In light of the impact of COVID-19 on dental education across Scotland’s dental schools, please check our website regularly for the latest information, advice and guidance on application and entry to BDS in 2026.
Glasgow Dental Hospital & School is located in the city centre with facilities for patient care, student clinical practice and training, and education and research in dental and oral diseases and disorders.
Dentistry at Glasgow is ranked top in the UK (Complete University Guide 2026 and The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026).
- September start
- Session dates
- Dentistry BDS: A200 5 year degree
- Glasgow: main campus
- Professionally accredited
- Study abroad available
Admissions chatbot
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
YEAR 1
You will be introduced to all aspects of clinical dentistry, supported by the teaching of clinical medicine, patient management and health promotion, and biomedical sciences such as anatomy, physiology and microbiology.
YEAR 2
You will be introduced to the theory and practice of the subjects that form the clinical basis of dentistry: operative dentistry, prosthodontics and periodontics. As part of the introduction to operative dentistry you will learn about the treatment of dental caries, carried out in a simulated clinical setting.
Knowledge from the first year of the programme is built upon by further study of biomedical sciences, clinical medical sciences and patient management/health promotion. You will also begin the management and treatment of patients.
YEAR 3
You will expand your skills in all aspects of restorative dentistry and will also carry out your first extraction. You will attend outreach placements in paediatric dentistry. Other teaching includes a comprehensive head and neck anatomy course, the dentist’s role in providing smoking and alcohol advice, initial preparation for the provision of sedation, and self-directed work within various subject areas on computer.
YEAR 4
You will continue to work in the Dental School and in the community and will have an opportunity to develop your clinical skills through exposure to patients in all the dental disciplines. Teaching includes oral medicine, sedation, orthodontics fixed appliance course, and further aspects of patient management/health promotion.
At the end of fourth year you are required to undertake a period of elective study of around four weeks’ duration. This is an opportunity for personal and professional development. Possible elective study options include:
- an audit project
- an educational comparison
- a research project (quantitative or qualitative)
- other types of experience such as veterinary dentistry or learning a foreign language within a clinical environment
- a healthcare project in a remote or low- income country.
You will have a supervisor to help you plan your study, which will be written up as a report at the beginning of fifth year.
YEAR 5
You will spend half your time in the Dental School and half working in a community outreach centre. There will be no lectures; instead you will attend eight sessions in each of the following core units:
- Crown and bridge
- Minor oral surgery
- Endodontics
- Paediatric dentistry
- Prosthodontics
- Periodontics
- Consultant clinics (1)
- Consultant clinics (2).
You will be allocated to one residential and one non-residential outreach centre.
Programme alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a programme. For more information, please see: Student contract.
OUR INTERNATIONAL LINKS
During the elective period at the end of fourth year, you will choose a topic to study in greater depth, either in Glasgow or elsewhere. Many students take the opportunity to travel abroad and the University provides organisational and limited financial support.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
FOR ENTRY IN 2026
Summary of entry requirements for Dentistry
SQA Higher Entry Requirements (by end of S6)
- AAAAB Higher + B Advanced Higher (AABB S5 minimum for consideration)
- Additional requirements: Biology and Chemistry at grade A, Maths/Physics and English/ESOL at grade C. Advanced Higher in Biology or Chemistry at grade B. UCAT (www.ucat.ac.uk for more information). Interview.
SQA Higher Adjusted Entry Requirements* (by end of S6)
- AAABB Higher + B Advanced Higher (AABB S5 minimum for consideration)
- Additional requirements: Biology and Chemistry at grade A, Maths/Physics and English/ESOL at grade C. Advanced Higher in Biology or Chemistry at grade B. UCAT (www.ucat.ac.uk for more information). Interview. Successful completion of Reach.
* See Access Glasgow for eligibility.
A-level Standard Entry Requirements
- AAA
- Additional requirements: Chemistry and Biology at grade A. 6 GCSE subjects at Grade A/7. Maths/Physics and English language/literature (English accepted at grade B/6 provided all other GCSEs are attained at grade A/7). UCAT (www.ucat.ac.uk for more information). Interview.
IB Standard Entry Requirements
- 36 (6,6,6 HL)
- Additional requirements: Chemistry and Biology at HL, Maths/Physics at HL (if HL not possible then SL6 will be considered). UCAT (www.ucat.ac.uk for more information). Interview.
Interviews: We will invite selected applicants to a multiple mini-interview in late January/early February.
Work shadowing experience
For entry in September 2026 we are not asking applicants to carry out work shadowing. In an effort to keep things as straightforward as possible whilst there is so much uncertainty around, we will not be replacing this with any additional requirements.
We do realise that this will mean a huge change to personal statements, particularly with the cancellation of many other extra curricular activities, our BDS person specification contains a list of the attributes we look for at interview and we do hope that the majority of applicants will have alternative experiences, outwith a dental environment that they can draw on to demonstrate these attributes.
- BDS Person Specification 2026
We would also recommend that applicants take a look at our Be a Dentist app, which is available for iPhone and Android which contains some excellent videos from dentists in a variety of career tracks to gain some additional information on the profession.
- Be a Dentist app iPhone
- Be a Dentist app Android
Important characteristics
Applicants also need to demonstrate characteristics which are important for the dental profession, including being able to:
- Be diligent and ethical
- Demonstrate having a caring nature, being empathetic and respectful of the views of others
- Demonstrate good communication skills
- Work in a team and have the capacity to act as a leader
- Be self critical and self motivating
- Be capable of independent thinking
- Plan and think on the spot, enjoy problem solving and analysing information
- Show strong evidence of manual dexterity, creativity and spatial awareness.
Important information
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.
English language requirements
CAREER PROSPECTS
Most dental graduates become general dental practitioners. Other possible careers lie in the hospital service or the community dental service.
Choosing a career in NHS general dental practice requires you to undertake a period of vocational training designed to ease the transition between dental school and general dental practice.
This vocational training period lasts one year. However, in some parts of the country, it has been voluntarily extended to a two-year period of general professional training, to provide experience in the provision of dental care in both primary and secondary settings.
ACCREDITATION
The BDS is recognised by the General Dental Council for the purpose of membership.
DEGREES AND UCAS CODES
When applying you will need to know the UCAS code for the subject or subject-combination that you wish to apply to:
BDS
Dentistry: A200 (5 years)
FEES AND FUNDING
TUITION FEES
How and when you pay tuition fees depends on where you’re from: see Tuition fees for details.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The University is committed to supporting students and rewarding academic excellence. That’s why we’ve invested more than £1m in additional scholarship funding in recent years.
RUK Access Bursary
James McCune Smith Scholarship
Republic of Ireland (RoI) Access Bursary
Republic of Ireland (RoI) Excellence Scholarship
Undergraduate Talent Scholarships
Beaconhouse Schools
Cowrie Foundation Scholarship
Humanitarian Scholarships
The Clan Gregor Society Prize
The scholarships above are specific to this programme. For more funding opportunities search the scholarships database
HOW TO APPLY
Full-time students must apply through the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
International students: Applications to Dentistry, Education, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine must be made through UCAS.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
The deadlines for applications to Medicine, Vet Medicine and Dentistry is 15 October each year. The deadline for applications to all other degree programmes is 15 January each year.
The University of Glasgow does not usually accept any applications after these UCAS deadlines. It is the applicants’ responsibility to ensure the accuracy of their application prior to submission, and requests from applicants to correct erroneous application content, change degree programme or change college of entry, will not be accepted after these UCAS deadlines. This policy is in place to ensure fairness and consistency to all applicants, and no exceptions will be made.
- 15 October: if including Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or also applying to Oxford or Cambridge
- 30 June: international (non-EU) students
HOW SOON WILL I RECEIVE A DECISION?
We will usually respond before the end of March.
If your qualifications meet our requirements and we believe you could benefit from study at Glasgow, you will receive an unconditional offer.
If you haven’t yet gained the necessary passes for entry to your chosen subject(s), we may look at the qualifications you are taking when you apply and make you a conditional offer.
IS DEFERRED ENTRY AVAILABLE?
For Dentistry, Nursing and Veterinary Medicine programmes we are unable to consider applications for deferred entry.
UNIVERSITY TRANSFERS
The Dental School has a strict policy of not considering applications from students already studying at another Institution, either to transfer into the course or to restart Year 1.
- Apply at www.ucas.com or through your school or college.
- Contact UCAS on 0871 468 0468.
All applications must be received by UCAS by 15 October. If applying for Dentistry (A200) you must limit your choice to four dental schools only.