Doctor of Philosophy in Orthodontics (ORTHO)

The Ph.D. Program in Orthodontics (International Program) is a joint doctoral degree program between Chula’s Faculty of Dentistry (CU) and Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU).  The program is a combination of clinical and research studies.  In this program, students will achieve an insight didactic knowledge in both basic and advanced clinical science and develop expertise in conducting research and competency in performing clinical work.  

The duration of study is a minimum of 5 consecutive years during which students attend lectures, seminars and undertake clinical coursework in their first, and third to fifth years. In their second year, students will conduct research at TMDU in Japan.  Both CU and TMDU will issue the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to students who complete all the degree requirements and pass all examinations.  The students need to pass their thesis proposal and their thesis examinations as well. Finally, their theses have to be published in acceptable international journals.  For more information, check out our Youtube channel here. 

The economic and social development, specifically, the opening of free trade among ASEAN communities in 2015 has brought about freedom in medical, dental and nursing education and high competition in the education and services in medical areas. There is a possibility for some of the ASEAN countries who have great potential and standards in medical education, e.g. Singapore, Malaysia to offer medical education in Thailand. Such development would pose a threat to educational institutions in Thailand causing brain drain of qualified lecturers and unfair advantages in the selection and recruitment of students with purchasing power who would  like to study in international institutions.  Therefore, to help people prepare for their career in ASEAN, our international program will provide them with an alternative, and motivate the professors to challenge their full potential without having to move to a new institution, while expanding the students’ perspectives and for them to keep abreast with the education of international standards.

Therefore, the joint doctoral degree program between Chula’s Faculty of Dentistry and Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) is a response to the abovementioned development.