Newcastle dental school: BDS entry requirements

Newcastle University School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne. 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	A206
Course length	5 years
Typical A level offer	AAA at A-Level including Biology and Chemistry.
Admissions test	UCAT
Interview	Online panel interview.

Entry requirements — 2027 entry

Dental Surgery BDS (A206) — 5 years

Standard Entry Dentistry

A levels / Scottish Highers	AAA at A-Level including Biology and Chemistry. AAAAA at Scottish Higher Degree level plus AB at Advanced Higher to include Biology or Chemistry. If only one out of Biology and Chemistry is offered at Advanced Higher, a grade A is required in that science. Candidates offering only one out of Higher Chemistry and Biology will be required to take the other in their final year along with Advanced Higher in the first, and achieve A grades in both the Advanced Higher and the Higher. English and Mathematics required at grade 2 Standard Grade (or Intermediate 2 equivalent).
GCSEs / Scottish Nationals	Minimum of a pass grade in Maths and English.
International Baccalaureate	A minimum of 36 points with Chemistry and Biology at Grade 6 or above at Higher level.
Access to HE Diploma / BTEC	At least 45 level 3 credits to be achieved at Distinction. Must include at least 15 level 3 credits in each of Biology and Chemistry (Human Biology and Chemistry for the HEFC). A minimum of 2 years of full-time employment required after undertaking school-leaving examinations before commencing the Access to HE Diploma. We do not accept BTEC qualifications.
Degree (graduate applicants)	Graduates are accepted onto the full 5-year course. A degree with a 2:1 or higher is required, and must include Biology and Chemistry as a significant percentage of the degree.
Admissions test	UCAT
Personal statement	Used in the application.
Interview method	Online panel interview.
Work experience	Please refer to our page on Work Experience.
Resit policy	We accept A level resits, however, only from candidates who have previously applied to Newcastle Dental School. Resits can be taken over a maximum of two exam sittings and we ask for one grade higher than the offer an individual would otherwise have received.
Widening participation	WP is dealt with through our PARTNERS programme which offers contextual offers for applicants who fulfil specific criteria: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/ partners/ Contextual offers: Typically a 2-grade drop for applicants who meet a range of widening participation criteria. Also a slightly reduced UCAT threshold score for invitation to interview. See website for more details.

How Newcastle 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 Newcastle

Newcastle 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 Therapy BSc (A207) · 3 years — A level ABB including Biology and excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking.

DFT schemes nearest Newcastle

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
Central Scheme	Newcastle upon Tyne	15	0 km
General Professional Training (GPT) Longitudinal Scheme	Gateshead	12	3 km
North Scheme	Morpeth	14	21 km
West Scheme	Durham	12	23 km
West 24 months Scheme	Bishop Auckland	3	35 km

🗺 See this school and its DFT schemes on the map

Newcastle dentistry: common questions

What A level grades does Newcastle need for dentistry?

AAA at A-Level including Biology and Chemistry.

What GCSEs does Newcastle require for dentistry?

Minimum of a pass grade in Maths and English.

Does Newcastle use the UCAT?

Yes — the UCAT.

Is the Newcastle dentistry interview an MMI or a panel?

Online panel interview — as recorded by the Dental Schools Council for 2027 entry.

Does Newcastle accept A level resits for dentistry?

We accept A level resits, however, only from candidates who have previously applied to Newcastle Dental School.

Which DFT scheme is nearest Newcastle?

Central Scheme, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, about 0 km away with 15 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 Newcastle:

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