Cardiff dental school: BDS entry requirements
Cardiff University School of Dentistry, Cardiff. 1 dentistry programme for 2027 entry, plus 2 hygiene/therapy programmes. Entry requirements, admissions test, interview format and resit policy below, as published by the Dental Schools Council.
| UCAS code | A200 |
| Course length | 5 years |
| Typical A level offer | A-levels: AAA including Biology and Chemistry. |
| Admissions test | UCAT |
| Interview | Multiple mini-interviews |
Entry requirements — 2027 entry
Dental Surgery BDS (A200) — 5 years
Standard Entry Dentistry
| A levels / Scottish Highers | A-levels: AAA including Biology and Chemistry. Scottish Highers: National 5s: to include Biology, Chemistry, English and Mathematics at minimum B. SQA Highers: AAAAB by end of S5 (including Chemistry and Biology). Offers would then be subject to BB at Advanced Higher in S6 (in Chemistry and Biology). |
| GCSEs / Scottish Nationals | GCSEs: English language (Grade B); Biology (Grade A/7), Chemistry (Grade A/7) or the double award (Grade AA/77). National 5s: to include Biology, Chemistry, and English and at minimum B. |
| International Baccalaureate | 36 overall or 666 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL Biology and Chemistry. |
| Degree (graduate applicants) | All honours degrees are considered at 2:1 or above. Please check our Admissions Policy from September 2025 for school-leaving requirements for particular degrees. |
| Admissions test | UCAT |
| Personal statement | Applicants must submit a satisfactory personal statement and references to be eligible for consideration for an interview. The personal statement must show evidence of the following: evidence of commitment to a career in Dentistry; evidence of qualities and skills required for dental healthcare; and evidence of work experience or knowledge of the nature of Dentistry. |
| Interview method | Multiple mini-interviews |
| Work experience | We recognise that obtaining work experience in a dental setting can be challenging and this is therefore not a specific requirement. However, all applicants should show: • Evidence of commitment to a career in the dental professional applied for • Evidence of qualities and skills required for dental healthcare • Evidence of work experience or knowledge of the nature of the dental profession |
| Resit policy | Achieved GCSE resits are accepted at the point of application. A level resits are not accepted. |
| Widening participation | Please see the university's website for information on widening participation and contextual offers. |
How Cardiff uses the UCAT
UCAT
The UCAT Consortium does not publish a central table of how each school scores the test, and this site does not publish unsourced cut-off scores. Check the admissions pages linked below for the current threshold or ranking method. Preliminary UCAT mean scores and deciles are published each September; since 2025 the test has no Abstract Reasoning section, so the maximum is 2700, not 3600.
Dental hygiene and therapy at Cardiff
Cardiff also runs 2 dental care professional programmes. These train hygienists and therapists, not dentists, and do not lead to the BDS. See every GDC-approved therapy and hygiene course in the UK, with approval status.
- BSc Dental Hygiene & Therapy (B752) · 3 years — A-levels: BBB (including Biology or Medical Science).
- DipHE Dental Hygiene (B750) · 3 years — A-levels: CC (including Biology or Medical Science).
DFT schemes nearest Cardiff
Dental Foundation Training is the year every UK graduate does next. These are the 5 DFT schemes closest to the school, with their post counts — allocation is national and by ranked preference, so proximity is context, not entitlement.
| Scheme | Base | Posts | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff and Barry Scheme (HEIW) | Cardiff | 11 | 3 km |
| DFT & DCT Longitudinal Scheme (HEIW) | Cardiff | 2 | 4 km |
| Newport and East Wales Scheme (HEIW) | Newport | 12 | 16 km |
| Glamorgan Vale and Beacons Scheme (HEIW) | Merthyr Tydfil | 6 | 30 km |
| Bristol and South Cotswold Scheme | Bristol | 9 | 42 km |
🗺 See this school and its DFT schemes on the map
Cardiff dentistry: common questions
What A level grades does Cardiff need for dentistry?
A-levels: AAA including Biology and Chemistry.
What GCSEs does Cardiff require for dentistry?
GCSEs: English language (Grade B); Biology (Grade A/7), Chemistry (Grade A/7) or the double award (Grade AA/77).
Does Cardiff use the UCAT?
Yes — the UCAT.
Is the Cardiff dentistry interview an MMI or a panel?
Multiple mini-interviews — as recorded by the Dental Schools Council for 2027 entry.
Does Cardiff accept A level resits for dentistry?
Achieved GCSE resits are accepted at the point of application.
Which DFT scheme is nearest Cardiff?
Cardiff and Barry Scheme (HEIW), based in Cardiff, about 3 km away with 11 posts. DFT allocation is national and by ranked preference, so proximity is context, not entitlement.
Sources
Entry requirements above are as published by the Dental Schools Council, Entry requirements for UK and Ireland dental schools — 2027 entry, collated directly from admissions staff and checked on 8 Sep 2026. Requirements change every cycle — confirm on the school's own page before applying.
Admissions pages for Cardiff:
- https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course/dental-surgery-bds
- https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/applying/contextual-data
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