About the Dental Career Tracks Program
The Dental Career Tracks Program (DCTP) is an intentional educational structure within the DDS curriculum. The purpose of the DCTP is to increase students’ readiness for careers in dentistry. Initial tracks include Academic, Clinical Practice & Leadership, Research and Rural. Each student will have the opportunity to select one concentration to pursue.
The profession offers a range of clinical, research and academic opportunities, and DCTP tracks are designed to prepare students’ readiness for those opportunities. DCTP tracks include specific areas of study, learning experiences and mentorship. Tracks begin during the fall semester of a DDS student’s first year and progress through the spring semester of the fourth year.
DCTP includes didactic learning, practical learning experiences, mentorship and learning support to prepare students for their dental careers. The DCTP is embedded in the Dental Professional Development (DPD) course series.
Track design
Modules 1 and 2 | Year 1
- Orientation to tracks and self assessments
- Apply to/match with selected track
- Introduction to selected track
Modules 3 and 4 | Year 2
- Monthly seminars and activities
- Mentorship
- Identify capstone project and advisor
Modules 5 and 6 | Year 3
- Monthly seminars and activities
- Mentorship
- Capstone project check-ins and milestones
Modules 7 and 8 | Year 4
- Monthly seminars and activities
- Mentorship
- Capstone project completion
Deliverables and outcomes
Each track participant is expected to complete a capstone project at the conclusion of the program. Projects can be a publication, presentation, poster, grant application, research proposal, certification or community engagement event. Participants will also work to complete a professional portfolio.
Become a mentor
Many dentists have been a mentor for dental students at some point in their professional dental careers or been a mentee as well. They know the value, insight and wisdom that a mentor can bring to a young person. There are also many benefits to being a mentor, including gaining new perspectives from the next generation of dentists and strengthening skills as a leader in the dental field.
Current dentists can contribute to the future direction of oral health care by engaging in dental education and research. Students will be assigned a mentor to provide guidance on their dental career journey. The School of Dentistry will be sending a formal letter of invitation to practicing dentists and alumni to serve as a mentor for DCTP tracks in the spring of 2025. The first class of mentors and mentees will begin in the summer of 2025 with the DDS Class of 2028. Training and resources will be provided.