■Fostering dental professionals with the course system education; the only university among dental universities in Japan
Characteristics of School
School of Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Hiroshima University consists 2-specialized course program on the purpose of promoting personnel capable of supporting dental treatment for 21st century, while providing 「dental program」 that is the basic education necessary to be dental clinicians. Through two academic programs; Course for Frontier Dental Science and Course for Clinical Dental Science, we foster dental professionals; the only institution to hold 2-course system education among dental universities in Japan.
In 「dental program」, 1st year students take general education subjects to become a working member of society and to learn basic knowledge necessary for dental medicine. From the 2nd year, specialized education starts at Kasumi Campus. Students acquire knowledge and techniques on specialized core subjects (basic dental medicine); anatomy, physiology, pathology and specialized core subjects (clinical dental medicine); operative dentistry, oral surgery, orthodontics. They also take medical subjects relating dentistry such as internal medicine and surgery. Clinical training at Hiroshima University Hospital is practiced from mid-5th year. During the 6-year education, students learn fundamental knowledge・techniques・attitudes essential to be dental professionals, and after graduation, they will obtain the license for dental practitioners if they pass the National Examination for Dental Practitioners.
Along with this, the specialized program (Course for Frontier Dental Science and Course for Clinical Dental Science) taking from the second half of the 3rd year to the first half of the 5th year, offers students abilities of problem solving, logical way of thinking, and lifelong education as well as advanced knowledge and techniques for future courses (after graduation). At the first half of the 3rd year, students are required to select either Course for Frontier Dental Science or Course for Clinical Dental Science, and the two courses are almost equally divided into half.
School of Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry has newly introduced “International Dental Course” since October 2011. This is the course that basically 3 students from partner universities (Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia) after completing their first year education in their home countries learn specialized education during the 2nd year and the second half of the 5th year at our faculty, and after that, they return their own countries to finish their degree. Accordingly, we will start “Dual language education system” in April 2012 which allows both international and Japanese students to take specialized subjects conducted in Japanese and English. Through this system, we aim to cultivate future professional leaders in dental medicine capable of playing a major role at the national and international levels.
Also, School of Dentistry offers 『Bio-dental Education』 as a new dental curriculum whose academic goal is to nurture professionals possessing the ability to innovate the next generation dental medicine through combining specific educational programs provided at both Schools; seminars・practices on agenda setting・problem-based learning and research methodology conducted at School of Dentistry, and lectures・practices on biotechnology-based science and IT-based engineering opened at School of Oral Health Science (Click here for more information; only in Japanese).
Characteristics of Courses
“Course for Frontier Dental Science”,the course to cultivate researchers ・ educators in dental medicine enabling to be globally active offers students to develop knowledge and techniques for future frontier dental medicine. A distinctive characteristic of this course is that students can exercise frontier research while acquiring the education for dental professionals. Furthermore, the course encourages students to promote research abilities by problem-based learning together with explaining on progresses of the latest research results and interdisciplinary research through the system of a small number of students (seminar). All of these are essential for postgraduate research and lifelong education.
“Course for Clinical Dental Science”,the course to foster dental professionals capable of taking a leadership in community dental care offers students to learn theories and realities on cutting-edge dental medicine to be leading clinicians in the future. Through taking the curriculum for frontier dental treatment provided in the dental program, students aim to become dental professionals who can carry out advanced dental medicine based on humanistic thinking, after understanding“What is the medical care to center on a patient?”in earlier stage while gaining knowledge and techniques regarding advanced dental treatment.
○Qualifications of licenses possible to be acquired
National Examination for Dental Practitioners