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Bachelor of Dental Surgery 2025 Entry (A200)

There are approximately 70 places available on this five year course that is delivered at the University of Liverpool, with up to 4 places available for International students.

Admissions procedures

Applications should be made through UCAS by 15th October 2024. Late applications will not be considered. It is the applicant’s responsibility to complete the UCAS form fully and failure to do so will result in rejection. It is particularly important to enter all qualifications taken, including those failed. Factors that are assessed on an application form include:

  • Academic attainments, to ensure that they meet the minimum entry criteria.
  • Predicted grades for examinations/degrees still to be taken or awarded and only those applicants predicted to achieve the entry criteria are invited for interview.
  • References should be clearly supportive and preferably indicate that the applicant has the necessary attributes for the chosen career. An academic reference should be supplied whenever possible.
  • Re-applications from candidates who have been unsuccessful following an interview for the A200 BDS course will not be considered.

Academic qualifications

Distance learning and BTEC qualifications are not accepted.

A levels

  • Grades AAA in 3 A levels taken together at one sitting, after 2 years of study.
  • We do not accept A level resits or consider applicants who have retaken either Year 12 or Year 13.
  • Biology and Chemistry are essential and the 3rd subject may be from the Arts or Sciences. General Studies, Critical Thinking and Vocational/Applied A levels are not accepted.
  • We do not consider AS level grades when making decisions.
  • For Science A levels that include the separately graded practical endorsement, a Pass is required.

Scottish Higher and Advanced Higher

AAAAA at Higher level and AA at Advanced Higher level including Chemistry and Biology. National 5 qualifications are also taken into account and all applicants would be required to have a minimum of 5 subjects at grade A and 3 at grade B including Maths, English Language and Science; if separate Science qualifications have been completed Biology at a minimum of a grade B is required. 

Irish Leaving Certificate

H1, H1, H2, H2, H2, H2 including H1 in Chemistry and Biology.  Junior Cycle results are also taken into account and all applicants would be required to have a minimum of 5 subjects at Distinction and 3 at Higher Merit including Maths, English Language and Science; if separate Science qualifications have been completed Biology at a minimum of Higher Merit is required.

International Baccalaureate

A total of 36 points including at least 6 in Higher level Chemistry and Biology.

Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced

Will be accepted in place of one A level, in addition to Biology and Chemistry A levels.

GCSE requirements for applicants with the above qualifications

Applicants who have not taken GCSEs are required to have completed equivalent qualifications and to have achieved the equivalent to the below in terms of subjects and grades.

  • A minimum of 8 GCSEs to include at least 5 subjects at grade A/grade 7 and 3 at grade B/grade 6.
  • Applicants are required to have achieved a minimum of grade B/grade 6 in English Language, Maths and Science; if Dual Science has not been taken Biology GCSE is required.
  • Vocational/Applied GCSEs such as BTECs, Cambridge Nationals etc. are not accepted.
  • We do not accept GCSE Maths Numeracy.
  • Applicants should distinguish between full and short courses on their application form.
  • Two short courses will be counted in lieu of one full course.
  • The GCSE requirements should be in place at the time of application. We are unable to consider pending grades at GCSE level.

Degree candidates applying for A200

  • Degree in any subject (at the discretion of the Admissions Tutor) at a minimum of a 2:1 classification. Only the first full degree that the applicant is awarded is considered. Foundation degrees are not accepted. Those with a degree that is not classified (MBChB etc.) should have achieved an overall grade of 70% or above.
  • A minimum of 3 A levels at grade ABB or above including Chemistry and Biology. The 3rd subject may be from the Arts or Sciences. General Studies, Critical Thinking and Vocational/Applied A levels are not accepted.
  • A minimum of 7 GCSEs at grade B/grade 6 or above including Maths, English Language and a Science; if Dual Science has not been taken Biology GCSE is required.
  • Vocational/Applied GCSEs such as BTECs, Cambridge Nationals etc. are not accepted. The GCSE requirements should be in place at the time of application. We are unable to consider pending grades at GCSE level.
  • We are unable to accept applications from individuals who are enrolled on another university degree course unless that course will be completed, and the results known, by 14th August 2025.
  • If an applicant has commenced a degree but not completed it, full details of the circumstances for non-completion should be submitted to dentenq@liverpool.ac.uk by 15th October 2024.

Access Course candidates

  • Further information will be requested from the applicant at the time of application to ensure the Access Course being taken meets the required academic criteria. Not all Access Courses meet the required entry criteria.
  • We consider Access Courses to be suitable for adult learners who should normally have been out of education for at least 5 years.
  • We do not consider Access Courses to be appropriate for students who have failed to achieve the necessary A level grades in the last 5 years.
  • At least 5 GCSE subjects at grade B/grade 6 including Maths, English Language and a Science; if Dual Science has not been taken Biology GCSE is required.
  • Vocational/Applied GCSEs such as BTECs, Cambridge Nationals etc. are not accepted. Functional skills qualifications will not be considered in place of GCSEs.
  • The GCSE requirements should be in place at the time of application. We are unable to consider pending grades at GCSE level.
  • Applicants offering Access to Higher Education Diplomas should present from courses with a minimum of 12 units in Biology and 12 units in Chemistry content at Level 3.
  • Candidates are expected to achieve a distinction in 45 credits at level 3. We would expect the equivalent of a score of 80% to be achieved overall.
  • The Access Course should be completed in one year.
  • Students are required to begin our BDS course within 2 years of completing their Access programme.
  • Only the first full Access qualification awarded will be considered.
  • We do not accept online or distance learning Access courses.

European and International Qualifications

  • The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate equivalence of International and European qualifications and we would expect achieved or predicted grades to be equivalent to our GCSE and A level entry requirements.
  • In addition to the information submitted as part of the UCAS application we also expect applicants to send a transcript of the qualification(s) in English via email (dentenq@liverpool.ac.uk).
  • It is the applicant’s responsibility to supply this information by 15th October 2024. Failure to provide this information will result in rejection.

Candidates whose first language is not English

We require IELTS with no less than 7.0 in every component. Pending IELTS will be considered, however applicants are required to have registered for this test prior to application and listed the details of their upcoming test on their UCAS form.

Personal Statement/Work Experience

The Personal Statement is assessed to ensure that the applicant has knowledge of and insight into the profession with emphasis on work experience/observation. Evidence of a caring attitude and awareness of the values embedded within the NHS constitution is also sought. Applicants must demonstrate motivation and commitment to a career in dentistry. Candidates are expected to show a range of skills and it is desirable on all dental programmes that candidates have completed a period of work experience/shadowing in a local dental practice or hospital and preferably in more than one establishment.

UCAT

All applicants are required to sit the University Clinical Aptitude Test in the year of application. We do not have a set UCAT cut-off score as the UCAT scores are considered along with the Non-Academic Information Questionnaire. A score of Band 4 in Situational Judgement would however not be deemed a competitive enough score for the applicant to be considered for the BDS programme.

Non-Academic Information Questionnaire

All applicants who meet our minimum academic criteria will be sent an information questionnaire with respect to non-academic activities. The questionnaire can be thought of as an expanded UCAS Personal Statement and is your opportunity to provide more information. You will find that you can use most of what you have written in your Personal Statement as the starting point for your Non-Academic Information questionnaire. The questionnaire is essentially a more structured version of the Personal Statement. We will request brief details about your work experience and motivation for studying dentistry.

The questionnaire will be sent to applicants via the email address given on the UCAS application between 1st October and 15th November 2024. Applicants will be given 2 weeks to return the completed questionnaire. Applicants who fail to submit their questionnaire by the given deadline will NOT progress, as the application will be deemed incomplete and will be rejected.

Contextual Data

The University of Liverpool is committed to making our admissions process as fair and equal as possible. To do this we look at the information applicants provide during the UCAS application process.

A contextual offer is made when information you provide tells us that you have experienced barriers to your educational progression. To find out if you are eligible, please submit the information required into the Contextual Admissions Indicator Tool to find out if you meet our criteria: Contextual Admissions - Undergraduate - University of Liverpool.

Learn more about Contextual Admissions at the University of Liverpool. If you are eligible for a reduced contextual offer, you do not need to do anything further. All the information we need is provided in your UCAS application form.

Plagiarism

The University is notified by UCAS of any Personal Statements that are considered to be plagiarised. The Dental School will automatically reject such applications. Applicants may apply in another admissions cycle if they submit an application that UCAS does not deem to be plagiarised.

Extenuating Circumstances

Potential applicants who narrowly fail to meet our academic criteria because their education and/or examination performance was affected by significant extenuating circumstances may submit an application. They should send a full account of the circumstances and how their studies were affected, together with supporting documentation from their university, school, GP, hospital, etc. directly to dentenq@liverpool.ac.uk. Please note that information related to extenuating circumstances that is included in the reference section of the UCAS form will not be taken into account; all information should be submitted directly to our office as outlined above.

All cases will be considered by the Dental School’s Extenuating Circumstances Committee. As cases are reviewed on a case-by-case basis we are unable to guarantee that an applicant’s extenuating circumstances will be accepted by the Panel. If the extenuating circumstances are accepted, the application will progress to the next stage of our Admissions process. All documentation will need to be submitted by the application deadline of 15th October 2024. For applicants who are resitting their A levels due to extenuating circumstances, it is unlikely that we would consider an applicant who achieved less than BBB at the first A level sitting.

Applicants who have experienced significant extenuating circumstances between 16th October 2024 and 30th June 2025 that may have affected their studies should submit supporting documentation (as detailed above) by 1st July 2025. Information received after this date will not be considered.

Interviews

Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) are held from mid-January through to the end of February. Applicants are required to produce the original certificates for all completed qualifications listed on their UCAS form. Failure to produce the required documentation at interview will be considered in our selection processes. Please note that letters from schools and exam boards will NOT be accepted.

Decisions and Feedback

All applicants will be notified of our decision by the end of March. Requests for feedback should be made in writing to dentenq@liverpool.ac.uk before the end of May 2025. We will not respond to feedback requests after this date. We will endeavour to respond to requests as soon as is practicably possible.

Other department specific information

  • All applicants must be 18 years old by 1st October in the year of entry to the programme.
  • We use GCSE grades, or equivalent, when shortlisting for interview so it is important to provide full details of these examinations and failure to do so will lead to rejection of the application.
  • Applicants who have not met the academic conditions of an offer but are seeking a remark will have their place deferred until the next academic year of entry, if the grade required is confirmed.
  • There should be evidence of recent academic endeavour i.e. in the last 5 years.
  • The School of Dentistry tries to accommodate students with disability or learning support needs, but it can only accept students who would be able to practise dentistry without detriment to patients. Students who have a disability that is likely to significantly affect their ability to practise dentistry, or who will need significant support to enable them to do so, are encouraged to discuss this informally with the Admissions Tutor at the School of Dentistry in the first instance. As far as possible, admissions procedures are kept separate from Fitness to Train assessments which are carried out by the University Occupational Health Department for all students entering the School.
  • The School of Dentistry has an obligation to undertake health screening of all prospective dental students. Any offer of a place is conditional on completion of a health questionnaire and a satisfactory assessment of fitness to train from the University Occupational Health Service. This includes some obligatory immunisations and blood tests, in line with recommendations by the Department of Health.
  • All potential students also need to undergo an enhanced DBS check before admittance to the programme.

Applicants are advised to check the website for the latest information prior to application and throughout the admissions cycle.