Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Aberdeen University Dentistry Entry Requirements
- The Medic Life
- May 20
- 10 min read
The University of Aberdeen Institute of Dentistry runs the only graduate-entry BDS programme in Scotland - a four-year accelerated route into dentistry for UK graduates with a science or healthcare background. With just 20 places each year and around 60 interview invitations, Aberdeen Dentistry is one of the most competitive dental schools in the UK to win an offer at.
At The Medic Life, Dr Bakhtar Ahmad - our lead dentistry admissions expert - has guided hundreds of applicants through the Aberdeen process. This page walks you through exactly what you need: the academic threshold, the UCAT, the personal statement, the interview, and the deadlines that decide your year.
"Aberdeen is not a school you can apply to on autopilot. With 20 seats, no international intake, and a graduate-only route, every part of your application has to do real work — your degree, your UCAT, your statement, and your interview performance. Get the strategy right early, and Aberdeen is absolutely winnable." — Dr Bakhtar Ahmad, Dentistry Admissions Lead, The Medic Life
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Aberdeen Dentistry at a Glance (2026 Entry)
Course: Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), graduate entry, 4 years
UCAS code: A201 | Institution code: A20
Joint award: Degree awarded jointly with the University of Dundee Dental School
Places available: 20 per year
Interviews offered: Approximately 60
Entry route: Graduate only (no school-leaver A-Level/Higher route)
International applicants: Not currently accepted — UK applicants only
Campus: Foresterhill Health Campus, Aberdeen
UCAS deadline: 18:00 (GMT) on 16 October each year
Interviews: February – March
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Who Can Apply to Aberdeen Dentistry?
Aberdeen is different from almost every other UK dental school: there is no undergraduate (school-leaver) route. You must already hold — or be in the final year of — a relevant honours degree.
The Institute of Dentistry specifies the following:
A good Honours degree (First or Upper Second-Class / 2:1 or above) in a medical or health science
Candidates with a first degree in Medicine are also considered
Applicants in the final year of their degree may apply with predicted grades included on the UCAS reference
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements - Acceptable degree subjects include:
Anatomy
Biomedical Science
Diagnostic Radiography
Forensic Anthropology
Genetics
Human Biology
Medicine
Microbiology
Pharmacy
Physiology
Physiotherapy
Veterinary Medicine
BSc Oral Health Sciences applicants are considered where they can evidence module-level marks equivalent to a 2:1 or First.
If your degree is not on this list, Aberdeen asks you to email the Dental Admissions Office (dentistry@abdn.ac.uk) with your course modules and content before applying so they can confirm eligibility.
Dr Bakhtar's tip: "A 2:2 will not be rescued by an MSc at Aberdeen. The school states this explicitly. If you're carrying a lower second-class degree, your strategy needs to be different — Aberdeen will not be the right primary choice, and we'll help you build a list of schools where your profile is competitive."
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Aberdeen Dentistry Academic Requirements
Requirement | Standard |
Honours degree | 2:1 minimum (First Class strengthens your application) |
Subject | Medical or health science (see acceptable list above) |
Predicted grades | Required on UCAS reference if finals not yet sat |
Transcript | Up-to-date university transcript must be emailed to dentistry@abdn.ac.uk after UCAS submission |
Additional MSc | Will not offset a 2:2 |
Deferred entry | Permitted if your current degree completes before the deferred year |
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: English Language Requirements
If English is not your first language, you must achieve:
IELTS: 7.0 overall, with a minimum of 7.0 in the speaking section
Equivalent: TOEFL iBT 100 overall (Speaking 28), PTE Academic 70 overall (Speaking 70), or Cambridge English C1/C2 at 185 overall (Speaking 185)
The test must be taken within two years of applying
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: UCAT for Aberdeen Dentistry
The UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) is a mandatory part of every Aberdeen Dentistry application. You must sit the UCAT in the summer before the year of entry.
How Aberdeen uses your UCAT score?
Aberdeen uses a clear, transparent scoring system:
Academic score weighting: 60%
UCAT score weighting: 40%
The total of your four cognitive subtests is used: Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, and Abstract Reasoning
The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is not scored but may be used as a tiebreaker when offers are made
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Is there a UCAT cut-off?
Aberdeen does not publish a fixed UCAT cut-off. Instead, scores are ranked against other applicants each year and converted into deciles. The lowest UCAT scores invited to interview in recent cycles were:
Year | Home (Scottish-Fee) Applicants | RUK (Rest of UK) Applicants |
2025 | 2320 | 2470 |
2024 | 2190 | 2480 |
2023 | 2110 | 2460 |
2022 | 2250 | 2250 |
2021 | 2080 | 2490 |
2020 | 2010 | 2400 |
2019 | 2280 | 2420 |
Important: these are the lowest scores invited — not averages. For RUK applicants, a competitive UCAT target sits comfortably above 2500.
Dr Bakhtar's tip: "RUK applicants need a noticeably stronger UCAT than Home Scottish applicants — typically 100–200 points higher to make the interview list. Build a 6–8 week UCAT prep plan and front-load it. Don't sit the test in the final fortnight of the cycle — illness or a re-sit becomes impossible if something goes wrong."
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Non-Academic Requirements: What Else Aberdeen Looks For?
Beyond grades and UCAT, the Admissions Panel scores your UCAS form objectively against three categories:
Practical experience and knowledge of career implications — what you have learned about dentistry from work experience, shadowing and conversations with dentists
Personal qualities and team-working ability — empathy, communication, leadership, resilience
Practical skills — manual dexterity activities (music, sport, craft, lab work)
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: What strong evidence looks like?
Dental work experience: general practice shadowing, hospital observation, or community dental services — quality and reflection matter far more than total hours
Caring-role experience: care home volunteering, pharmacy assistant work, special-needs support, charity care work
Team and leadership: sport, music ensembles, Duke of Edinburgh, society roles, peer mentoring
Manual dexterity: musical instruments, art and craft, model-making, sewing, surgical skills courses
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: The Personal Statement for Aberdeen Dentistry
Your personal statement is scored — it is not a tick-box. Aberdeen specifically wants to see reflection, not a list.
What to include?
Why you want to be a dentist (be specific — avoid clichés)
What you have learned from work experience about a dental career
Evidence of caring, teamwork, leadership and manual dexterity
How you have researched the Aberdeen course specifically
Common mistakes Dr Bakhtar sees
Listing every job ever held, instead of reflecting on what they taught you
Forgetting to address all three scoring categories
Failing to mention manual dexterity at all
Treating the statement as one-size-fits-all when Aberdeen has clearly defined criteria
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Key Dates for 2026 Entry
Stage | Date |
UCAT booking opens | Late June |
UCAT testing window | July – Late September |
UCAS application deadline | 18:00 GMT, 16 October |
Transcript to be emailed to Aberdeen | Immediately after UCAS submission |
Interview invitations | December – January |
Interviews held | February – March |
Offers issued | March – April |
Final results review | June |
Course start | September |
Late applications are not normally accepted.
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Fees & Funding (Indicative)
Scottish-domiciled students: Tuition fees may be covered by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), subject to graduate funding rules
RUK (England, Wales, NI): Fee-paying — check current Aberdeen tuition fees and consider Student Finance graduate funding
International: Not eligible to apply for the Aberdeen BDS at present
Always confirm the latest figures on the Aberdeen Institute of Dentistry tuition fees page before applying.
Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements: Why Aberdeen Dentistry?
The only 4-year graduate-entry BDS in Scotland
Joint award with the University of Dundee Dental School
Small cohort: approximately 80 students across the whole Institute means an excellent student-to-clinician ratio
Early clinical contact: patients from term two of Year 1 (equivalent to Year 2 of standard BDS)
State-of-the-art Foresterhill Health Campus shared with medics and biomedical scientists
100% graduate employment after qualifying, with strong pathways into NHS Scotland Foundation Training
FAQs - Aberdeen Dentistry Entry Requirements
What do you need to get into Aberdeen dentistry?
To get into Aberdeen Dentistry (BDS, course code A201), you need:
A 2:1 or First-Class Honours degree in a medical or health science (e.g. Biomedical Science, Pharmacy, Anatomy, Physiotherapy, Medicine, etc.)
A UCAT score that ranks you competitively against other applicants — there is no fixed cut-off, but Aberdeen weights academic 60% and UCAT 40%
IELTS 7.0 overall (minimum 7.0 speaking) if English is not your first language
A strong personal statement addressing dental career insight, personal qualities, and practical skills
A successful panel interview in February–March
UK residency — international applicants are not currently accepted
You must also meet the GDC's Fitness to Practise requirements and submit a satisfactory reference and transcript.
What are the entry requirements for dentistry?
UK dental school entry requirements vary, but common threads across all 16 UK dental schools include:
A-Levels: Typically AAA, including Chemistry and Biology (most undergraduate BDS routes — not applicable at Aberdeen, which is graduate-only)
GCSEs: Strong grades (commonly 6/B or above) in English, Maths and the sciences
Admissions test: UCAT at most schools; a few use GAMSAT for graduate entry
Degree: 2:1 minimum for graduate-entry BDS at Aberdeen, King's, BLT, UCLan, Plymouth and Liverpool
Personal statement scored against each school's criteria
Interview: Usually MMI (multiple mini-interviews); Aberdeen runs a panel interview
Work experience: Dental shadowing and caring-role experience
Health and DBS clearance before enrolment
At The Medic Life, Dr Bakhtar Ahmad helps applicants map their profile against each school's specific weighting — Aberdeen's emphasis on graduate degrees and UCAT decile ranking, for example, is very different from Glasgow's or Dundee's school-leaver pathways.
What is the UCAT cut-off for Aberdeen dentistry?
Aberdeen does not publish a fixed UCAT cut-off. Instead, applicants are ranked in deciles against the rest of that year's pool, and their UCAT score combines with their academic score (40% / 60% split) to decide who is invited to interview.
The lowest UCAT scores invited to interview in recent years were:
2025: 2320 (Home Scottish) / 2470 (RUK)
2024: 2190 (Home) / 2480 (RUK)
2023: 2110 (Home) / 2460 (RUK)
2022: 2250 (Home) / 2250 (RUK)
2021: 2080 (Home) / 2490 (RUK)
In practice, RUK applicants should aim for 2550+ and Home (Scottish) applicants for 2400+ to comfortably make the interview shortlist. The SJT band is not scored but may be used as a tiebreaker between candidates with similar scores, so a strong SJT (Band 1 or 2) is still worth targeting.
Page authored by Dr Bakhtar Ahmad, Dentistry Admissions Lead at The Medic Life. Information verified against the University of Aberdeen Institute of Dentistry admissions pages and current UCAS guidance for 2026 entry. Always confirm the most recent requirements directly with the University of Aberdeen Dental Admissions Office before applying.
Dentistry links:
Other Useful links:
Comments