The MSc Dental Science (Thesis) is a 45 credit program. This includes required courses (6 credits), complementary courses (6-15 credits), and thesis courses (24-33 credits). Students are encouraged to spread required and complementary courses evenly throughout the first year of the program. In the second year, students complete their thesis research credits, conduct research, and write their thesis. Consult the Typical Program Progression for more details.
All students must complete a mandatory Academic Integrity Tutorial by the end of their first semester. The Tutorial can be accessed through the student menu in Minerva. If students do not complete the tutorial, they will not be able to register for the following term.
Students are eligible to fast-track to the PhD Program after completing a minimum of two full-time terms and a maximum of four full-time terms. The best time to fast track is in the Fall semester.
Dental Sciences (Thesis) (M.Sc.) (45 credits)
Offered by: Dental Med & Oral Health Sci (Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences)
Degree: Master of Science
Program credit weight: 45
Program Description
The Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Dental Sciences program focuses on diverse research areas, including biomaterials, mineralized tissues, nanobiotechnology, tissue engineering, pain, epidemiology, public health, Indigenous health, oral health research, dental education, and knowledge translation.
Thesis Courses (24-33 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DENT 650 | Thesis Research 1. | 3 |
Thesis Research 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Independent work under the direction of a supervisor on a research problem in the student's designated area of research: Literature Review and Hypothesis Generation. | ||
| DENT 651 | Thesis Research 2. | 6 |
Thesis Research 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Independent work under the direction of a supervisor on a research problem in the student's designated area of research: Literature Review and Protocol Development. | ||
| DENT 652 | Thesis Research 3. | 9 |
Thesis Research 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Independent work under the direction of a supervisor on a research problem in the student's designated area of research. | ||
| DENT 653 | Thesis Research 4. | 15 |
Thesis Research 4. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Independent work under the direction of a supervisor on a research problem in the student's designated area of research: Data Analysis Thesis Preparation. | ||
Required Courses (6 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DENT 601 | Quantitative Data Analysis for Oral Health Research. | 3 |
Quantitative Data Analysis for Oral Health Research. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A quantitative data analysis model for oral health research. | ||
| DENT 663 | Principles of Health Research. | 1 |
Principles of Health Research. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Research topics and methodology, including critical thinking and evaluating evidence, scientific responsibilities, academic integrity, scientific writing, and publishing basics. | ||
| DENT 671D1 | Advanced Research Seminar. | 1 |
Advanced Research Seminar. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Topics in current research in Oral Health Sciences. | ||
| DENT 671D2 | Advanced Research Seminar. | 1 |
Advanced Research Seminar. Terms offered: Winter 2026 See DENT 671D1 for course description. | ||
Complementary Courses (6-15 credits)
6-15 credits chosen from the following courses:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DENT 504 | Biomaterials and Bioperformance. | 3 |
Biomaterials and Bioperformance. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Biological and synthetic biomaterials, medical devices, and the issues related to their bioperformance. The physicochemical characteristics of biomaterials in relation to their biocompatibility and sterilization. | ||
| DENT 505 | Epidemiology and Data Analysis in Primary Care 1. | 3 |
Epidemiology and Data Analysis in Primary Care 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 An introduction of epidemiological concepts, data analysis, and methods applicable to primary care research. | ||
| DENT 509 | Epidemiology and Data Analysis in Primary Care 2. | 3 |
Epidemiology and Data Analysis in Primary Care 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Intermediate epidemiological concepts, data analysis, and methods applicable to primary care research. | ||
| DENT 610 | Introduction to Craniofacial Research. | 3 |
Introduction to Craniofacial Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Conducting craniofacial research projects using animal models, including molecular genetics as well as methodologies commonly used in a laboratory performing craniofacial research, generating and analyzing animal models, and performing comparative studies of multiple craniofacial anomalies in humans and animal models. | ||
| DENT 654 | Mechanisms and Management of Pain. | 3 |
Mechanisms and Management of Pain. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Presentation of the neurobiology of pain and analgesia, clinical pain conditions, basic and applied research methods in the study of pain, and the theory and practice of pain management. The course is designed for graduate students interested in pain mechanisms and clinical residents interested in pain management. | ||
| DENT 664 | Health Research Communications. | 1 |
Health Research Communications. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Practical training in written and oral communication skills for biomedical sciences and oral health research. | ||
| DENT 665 | Leadership and Management Skills in Research. | 1 |
Leadership and Management Skills in Research. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Introduction to leadership theory, models and practice, as well as the development of project and time management skills, resource allocation, team and consensus building. | ||
| DENT 681 | Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 1. | 1 |
Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Advanced readings in student's area of research. | ||
| DENT 682 | Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 2. | 2 |
Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced readings in student's area of research. | ||
| DENT 683 | Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 3. | 3 |
Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced readings in student's area of research. | ||
| DENT 685 | Theory of Dental Public Health. | 3 |
Theory of Dental Public Health. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Theory and principles of public health, as applied to the concepts and determinants of oral health and disease, oral disease prevention and health promotion, dental care delivery systems and professional issues related to dental care delivery. | ||
| DENT 686 | Illness Experience and Social Determinants of Health. | 2 |
Illness Experience and Social Determinants of Health. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Exploration on the experience of illness and suffering, the social determinants of health, illness, access to care and broader contexts related to oral [and other] health. Critical reflection and challenge of assumptions in relation to the main themes. | ||
| DENT 688 | Bone Mechanobiology . | 3 |
Bone Mechanobiology . Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Foundational theories in mechanobiology in the context of skeletal tissues (namely, bone, growth plate cartilage, and periodontal tissues). Brief introduction to structure- function relations in bone, mechanical strain, and fluid flow. Emphasis is placed on the concepts of bone adaptation to biomechanical loading patterns, mechanobiology at the tissue level and mechanotransduction at the cellular level. Research methodologies and applications to disease are discussed. | ||
| DENT 690 | Literature Reviews. | 3 |
Literature Reviews. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Theoretical foundation and workflow outline for performing a narrative, rapid, scoping, or systematic literature review. | ||
| EPIB 621 | Data Analysis in Health Sciences. | 4 |
Data Analysis in Health Sciences. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Univariate and multivariate statistical techniques for continuous categorical and survival data. Topics include generalized linear models, multiple linear and logistic regression, introductory survival analysis, model selection. Maximum likelihood and Bayesean approaches will be presented. | ||
| EPIB 635 | Clinical Trials. | 3 |
Clinical Trials. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Lectures and discussions on issues, approaches and techniques of clinical trials including assessment of feasibility, ethics, randomization, strengths and weaknesses of alternative designs, sample size requirements, protocol development, trial management and analysis, reporting and interpretation of trial results. | ||
| EXMD 610 | Molecular Methods in Medical Research. | 3 |
Molecular Methods in Medical Research. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Different molecular methods used in biomedical research, including chromatography, purification and analysis of proteins and nucleic acids, various techniques in molecular biology, transgenic technology, and stem cells. Lectures, some demonstrations, and short seminars given by the students. | ||
Other complementary 500- or 600-level courses may be taken with the approval of the supervisor or the research director and GPS.
Suggested courses for students in the Population Oral Health research cluster
- DENT 614 Foundations of Mixed Methods Research (2 credits)
- DENT 625 Applied Qualitative Health Research (3 credits)
- DENT 685 Theory of Dental Public Health (3 credits)
- DENT 690 Literature Review (3 credits)
- DENT/FMED 509 Epidemiology and Data Analysis in Primary Care II (3 credits)
- DENT/FMED 672 Applied Mixed Methods in Health Research (1 credit)
- DENT/FMED 679 Epidemiology and Data Analysis in Primary Care III (3 credits)
- DENT 706 Advanced Seminar in Qualitative Health Research (3 credits)
- EXMD 617/618/619/620/625/626 Workshops in Clinical Trials (1 credit each)
- FMED 604 Advanced Participatory Research in Health (3 credits)
- FMED 607 Introduction to Discourse Analysis and Interpretive Research in Health (1 credit)
- FMED 608 Advanced Mixed Methods Seminar in Health Research (1 credit)
- FMED 690 Advanced Ethnography: Context, Complexity & Coordination (3 credits)
- EDPE 637 Issues in Health Professions Education (3 credits)
- EPIB 628 Measurement in Epidemiology (instrument development) (3 credits)
- SOCI 525 Health Care Systems in Comparative Perspective (3 credits)
- IDFC 500 Indigenous Field Studies (with special permission) (3 credits)
- POTH 631 Research Proposal (3 credits)
Course Failure Policy
A student will be withdrawn from McGill if they:
- fail two courses (i.e., two different courses, one failed course plus a failed repeat of the same course or one failed course and a failed supplemental exam for that course); or
- fail one course, obtain one unsatisfactory Graduate Student Research Progress Tracking Report, and the academic unit in which the student is registered recommends that they be withdrawn.
The student’s transcript will indicate that the student was withdrawn from McGill. A student who is withdrawn according to this policy cannot apply for readmission to the program from which they were withdrawn.
See the Failure Policy for more information.