BDS Dentistry (pre-dental entry) / Entry requirements

Year of entry: 2024

A-level

Our standard A-level offer is AAA including subject combinations that would be unsuitable for admission to the 5 year BDS. You must also meet the GCSE requirements.

Please note:

  • A level subject choices can include any combination of non-science subjects.
  • This course is open to those with only one of the required science subjects (Biology or Chemistry).
  • Combinations of very similar subjects, for example, Biology and Human Biology or Maths and Further Maths together, are not acceptable.
  • Two AS-levels in place of one A2-level will not be accepted.
  • If you have studied Biology and Chemistry at A Level, you would not be eligible for this foundation course. However you would be eligible to apply for the 5 year BDS course.

Contextual offer

Typical Contextual A-level offer: AAB.

Duration of A-level study

If you have studied an advanced curriculum, where the examinations are spread over three years, please contact the School's Admissions Office prior to submitting an application.

AS-level

We have no specific requirements at AS-level. However, we would normally expect students to demonstrate a commitment towards achieving a broad and balanced education. Most applicants will therefore be studying beyond the 'bare minimum' in order to make the most competitive application possible.

You may wish to evidence this on your application in a number of ways, for example:

  • studying four A-level subjects;
  • studying for an additional AS level or BTEC qualification in addition to your three main subjects;
  • taking General Studies, Key Skills or the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in addition to your three main subjects.

We are aware that you may not be able to take the above qualifications at school or college and therefore we allow applicants to provide evidence of participating in other activities aimed at increasing social responsibility, for example, National Citizen Service (NCS) or the Duke of Edinburgh award in lieu of a formal qualification. A list of other suggested activities is provided on our FAQ page. If in doubt, please contact us.

Please note that if your school is unable to offer any of the above, they should state this in the UCAS reference and you will not be disadvantaged as a result.

Applicants with a WP/WP Plus flag are exempt.

Unit grade information

The University of Manchester welcomes the provision of unit information where available.  Like all other information provided by applicants this may be taken into consideration when assessing your application.  Unit grades will not normally form part of an offer conditions.

GCSE

We require at least seven GCSEs at grade 7 (A) or above.

English Language, Mathematics are required at GCSE minimum grade 6 (B). At least two science subjects are required at GCSE minimum grade 6 (B) if not taken to AS/A2-level. If Dual Award Science or Core and Additional Science are offered, the minimum required is 66 (BB).

For applicants whose status has been confirmed as WP+ or WP++ using the University's Contextual Data Eligibility tool, we will accept 6 GCSEs at Grade 7 (A) or above.  

We permit GCSE resits. If you are resitting any GCSEs at the point of your application, we require you to list it as pending qualifications on your UCAS form.

We do not currently accept short courses; however, Level 2 BTEC qualifications are acceptable (at distinction grade or above) in lieu of one GCSE.

If you are offering an international equivalent to GCSE and this is not listed on our international entry requirements page, please contact The School of Medical Sciences Admissions Office to check the suitability of the qualification.

Due to the phased introduction of GCSE reform in England, we will accept a mixture of GCSE grading scales. We can confirm our position in terms of equivalencies:

  • A* = 8
  • A = 7
  • B = 6
  • C = 4

International Baccalaureate

36 points are required overall (to include core points) with at least 666 at higher level. We accept both Maths options as part of the Diploma. If Maths and English Language are not offered as part of the Diploma, they should be offered at GCSE or IGCSE at grade B (6) or above.

Higher level subjects should include subject combinations that would be unsuitable for admission to the 5 year BDS.

Alternative entry requirements

Alternative entry requirements exist for this course. You may view these by selecting from the list below.

English language

In most cases, we expect applicants to satisfy our English Language requirement by offering English language at GCSE grade B (6) or above (or a score of 5 in the International Baccalaureate diploma).

Applicants from outside the UK (including non-native speakers) need to meet specific English language requirements to study at Manchester. We accept:

  • IGCSE English first language at grade B or second language at grade A;
  • International English Language Testing Service (IELTS): A minimum average score of 7.0 and with not less than 6.5 in any one component taken at the same sitting;
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic: An overall score of 65 with no less than 65 in each of the communicative skills domains taken at the same sitting;
  • Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE), or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE): An overall score of 185 with no less than 185 in each of the scoring domains taken at the same sitting;
  • a score of 5 at Standard or Higher level as part of the International Baccalaureate diploma.

You must declare your English qualification (including those which are pending) on the UCAS form.

Please contact us prior to application if you are unsure how to satisfy these language requirements.

Graduates : Graduates who have completed a degree conducted entirely in English at a UK institution may be exempt from the English language requirements. Please contact us if you are unsure.

At interview, if we have any concerns about your English language capability regardless of your origin, country of upbringing or existing qualifications, we may require you to take an additional English language test as a condition of any offer we make to you.

English language test validity

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

Relevant work experience

We require applicants to undertake some relevant work experience prior to application in order that they can gain some insight into what the role of a dentist involves.

Work experience may be paid or voluntary and should include some time spent in a dental setting but can also include examples from other healthcare and related environments. We do not have a requirement on the length of the work experience. We require applicants to demonstrate a commitment to their work experience placements.

As important as the detail of the work experience is the applicant's capacity to reflect on what they have gained from their experiences and the quality of that reflection will be reviewed as part of the selection process. A key element we are looking for is for applicants to be able to demonstrate some understanding of the qualities and attributes required to become a healthcare professional.

Applicants should be aware that we may request confirmation of their work experience.

Please see our FAQ and Non-Academic Information Form pages for more information on work experience.