Get Non-Conventional Entry to Study Dentistry

Getting into dental school isn’t easy but there are a number of pathways to entry that you should familiarise yourself with.

Non-Conventional Routes to Become a Dentist

Various entry pathways exist to study dentistry in the UK for those individuals who have not taken a ‘typical academic journey’.

These pathways to entry include:

  • Pre-dental courses / foundation programmes/ preliminary year of study/ gateway to dentistry courses

    • These programmes exist for those with proven academic ability, but not the science qualification to apply to study Dentistry directly. As such this is often an additional year of study (prior to the usual five year BDS degree) to prepare students for entering the five year degree programme. 

  • Access to Higher Education (HE) diploma’s

    • Access courses allow those who have been out of education for some time  to gain the necessary qualifications to be considered for entry to Dentistry. Each Dental School will have its own outlook on whether this type of course is suitable. Therefore, it is recommended to discuss your individual circumstances with the admissions team to determine your likely options. Some Schools do not accept these so we would suggest contacting the admissions team prior to embarking on starting these courses.

      Access courses are unlikely to be suitable for entry, for those who have failed to attain the necessary A-level qualifications, however these maybe considered when individual have extenuating circumstances.

      When considering an access course, you should determine:

      1. Whether the University will first accept this course, if so what are the scores and specific entry details (credits needed)?

      2. Are there any other minimum requirement needed i.e GCSE?

      3. Is the course regulated by Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)?

      4. What is the feedback of the course from previous students?

      5. Will the course content satisfy the Universities requirements?

  • Wider participation schemes 

    • Widening access or widening participation schemes have been established to ensure that those individuals from less represented backgrounds are given equal opportunities to higher education. Each university will have their own contextual factors that they use. It is advised to contact the universities to determine how your offer may differ to ‘standard entrants’.

In order to determine which entry routes are suitable for you, this will depend upon your individual scenario and circumstances.

Use the table below to give you a brief overview of some of the non standard entry pathways.

Please note that this table is subject to change and we recommend looking at the university’s website for the latest updates.

Non Standard Entry Dentistry