Where are Dundee and Newcastle located, and how does that affect cost?

Dundee is in Dundee, UK. Newcastle is in Newcastle, UK. Scottish-domiciled applicants funded by SAAS pay no tuition fees at Scottish medical schools — a substantial funding advantage worth tens of thousands of pounds over the degree. Rest-of-UK applicants still pay £9,250/year.

When does each school release decisions?

Dundee typically releases dentistry decisions March onwards. Newcastle releases dentistry decisions Spring. If one is earlier than the other, you may need to hold a decision while waiting for the second school — be ready to compare in real time.

Dental school comparison

Dundee vs Newcastle

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Dundee vs Newcastle?

Dundee — Mathematics and English at grade 6/B or above (National 5 or GCSE) — used in shortlisting, higher grades essential. GCSEs feed the academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers). Higher grades essential due to weighting. Newcastle — Top 8 GCSE grades scored; not used if the A-level academic criteria are already met.

Dundee and Newcastle are both UK dental schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Dundee is based in Dundee (Scotland) while Newcastle sits in Newcastle (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Dundee and Newcastle.
Comparison field	DundeeDundee	NewcastleNewcastle
Quick comparison
Location	Dundee, UK	Newcastle, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology
TrueScore	Dundee TrueScore 1500	Newcastle TrueScore 2080
UCAT home cut-off	Dundee does not publish a UCAT threshold for dentistry on the current scale. Its historical admissions figures were measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and, as Dundee itself warns, are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Online semi-structured panel interview with two selectors (~20 min)
Post-interview chance	Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.	2025: ~126/328 = 38%. Partners (2024): 59/164 = 36%. Home non-partners (2024): 47/179 = 26%. International (2024): 9/10 = 90%.
Decision date	March onwards	Spring

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology
Contextual A-Level offer	-	Two-grade reduction (ABB offer) for the Partners programme, on a BBB prediction.
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology both required	Chemistry and Biology both required
A-Level resit policy	Resits not accepted (one-sitting expectation)	Resits accepted if A-Level score increases.
GCSE requirements	Mathematics and English at grade 6/B or above (National 5 or GCSE) — used in shortlisting, higher grades essential	Top 8 GCSE grades scored; not used if the A-level academic criteria are already met.
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSEs feed the academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers). Higher grades essential due to weighting.	-
Scottish Highers	AAAAB at Higher in S5 including Chemistry and Biology	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	AB at Advanced Higher in S6 (in addition to S5 Highers above), recommended for competitive ranking	-
International Baccalaureate	37 points overall, 666 at Higher Level including Chemistry and Biology	36 points overall.
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Graduate weighting reversed: 40% academic + 60% UCAT.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	No use of SJT in selection	No use of SJT in selection
UCAT notes	The SJT is not used. Scottish, RUK and international applicants are considered against separately funded intakes, so the effective bar differs between them.	All applicants must sit the UCAT in the year of application. Newcastle explicitly does NOT publish its dental UCAT threshold - it varies by cycle with the applicant pool, so no cut-off should be infer…

Degree awarded	BDS	BDS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 3
Placement geography	Dundee	Newcastle and the north east
Named placement sites	-	Newcastle Dental Hospital
Intercalation	-	Intercalated BSc degrees in Biomedical Science, or master's degrees.
Course highlight	Students work with Thiel cadavers, which preserve life-like flexibility and tissue quality.	£5.5 million has been invested in clinical simulation facilities.

Interview window	December – February	February – March
Interview details	Multiple Mini Interview format. Personal statement is not assessed pre-interview but is used as a basis for discussion at certain stations. Tone is friendly and conversational rather than adversarial.	Online interview conducted via Zoom in February-March. Six domains assessed: preparation and motivation for dental school, communication, problem solving, professionalism, teamwork and reflection.

Specialities	Dentistry (BDS)	Dentistry (BDS)
Established	1916	1834
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Non-graduate weighting: 60% academic / 40% UCAT. Graduate weighting: 40% academic / 60% UCAT. Both A-level predictions and GCSEs feed the academic score, so consistent strong grades matter.	No use of SJT. Partners (contextual) programme accepts ethnic-minority and private-school students (recently expanded eligibility). 2026 admissions policy expects a minimum of 10 days relevant work ex…
Official course page	https://www.dundee.ac.uk/undergraduate/dentistry	https://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/a206/

Dundee

Quick comparison

Location: Dundee, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.
TrueScore: Dundee TrueScore 1500
UCAT home cut-off: Dundee does not publish a UCAT threshold for dentistry on the current scale. Its historical admissions figures were measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and, as Dundee itself warns, are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.
Decision date: March onwards

Newcastle

Quick comparison

Location: Newcastle, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology
TrueScore: Newcastle TrueScore 2080
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Online semi-structured panel interview with two selectors (~20 min)
Post-interview chance: 2025: ~126/328 = 38%. Partners (2024): 59/164 = 36%. Home non-partners (2024): 47/179 = 26%. International (2024): 9/10 = 90%.
Decision date: Spring

Dundee vs Newcastle - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Dundee requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.

Newcastle requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology.

Both demand the same A-Level grade band, so academic prediction is unlikely to differentiate your application between them — provided you meet the required subject combination at each.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Dundee: Mathematics and English at grade 6/B or above (National 5 or GCSE) — used in shortlisting, higher grades essential. GCSEs feed the academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers)… Newcastle: Top 8 GCSE grades scored; not used if the A-level academic criteria are already met.

Interview formats

Dundee uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); Newcastle uses Panel (Online semi-structured panel interview with two selectors (~20 min)). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Newcastle may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Dundee is the better fit.

Interview windows: Dundee interviews in December – February; Newcastle in February – March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum; Newcastle runs a Case-based curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Dundee delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Newcastle centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year BDS with spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Dundee Dental Hospital and Tayside community sites. Five-year BDS with case-based learning. Clinical placements at Newcastle Dental Hospital and North-East community sites.

Intake size: Dundee — ~75 places per year (predominantly Scottish + RUK + small international).; Newcastle — ~85 home + ~15 international places per year for BDS Dentistry.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Dundee: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%. Newcastle: 2025: ~126/328 = 38%. Partners (2024): 59/164 = 36%. Home non-partners (2024): 47/179 = 26%. International (2024): 9/10 = 90%.

Post-interview odds give you the clearest signal of how competitive each school is at the final stage — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%, even if the interview thresholds look identical on paper.

What makes each distinctive

Dundee: Non-graduate weighting: 60% academic / 40% UCAT. Graduate weighting: 40% academic / 60% UCAT. Both A-level predictions and GCSEs feed the academic score, so consistent strong grades matter.

Newcastle: No use of SJT. Partners (contextual) programme accepts ethnic-minority and private-school students (recently expanded eligibility). 2026 admissions policy expects a minimum of 10 days relevant work experience - but reasonable alternatives accepted (e.g. free online courses).

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Dundee feeds into the Scotland foundation programme network; Newcastle into the England network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Newcastle; if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

Your firm/insurance choice should ultimately weight: where your UCAT and predicted grades sit relative to each school's threshold, which interview format you can prepare for most credibly, and where you'd actually want to live for five years.

Common questions

Neither school publishes a single fixed UCAT cut-off; both use UCAT as part of a composite shortlisting score alongside GCSE and personal-statement weighting. Dundee guidance: Dundee does not publish a UCAT threshold for dentistry on the current scale. Its historical admissions figures were measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and, as Dundee itself warns, are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.. Newcastle guidance: All applicants must sit the UCAT in the year of application. Newcastle explicitly does NOT publish its dental UCAT threshold - it varies by cycle with the applicant pool, so no cut-off should be inferred..

Dundee uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Newcastle uses Panel interview: Online semi-structured panel interview with two selectors (~20 min). The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December – February (Dundee); February – March (Newcastle).

Dundee requires AAA including chemistry and biology, all in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted. Resits not accepted.. Newcastle requires AAA including chemistry and biology. Two-grade reduction (ABB offer) for partners programme (BBB prediction). Resit accepted only from candidates who previously applied to Newcastle dentistry; max two exam sittings; one grade higher than the offer they would otherwise have received.. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Dundee — Resits not accepted (one-sitting expectation).. Newcastle — Resits accepted if A-Level score increases..

Dundee's selection methodology: Combined academic + UCAT + MMI. Strong Scottish focus. SJT not used. Newcastle's selection methodology: Two-stage process (similar to Newcastle medicine): academic screen first, then UCAT-ranked interview invites. MMI format. Understanding each school's exact algorithm is the single highest-leverage piece of pre-application research — it tells you whether your profile is competitive before you spend an application choice.

Dundee: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.. Newcastle: 2025: ~126/328 = 38%. Partners (2024): 59/164 = 36%. Home non-partners (2024): 47/179 = 26%. International (2024): 9/10 = 90%.. Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum. Newcastle runs a Case-based curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Dundee specifics: Five-year BDS with spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Dundee Dental Hospital and Tayside community sites. Newcastle specifics: Five-year BDS with case-based learning. Clinical placements at Newcastle Dental Hospital and North-East community sites.

You can — UCAS allows 4 medicine/dentistry choices in total, so listing both is feasible if your profile fits each school's selection algorithm. Apply to both only if your UCAT, GCSE and predicted-grade profile is competitive against each school's published weighting. A common mistake is using two of your four slots on similar schools when a more spread-out portfolio (one safe + one stretch) would maximise overall offer probability.

Where to go next

DundeeEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

NewcastleEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other dental school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.

Dundee vs Newcastle

Side-by-side comparison

Dundee vs Newcastle - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Dundee vs Newcastle?

How do interviews differ between Dundee and Newcastle?

What A-Level grades do Dundee and Newcastle require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Dundee vs Newcastle?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Dundee or Newcastle?

Where are Dundee and Newcastle located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Dundee and Newcastle use?

Should I apply to both Dundee and Newcastle?

Where to go next

Other dental school comparisons