Choosing whether, when, and how to pursue residency training is one of the most consequential decisions dental students make. It is also one of the least transparent.

Students are expected to evaluate specialty pathways, competitiveness, timelines, and long-term career implications, often with limited access to clear, consistent, or firsthand information. Much of what they hear is informal, incomplete, or filtered through secondhand advice.

To address this gap, the Roads to Residency Lunch & Learn and Dinner & Learn series brings students direct access to current residents and program leadership across a wide range of dental specialties. Hosted annually in collaboration with CPD and ADEA, the series creates a low-pressure, welcoming space for students to ask real questions, hear candid experiences, and better understand what residency training actually looks like in practice.

The Problem: Students are making high-stakes career decisions without clear, reliable, and comparable information.

Without structured opportunities to learn directly from residents and faculty, students may delay decision-making, pursue pathways misaligned with their goals, or underestimate the preparation required to be competitive. The Roads to Residency series is designed to reduce this uncertainty and support more informed, intentional career choices.

Our Target Population: Dental students exploring clinical, academic, and public health career pathways

Roads to Residency is a multi-session career exploration series designed for students who are:

• Curious about specialty training but unsure where to start

• Actively preparing to apply to residency

• Comparing multiple specialties

• Seeking clarity on timelines, competitiveness, and day-to-day training realities

Each session features current residents and/or program leadership, offering an honest look at their specialty, their training path, and what they wish they had known earlier. Sessions are intentionally conversational, allowing students to move beyond surface-level information and engage directly with people currently doing the work.

Specialties Featured in the 2026 Series

Each session focuses on a single specialty, or closely related specialties, giving students the opportunity to compare paths across the series and identify what aligns best with their interests and goals.

How the Series Addresses the Problem: Building informed, prepared, and confident residency applicants

While each specialty is unique, every Roads to Residency event is designed to help students walk away with three core areas of clarity.

UCSF Priorities Alignment: Career readiness, informed decision-making, and student success

OCPD supports professional skill development through tools, training, and community. The Roads to Residency series advances this mission by providing students with structured, equitable access to information and mentorship that supports long-term career readiness. Through these sessions, students can develop their: 

By reducing information asymmetry and supporting intentional career exploration, Roads to Residency helps students take a more active role in shaping their professional futures while advancing institutional goals around student success and workforce preparedness.