Faculty of Medicine

Degree Programs

Master in Dental Medicine

As well as providing students with sound technical knowledge, the master's in Dental Medicine at the University of Bern aims to support their social skills. Professionals in dentistry need to be able to work independently, communicate clearly and work well within a team.

The Dental Medicine study program lasts for a total of five years (three years as a bachelor's degree program and two years as a master's degree program). Students complete the first two years with students of Medicine. The next three years then focus heavily on practical dentistry at the University's School of Dental Medicine. After successfully completing the master's degree program and Swiss Federal master's examination, all graduates achieve a level of training and education that enables them to undertake any treatment in primary dental care independently and to recognize situations that require referral to specialists.

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Basic information
Degree: Master of Dental Medicine, Universität Bern
Number of credits: 120 ECTS credits
Degree programs: Mono 120 ECTS credits
Duration: 4 semesters
Language: German
Beginning studies: Fall semester

Details of program

During the four semesters of the master's degree program, students acquire the basic knowledge, skills and capabilities together with the technical and interpersonal qualities and approaches required for future practice as a dentist in the primary care of the population. To achieve this, the skill levels specified in the learning objectives catalog must be achieved. The skill levels cover the areas of diagnosis, case planning, prophylaxis, therapy, reconstruction, after-care, administration, patient and practice management and professionalism.

In the clinical course, students make dental diagnoses under supervision, plan treatment options with appointed tutors and clinical senior physicians and undertake the treatment as individual interventions or overall reconstruction under supervision.

All examinations during the course, as well as the master's degree, are regulated by the faculty. The final examination is a federal multiple-choice test to which the learning objectives catalog for the whole of Switzerland applies.

Lernzielkatalog Zahnmedizin Schweiz (Document in German) (PDF, 6.5 MB)

Master's graduates from the four Swiss universities all sit this state examination in Dental Medicine at the same time; this being the first Monday in August.

Scheme of program

Studies in Dental Medicine take the form of a state regulated structured university degree course of five years, offered at the universities of Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich (Freiburg 1st and 2nd year). The final state examination in Dental Medicine after 10 semesters is a requirement for further studies in Dental Medicine to obtain a Master of Advanced Studies MAS in a specific field of Dental Medicine.

The "Bern curriculum" is split into two parts: part one encompasses the three years of foundation studies/bachelor's degree and part two, in years four and five, encompasses the specialist studies/master's degree program. Students complete both parts with a final examination in each:
Bachelor's examination ➞  Bachelor of Dental Medicine
Master's examination ➞  Master of Dental Medicine
Students must pass the master's examination in order to be admitted to the state examination in Dental Medicine.

Aufbau des Programms Zahnmedizin

Further information and documents for students

Deadlines

Requirements

Individual academic requirements

The following academic qualifications are required for admission to the master’s degree program in Dental Medicine (mono):

a) Bachelor's degree in Dental Medicine from the University of Bern 
b) Bachelor's degree in Dental Medicine from a Swiss or foreign Faculty of Medicine, which is generally recognized as equivalent by the faculty or is specifically recognized as equivalent by the Dean, in individual cases.

Students with a bachelor's degree that is more than five years old are not automatically entitled to be admitted to the master’s degree program. Admission decisions and decisions on possible additional requirements are made on a case-by-case basis.

The number of students in the program is limited. Students will only be admitted if all admission requirements have been met and there is a place available.

The following students are eligible to participate in the master’s degree program (with admission restrictions):

  1. Students who have successfully completed the bachelor's degree program in Bern in the semester prior to their first semester in the master’s degree program

  2. Students who must be admitted due to agreements with other Swiss universities

Additional places are awarded in accordance with the following criteria in descending order of priority:

a) Applicants who have graduated from the bachelor's degree program in Dental Medicine from the University of Bern
b) Applicants with a bachelor's degree in Dental Medicine from another Swiss university 
c) Applicants with a bachelor's degree in Dental Medicine from a foreign university. 

 

Swiss bachelor's degrees/programs

from the University of Bern

that allow admission to the desired master's degree program without any assessment:

  • Bachelor of Dental Medicine

Language requirements

Applicants with an academic qualification from a foreign non-German speaking university must demonstrate proficiency in German as described in the German test regulations of the University of Bern.
German language skills at level C1 are required.

 

Application and admission

Application deadline: February 15; late applications are not possible
 
For questions regarding application and admission, please contact the Admissions Office.
 

Current UniBE students

Apply for a change to the mono Master of Dental Medicine by self-service as part of the re-registration for the next semester.
Renewal of semester registration → Self-service
Procedure and timing of the renewal of semester registration

After your master's

Dissertation

Dissertation / Dr. med. dent. In-depth scientific study under the supervision of a qualified professor lecturing in the Faculty of Medicine leads to the qualification and title of Dr. med. dent. Most of the students striving to achieve this distinction of quality are seeking to position and sell themselves in a field known for its increasing competition.
 

Further development and advanced training opportunities