Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Can foreign students take admissions in the Faculty of Dental Sciences?
Yes, foreign students can take admissions in the Faculty of Dental Sciences (FDS), University of Peradeniya (UoP). Up to 5% (04) of the total admissions are allotted for foreign/ NRI category. The infrastructure provided is at par with the international standards and the teaching methodology is apt for training students to meet challenges in dental practice in a global perspective.
- Describe the teaching methodology?
Teaching methodology constitutes of didactic lectures, tutorials, practical, clinical training, seminars, projects, MCQs, Short Answered Questions, Short Essay Questions, Objective Structural Practical Evaluation (OSPE) & Objective Structural Clinical Evaluation (OSCE).
- Does FDS provide research facilities to the students?
The institution encourages students to conduct research through internal and external funding. Besides this, the UoP also provides research incentives for students to attend conferences and present papers/posters.
- What are the various career options after a degree from FDS? What do undergraduate and postgraduate students from FDS generally do?
The students have a variety of options to choose from after a dental degree. Students can join government sector (Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medicine, Sri Lanka) or Private Sector as Dental Surgeons, pursue higher studies, can do research in collaboration with the FDS, can join the faculty academic staff and get into teaching and research, pursue private practice, join any government organisation in dental field, or join the armed forces as dental surgeons. Besides, there is a huge demand for dental doctors overseas.
- Does FDS have any collaboration with external private or public agencies for research etc.?
Yes, FDS has tie ups with multinational companies, public agencies, local and foreign higher education institutes, etc. with regard to research activities.
- Is the institute private or government?
FDS, UoP is a semi government institute governed by University Grant Commission, Sri Lanka. FDS was founded in 1987 and it is the only higher education institute which provide Bachelor of Dental Surgery.
Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya is one of the best colleges in the south Asian region. The faculty has state of the art infrastructural facilities at par with international standards with a competence based curriculum. University of Peradeniya also has Medical, Engineering, Agriculture, Allied Health, Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Science, Arts, and Management and attracts students from across the globe, which ensures that you get better exposure and learning experience. In addition, UoP is located in a very beautiful landscape between Mahaweli river which is the longest in Sri Lanka and Hantana mountain range. It is the largest residential university in Sri Lanka and probably in south Asia with all residential and other facilities. Therefore, you can get a unique experience in university education.
- Is the BDS course offered by FDS recognized in other countries?
Yes, the BDS degree from FDS is recognized by all other countries.
- Describe the teaching methodology?
Teaching methodology constitutes of didactic lectures, tutorials, practical, clinical training, seminars, projects, MCQs, Short Answered Questions, Short Essay Questions, Objective Structural Practical Evaluation (OSPE) & Objective Structural Clinical Evaluation (OSCE).
- How long is the BDS course and how is it conducted?
The BDS course is of five years (10 semesters) duration consisting of a Pre-clinical, Para clinical programme of two years (4 semesters) and laboratory and clinical training program of 3 years (6 semesters). It is followed by one year of compulsory internship. In the first two years of the BDS program, students are trained on 13 basic sciences courses in anatomy, dental anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, and 7 courses in general medicine, surgery, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology and dental biomaterials with the help of audio-visual aids, models, hands on practical and patient simulators. Hands on clinical training are facilitated under the guidance and supervision of highly qualified academic staff members of the faculty, in the following three years.
The course contents are delivered using didactic lectures, demonstrations, practical exercises, seminars, problem based learning, self-directed learning, chair side teaching and learning, etc.
- How is the course evaluated?
Student performance is assessed continually with end semester examinations during five academic years. In addition, continuous in course assessments in the form of seminars, projects, problem based learning etc. are also done.
- Does the college have an attached hospital?
FDS and its own Dental Teaching hospital which is the largest and main dental hospital in the country with sufficient number of dental units, modern clinical and laboratory facilities and patient amenities to cater to the clinical training needs of students. FDS is also attached to Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, a tertiary referral medical hospital. The Dental Teaching Hospital gets patients from the central province of Sri Lanka as well as from all over Sri Lanka. Therefore, students are exposed to comprehensive dental care and get the opportunity to learn huge variety of dental diseases and conditions
- Does the college encourage extracurricular and co-curricular activities?
University of Peradeniya has excellent facilities for extracurricular activities. It has a state of the art indoor sports complex along with outdoor cricket, football and rugby stadiums, and facilities for tennis, basketball and netball. It also has well equips international standard swimming pool. University of Peradeniya organizes both inter-batch and inter-faculty sports activities annually and students are encouraged to participate in inter-university, national and international sports events.
Cultural competitions are a spotlight of FDS activities, which enable students to present their talents and help in overall personality development.
- Does FDS, UoP have exchange programs with other international universities? What is the probability that a student will be selected for externship programs?
FDS has MOUs with many foreign universities for student externship programs. The selection of the student for such programs depends on the commonality of interest of research topics for the students as well as the foreign universities.
- What are the postgraduate programmes that FDS offers?
Besides BDS, FDS offers Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in all fields basics sciences and para clinical and clinical fields in dentistry. In addition, together with Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo FDS offers post graduate programs (MD) in all dental specialties (Oral and maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Restorative Dentistry and Periodontology). FDS also offers Degree of Master of Science (MSc) in Forensic Odontology, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Periodontology, Clinical Paediatric Dentistry, Diagnostic Oral Pathology, Oral Medicine and Oral Radiology. Furthermore, Dental auxiliary training school attached to FDS offers diploma in dental surgery assisting and higher diploma in dental technology.
- Should I really do MD? Is BDS not enough qualification, for general practice?
BDS degree is sufficient for one to pursue a private general dental practice. However, specialization in any one of the dental specialties ensures that you are a specialist in a particular branch of dentistry, which will enable you to manage complicated and sometimes, unusual, clinical situations. Only specialized dentists can be consultants. In addition, it provides a platform to pursue your academic interests further, especially, in terms of teaching and research.
- What is the selection procedure for the MD course? How often is the selection done?
The selection is done annually to the MD course which is based on performance in the Entrance Examination conducted by Post Graduate institute of medicine, University of Colombo. Please refer to the website for more details.
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