Dundee vs UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)

Dundee's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1830, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) sits at approximately 2025.

The 195-point spread matters: Dundee offers slightly more headroom for an average-strong UCAT, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) expects performance closer to the national 75th-90th percentile.

Dundee requires AAA including chemistry and biology, all in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted. Resits not accepted.

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) requires 2:1 in biomedical discipline. GCSE English and maths grade B. CCC at A-level including 2 from biology/physics/chemistry/maths.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Dundee: AAA at A-Level. National 5 / GCSE Biology, English, Maths at grade 6+ if not at A-Level. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree.

Both Dundee and UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot-topic answers and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Dundee runs multiple mini interviews (mmi); UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) runs mmi for both uk and international applicants. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Dundee interviews in December – February; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) in Spring.

Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Dundee delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year BDS with spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Dundee Dental Hospital and Tayside community sites. Four-year accelerated graduate-entry BDS. Preston-based with clinical placements across Lancashire NHS sites.

Intake size: Dundee — ~75 places per year (predominantly Scottish + RUK + small international).; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) — ~30-50 places per year (small graduate-entry cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Dundee: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): 38/120 = 32% (2025).

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.

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.

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): Both UK and international applicants accepted - only one offer made each year to an international applicant. 2025: 353 applicants, 120 interviews, 38 offers (32%). Personal statements no longer used.