Mission Statement

The mission of the master of science degree in Dental Hygiene program is to educate and graduate dental hygienists who are technically, intellectually and ethically prepared for the upcoming challenges facing the dental profession. We are committed to excellence in dental hygiene education. Our purpose is to develop a program that encourages the development and use of critical thinking skills, the desire to participate in and contribute to lifelong learning and translational research opportunities, the ability to be community leaders and outstanding citizens, and the skills to be health care professionals who can provide comprehensive care to diverse population groups in a variety of settings.

This program will strive to create in each hygienist the perpetual self-learning capacity to live up to one's full potential and to contribute to making our community and our world, a better place to live.

Goals  

1. To graduate educationally-competent, culturally-sensitive, and ethically-sound dental hygienists, who will promote oral and general health and wellness to the public and other health care practitioners.
2. To provide a quality educational program that meets the needs of the students, is sensitive to the changing needs of dentistry and follows the guidelines of the educational community.
3. To graduate dental hygienists who are able to initiate and assume responsibility for health promotion and disease prevention activities for diverse populations in a variety of settings, and who appreciate multidisciplinary team function.
4. To graduate dental hygienists who possess transferable skills in communication, problem solving, and critical thinking, in order to encourage and take advantage of opportunities for professional growth and development in themselves, their profession and others.
5. To offer a master degree program that is sufficient enough in scope and depth to provide graduates with a high-quality professional education, that fosters their ability to adapt to the future, to provide leadership in dental hygiene, to practice as an ADHP (if the opportunity exists), and to accept the challenge of doctorate-level education.
6. To enhance dental hygiene's body of evidence through support of faculty translational research programs that contribute to the art of science of dental hygiene, to dental hygiene practice and the improvement of oral health delivery systems.

Philosophy

The philosophy of the MSDH program is one of commitment to the education and development of oral health professionals who go beyond academic excellence, who are productive, self-sufficient citizens of society, who are responsive to the global community, and who maintain high ethical standards in their personal and professional lives. In order to achieve these goals, our faculty demands of themselves excellence in academic endeavors, continuous education in teaching theory, knowledge of scientific advancements in dental care and advanced clinical skills. Our goal is to produce graduates who are prepared to meet the current and future health care demands of today's challenging health care system.

Student Learning Outcomes
Students will:

1. Be technically, intellectually and ethically prepared for the upcoming challenges facing the dental profession.
2. Possess critical thinking skills that help them to be community leaders and outstanding citizens.
3. Possess skills needed to be health care professionals who can provide comprehensive care to diverse population groups in a variety of settings.
4. Have the perpetual self-learning capacity to live up to their full potential and to contribute to making our community, our profession and our world a better place to live.

Admission Requirements:

• Cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher
• BS in dental hygiene or related area from an accredited dental hygiene program in the U.S. or Canada
• Successful completion of the Dental Hygiene National Board examination or its Canadian equivalent
• A current dental hygiene license in the U.S. or Canada
• Submission of GRE scores (to be used for student data tracking)
• Submission of an essay on a topic provided by the Department of Dental Hygiene
• Clearance of a criminal background check
• Current health care provider CPR certification
• Completion of a 4 or 5 credit statistics course (click on the link to download statistical course options)

In addition to the EWU Graduate School application and a fee of $50, there is a separate application for the Department of Dental Hygiene, along with a $50 fee. Applications to the program will not be considered by the Department of Dental Hygiene until they have been processed in the university Graduate Studies Office and a copy of the transcript evaluation has been sent from Graduate Studies to the Department of Dental Hygiene.

What is the GRE?

The GRE general test is required for this graduate program, it is a computer based test which measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. You can register at: http://www.ets.org/gre/grereg.
With your registration fee, you may send your test scores to up to four graduate institutions. Your verbal and quantitative reasoning scores will be available to you immediately at the testing center. However, your analytical writing score and overall final score may take up to two weeks to obtain. Test centers fill up quickly, so you want to register soon to assure that EWU is able to get your score in time for admissions consideration.

How to Apply:

1. Must apply to EWU Graduate School.
2. Please download the Dental Hygiene application to fill out and return to the Dental Hygiene department.

Cost:

Application Fees: $50 to EWU- $50 to Dental Hygiene Department
In-State Tuition: $2,977/quarter
Out-of State Tuition: $6,877/quarter
Individual Course Delivery Fee: $50 to $100/course
Student Technology Fee: $35/quarter

What will I study?

Course of Study

Once a student meets the admission requirements for being a graduate student at EWU, and for the dental hygiene master of science program, an additional 62-67 graduate credits must be completed based on emphasis area.

Full-time students could complete their coursework in seven quarters, while part-time students could take up to six years to complete. Students may choose the option of a thesis OR a graduate research project, interdisciplinary in nature, impacting the people of Washington state.

Courses are offered on-line, with two required visits to the EWU Riverpoint Campus, Spokane, Wash. The first visit is one week long and involves advanced clinical techniques and patient treatment. The second visit is required for the thesis defense, or presentation of the graduate research project.

Following is a suggested course of study for the master of science degree that is downloadable in Adobe Acrobat.

MSDH Required Curriculum Courses (62-67 total credits):

DNHY 501 Advanced Dental Hygiene Practice w/Lab (2 credits)

DNHY 501 is a 2 credit course which focuses on the dental hygiene process of care related to advanced preventive and therapeutic interventions to various population groups, technology and outcomes. Application of advanced dental hygiene care in a clinical setting will be a portion of this course. This course requires a full week of clinical practice at the EWU Riverpoint Campus.

DNHY 505 Healthcare Leadership (3 credits)

DNHY 505 actively teaches the relational, operational, and analytical skills key to success in health management including the application of leadership and management theory related to professional issues, policy development, legal and ethical principles, professional associations, strategic planning, conflict resolution and professional advancement.

DNHY 520 Translational Research (5 credits)

DNHY 520 focuses on critical reading, understanding and evaluation of professional literature. Students learn how to access information electronically in order to make evidence-based decisions that contribute to the development of best practices. (Grant writing is included to prepare students for the various components of a thesis. Pre-requisite: undergraduate statistics or biostatistics.)

DNHY 525 Theoretical Foundations of Advanced Dental Hygiene Practice (5 credits)

DNHY 525 focuses on knowledge of primary dental care as the supporting framework for advanced professional practice. Emphasis is placed on the application of both dental and dental hygiene knowledge, focusing on cultural competence, with diverse patient populations and practice settings. Topics selected in this course are intended to provide dental hygienists with an understanding of the role of the advanced dental hygiene practitioner in disease prevention, treatment and referral. This course will introduce the theory and research related to the concepts of health promotion and risk reduction, providing students the opportunity to incorporate strategies of risk analysis and reduction, screening, lifestyle change and disease detection and prevention in the family oral healthcare.

DNHY 530 Advanced Dental Hygiene Research/Technical Writing (5 credits)

DNHY 530 is the development of life-long learning skills through critical analysis of research findings and continuation of a grant proposal. Writing in this course will include structure and organization of documents, style, usage, and drafting and preparing a manuscript for publication.

DNHY 610 Educational Methodology (3 credits)

DNHY 610 is a study of teaching-learning processes suitable for adults, and the educational theories from which they derive. An overview of various teaching strategies is included.

DNHY 605 Components of Program Development (5 credits)

DNHY 605 is an overview of general principles of teaching and learning and evaluation in academic and community oral health programs. Emphasis is placed on the components of program development (assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation).

DNHY 615 Advanced Education Theory and Methods (5 credits)

DNHY 615 focuses on the study of leadership theories and program administration unique to dental hygiene educational programs, including an understanding of general and specialized accreditation process, role of state dental licensure boards, human resources, faculty performance assessment, program financing from public funding and clinical fees, clinic administration and outcomes assessment.

DNHY 625 Clinical administration and Teaching (3 credits)

DNHY 625 focuses on theory and practices of clinical instruction and supervision, including psychomotor skill development, competency-based evaluation, student mentoring and remediation. Organizational and administrative philosophy, implementation, and evaluation based on accreditation standards will be examined.

DNHY 600 Thesis (8-12 credits)

Research project under supervision of academic faculty member. May be repeated. Minimum of 8 credits required.

DNHY 635, 645 Practicum I, II (Education/Administration emphasis area-5 credits each)

Individualized learning experience to apply principle and theories of emphasis area. Approval required for off-campus sites.

Elective Courses

A minimum of 6 elective credits are required for the teaching/administration emphasis area. All electives must be approved by the program director. Students may find, and request approval by the program director for, comparative courses at local college campuses close to their residence. For those students located close to Spokane, the program director has already received approval from department chairs in the following EWU courses, emphasizing the Department of Dental Hygiene's commitment to interdisciplinary education at its own institution:

Health Services Administration Program

HSAD 500: U.S. Health Care Systems (4)
HSAD 510: Health law (4)
HSAD 520: Healthcare Reimbursement (4)
HSAD 530: Seminar on Business and Health (4)
HSAD 598: Seminar in Health SErvices Administration (4)

Economics Department

ECON 424: Economics of Poverty and Discrimination (5)
ECON 452: Health Economics (5)
ECON 445: Insurance and Risk (5)

Education Department

EDUC 505: Current Issues in Education (4)
EDUC 506: Educational Sociology (4)
EDUC 530: Foundations of Educational Communication and Information Technology (4)
COIN 571: Survey of Post-Secondary Education (4)
COIN 572: Strategies for Teaching Adults (4)
COIN 581: Workshop in College Teaching (3)

Health Information Technology

MISC 488: Health Information Technology (4)