Social Science and Oral Health (MSc)

Post Graduate Certificate, Post Graduate Diploma and Master of Philosophy

Study Mode: Full time or Part Time

Duration: 1 Year Full Time or Equivalent

Start date: September 2013

Why choose the Master in Social Science and Oral Health at Sheffield?

The MSc in Social Science and Oral Health is the first degree to provide students with an opportunity to explore the applied field of social science and oral health. Dental Councils worldwide have long recognised the importance of the social sciences in our understanding of oral health. Indeed, it is a requirement that many undergraduate dental professionals receive training in applied social science but as yet there are no training pathways to achieve an understanding of how social science and oral health can be related to each other in both teaching and research. This programme seeks to close that gap.

The person who would be interested in this programme will be either a dentist or a social scientist who has completed their undergraduate training and who wants to explore the possibility of gaining experience in applied social sciences.

The contribution of social science to oral health can help us better understand the link between motivation and behaviour, it can help us explore the professional organisation of dentistry and related professionals and it can also help us know more about the link between social resources and variations in oral health related inequalities.
Dental professionals will have an opportunity to develop their interest in social science and to receive a good grounding in the basic approaches familiar to sociologists and psychologists. They will be encouraged to use the specific insights derived from their clinical experience to expand the application of social and behavioural sciences to dentistry.

This course will introduce social scientists to the significant opportunities that exist to conduct research and teaching on the mouth, dentistry and oral health. Students will be introduced to the current state of the field but will then be challenged to become independent researchers. They will achieve this by specialising in either psychological or sociological modes of inquiry.
The School of Clinical Dentistry has been confirmed as one of the top departments in the UK for dental research in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Programme Outline

The programme is designed to give students a grounding in core subjects in relation to social science and oral health these subjects include the applied nature of social science and oral health, Health and Social Justice, Health Psychology, the Sociology of Health and Illness and Research Methods in Clinical Dentistry. These are our core modules all of which are worth 15 credits. In addition to this students can also take a module in the Foundations of Sociological Inquiry, Qualitative Research Design and Analysis, Research Methods in Psychology or an Introduction to Statistics.

Students can then choose to take two of the following modules each worth 15 credits. They can take, Current Concepts in Dentistry, Children, Health and Society, Gender and Health, Representations of Childhood or Health Promotion. Finally, students undertaking the Masters degree will undertake a Dissertation worth 60 credits.

All modules carry 15 credits excluding the dissertation which carries 60 credits. To obtain a Masters in Social Science and Oral Health requires successful completion of all modules and the dissertation. Alternatively, to obtain a Certificate in Social Science and Oral Health or a Diploma in Social Science and Oral Health requires successful completion of 60 credits or 120 credits, without the dissertation, respectively.

The course provides a range of generic transferable skills including tuition of basic study skills such as essay writing, referencing, and searching literature. The School also provides personal academic and pastoral support to all students and has instigated programmes to help students prepare for work post study.

Aims and Objectives

The programme seeks to:

1. Enable dental professionals and social scientists to develop skills in social and behavioural sciences applied to the mouth, dentistry and oral health
2. Promote students’ ability to independently critically evaluate explore social science and oral health;
3. Develop a pathway for students’ to be able to achieve independence in research in social science research applied to oral health

Curriculum

Students must complete a total of 180 credits .
For Module information please see the Programme Outline section above.

Assessment methods

• Assessed essay and presentations at journal clubs and seminars
• Written examinations
• Self and peer assessment
• Dissertation project viva voce

Teaching Methods

• Lectures and Seminars
• Tutorials
• Project work
• Inquiry based workshops

Entry requirements

You need a 2:1 in a recognised social science degree or a dental degree or a relevant professional qualification.
English language: IELTS 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component

Closing Date for applications

The next available intake is September 2013.

Course contact:

Dr Janine Owens
Course Director and Admissions tutor
School of Clinical Dentistry
Claremont Crescent
Sheffield, S10 2TA
Email: dentalpgtadmissions@sheffield.ac.uk