The University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine (UConn SDM), founded in 1968, is the only public dental school in Connecticut, located on the UConn Health campus in Farmington. UConn SDM benefits from its position within a full academic health center — the medical school and John Dempsey Hospital are on the same campus, providing dental students with outstanding access to medical specialists and interprofessional care experiences. The school trains dentists primarily for Connecticut and the Northeast, with strong community oral health and research programs.
What makes it different
Applications via ADEA AADSAS. UConn's full academic health center setting — medical school and hospital on campus — is a genuine differentiator. Dental students have access to physician specialists, hospital oral health rotations, and complex patient cases that enrich training beyond what a standalone dental clinic provides.
Course & teaching
Integrated curriculum. 4-year DMD curriculum on the UConn Health academic medical campus. Dental students share the campus with medical students and have access to John Dempsey Hospital for complex oral-systemic cases and specialist consultations. Patient care begins in Year 2 at UConn's dental clinic. Community and underserved population rotations available across Connecticut.
Research strengths
University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine (DMD) has notable research strength in Oral biology, Craniofacial genetics, Periodontal biology, Oral cancer, Dental biomaterials.
Interview
University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine (DMD) interviews via Traditional one-on-one or panel interview at UConn Health campus, Farmington, CT. UConn School of Dental Medicine conducts traditional faculty interviews at the UConn Health campus in Farmington, Connecticut, typically one to two sessions of 30–45 minutes. As Connecticut's only public dental school, interviewers assess motivation for dentistry, commitment to serving Connecticut communities, manual dexterity evidence, the oral-systemic health connection, and awareness of dental access challenges in underserved Connecticut communities. The UConn Health campus includes the medical school and John Dempsey Hospital — dental students interact with medical students and physicians regularly, and interviewers probe interest in interprofessional collaborative care.
Intake
Approximately 40–50 students per year.
At a glance
Founded in 1968, based in Farmington, CT. Programmes offered: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, Prosthodontics, Periodontics.
