Admissions Policy for Diversity

The School of Dental and Oral Surgery seeks a diverse student body reflecting not only the many faces of the patients who will be treated by the graduates of the school, but also for the creation of a diverse body of thought and interest within this community of scholars. Our definition of diversity includes race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and more, but is certainly not limited to those considerations. The candidate’s background in the sciences, future career intentions, unique abilities, personality, and general accomplishments also are carefully reviewed in seeking to have a diverse student body. For instance, a student who has demonstrated unique talents and skills in research, or who has a unique life mission in public health service, brings to our student body another important measure of diversity.

The school sets no quotas nor has set asides; regardless of race or ethnicity, all applicants are considered in the same competitive pool using the same policies and procedures and Admissions Committee members. Our Admissions Committee protocols insure that all applicants receive individualized consideration using a flexible policy in which race/ethnicity is one of a number of diversity related considerations or factors taken into account.

Historically, the school has made a good faith consideration of workable race neutral alternatives to race conscious policies. Such alternatives have proven inadequate in creating the desired nature of the student body. In dentistry in particular with the very small national applicant pools for those groups who are under-represented in dentistry, race neutral alternatives are particularly limited.

In summary, it is the intent of these “narrowly tailored” policies to assure a “critical mass” of under-represented in dentistry students, as well as a student body which is diverse in many respects. Such a student body is best prepared to meet the health care needs of our local community and society at large. As part of the institutional outcomes annual review, these policies and the results of their implementation are carefully reviewed and subject to future modification.

Columbia University's School of Dental and Oral Surgery provides quality instruction leading to the DDS degree, plus postdoctoral specialty training in general dentistry and in seven of the eight recognized specialties of dentistry.

In addition, CDM offers a one-year certification program in dental assisting, as well as numerous opportunities for visiting students to take courses on a non-degree basis.Qualified students may also participate in residency and fellowship programs as part of the post-doctoral curriculum.