The UCLA School of Dentistry has consistently ranked one of the best dental schools in the nation for over 50 years. Our DDS curriculum has been designed to meet the needs of the modern dental practitioner. The curriculum offers innovative educational programs as well as an even wider range of professional development opportunities for students.
 

Prepared for What’s Next

We strive to provide the next generation of oral health practitioners with not just the knowledge and skills to become leaders in their field, but the expertise to address and embrace the changing role of technologies in health care. To create a generation of forward-thinking professionals, a new unit was formed, Innovative Digital Dentistry Systems, with a mission to lead a digital transformation in dental education and oral health care through creativity, innovation, and research.
 

Launch Your Dental Career Here

Our 4-year Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program is distinguished by its academic excellence, world-renowned faculty, and diverse student body. Our graduates possess the preventive, diagnostic, and technical knowledge to provide comprehensive dental services in a variety of healthcare systems. Special attention is given to delivering care in a socially sensitive and responsible manner. Our graduates frequently become leaders in their communities and profession.

The length of the 4-year DDS program is 45 months, divided into twelve quarters of ten weeks plus three required nine-week summer sessions. There are 88 students enrolled in the first and second-year classes with an additional 20 students enrolled in our two-year Professional Program for International Dentists, included in the third and fourth-year classes.

The foundational biomedical sciences and preclinical laboratory courses are taught primarily in the first two years of the curriculum with direct patient care beginning early in the second year. The clinical curriculum is competency-based, focusing on patient-centered, comprehensive care with additional clinical experience provided in the form of rotations to specialty and community clinics. In addition to our required curriculum, DDS students have abundant opportunities for individualized professional development through selective courses, and extracurricular experience in research, teaching, leadership, and community service.