BSc Dental Hygiene and Therapy

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

• Dentistry

Our standard A-level offer is AAB to include Biology.

NVQ Level 3 Oral Health Care (Dental Nursing) is acceptable when accompanied by A-level Biology and one other A-level, at grades AB (in either of the A-level subjects) to meet the overall offer of AAB.

You must also meet the GCSE requirements.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore there will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.

Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offers you will receive.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

ABB including Biology.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

Contextual offers are available for applicants who:

• live in the UK and will be under the age of 21 on 1 September of the year they will start their course; and
• live in an area of disadvantage or with low progression into higher education; and
• have attended a UK school or college for their GCSEs or A-levels (or equivalent qualifications) that has performed below the national average over multiple years.

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

BBB including Biology.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

UK refugee/care-experienced offers are available for applicants who:

• have been looked after in care for more than three months; or
• have been granted refugee status by the UK government or have been issued a UK visa under one of the Ukrainian schemes (Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Family Scheme or Ukraine Extension Scheme).

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

34 points overall. 6 , 5,5 in Higher Level subjects, including Biology at Higher Level. If Maths and English Language are not offered as part of the Diploma, they should be offered at GCSE or IGCSE at grade 4 (C) or above. We accept both Maths options as part of the Diploma.

Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.

We require at least five GCSEs at grade 4 (C).

Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of Literacy and Numeracy, equivalent to at least Grade 4 or C in GCSE/IGCSE English Language and Mathematics. GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.

We permit GCSE resits. If you are resitting any GCSEs at the point of application, we require you to list it as a pending qualification 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.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of  our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications  or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the admissions team in your academic School/Department for clarification.

All applicants to the University (from the UK and Overseas) are required to show evidence of English Language proficiency. The minimum English Language requirement for this course is either:

GCSE/IGCSE English Language grade 4/C, or;

IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.5 in any component, or;

An acceptable equivalent qualification.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of  our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications  or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the academic School for clarification.

If you need to improve your English language skills to meet the entry requirements for your academic course, the University Centre for Academic English (UCAE) summer pre-sessional courses can help. Check if your academic course offers the option of taking a pre-sessional course on the UCAE page .

The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that every student requiring a visa to study in the UK must show evidence of a minimum level of English Language (common European Framework (CEFR B2 level) to be granted a Student Route visa (previously known as a Tier 4 visa) to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

In addition, our academic Schools/Departments may require applicants to demonstrate English proficiency above the B2 level. Further information about our English Language policy, including a list of some of the English Language qualifications we accept, can be found  here .

We require applicants to undertake some relevant work experience prior to application in order that they can gain some insight into what a career in dentistry 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.

Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.

When on the clinics you will need to wear a tunic (which will be provided) - as well as black trousers or skirt and black leather duty shoes that are close fitting around the toes and heels.

There will be travel costs when attending community clinics in the Greater Manchester area. There is no discounted parking on campus for students if you have a car.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Dental Hygiene and Therapy students are eligible to apply for a Training Grant of £5,000 per academic year, from the NHS Learning Support Fund. Applications can be made once you join the course, and advice will be given to you by the course team at Induction. Please click here for more details.

A small number of scholarships may be available to overseas applicants. Details will be made available once confirmed.

Find out about the financial support available to students starting at Manchester.

NHS bursaries are not available for this course.

If you are a student who has followed a non-standard educational route, e.g. you have been educated at home; your application will be considered against the standard entry criteria of the course for which you are applying. You will be required to demonstrate that you meet the specified academic entry requirements of the course. We will also require a reference from somebody who knows you well enough, in an official capacity, to write about you and your suitability for higher education.

If you are a home schooled student and would like further information or advice please contact the admissions office ug.dentistry@manchester.ac.uk who will be able to help you. 

If you have already achieved a degree, or are in your final year moving towards graduation, please contact the School of Medical Sciences Admissions Office to determine the suitability of an application.

Maths at minimum grade 4 (C) in GCSE and English Language requirements also apply.

Graduates and final year undergraduates must offer an academic reference on their UCAS form.

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 screening process, and will receive notification that their application has been unsuccessful through UCAS in due course.

For applicants who pass the initial assessment we will consider your application as part of a holistic assessment using all the information available to us to arrive at a decision.

Each applicant to study Dental Hygiene & Therapy at The University of Manchester must complete the Personal Statement section on the UCAS form. Please refer to https://www.ucas.com/applying/applying-university/writing-your-personal-statement/new-personal-statement-2026-entry for guidance.

All applicants must take the Casper Situational Judgement Test before the UCAS January equal consideration deadline. For further information on the test can be found here https://acuityinsights.app/casper/ .

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 [PDF, 71KB].

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.

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

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.

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.

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 BBC at the first sitting for the re-sit grades to be considered.

All re-sitting applicants are required to achieve Grades AAB in the A-level subjects specified above, and an A is expected to be achieved in the re-sit year in Biology.

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful we may permit a further application. You must contact us in advance to determine the suitability of a re-application. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry.

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.

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

Transfers from other courses are not possible.

You cannot transfer to the Dentistry BDS course from the BSc Dental Hygiene and Therapy course.

You will gain the knowledge and skills to begin to manage patients in a clinical setting. You will cover:

• basic sciences
• human diseases
• general dentistry
• behavioural sciences
• basic clinical skills, including patient contact.

You will focus on integrating the clinical skills you have developed so far with more complex treatment plans. You will also undertake a critically appraised topic.

Upon graduation, you will hold a qualification that is recognised by the General Dental Council to allow you to work as a dental therapist or dental hygienist.