Can I study dentistry in Victoria straight after Year 12?

Yes, at La Trobe. Its 5-year Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) selects Year 12 applicants on their ATAR plus any adjustments, with no admission test and no interview on the standard and Regional Entry codes. Melbourne’s DDS is graduate-entry: standard applicants need a bachelor degree and the GAMSAT.

Do I need the GAMSAT for dentistry in Victoria?

Only for Melbourne’s DDS. Standard-pathway applicants are ranked on one list in which GPA/WAM rank and GAMSAT rank carry equal weight, and there is no interview. La Trobe’s Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) uses no admission test at all, and neither Victorian school uses the UCAT-ANZ.

What is the difference between Melbourne and La Trobe?

Melbourne is graduate-entry: a 4-year DDS taught at Parkville, with clinical placement at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and a 2026 Handbook quota of 91 places a year. La Trobe is undergraduate entry: a 5-year Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) taught at Bendigo, with Honours built into the five years and Years 4 and 5 centred on placement in regional and rural Victoria.

Where do Melbourne dental students do their clinical training?

Melbourne lists clinical placement at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and other metropolitan and rural sites. Students begin treating patients in second year, and the final year is almost entirely clinical, including community health centres and rural community clinics.

Australian Dentistry · Entry Guide

Dental schools in Victoria

2 schoolsGAMSAT / no-test routes

Victoria has two dental schools with different entry routes. The University of Melbourne’s 4-year graduate Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) is taught at Parkville, with clinical placement at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, and selects on GPA/WAM and GAMSAT with no interview. La Trobe University’s 5-year undergraduate Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) is taught only at Bendigo and selects on academic results, with no admission test and no interview on its standard and Regional Entry codes.

Overview

Studying dentistry in Victoria

Melbourne’s DDS needs a bachelor degree, second-year-level prerequisite subjects in anatomy, biochemistry and physiology taken within 10 years, and the GAMSAT. Offers come from one ranked list in which GPA/WAM rank and GAMSAT rank carry equal weight. Students treat patients from second year, and the final-year rotation includes a rural placement. La Trobe’s course is run by the La Trobe Rural Health School: Years 1 and 2 combine sciences with simulation training at Bendigo, patients start in Year 3, and Years 4 and 5 centre on 250 days of placement in regional and rural Victoria, rotating through teaching clinics in Bendigo, Wodonga, Mildura and Melton. Applicants whose principal home address is in an ASGS-RA (2021) RA2–RA5 area can apply through La Trobe’s separate Regional Entry code, which adds 10 to 15 aggregate points under the Rural and Regional Student Access Scheme.

Funding + places. Melbourne’s 2026 Handbook sets a course-wide quota of 91 DDS places a year and publishes no split by place type. Its Commonwealth supported places are limited, and domestic applicants who meet the entry requirements are also considered for an Australian fee place. All three La Trobe entry codes (standard, Regional Entry and First Nations Australian Entry) are Commonwealth supported, and La Trobe publishes no place quota. HECS-HELP is available to eligible students in Commonwealth supported places.

Schools