Academic Programs

Summer Scholars

Summer Scholars is a ten-week, mentored research program for a limited number of dental students. The first-year dental class is invited to apply to participate in the program during the summer after their first year. Members receive a stipend and the opportunity to collaborate with faculty members on a research project.

Students have access to the school’s state-of-the-art laboratories and clinics and can expect hands-on duties, including conducting literature searches, preparing specimens, gathering data and analyzing results. Students are expected to produce a research paper and submit a research abstract for a poster presentation at the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research. Students earn one credit hour of mentored research study.

Student Research Group

Students actively engage in research studies on campus by participating in the student chapter National Student Research Group, sponsored by the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research. Students team up with faculty mentors to build and improve their research and leadership skills. The students actively assist in research and earn recognition by presenting papers about their work at regional and national conferences. Students are also often included as co-authors of journal articles. The most active students in the research group are typically former participants of the Summer Scholars program.

Graduate Degree Programs

The Oral and Craniofacial Sciences (OCS) department offers a master’s degree and a doctoral degree. The OCS master’s level program was developed for residents who are accepted into the dental specialty residencies at UMKC. The program provides a focus on understanding the scientific method and applying it to specialized projects of interest. The OCS doctoral program is part of the Multidisciplinary Natural Sciences Ph.D. program with OCS serving as a primary or secondary discipline. As a primary discipline, the program includes didactic coursework and research in the discipline of oral and craniofacial sciences. Research areas include biomaterials, craniofacial development, mineralized tissue, and translational research. For those selecting OCS as a primary discipline, typical secondary disciplines that are often selected include biomedical and health informatics, pharmacology, chemistry or biology and biochemistry.