The master of science degree in dental hygiene education program provides the educational and professional environment to enrich dental hygienists through a collaborative experience resulting in competent graduates able to pursue diverse innovative career opportunities. Candidates may pursue graduate studies with a concentration in teacher preparation (clinical and classroom teaching) and research. Additional opportunities are available in areas of gerontology, special patient care and health services administration for campus students.

The graduate program has a rich history of preparing dental hygienists for leadership roles in academia and industry. The program is housed in the School of Dentistry and is one of the few such graduate programs in dental hygiene in the country.

The graduate program is specifically designed to be flexible and innovative to meet the candidates' educational goals and objectives for careers in the dental hygiene profession, as well as to help meet the dental hygiene faculty and administrative needs of accredited dental hygiene and dental assisting programs. The majority of courses are available online.

Courses may be chosen from a wide variety offered in the School of Dentistry, School of Administration, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, or any other academic unit at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  The 36 credit hour graduate program may be completed on a full- or part-time basis.  The core curriculum is completed online with the exception of 2 (3 credit hour) courses.  These must be taken and transferred from an accredited institution (See course descriptions designated by an *.  However, the Research Methods and Biostatistics courses are offered onsite at UMKC SOD.  Full time students are required to attend a minimum of two academic years.

Basic knowledge and experience in conducting research is gained through related course work.  The completion of a thesis or research project (manuscript ready for publication) is required as part of the graduate student’s academic program.  The topic should be aligned with the ADHA National Research Agenda, which can be found at www.adha.org.  The thesis/research project is completed through the collaborative efforts of the graduate candidate and a supervisory committee.  The chairperson of the graduate committee must be a member of UMKC Graduate Faculty.  If the student is completing a thesis, the student should visit the following website for more information:  http://sgs.umkc.edu/guidelin/index.asp