Dentistry

[I like the ] Campus, Program, People. I like the hands on aspect of [Dentistry]. As with all programs, the administrative/organizational side of things could definitely be improved.

like: small campus and most people come from different parts of Australia so it’s easy to make friends; simulation clinics starting in first year.  Everything is combined in one subject, small campus – really little people doesn’t feel like a university. Be ready for simulation clinics!

Small campus that’s not too busy (what I like) It can get really hot 🙂 Hands-on simulation clinic from day 1

The campus is just really beautiful. It’s a drastic difference from back home in Calgary, because here it’s all open and there’s tons of greenery around. There’s also tons of sports facilities everywhere, like a huge track, multiple basketball courts, tennis nets, etc. and they’re all outdoors. The liveliness of it all just makes the degree I’m pursuing much more bearable. I don’t like how small the cohort is, because it’s everyone knows everyone and you’re around the same group of people all the time. It’s nice to go to other uni events and stuff to surround yourself with a larger variety of people. Just do it! I feel like everyone has their doubts & worries when it comes to such a big move, but at the end of the day I don’t think that anybody can ever be 100% certain about something like this. It’s a big move and there are definitely tons of uncertainties, but I feel like if you have to study/get a degree you might as well make a story out of it. 5+ or however many years will pass by regardless, it’s just up to you for how you want them to play out.

Good staff, early hands on experience and pre clinical hours, no open lab hours/clinic hours. Class size is good, course material is relevant, teaching methods are okay all lectures are mainly pre recorded and some of them are bad quality. But flexibility to complete content on your own time helps with having a job.

I’m doing a lot of self learning but I don’t mind it as I learn better that way any. The campus is beautiful and the facilities seem great. Class sizes – 81 people which is great as more one on one opportunities for learning. The course material – I feel that the first year dental professor has been recycling his slides from 5 years ago but is not the best. Definitely go! Look up some of the first year courses you can get credit for at Griffith like chemistry and anatomy and do them in Canada.

[Love] location, nice facilities, small class size for dmd. Pros- Class size, facilities.

I like what I am learning about, they are all topics that I am very interested in. The university has a lot of nice facilities for learning that are available to students.

Teachers are top tier. Teaching Facilities are good. There are so many place to eat around campus. There are always activities going on to connect students out side the classroom.

Expectations are higher than you may be used to in an undergraduate. Dental school is tough. Class size is good at around 90ish. Mix of caring and awful teachers. Mostly caring and great but the ones that are not great stand out. LOTS of material to cover and little time to do even some of the recommended reading. 1st year is all base knowledge.

I love the anatomy learning facilities, medical services on campus, the relaxed feel, the passion that most of the faculty has for teaching, and the proximity to everything I need (gym, health care, public transit, housing, groceries, and more in walking distance). I slightly dislike the size of the university. Since Griffith is spread over many campuses, it feels quite quiet at times. There also isn’t much “school spirit” the way there is back in Canada.

I like the class size a lot. There are about 100 of us, with much of the cohort being Canadian (including my housemates), so I’ve gotten to know a lot of the cohort quite well, but there are still quite a few people I’m yet to talk to. The teaching methods in the university in general have been stellar with regard to anatomy courses, but can be lacking in a couple of courses, where lecturers intentionally make life unreasonably difficult. Most instructors are excellent, going above and beyond to supplement our learning, though a few do the bare minimum and still expect excellence from students. However, there are usually additional resources to get guidance outside of these lecturers (such as PASS, or tutorials), so it was manageable… we don’t really start on our hand skills until our second year. In first year we have “haptics” sessions, where we have virtual simulated drilling, but it isn’t really analogous to the simulation clinic in later years.

UQ has really nice facilities with lots of great, caring professors.

I love it! It has an amazing hands-on program with great professors. The University campus is also very beautiful.

I like university simply because I am taking a degree that I always wanted to take. Being able to go and learn new things every day is what I really enjoy about university. I am enjoying my program. I enjoy studying dentistry because it is something that I have always wanted to do. I also find the course material quite interesting.

Yes. There is great clinical experience and I have made very close friends since moving. Unlike undergrad I am actually taking steps that are directly applying to the job that I would like to do when I graduate.

University of Melbourne is amazing. It’s very comprehensive and have most of specializations. Professors are great and highly knowledgeable, experienced and helpful! The school has access to a dental hospital which makes it even more desirable to study dentistry here as you get such more in-depth experience during your clinical sessions. The program is amazing! they recently made it full-year terms instead of semesters. This is very good as it allows students to connect and better related the course material together. amazing professors! they are very knowledgeable and highly experienced as well as being very approachable and supportive.

I like it because they emphasize clinical work, and really want us to push ourselves to be the best clinicians possible. Educating students is one thing, but to inspire students to reach a certain level of clinical excellence is a whole new ball game. I’m living the dream every single day that I wake up. How many people can say that!

I really love UniMelb, the campus is gorgeous and the atmosphere is great. It’s a world renowned university and I am proud to be a student here. Only downfall is that there is not a lot of student spaces in the Dental Hospital for us to study or relax, since it is shared with all other staff working in the hospital. I am enjoying my program a lot, it’s intense but manageable in my opinion. I love the mix of hands-on labs/simulation clinic, and the education side learning about diseases and treatments; etc. We are very advanced in terms of exposure to patients and simulation clinic, in comparison to other Canadian/American universities which is amazing. The administration is a little disorganized, as they are constantly changing our schedule which can be frustrating at times.

Yes, there’s many fun events going on all the time to enjoy and also quiet areas to study! Dentistry students get access to home groups inside the dental building 24/7 and we can study there whenever, also there’s a fridge and microwave available which is very helpful!! Overall, amazing facilities as well. [The program is] very hands on and I am learning heaps!

The location is amazing and so is the program. love the program bc it recognizes credits from Canadian uni’s

The campus is beautiful and very nicely located in Sydney, but we aren’t actually there much at all after 1st semester. The program curriculum is great and very hands-on from very early on, but is fairly disorganized at times, particularly in the Medicine-heavy first semester. Sometimes it feels like we are not kept in the loop as well as we could be, but it is also a graduate program and therefore it is somewhat expected that we should have the skills necessary to dig around online and find the appropriate documents that tell us such things as when our exams are or what is actually on them. The instruction is also by and large very good, with profs that seem to really want us to succeed. Overall I am very satisfied with my choice to come here, and would highly recommend other Canadian students do the same.

Studying dentistry at UQ has been such a rewarding experience. I have the pleasure of studying with classmates coming from so many diverse backgrounds. Because of strong emphasis on hands-on clinical activities here at UQ, we have learned to work as a team, with each of us precisely aware of our role, whether that may be assisting, operating, or being a patient. We have amazing, top-class facilities with instructors who are always available to help…. I look forward to spending the next 4–5 years with my amazing cohort.

I like that UoM focuses a lot on clinical practice. But they also focus a lot on theoretical knowledge in order for us to become knowledgeable and practical clinicians. This university definitely sets students up for returning back to Canada such as my colleague.

My experience at the Dentistry program at the University of Melbourne has been wonderful so far. The cohort is relatively small at around 100 students so you get to know most of the people in your program. There are also plenty of Canadians to ease the potential struggle of being away from home. The program while demanding, does afford you the time to enjoy what Melbourne has to offer. It has a nice balance of theory mixed in with practical application of dentistry skills.

The program has been a really smooth transition from undergrad. The pre-clinical experience has been challenging but great and the facilities are top notch. Exams are fair and I really feel like I am learning a lot. Professors are approachable and care about student progress and learning.

Like: – Simulation clinic begins in the second semester of the first year. (with clinical practice coming up next year) – Small class size – Additional assessments are often provided If you fail any material – The cost was cheaper than other Australian universities Dislike: – it was very difficult to get courses exempted, and the requirements seemed very arbitrary (I did eventually get 4 courses exempted halfway through the semester) – Many professors have quit in recent years (including this year) the result is that the school is understaffed. One professor have left during the middle of the semester. This causes confusion and issues for learning content – Their is a high expectation for self learning with minimal resources/guidance given. – The expectations for examinable knowledge is very unclear – Very few techniques have been formally taught in our clinical practice settings. (we are expected to try things and figure it out on our own) – Since the school is small, there is not a lot a lot of recreation facilities (i.e. rock climbing wall and squash courts, both of which were staples at previous universities that I have attended.

I love my University and program; I love having the balance of studying and fun in the Gold Coast. My dental program provides state of the art facilities and the professors have been very helpful through the transition. I also got credited for many courses which saved me a lot of time and money.

Studying at the University of Melbourne gave me an opportunity to travel to another continent and experience a different culture without having to take a break from school. The highlight of my degree was when I entered my second year and began seeing my first patients. It was daunting at first to be seeing real patients, but it was also exciting to be able to use what we have been learning for the past year.

Excellent amount of clinical time! It is great! Wish I did this sooner.