Course presentation

 

The Master’s Degree Programme in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics comprises a total of 360 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits (ECTS credits), at least 90 of which must be acquired through educational activities aimed at developing specific professional competencies. Each ECTS credit corresponds to 25 hours of student workload.

The credits assigned to each integrated course identified by the competent academic body are awarded upon successful completion of the relevant examination. The full or partial recognition of credits obtained through equivalent or related educational activities undertaken in Italy or abroad falls within the responsibility of the academic body admitting the student. This body determines the number of credits to be recognised and the corresponding implications for the continuation of the student’s studies.

A maximum of 32 examinations may be taken over the six-year programme. Examinations are held during designated examination periods when teaching activities are suspended. Other forms of assessment may be introduced following a resolution by the competent academic body. Students may personalise their study plan by selecting elective educational activities that reflect their specific interests, for a total of 8 ECTS credits.

 

Attendance Requirements

Attendance at all educational activities included in the Master’s Degree Programme in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics is compulsory. Attendance is monitored by the teaching staff in accordance with the procedures established by the Degree Programme Council.

Students must attend at least 70% of the overall teaching activities associated with each course in order to be eligible to sit the relevant examination. In the case of integrated courses, this minimum attendance requirement must be met separately for each module.

 

Special Student Status

Working-student status is granted to students who are engaged, for a period of at least three months during the academic year, in non-occasional salaried employment, self-employment or professional activity, provided that appropriate supporting documentation is submitted.

Student-athlete status is granted to students who provide appropriate documentation demonstrating that they compete as athletes or para-athletes at Olympic, world, European or Italian national level.

Student status on grounds of personal or family hardship may be granted, subject to appropriate certification, to students who:

• provide care and assistance to family members who are not self-sufficient because of age or illness;
• experience personal health conditions or disabilities that prevent the regular progression of their academic career;
• have children up to five years of age; or
• are pregnant from the eighth month of pregnancy onwards, or have been diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy.

For students in any of the circumstances described above, the Degree Programme Council may grant an additional reduction of up to 20% in compulsory attendance requirements. These students may also be allowed to sit examinations during extraordinary examination sessions reserved for students repeating a year or enrolled beyond the standard duration of the programme.

 

Professional Training and Practical-Evaluative Training

Professional training activities, including the Practical-Evaluative Training (Tirocinio Pratico-Valutativo – TPV) required for the award of the qualifying academic degree, constitute an integral and essential component of the programme.

Of the 90 ECTS credits allocated to professional training activities throughout the degree programme, 30 ECTS credits are assigned to the TPV undertaken within the programme. During the TPV, students are required to act as primary operators and perform practical activities relating to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of oral and dental diseases. These activities cover oral surgery, restorative dentistry, endodontics, implant dentistry, oral pathology and medicine, paediatric dentistry, special care dentistry, orthodontics, periodontology and prosthodontics.

The TPV is conducted in accordance with the procedures established by a specific protocol drawn up by the Standing Conference of Presidents of Degree Programmes in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics, in agreement with the Italian National Dental Council.

Each TPV credit corresponds to 25 hours. At least 20 hours must consist of professional training activities carried out by the student as primary operator. The remaining five hours may be devoted to individual study or other professional training activities.

For other professional training activities, each ECTS credit likewise corresponds to 25 hours: ten hours are devoted to supervised professional activities conducted in small groups within the relevant clinical facility and/or community-based services, while the remaining 15 hours are allocated to individual study and the critical review of the competencies acquired. Professional training placements may be undertaken continuously throughout all months of the year.

Professional activities are carried out with an appropriate degree of technical and professional autonomy, with students acting as primary operators under the supervision of qualified dentists in clinical care settings.

 

Final Examination and Qualification to Practise Dentistry

Pursuant to Articles 1 and 3 of Italian Law No. 163 of 8 November 2021, the final examination for the award of the Single-Cycle Master’s Degree in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics, Degree Class LM-46, qualifies graduates to practise as dentists.

For this purpose, the final examination includes a Practical Evaluation Examination (Prova Pratica Valutativa – PPV), designed to assess the professional competencies acquired through the Practical-Evaluative Training undertaken within the degree programme. The PPV evaluates whether the candidate has achieved the level of practical competence required for admission to the dental profession and must be completed before the defence of the degree thesis.

The PPV consists of the student’s presentation and discussion of three multidisciplinary clinical cases personally managed as primary operator during the TPV. The cases must involve multidisciplinary treatment plans encompassing procedures related to the majority of the clinical disciplines included in the TPV. The examination is conducted in accordance with the procedures established by the protocol drawn up by the Standing Conference of Presidents of Degree Programmes in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics, in agreement with the Italian National Dental Council.

Students who successfully complete the PPV are awarded a “Pass” assessment and are subsequently admitted to the defence of their degree thesis.

To obtain the Master’s Degree, students must prepare and defend an original thesis under the supervision of an academic advisor. During the thesis defence, all members of the Degree Examination Committee may act as discussants; alternatively, an academic co-advisor may be appointed. The final degree grade is determined in accordance with the procedures established by the Degree Programme Council and the relevant University regulations.

 

Admission

The number of students who may enrol in the first year of the programme is established annually by a specific decree issued by the competent Ministry.