NYU College of Dentistry to eliminate two-year advanced placement program

Dr. Michael C. Alfano, dean of the NYU College of Dentistry, has announced the elimination of the College's two-year advanced placement program, effective Sept. 1, 2002. The program allows graduates of international dental schools who seek to practice in the United States the opportunity to earn a dental degree in two years, rather than in the traditional four-year period. NYU will continue to offer a three-year advanced placement program.

"The primary factor influencing our decision was the introduction of a new competency- and clinical case-based curriculum," Dean Alfano said. "There has been a dramatic change in the way dentistry is learned at the NYU College of Dentistry, and we concluded that international students who missed the first two years would be at a significant disadvantage negotiating the new curriculum."

Previously, an individual who had successfully completed a four-year program leading to a dental degree from an international dental school could enroll in the two-year DDS program after passing Parts I and II of the National Board Exam and a comprehensive "challenge exam," which determined an applicant's level of proficiency in preclinical and clinical dentistry.