New Master of Dental Hygiene Program in the School of Dentistry

Until now, the opportunity to pursue advanced education in dental hygiene has not been available in Minnesota or in the Midwest region. With the initiation of a Master of Dental Hygiene program, the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Division of Dental Hygiene will offer a portfolio of programs designed to prepare leaders in the profession for practice, research, the healthcare industry and academia. The program is set to begin in June of 2008.

The professional graduate curriculum will prepare dental hygienists to specialize in management or education. The management track will be offered in collaboration with the world-renowned Carlson School of Management. Recognizing that dental hygienists not only use and promote oral healthcare products and services, but also understand the science behind them, has resulted in dental hygienists being highly sought after employees in the oral healthcare industry. Dental hygienists are working in the industry as administrators, sales representatives, managers of operations, marketing directors, managers of professional relations and healthcare journalists.  The management curriculum will provide students with an end-to-end perspective of the healthcare supply chain, linking development of care with the delivery of care. A supervised learning experience (internship) in leading healthcare industry organizations will allow students to apply classroom theory in real-world business situations.

The education track will prepare dental hygienists with the knowledge and skills to teach didactic, clinic and laboratory courses in dental hygiene programs, including assessing, developing, implementing and evaluating students and courses. In addition, graduates will have the knowledge and skills to conduct research and add to the literature thus advancing the profession of dental hygiene. The education curriculum will also prepare graduates who desire administrative roles in academia.

Three information sessions are scheduled for the following times: Tuesday January 29^th, Tuesday February 19^th, and Thursday March 13^th. All sessions will be held from 6:30 -7:30 pm in room 9-380 Moos Tower (located next to the division of dental hygiene office). Please pre-register for the information session you plan to attend by calling Kelly Billstrom in the division of dental hygiene at 612-625-9121.