Master's Help in Residency Admission?

[queenofortho16]

Hi Y'all!

Currently a D3, starting D4 in the Fall, I was thinking about specialties recently. Generally speaking, does having Master's before entering dental school help when applying to residency programs, or is it not that significant? If it does help, which residencies would most definitely look favorably upon having a Masters? Obviously people should go into specialties if they truly have a passion for it, so this just a general curiosity question.

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[ucd2018]

I had a similar question! I am in dental school currently and have an interest in public health and am considering enrolling in the MPH dual degree option. I plan on pursuing residency after graduation and am curious whether having an MPH is factor in admissions or not.

 

[Svart Aske]

It won’t hurt but unless they are somewhat related to the specialty (eg. microbiology for endo/perio, material science for prosth, etc.), I don’t see how much help a master’s degree is.

 

[wannagiveup]

Depends. If it's one of those master's that people use to pad their GPA to up their chances of getting into dental school, then no. Generally speaking, grades and connections trump everything.

 

[queenofortho16]

Depends. If it's one of those master's that people use to pad their GPA to up their chances of getting into dental school, then no. Generally speaking, grades and connections trump everything.

They'd have no way of knowing if it was to pad or not? Residencies aren't going to be looking at undergrad grades (unless MD OMFS). Therefore, I think the standard Masters people usually go for (microbio, biomedical science, etc.) to "pad their grades" aren't really identifiable as grade padders lol.

 

[AONLINE]

I had a similar question! I am in dental school currently and have an interest in public health and am considering enrolling in the MPH dual degree option. I plan on pursuing residency after graduation and am curious whether having an MPH is factor in admissions or not.

I think a MPH earned while in dental school would be looked favorably upon as it shows that you're willing to take the extra commitment.

 

[wannagiveup]

I think a MPH earned while in dental school would be looked favorably upon as it shows that you're willing to take the extra commitment.

I actually saw a job post for a dental director position at an FQHC requiring an MPH. Pretty sure they make 300k+. There was also a senior level dental faculty position requiring an MPH, so I think it's a good investment to make.

 

[wannagiveup]

They'd have no way of knowing if it was to pad or not? Residencies aren't going to be looking at undergrad grades (unless MD OMFS). Therefore, I think the standard Masters people usually go for (microbio, biomedical science, etc.) to "pad their grades" aren't really identifiable as grade padders lol.

You are asked to upload unofficial undergrad transcripts to ADEA PASS when applying for residency programs.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

You are asked to upload unofficial undergrad transcripts to ADEA PASS when applying for residency programs.

When I was applying to peds, some programs even requested official DAT scores be sent to them.

Big Hoss