Exam Skills 1 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 701 PhD Comprehensive Examination
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 786 Foundations in Oral Health Sci 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer


    Complementary Courses (6-12 credits)

    * 6-12 credits from the following:


    • DENT 504 Biomaterials & Bioperformance 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 610 Intro to Craniofacial Research 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 654 Mechanisms&Management of Pain 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 669 Extracellular Matrix Biology 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 681 Readings in Dent&Health Res 1 1 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 682 Readings in Dent&Health Res 2 2 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 683 Readings in Dent&Health Res 3 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 685 Theory of Dental Public Health 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 688 Bone Mechanobiology 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • DENT 706 Adv Sem: Qualitative Hlth Res 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    * The number of Complementary credits each student must take is determined with their supervisor, depending on the student's background.
    Note: Courses at the 500 level or higher in other departments can be chosen in consultation with their supervisors and the program director.


    For more information, see Programs, Courses and University Regulations.

    Comprehensive Exam (DENT 700 and DENT 701)

    The Comprehensive Exam is a formal evaluation of the doctoral student’s ability to proceed to the PhD ‘candidacy’ level. It aims to assess the extent to which the doctoral student has mastered the foundational concepts related to theoretical, methodological, experimental, practical, and/or clinical issues involved in conducting research pertinent to the student’s area of research. It measures the student’s readiness for advanced doctoral study. Evidence of mastery, as well as steady progress, provide the student and the student’s Advisory Committee the confidence to proceed with the doctoral program. We recommend students to register for DENT 700 and DENT 701 once they have reached PhD3.

    The examination is composed of two steps based on the research proposal: 1) the Written Proposal and 2) the Oral Comprehensive Exam (OCE). The Written Proposal describes the student's PhD project and should be approximately 20 pages. The Written Proposal will be submitted to the Examination Committee 2 weeks prior to the actual OCE. The Oral Comprehensive Exam is a 20-25 minute presentation based on the proposal followed by a 60-minute closed question period with the Examination Committee.

    Note: Students may retake the comprehensive exam 1 time. If a student fails this exam a second time, they will be withdrawn from the program.

    Back to top