UCC Postgraduate courses

Dental Public Health

About This Course

Fact File

  • Title

    Dental Public Health

  • Code

    MDPH

  • College

    Medicine and Health

  • Duration

    1 Year Full-time

  • Teaching Mode

    Full-time

  • Qualifications

    MDPH

  • EU Fees

    €5,980
    See Fees and Costs for full details.

  • Non-EU Fees

    €12,200

  • Entry Requirements

    See Requirements for full details.

  • Closing Date

    Open for EU applications, check rounds closing dates under How to Apply

  • Non-EU Closing Date

    30 June 2023

  • Start Date

    11 September 2023

Course Outline

The aim of our Dental Public Health postgraduate programme is to provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead and support the development of dental public health nationally and internationally.

Highly-trained public health specialists are required in Ireland and abroad to tackle issues such as health inequalities; their causes and solutions; communicable diseases; oral health; obesity; smoking and international health development. In particular, Dental public health is the science of preventing oral diseases, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life through organised efforts. It concerns not only actions directed at populations as a whole, but also at the groups and individuals that make up populations.

The Master of Dental Public Health (MDPH) is an innovative course designed to offer multi-disciplinary academic and experiential development. Our teaching model places emphasis on the following methods of learning: 

  • student-directed learning
  • multi-disciplinary teaching and learning
  • problem-solving
  • skills training
  • flexibility

Our Dental Public Health programme will appeal to dental professionals who wish to develop the knowledge, skills, and commitment to developing services that are equitable and fair; and who wish to develop a greater understanding of the competing demands, resource implications, and expectations in providing a public dental service in the twenty-first century.

The programme comprises 90 credits as follows:

Part I (60 credits)

  • EH6051 Principles and Practice of Public Health (10 credits)
  • EH6052 Applied Research for Public Health (10 credits)
  • EH6053 Public Health Informatics (5 credits)
  • EH6054 Leadership in Public Health (5 credits)
  • PA6001 Decision Analysis and Evaluation Methods in Health Care and Health Care Financing (5 credits)
  • SS6028 Critical Social Science Perspectives on Public Health (5 credits)
  • OH6001 Dental Public Health (10 credits)
  • OH6002 Preventive Dentistry (10 credits)

Part II (30 credits)

  • OH6003 Dissertation in Dental Public Health (30 credits)

Programme Learning Outcomes for Master of Dental Public Health (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)

On successful completion of this programme, you should be able to:

  • Analyse critically and debate the theories and issues related to dental public health and effectively communicate their perspective to peer groups;
  • Construct arguments around the social, political and economic factors determining the health of populations;
  • Demonstrate competence in the key disciplines and theories underpinning public health including health informatics, epidemiology including needs and demands assessment, communicable diseases including healthcare-associated infections, biostatistics, social and behavioural sciences and social policy;
  • Design and discuss the provision, economic evaluation, management and leadership of health services;
  • Analyse and synthesise evidence-based research and its application to the practice of dental public health;
  • Develop and evaluate appropriate oral health protection and promotion initiatives at the population level;
  • Develop and apply research methodology by conducting a specified programme of research under appropriate supervision.

See the College Calendar (MDPH) for full programme details.

Modules

Further details on modules can be found in our Book of Modules. Any modules listed are indicative of the current set of modules for this course but are subject to change from year to year.

University Calendar

You can find the full academic content for the current year of any given course in our University Calendar.

Course Practicalities

The course is a taught master’s, modular in format with assessment through written examination, project work, essay, and completion of a minor dissertation. Our progreamme draws on experience from across the university with teaching being provided by the College of Medicine and Health, Centre for Policy Studies, and Applied Social Studies. International speakers are also invited to provide seminars on the course, enhancing the experience of the student and exposing you to different approaches.

Lectures are scheduled for Thursday evenings and all day Friday. Extensive reading is required and we provide reading lists with each module. 

Why Choose This Course

I would highly recommend the MDPH to anyone with an interest in expanding their skillset in dental public health.

Dr Úna McAuliffe, Population Health and Health Services Research PhD Scholar, Senior Dentist HSE

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I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to step outside the dental field, and to learn from, and collaborate with, other health professionals.

Dr Shane O'Dowling-Keane, Dental Surgeon, HSE Cork

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Dental public health is recognised as an important component of the modern dentist’s skill set. As populations live longer, the focus must be on adding ‘life to years rather than years to life’. Oral healthcare must be planned and delivered to optimise scarce resources. This successful outcome is fostered throughout the MDPH, exposing the student to research methods, fostering evidence-based practice, healthcare evaluation, and encouraging leadership, through structured modules.

Cork Dental School and Hospital

Founded in 1913 the Cork Dental School and Hospital is committed to excellence in education, patient care, research, and community service. Our graduating dentists, hygienists, and dental nurses embody this excellence and continue to develop these strengths throughout their careers.

Group of five students standing with their teacher - all five smiling for the camera.

Professor Mairead Harding, Professor of Dental Public Health & Preventive Dentistry at UCC, is shown here with recent graduates from our DPH programme.

Skills and Careers Information

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

As part of UCC's commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD), healthcare professionals may take a one-off module and be provided with a relevant transcript of marks.

Requirements

  • Applicants must hold a BDS (Hons) Degree of the NUI or equivalent degree. Health care professionals, for example, medical doctors, nurses or auxiliary dental workers holding relevant degrees will also be considered.
  • Applicants must include a sample of their own written work with their application.
  • Applicants must satisfy an interview board.

All applicants should indicate on their application form their reasons for wishing to enter this programme and will be required to discuss these at the interview.

Note: In exceptional circumstances, applicants with a primary degree in another discipline may be recommended for entry to the programme under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) following a review of their individual qualifications and experience by the course committee. Admission of such applicants may be subject to the approval of the College of Medicine and Health Executive Committee.

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)

You will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process. This will include the following questions:

  • You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.
  • In addition to your previously declared qualifications, please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this programme.
  • Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.
  • Please upload a short analytical/critical/report writing sample or essay (1,000 words approx.)

 

For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants

For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

  • In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.
  • Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.

English Language Requirements

Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Please visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

Fees and Costs

The EU fee for this course is €5,980.

The Non-EU fee for this course is €12,200.

Deposits 

If your course required a deposit, that figure will be deducted from your second-semester fee payment in January.

EU student fee payment 

Fees for EU students are payable in two equal instalments. First payment is at registration in August and the second in January.

International student fee payment 

International Students can pay in two equal instalments once they have paid the appropriate deposit. The initial payment is due on registration and the balance usually by the end of January.

How can I pay? 

You can pay by Credit/Debit card online or by credit transfer.

Questions? 

If you have any questions on fee payment please contact the Fees Office.

How Do I Apply

1. Check Dates: Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the fact file boxes at the top of the page.

  • For Irish and EU applicants we operate a rounds system and you can check the rounds closing dates here.
  • Note that not all our programmes are subject to the rounds system so check the opening and closing dates for your specific programme in the fact file boxes above.

2. Gather Documents: Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:

  • Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
  • Any supplementary items requested for your course if required.

3. Apply Online: Apply online via the UCC online application portal. Note the majority of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.

The closing date for non-EU applications is 30 June 2023

Apply Now

For queries regarding course content or timetables please contact

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