Our vision is to be the leading, locally and regionally, in oral and maxillofacial surgery education, scientific research and community services.

Our mission is to educate competent students in the art and sciences of oral and maxillofacial surgery, to contribute significantly to scientific research and be committed to community services.

KSU Graduate Education in Dentistry started....
in 1402 AH (1982 G) when the Board of the College of Dentistry decided to offer, as "soon as practicable", seven specialties of dentistry leading to higher academic degrees of the University. The decision of the College was a response to the fourth Five-year Development Plan of the Kingdom as it pertained to health care needs and delivery in the Kingdom.
 
At its meeting of 10/04/1403 (October 1983), the Board discussed and recommended the establishment of a center for Graduate Dental Education to coordinate the planning and implementation of Advanced Dental Education in the College. A skeletal structure was constructed and approved by the College Board.
 
Through the activities of the College Administration, the Director of Graduate Dental Education at the time, the Graduate Dental Council and the Department Planning Committees, a minimum core of research equipments needs was projected. The Director of Graduate Studies presented this core to the College Board. In 1406 AH, the College Board approved the projection and promptly communicated same to the University Administration. Funds were consequently made available to the College in 1408H.
 
In principle, the College was committed to seeing commencement of the training programs in all the dental specialties. At the end of 1409 however, only one specialty program had been comprehensively prepared and submitted to the College Board for approval and transmitted to the University College of Graduate Studies for final approval.
 
By the beginning of 1410 AH, the Prosthodontics Master's degree program had been approved by the College of Graduate Studies of the University. Students were admitted and they commenced their studies at the beginning of 1989-1990 G (1410-1411 H) session. This pioneering group of one male and three female graduate students obtained the Master's degree in Prosthodontics in June 1993 (Dhulhajjah 1413).
 
The College has assumed the leadership role in formulating an appropriate approach to graduate dental training in the Kingdom. By designing a graduate study structure which combines a higher degree and a professional certificate of clinical proficiency, the College expects that those who avail themselves of the opportunity of the training will be able to work competently and efficiently wherever they elect to be, whether a Dental School, a Specialist or General Hospital, an Armed Forces Hospital, a Research Institute or private practice.
 
The College of Dentistry did not admit students every year since graduate education started. Nevertheless, at the end of 2012-2013 academic year, (152) females and (39) males had successfully undertaken their graduate dental education in nine dental specialties.
 
With the continuous admission of males and females into the current existing specialist training tracks, the College is reaffirming its commitment to providing both males and females the opportunity to acquire a superior graduate dental education within the Kingdom.

By combining broad core academic requirements with specialty-by-specialty structured courses, a successful student of the program is well prepared for a successful professional life in any setting.
The objectives of advanced dental education in the College are:
KNOWLEDGE that graduate students must possess from structured didactic instructions, seminars, tutorials and laboratory exercises based on and delivered through clearly stated course and instructional objectives.
SKILLS that the students must acquire in their chosen specialties as an attestation to their clinical competence to diagnose, treat and manage patients with oral and dental diseases.
ATTITUDE which the students must cultivate and sustain in order to usefully apply their knowledge and skills for the improvement of the oral and dental health of their patients.
 
To achieve these broad objectives, the curriculum design had the previously mentioned components of core, specialty and advanced specialty courses as well as Research and Thesis. The minimum time it will take a student to finish the program is three academic sessions inclusive of two four-week summer clinical sessions.

The Graduate Studies and Scientific Research vision is to train graduates who have the depth of knowledge to be lifelong educators and clinicians, to be successful in their discipline, and provide exemplary care to the nation it serves.

The College of Dentistry of King Saud University will provide high quality professional education in a range of disciplines, influence innovation through scholarly research that is nationally recognized and support the economic, healthcare and cultural development of the country.

The graduate dental education at King Saud University has a long history and heritage. The program of Masters of Science in Dentistry started back in the early 1980’s with the collaboration and efforts of the founding pioneers in the field of dental education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These efforts in establishing the graduate program at the College of Dentistry resulted in the first group of one male and three female graduate students that obtained their Master's degree in Prosthodontics in June 1993 (Dhulhajjah 1413). The Master’s degree at the college is a combined three-year program with nine tracks of different specialty programs. Since then and by the end of the academic year 2016/2017 the number of graduates of the program is 227 Master of Science holder and specialist. As education continues to be a cornerstone of King Saud University, the main goals of these different specialty programs are to train and graduate leaders and educators in different fields of dentistry. These graduates will provide health services in their community, establish and execute research support that will be beneficial to our beloved country. The combined program consists of 12 basic core courses and different structured courses in nine dental specialties. These courses are designed to provide evidence- based knowledge to the graduate students. The students are expected to utilize this knowledge in their daily professional practice and conduct a high standard research that will lead to a Master’s thesis. Most of the courses are structured based on the latest methods of education of group discussion and problem based learning. In addition, a number of practical and clinical courses are also provided to help the graduates of the program to develop the required skills to manage their patients in accordance with the highest international standards.

With the increased emphasis on both the research component and advanced clinical training, and to keep abreast with National needs and global trends, a new minimum of four-year program [Doctor of Science in Dentistry (DScD)] was launched on September 2015. The program is a professional doctorate program; the number of hours required for graduation range from 54 to 79 depending on the track die to the nature of the study which include didactic, clinical, and research components. In addition to the Master Degree program requirement, the candidates should pass 12 credit hours of the Doctor of Science in Dentistry core courses, pass the clinical courses for the Doctor of Science in Dentistry, pass the comprehensive qualifying examination, and present a thesis in the format of an introduction, two manuscripts, and a discussion.

To give you a virtual overview of the Graduate Dental Education, I would like to invite you to explore and utilize this web page as part of the College of Dentistry, King Saud University web portal.

Prof. Abdulaziz S. Al-Rasheed

Vice Dean, for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research

The King Saud University is nowadays living through a unique transformation period that is truly unprecedented at the local, regional, and global level.  This exceptional transformation requires the redoubled energy of the university's units and all its staff so that the pursuit of excellence in every field continues.
The College of Dentistry since its foundation in 1395H, and as a direct result of the accumulated hard work of all its former administrations, staff, and students, is widely regarded today to be leading the field.  These appreciated efforts combined with the current administration's new vision has also helped the college to be up to date with the university's constant advancements and ongoing transformation, which still requires that everybody involved to work as a team with a clear-cut methodology that is based on the spirit of cooperation, transparency and constant development.
The Agency of Development & Quality at the College of Dentistry aspires to make the culture of development and quality widespread amongst its staff as well as seeing it implemented in the real world.  Consequently, this will be helpful to the college's leadership position and with keeping up with the latest university's advancements in the medical field.  Nevertheless, this still requires proper planning based on clear foundations to ensure the successful application of those plans and the achievements of the aspired goals.
The agency's aspiration can be summed up in the following three main goals:
1) Effective outreach programs with all relevant groups connected to the college such as:  students, faculty members, researchers, graduates, administrators, technicians, and clients.  This should be done in the context, message, and vision of the college so as to be beneficial towards education and scientific research in addition to serving the community in the field of dentistry.
2) To constantly work on improving every aspect of academic, research, administrative, and all community services by adhering faithfully to the international standards for quality which will guarantee that the college's production to be competitive on the global level.
3) To acquire credit locally, and recognition internationally for the college's programs which should come as a direct result of the college's authentic development efforts.
In conclusion of my brief message, I would like to express on behalf of my colleagues and myself our sincere gratitude to the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, represented by the Ministry of Higher Education and the administration of King Saud University for their unrelenting support for the efforts of the college and its ambitious plans, which will end, God willing, with the realization of our goals.  We are also grateful and appreciative of the remarkable effort exerted by the Communication & Media Unit, and those behind the college's official website.  We are especially delighted that this site albeit being in its initial phase and of the first few fruits of the Agency's is also playing a vital role in enhancing the communication experience of whomever is connected to the college.
Finally, I ask God Almighty to guide us all to the good deeds He loves.

he vice Deanship for the clinical affairs has a valuable role in managing many aspects of the Dental School in order to ensure the continuity, quality performance and outcomes in the Dental School. This reality is coupled with the university's qualitative development in the areas of administrative and clinical services which is inevitable in order to achieve the vision of the College of Dentistry and University vision as part of the vision of the respected Rector of King Saud University in leadership and excellence.
The College of Dentistry is heading for a new phase with the imminent opening of the new building of the College of Dentistry for females and the University Dental Hospital in less than two years. This edifice is in need of a lot of preparation and planning in order to be of a level that befits the status and reputation of the College of Dentistry, King Saud University.
Finally, I hope to be able to serve this great project and be able to leave an imprint in its path, and for us all to see this great College in the ranks of international colleges.
 
Dr.Sulieman Al-Johany, BDS, MSD,DABP,FACP
Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs