BDS Dentistry (first-year entry) / Application and selection

Year of entry: 2024

How to apply

Apply through UCAS .

Advice to applicants

Please ensure that you refer to the application process guide before making your application through UCAS for this course.

Vaccinations

Previous guidance regarding mandatory vaccination for Covid for courses with a clinical or healthcare placement has been paused, in line with government advice. However both NHS England and NHS Improvement view getting vaccinated for healthcare staff and students as a professional duty. We therefore continue to highly recommend all students on this course to take up their COVID-19 vaccinations as soon as they are eligible.

How your application is considered

Applications are first screened according to whether or not they meet our standard academic threshold as given on this page.

Those applications that do not meet the appropriate academic criteria will not progress to the next phase of the screen process, and will receive notification that their application has been unsuccessful through UCAS in due course. 

See the application process page for information on how we consider your application.

Skills, knowledge, abilities, interests

Each applicant to study Dentistry at The University of Manchester must complete an online information form with respect to non-academic activities. This form will be sent to all applicants after the 16th October UCAS deadline by the School of Medical Sciences Admissions Office.

Interview requirements

We do not make offers without interviews. Please see our interviews  page for more information.

Returning to education

We are pleased to consider applications from non-traditional applicants but would ask that you contact the Admissions Office for advice on suitability for a potential application.

Aptitude test requirement

Applicants are required to sit the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) in the year they wish to make their application. Please note that the result is valid for one application cycle only. If applicants are reapplying, they must re-sit UCAT.

Further information specific to The University of Manchester is detailed on our UCAT page .

Please note that we do not consider applicants who achieve Band 4 in the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) element of the UCAT. Applicants with a SJT band 3 are welcome to apply. However, we will prioritise applicants who are in bands 1 and 2.

Fitness to practise / health requirements

All offers of a place are subject to satisfactory health screening. The health screening is based upon the Higher Education Occupational Physicians/Practitioners (HEOPS) standards of medical fitness to train for dental students.

A potential student may be concerned that their health or disability may affect their ability to fulfil the competency standards of the course. Any such applicants are encouraged to contact the Occupational Health Service and/or The Disability Advisory and Support Service at an early stage in order to explore the situation in depth and consider the feasibility of making reasonable adjustments. Hopefully the process will prove helpful to the student in deciding whether to pursue an application.

In Manchester, you will be introduced to the clinic in the first term. Therefore, you will have to produce satisfactory evidence on non-infectivity with respect to the blood-borne viruses HIV, Hepatitis B and C and Tuberculosis. In addition, you must pass a health screening in Student Occupational Health prior to entry to ensure you are fit to practice.

The health screening requires the completion of a detailed health questionnaire by the applicant and also an appointment with the University's Occupational Health Department. In order to be admitted and continue on the programme, students must be deemed as medically fit for both practice and theory by the Occupational Health Department.

General enquiries about health screening should be addressed to Student Occupational Health, Tel +44 (0)161 275 2858, Fax +44 (0)161 275 3137.

Please see also the Procedure for Admission to Courses Requiring Medical Fitness Assessment [Word 59KB].

Disclosure and Barring Service check

You will be required, as part of the non-academic conditions of your offer, to provide a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. In the UK, this takes the form of an Enhanced Level search by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and will reveal any criminal convictions, spent or unspent, as well as any police cautions, warnings or reprimands.

Regulations and record systems in other countries vary. Overseas applicants are encouraged to contact our Admissions Team.

Anyone who considers it possible that a criminal record or other disclosure may reveal any offence must contact the Admissions Team before applying.

Deferrals

We welcome applications from students who wish to defer their entry to the following year, but we prefer this to be indicated at the point of application.

It may not be possible to defer entry once an offer has been made and we are unlikely to be able to consider any requests after the release of A-level results.

We do not have any specific requirements for how you use your gap year, but we would expect it to have been used constructively.

Policy for applicants who resit their qualifications

We welcome applications from those re-sitting their A-levels, though applicants may only re-sit one of either Year 12 or Year 13.

Where A-levels have been attempted in Year 13, applicants are expected to have obtained a minimum of grade B in each subject at the first sitting for the re-sit grades to be considered.

All re-sitting applicants are required to achieve Grades A*AA in the A-level subjects specified above, and the A* is expected to be achieved in the final examinations in either one of the dropped subjects at the discretion of the School.

Re-applications

If you have applied in previous years and your application has been unsuccessful on two consecutive occasions, future applications will not be considered.

We would require re-applicants to continue with their work experience in their year out and would also expect to see a material difference in their application from the previous year. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

All re-applicants must retake the UCAT and provide updated information that refers to the initial application and chronicles subsequent events.

Applicants applying with achieved qualifications must explain in their personal statement what they are doing during the gap year.

Transfers

Due to the highly integrated structure of the degree course, we do not grant exemptions from subjects. Transfers from other institutions are not considered. If you feel that you have embarked on the wrong course elsewhere, and who wish to be considered for entry to study dentistry and The University of Manchester, you should first complete your current programme of study, or be in the final year before you apply to us. We do not consider applications from students who have started a clinical programme elsewhere.