URGENT!!! US equivalent of my degree

International Students
1

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>I am a student from Ukraine.
After getting DDS degree I’ve entered the residency. Residency for dentists is 2 years in Ukraine.
But I’ve joined combined program residency+MS program. It is a new “invention” for Ukraine. It is not similar to such US program. It consists of two parts:
First part is working as an internship doctor.
Second part is conducting research and writing a thesis subsequently. Just research, no classes, lectures, marks, courses. At the end of the second year a student must defend a thesis.
But unlike US Masters Programs, I don’t attend classes and lectures on my “MS” part. I don’t have marks (GPA). So everything that I do as an MS student – is making my research. And my main work is a work as an internship doctor, so I do this research after work.</p>

<p>That is why I don’t have intermediate transcripts of GPA.</p>

<p>At the end of this residency I will get<br>

  1. Certificate that I’ve finished the residency that me to work as a dentist in Ukraine.
  2. MS diploma (after I defend a thesis). But this is not diploma with academic transcripts, tittle of all subjects that I’ve attended and my GPA. (like my diploma when I’ve got DDS degree). There will be no GPA. Just a diploma where is written something “Mr. […] got Masters of Medicine”. </p>

<p>What should I wright to my applications to grad school? I am applying to biomedical sciences, not dentistry.
If I wright MS degree, grad school will ask me intermediate transcripts but I don’t have them). And if I get to grad school they will ask me my diploma and transcripts. What will I show them? Some schools even wright on their sites “diploma is not valid without transcripts”.
Will they accept MS diploma where is written just “Mr. […] received MS in medicine”?</p>

<p>I thought that this program sounds more like “residency+ part time research assistant” in US way.</p>

<p>So, maybe it is better to wright “residency/part time research assistant”??? As I said I am afraid that when I will be accepted to graduate school they will not accept my “strange” MS diploma.
Or should I just wright residency? But then I can’t wright about my research project (and it is rather interesting).
Or should I leave residency/MS?</p>

2

<p>What do you need this equivalency for? If it’s for further study in the US, then schools will do their own evaluation and decide on your standing. If it’s for applying for jobs – that’s a whole different story.</p>

3

<p>I am afraid that US school will expect “normal” usual diploma which MOST of the world students after 2 year master program. Even most students in Ukraine get “normal” diploma. Only medical University invented this …</p>

<p>I am afraid that when they see my MS degree they will say “What is it?” or “this is a piece of ****”
I even thought not to write MS
Just DDS after 2 year residency</p>

4

<p>My opinion? Write what it is. If the university that grants it calls it a Master of Science, call it that. Then send a letter to the director of graduate studies in the departments where you would be a graduate student. Explain how your M.S. differs from many American degrees, and invite the professor to email you if he or she requires more information.</p>

5

<p>American schools are used to doing evaluations of foreign diplomas/transcripts. You will not be the first Ukrainian who’s ever applied to a US university :)</p>

6

<p>Thank you for your answers. They are very important for me.
I have one more questions. I am not sure that I will finish my MS program (some personal reasons). I am 80% sure that I will, but 20% that I won’t.
Moreover I don’t see a sense in these MS program (Master of Medicine), since I am applying to the US MS program.
What will happen if I will put in my application that I am studying in MS program in Ukraine and then when I enter the university I will not have this Master’s degree?</p>

7

<p>It won’t matter much - either way, in order to get a dental license in the US you will need to take many, many additional courses and pass many exams. Whether or not you have a Master’s in the Ukraine, your dental training in the US could still take several years (and be very expensive - tens of thousands of dollars!) That is simply the reality of education, and medicine, in America. My suggestion would be to really research what it will take (and how much it will cost!) to study dental science in the US.</p>