Limited, Uneven Progress in Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity of Dental School Graduates

An assessment of racial and ethnic diversity of graduates of dental schools compared to the diversity of populations they draw from.

About the Research

In July 2021, The Journal of Dental Education Published a study to assess racial and ethnic diversity of graduates of each dental school compared to the diversity of populations they draw from, and to assess changes over time nationally and by school

The report was published by Edward Salsberg, MPA; Erin Brantley PhD, MPH; Sara Westergaard, MD, MPH; Jenee Farrell, BS; Christina Rosenthal, DDS, MPH.

Methods

“We calculated diversity of graduates by school and nationally between 2010-2012 and 2017-2019 using the Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and compared the diversity of each state’s college age population using data from the American Community Survey. We accounted for differences between in-state and out-of-state students attending public and private schools based on data from the American Dental Association’s Survey of Dental Education Series. A diversity index (DI) was calculated for each school. A DI of 0.5 means that the representation of Black or Hispanic individuals among the graduates is half of their representation in the benchmark population.”

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