In order to address the access to care issue and meet the needs of underserved populations, Nova Southeastern Universitys (NSU) College of Dental Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine have structured a curriculum that provides students with an opportunity to receive a dual D.M.D. (Doctor of Dental Medicine) and D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) degree.
This D.O./D.M.D. Collaborative Degree Program is symbiotic with the missions of both schools, and in particular, the philosophy of an osteopathic physician. Graduates of this dual program will prepare health care practitioners to utilize a totally holistic approach to health care that will address preventive medicine and general dentistry, as well as access to care issues, and meet the needs of the underserved. Once students complete this six-year program, they will be qualified for licensure in dentistry and for postgraduate one-year residencies that are required prior to medical licensure. Interested individuals can apply to the NSU medical or dental schools through their respective centralized application service (AACOMAS or AADSAS) and must be accepted by the college they applied to in order to be considered for the D.O./D.M.D. Collaborative Degree Program. Only a select number of motivated students who have attained the highest academic standards and embody the spirit of this collaborative initiative will be considered. Upon acceptance, the D.O./D.M.D. Collaborative Degree Program Oversight Committee, consisting of faculty members from the College of Dental Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine, will advise and monitor program matriculants. Should a student elect not to continue in the collaborative D.O./D.M.D. program, the student can only continue on a track to complete the degree program into which they were initially accepted. Similarly, if a student wishes to continue in the program in which they were not initially accepted, the matriculant must submit a new admission application to that program, which follows the standards and guidelines as stated in the specific NSU brochure and catalog.