Leeds dental school: BDS entry requirements

University of Leeds School of Dentistry, Leeds. 1 dentistry programme for 2027 entry, plus 1 hygiene/therapy programme. 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	AAA Including Biology and Chemistry, excluding General Studies and Critical thinking.
Admissions test	UCAT
Interview	Online Multiple mini-interviews TBC.

Entry requirements — 2027 entry

Dental Surgery BChD, Oral Sciences BSc (A200) — 5 years

Standard Entry Dentistry

A levels / Scottish Highers	AAA Including Biology and Chemistry, excluding General Studies and Critical thinking. You must achieve a Pass in the practical element of any science A-levels. Scottish Highers: AA in Biology and Chemistry at Advanced Higher plus AABBB in Highers; A in an Advanced Higher in Biology or Chemistry plus AAABB in Highers with A in Chemistry or Biology, respectively; AAAAAA in Highers including Biology and Chemistry. 6 subjects at National level at Grade B to include English, Maths, Dual Science (or Biology and Chemistry).
GCSEs / Scottish Nationals	A minimum of 6 GCSEs at Grade 6/B or higher including Chemistry, Biology (or Dual Science), English and Maths.
International Baccalaureate	35 points overall, including 6 in HL Chemistry, Biology, and one other subject, as well as 3 SL subjects at grade 5 or above. You must also have English and Maths at SL at grade 5 (if not offered at GCSE). Maths studies is acceptable. For students requiring a visa to study in the UK, you must have English at SL 5 and HL 4 otherwise an alternative English Language qualification must be provided, and this must be achieved at the time of application
Access to HE Diploma / BTEC	Access course: 60 credits from an Access to HE Diploma in Biomedical/ Medical/Health Science or Science. 45 graded Level 3 credits at Distinction with at least 15 credits at Distinction from Chemistry units and at least 15 credits at Distinction from Biology units. You must also meet our minimum entry criteria for GCSE. We will not accept applications from people who have: a) achieved below a 2:1 in a previous degree unless there is evidence of substantial subsequent experience in a healthcare or academically and/ or professionally demanding career; b) commenced an Access Diploma less than 3 years after completing A-levels, other qualifications or a degree; c) we will also not accept Access to HE Diplomas that has been taught through distance learning. If you are applying with Access to HE Diploma qualifications, please contact the admissions team to check your qualifications are suitable before you apply. Cambridge Pre-U: D3 Biology, D3 Chemistry, M1 other subject. Irish Leaving Certificate (higher Level): AAAAAA or H2H2H2H2H2H2 to include Biology, Chemistry, English and Maths. We do not accept the Irish Junior Certificate.
Admissions test	UCAT
Personal statement	Please be advised the School of Dentistry will only accept personal statements relevant to Dentistry. If your personal statement is not relevant to Dentistry; your application will not be considered. We do not accept additional documentation submitted separately, the UCAS application is designed to collect all the necessary information we require to assess your application.
Interview method	Online Multiple mini-interviews TBC. Please see university course page.
Work experience	Please refer to our page on Work Experience. However clinical experience is not required.
Resit policy	One A Level and GCSE resit is allowed but must have achieved results.
Widening participation	Access to Leeds is a contextual admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted. This can be two grades lower than the published entry requirement for each course. So for example, if the course entry requirement is AAA - the Access to Leeds offer could be ABB Low Progression Neighbourhoods: If you live in a neighbourhood where there is low participation in higher education, we may be able to give priority to your application. If you receive an offer, this could be reduced by one A-level grade (or equivalent), in most cases. You don’t need to apply separately: if you are from a Low Participation Neighbourhood we will automatically give your UCAS application additional consideration. Find out more about Access to Leeds and contextual admissions.

How Leeds 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 Leeds

Leeds also runs 1 dental care professional programme. 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.

Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy BSc (A900) · 3 years — A-Level: ABB B in Biology, excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking.

DFT schemes nearest Leeds

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
Area 2	Leeds — West Yorkshire patch (verified from scheme doc)	21	1 km
Joint DFT & DCT Scheme	Leeds (Y&H-wide)	8	2 km
Area 2/3 Joint DFT & DCT Run-through Scheme	Wakefield (Areas 2/3 patch)	3	14 km
Area 1	York — Humber Coast & Vale patch (verified from scheme doc)	21	36 km
Area 1 Joint DFT & DCT Run-through Scheme	York (Area 1 patch)	3	37 km

🗺 See this school and its DFT schemes on the map

Leeds dentistry: common questions

What A level grades does Leeds need for dentistry?

AAA Including Biology and Chemistry, excluding General Studies and Critical thinking.

What GCSEs does Leeds require for dentistry?

A minimum of 6 GCSEs at Grade 6/B or higher including Chemistry, Biology (or Dual Science), English and Maths.

Does Leeds use the UCAT?

Yes — the UCAT.

Is the Leeds dentistry interview an MMI or a panel?

Online Multiple mini-interviews TBC.

Does Leeds accept A level resits for dentistry?

One A Level and GCSE resit is allowed but must have achieved results.

Which DFT scheme is nearest Leeds?

Area 2, based in Leeds — West Yorkshire patch (verified from scheme doc), about 1 km away with 21 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 Leeds:

Part of all UK dental schools · recruitment timelines · what training pays