Student Experience - TEST

Dental Central is a hub for students and their organizations to post upcoming community and cultural events and to encourage participation.

Visit the Dental Central website.

Find a quiet place to study or hold your next student organization event.

Fill out a room request form.

If you or a visitor are interested in presenting at an upcoming DMD Lunch & Learn, please fill out this request form.

View the Research Administration website for resources for current students on conducting research at TUSDM.

The Department of Public Health and Community Service oversees the Community Service Rotations (CSL), which give students the opportunity to interact with community members outside of the four-walls of the clinic. Students gain the necessary skills, knowledge, and confidence to work with diverse, often vulnerable and underserved communities. Providing outreach allows students to better understand how social determinants and health disparities affect oral health.

In addition, TUSDM has an active roster of over 40 student organizations, many of which prioritize volunteering to provide community-based oral health education. Learn more about volunteering in the community.

The Health Sciences Bursar’s Office supports students with their financial business at Tufts. 

Find more information about the Bursar's Office.

Students enrolled in the DMD, the Dental International Student Program, and accredited post-graduate programs at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine can access a wide variety of both federal and institutional financial aid.

Find more information about Financial Aid.

Instructions for submitting rotation swap

Rotations are clinical assignments that involve treating patients. Students are required to attend the rotations to which they are assigned. When students find they have a conflict with a scheduled rotation, they may swap their assigned rotation with one of their classmates. A student can swap rotations for any reason they find necessary six times during an academic year. If a student exceeds their number of swaps or would like additional opportunities to swap, they must meet with the Dean of Student Affairs for approval.  

All swap requests must be requested via the online swap form.

Please reference the Swap/Absences Protocols document or email Allyson Dacey with any questions. 

Policy:

DMD students should consult the attendance policy in the pre-doctoral handbook and residents must speak to their program directors.

Forms:

• Submit an Excused Absence Request.

Before going on parental leave:

1. Submit the request form, linked below, to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs three months before your anticipated leave (to schedule an appointment email Student Affairs Coordinator).
2. Meet with the Office of Academic Affairs Program Coordinator, Helen Edgar.
3. Meet with Sandra Pearson, Director of Enrollment Services, to determine how your leave of absence will affect your enrollment status at TUSDM during your leave of absence and, if applicable, your financial aid, including student loans.
4. Inform all relevant Course/preclinical Directors.
5. If you are providing patient care, notify your Practice Coordinators and DPA.
6. Inform your patients. Ensure continuity of patient care by making sure they can be treated while you are absent.

While on leave:

1. Focus on your wellbeing and take care of yourself, in addition to your newborn and family.
2. Submit a written statement of intent to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at least one month before your planned return to the program.

Returning from leave:

1. Provide the Associate Dean of Student Affairs with a doctor’s note that you can return to your studies and perform patient care.
2. Meet with the Director of Educational Assessment (yrs 1/2) or the Director of Clinical Integration (yrs 3/4) in the Office of Academic Affairs to discuss re-entry into the curriculum.

3. Contact Sandra Pearson to confirm your date of return so that your education and, if applicable, financial aid records can be updated accordingly.

    

• Download the Parental Leave Policy, Request Form and FAQ.

TUSDM respects the right of all students to observe their religious holidays and upon notification will make reasonable accommodation for such observances unless such an accommodation would create an undue hardship.

Students who are unable to attend a class or participate in any examination, study, or course requirement on a particular day because of their religious beliefs will be given the opportunity to make up the work that was missed or to do alternative work that is intrinsically no more difficult than the original assignment or examination.

Students on clinical assignments involving patient care must arrange in advance to have their assignments covered by a classmate while they observe the holiday.

To request a religious accommodation:

1. Students must complete, well in advance, the excused absence form through the office of Student Affairs.

2. Notify well in advance Academic Affairs Programs/Schedule Administrator and instructors of known conflicts to arrange accommodations.

Last minute requests may not be accommodated. While TUSDM policy requires instructors to make reasonable accommodations for missed assignments or examinations because of religious beliefs, it is not TUSDM policy for faculty to make accommodations for travel time when students wish to share a holiday with family or friends. Please also reference the Office of Equal Opportunity’s Religious Accommodation Policy.

TUSDM incorporates the teaching of mind-body evidence-based self-regulation and coping skills in the curriculum. These skills support our students from the start of dental school and throughout the four years of their training.

Learn more about health & wellness at TUSDM.

All newly accepted students are required to submit documentation of immunization. 

immunizations also are required as a condition of matriculation and must be kept up-to-date.

Learn more about the required immunizations and deadlines.

CARE’s mission is to provide free, confidential, culturally-supportive, and trauma-informed support to all Tufts undergraduate and graduate students impacted by sexual misconduct/harm and to create a culture of respect, consent, and community accountability.

Visit the CARE website for support resources.

The Tauber Fitness Center is located on the lower level of the Medical Education Building.

Students can also take advantage of membership to the Wang YMCA, located at 8 Oak Street.

Learn more about fitness and recreation, including membership and employment opportunities.

Tufts established the Tufts Threat Assessment and Management (TTAM) program to identify, evaluate and address potentially threatening situations affecting members of the Tufts community. Recognizing and reporting early signs that someone may be in emotional distress or having thoughts of violence are crucial to preventing violence and enhance the university’s ability to provide assistance to community members who may be in distress.

Visit the Tufts Threat Assessment & Management website.

The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) responds to discrimination and harassment complaints, allegations of sexual misconduct and requests for accommodation from students, faculty, staff, community members, visitors and patients in order to affirm Tufts’ commitment to equal opportunity, Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, and Accommodations protocols and ensure equal opportunities for all members of our community.

Submit a report

Do we need both OEO and Ethics Point???

View the 2025-2026 Predoctoral Handbook *Updated 7/2025

View the 2025-2026 Postdoctoral Handbook *Updated 7/2025

View a listing of current TUSDM policies, standard operating procedures, guidelines, and standards.

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Visit the website for SIS, Tufts' system of record for students' academic, biographical, and financial information.

Access to your Tufts email account from any web browser through Tufts Webmail.

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Visit Canvas, a web portal for online curricular materials and related applications.

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JumboCash is the easy, cashless way to pay for snacks, printing, copying, and laundry on campus. You pay with JumboCash simply by using your Tufts ID, just like a bank debit card. Use JumboCash at the campus bookstore and for coffee and food at several cafés on campus. It’s faster, safer, and more convenient than cash. 

Visit the JumboCash website.

Visit the Hirsh Health Sciences Library website for information about our lounge and cafe for students, located in the Medical Education Building.

The Food 4 Thought Café is located on the fourth floor of the Medical Education Building in the Hirsh Health Science Library. The café offers a diverse, healthy menu, including smoothies, breakfast sandwiches, grilled paninis, sandwiches, soups, salads, and a variety of hot entrées. Pastries, yogurts, vegetables, and fruits are also featured. An assortment of beverages is available, including espresso drinks, coffee, tea, and juice. View the Food 4 Thought menu. 

Visitors can enjoy the large windowed eating area, browse through popular reading and periodicals from the library, and access computer stations. Food can also be purchased for take-out; delivery service is not provided. 

The café is open Monday through Friday from 7am to 5pm; and closed on the weekend. Tufts Medical Center Hospital personnel are welcome, and cash, Mastercard, and Visa are accepted.

To help you in your search for housing in the Boston area, please visit our student housing website about local neighborhoods in the Boston area, dental student housing trends, and options for finding off-campus housing. 

Tufts University each May holds a Dental School commencement ceremony, as well as an all-university ceremony. 

If you have questions, contact Maggie McMorrow, Associate Director of Student Affairs and Career Services, via phone 617-636-6543 or email at maggie.mcmorrow@tufts.edu.

Learn more about commencement, including parking, photography, and hotel information.