Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Dundee or UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)?

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

Where are Dundee and UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) located, and how does that affect cost?

Dundee is in Dundee, UK. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) is in Preston, 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. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) 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 UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Dundee vs UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)?

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. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) — GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above.

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

On UCAT alone there is roughly a 1575-point gap between them — a substantial difference that should shape which you list as firm choice vs. insurance. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs CCC) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Dundee and UCLan (Graduate Dentistry).
Comparison field	DundeeDundee	UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)Preston
Quick comparison
Location	Dundee, UK	Preston, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.	CCC at A-level minimum (in addition to degree) including 2 of Biology / Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics
TrueScore	Dundee TrueScore 1500	UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) TrueScore 1810
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.	Lowest UCAT score for 2025 entry: ~1810+ /2700
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	MMI for both UK and international applicants
Post-interview chance	Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.	38/120 = 32% (2025).
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.	CCC at A-level minimum (in addition to degree) including 2 of Biology / Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology both required	At least 2 of Biology / Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics
A-Level resit policy	Resits not accepted (one-sitting expectation)	Not applicable to graduate entry.
GCSE requirements	Mathematics and English at grade 6/B or above (National 5 or GCSE) — used in shortlisting, higher grades essential	GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above
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	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Graduate weighting reversed: 40% academic + 60% UCAT.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in a Biomedical discipline. UK and international applicants accepted — only one offer per cycle goes to an international applicant.
Alternative qualifications	-	Personal statements no longer used in selection. UCAT + degree class + MMI drive the ranking.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	~1810+ /2700 (same as home threshold; only 1 international offer per year)
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	No use of SJT in selection	Not specified - selection is UCAT + academic + interview
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.	Personal statements no longer used. Slight variation in stats across sources (32 vs 38 offers).

Degree awarded	BDS	BDS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry, direct into 2nd BDS)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	Dundee	Lancashire and Cumbria
Named placement sites	-	Blackpool Dental Education Centre, Morecambe Dental Education Centre, Accrington Dental Education Centre, Carlisle Dental Education Centre
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Students work with Thiel cadavers, which preserve life-like flexibility and tissue quality.	The course recruits 29 students a year.

Interview window	December – February	Spring
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.	MMI for both UK and international applicants. About 32-38 offers from 120 interviews (around 30%). Personal statements no longer used in selection; performance is driven by UCAT and interview.

Specialities	Dentistry (BDS)	Graduate Entry Dentistry (BDS)
Established	1916	1828
Course type	Undergraduate	Graduate Entry
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.	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.
Official course page	https://www.dundee.ac.uk/undergraduate/dentistry	https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/

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

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)

Preston

Quick comparison

Location: Preston, UK
A-Level offer: CCC at A-level minimum (in addition to degree) including 2 of Biology / Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics
TrueScore: UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) TrueScore 1810
UCAT home cut-off: Lowest UCAT score for 2025 entry: ~1810+ /2700
Interview format: MMI for both UK and international applicants
Post-interview chance: 38/120 = 32% (2025).
Decision date: Spring

Dundee vs UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

Dundee's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 3600, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) sits at approximately 2025.

That's a 1575-point gap — large enough to put the two schools in completely different competitiveness tiers. An applicant scoring in the 2600-3100 band would be competitive at UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) but borderline at Dundee.

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.

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) requires CCC at A-level minimum (in addition to degree) including 2 of Biology / Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics.

Dundee is the stricter A-Level offer; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

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)… UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above.

Interview formats

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.

Curriculum and teaching style

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.

Post-interview offer rate

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.

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.

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.

Which is right for you?

If your UCAT lands below the UK median (~1880/2700), UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) is the more realistic firm-choice option. For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) is the lower-risk academic option.

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Dundee feeds into the Scotland foundation programme network; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) into the England network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer UCLan (Graduate Dentistry); 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

Dundee's typical home cut-off is around 3600, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) sits at approximately 2025 — a 1575-point spread. That's a meaningful gap; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) is materially more accessible for an average-to-good UCAT, while Dundee expects performance closer to the top -33% of test-takers. Cut-offs change year on year and vary by tier — check each school's latest published threshold before submitting your UCAS form.

Dundee uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: MMI for both UK and international applicants. The format is the same, so the same prep approach applies — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot topics, and (for MMI) structured 5-7 minute station answers. Interview windows: December – February (Dundee); Spring (UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)).

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.. 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).. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) — Not applicable to graduate entry..

Dundee's selection methodology: Combined academic + UCAT + MMI. Strong Scottish focus. SJT not used. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)'s selection methodology: UCAT + degree class + interview. Strong North-West regional focus. 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 runs a Spiral curriculum. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) runs a PBL 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. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry BDS. Preston-based with clinical placements across Lancashire NHS 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

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)Entry 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.