2027 Entry Requirements & Interview Format
University of Otago — Faculty of Dentistry in Dunedin runs a school-leaver and graduate-entry dentistry program for 2027 entry in New Zealand. University of Otago holds a panel interview: Late September 2026 or early October 2026. Decisions for 2027 entry: December 2026 (outcomes advised by 18 December 2026).
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Step-by-step: entry requirements, admission-test prep, personal statement, interview format and the key deadlines.
Open the guide →Format breakdown, school-specific sample questions, FAQs and prep tips from tutors who interviewed here.
Read the guide →Integrated, 5 years (incl. health sciences first year), placements in Dunedin and Manurewa, South Auckland.
See the course →The University of Otago BDS is a 5-year degree at New Zealand's only dental school, located at the Faculty of Dentistry in Dunedin. Year 1 is completed through Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) at Otago; Years 2–5 are at the Faculty of Dentistry.
All shortlisted applicants attend a Zoom interview, and UCAT ANZ is no longer required (removed from the 2025 intake onwards).
Otago is the only dental school in New Zealand — there is no alternative BDS provider, and no NZ equivalent of choosing between schools. UCAT ANZ was removed from BDS admissions from the 2025 intake for every category. Unlike Otago MBChB, where the HSFY and Graduate categories have no interview at all, every BDS category goes through an interview.
BDS is also the stricter of the two on HSFY marks: it applies a 60% minimum in each prescribed paper on top of the 65% average, which Medicine does not. Teaching for Years 2-5 takes place entirely at the Dunedin Faculty of Dentistry — there is no branch-campus clinical split as there is for MBChB.
A separate Advanced Standing pathway exists for qualified overseas dental graduates seeking NZ registration.
Integrated curriculum. 5-year BDS. Year 1 (HSFY): 7 compulsory papers at Dunedin — identical HSFY prescription as for MBChB. Years 2–5: BDS programme at the Faculty of Dentistry, Dunedin — no branch-campus clinical split. Interview required for all admission categories (unlike MBChB HSFY/Graduate, which have no interview). Advanced Standing pathway exists separately for qualified overseas dental graduates seeking NZ registration.
University of Otago — Dentistry (BDS) is strong in these research areas:
Format: Structured Zoom panel interview (late September–early October)
Approximately 350 applicants across all admission categories are invited to a Zoom videoconference interview in late September or early October, where the panel assesses motivation, decision-making and communication. The format is not described as an MMI in Otago's published materials, and the number of stations, interviewers and assessed domains is not published.
Reaching the interview stage is itself competitive: the Dental Admissions Committee sets a minimum academic requirement annually for HSFY, Graduate and Alternative applicants to proceed, and not all Alternative applicants are interviewed.
Otago states that the interview is a suitability threshold — once it is met, interview performance is given no further weight — and that final selection is on academic ranking. UCAT ANZ is no longer required for BDS admission — it was removed from the 2025 intake onwards for every category.
Domestic places are determined by the University Council annually and are not published as a headline figure. Approximately 350 applicants across all categories are invited to interview each year. Domestic fee 2026: NZ$18,600; international fee 2027: NZ$117,915.
University of Otago — Faculty of Dentistry was founded in 1907 and is based in Dunedin.
Programmes offered:
These are real recordings of the interviewers you would meet, from a panel of 16 photoreal faces. Speak your answers out loud, get pressed with follow-ups, and receive rubric-scored feedback about two minutes after you finish, with a replay of your answers.
Try the AI interviewer| Entry pathway | Undergraduate and graduate entry |
|---|---|
| Interview format | Panel interview |
| Decisions (2027 entry) | December 2026 (outcomes advised by 18 December 2026) |
| Admission overview | HSFY category (the main route): take all seven prescribed first-year papers at Otago in the year of application, not having completed that set in an earlier single calendar year; pass them all with an average of at least 65% across your best seven marks (counting an optional eighth paper if taken) AND no mark below 60% in any prescribed paper. That per-paper 60% floor is a Dentistry rule — Otago Medicine does not apply it. You must also pass the HSFY English Diagnostic or ENGL 128. The Dental Admissions Committee sets a minimum academic requirement each year to reach the interview stage; roughly 350 applicants across all categories are interviewed by Zoom in late September or early October, and the final determining factor for applicants who meet all criteria is academic score. UCAT ANZ is not required (removed from the 2025 intake). Graduate category: a bachelor's degree, bachelor's honours degree, or bachelor's degree followed without a break by a postgraduate diploma or honours year, awarded by a NZ university as your first degree within three years of applying, with the qualifying programme averaging at least a weighted GPA of 5. From the 2027 intake the weighted GPA takes your best 300-level papers first (up to 120 points), then your best 100- and 200-level papers to 360 points total, weighted 100-level x0.5, 200-level x1.0, 300-level x1.5. Graduate applicants must also have passed, or be enrolled in, the Otago HSFY papers or their recognised equivalents — including the equivalents taken within the BHSc or BSc (Biomedical Sciences) at the University of Auckland. Alternative category: for applicants not eligible for any other category who hold a NZ degree but are outside the Graduate window, an overseas degree at NZQF Level 7 or above, a master's or doctorate, or relevant health-related professional experience (five years recommended, preferably two in NZ); the HSFY papers or equivalents are still required, and a weighted GPA of about 5 (Otago equivalent) normally applies. Supporting documents must be in by 5pm on 20 August, and not all Alternative applicants are interviewed. No specific Year 13 subject prerequisites, but Biology, Chemistry and Physics at NCEA Level 3 are strongly recommended. Applications open 1 July and close 13 August. Applicants applying for both Medicine and Dentistry must nominate a preferred programme. |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites | No specific Year 13 subject prerequisites are mandated. Biology, Chemistry and Physics at NCEA Level 3 (or the Cambridge International / IB equivalent) are strongly recommended. Otago's standard undergraduate entry requirements apply, and applicants must pass the HSFY English Diagnostic or ENGL 128. The Graduate and Alternative categories require a weighted GPA of at least 5 across the qualifying programme, and all categories require the HSFY papers or their recognised equivalents (including the Auckland BHSc / BSc Biomedical Sciences equivalents). |
| Place types | Domestic places are determined by the University Council annually and are not published. Approximately 350 interview invitations are issued each year across all admission categories. |
| Indigenous pathway | BDS admits under the same Te Kauae Paraoa policy as MBChB — the Admissions Policy for Health Professional Programmes, which replaced Mirror on Society. The equity groups are Maori (verified ancestry plus a supporting statement), New Zealand Resident Indigenous Pacific Origins / NZRIPO (verified ancestry, a Pacific community-leader endorsement and a 500-word statement), Socioeconomic Equity (Years 11-13 within the last five years at a school in the top three NZ Equity Index bands, or decile 1-3 before 2023), Refugee Background, and New Zealand Rural Origins (four years of rural pre-tertiary education, four consecutive years of rural residence after school, or a combination, assessed against the Geographic Classification for Health). Each group is ranked in its own sub-pool within whichever admission category the applicant uses. Quotas are not publicly disclosed. |
| Specialities offered | Oral Surgery, Orthodontics, Community Oral Health, Maori Oral Health, Rural Oral Health |
| Format | Structured Zoom panel interview (late September–early October) |
|---|---|
| Interview window (2027 entry) | Late September 2026 or early October 2026 |
| Decision date (2027 entry) | December 2026 (outcomes advised by 18 December 2026) |
| Post-interview chances | Not published. Roughly 350 applicants are interviewed each year for a domestic intake the University does not publish, so the post-interview conversion rate is unknown. Otago states only that academic score is the final determining factor once all admission criteria are met. |
Otago BDS is the only dental school in New Zealand, so this is the pathway — there is no second option to hedge against. Two things separate it from Otago Medicine and both change how you should study. First, BDS applies a per-paper floor: no mark below 60% in any prescribed HSFY paper, on top of the 65% average across your best seven. One bad paper can end a Dentistry application while leaving a Medicine application alive, so protect your weakest paper rather than maximising your strongest. Second, every BDS category is interviewed, so you cannot treat this as a purely academic race the way HSFY Medicine applicants can. Do not spend time on UCAT for Dentistry — it was removed from the 2025 intake onwards — unless you are also applying for Medicine, which still requires it. The interview is a live Zoom interview in late September or early October, not an MMI and not asynchronous, so practise sustained conversation with a panel rather than timed recorded answers. Getting to interview is itself competitive: the Dental Admissions Committee sets a minimum academic requirement annually and only around 350 applicants across all categories are invited. If you are applying for both Medicine and Dentistry, you will be asked to nominate a preferred programme — decide that deliberately, well before the 13 August deadline.
Two questions our tutors flagged as a strong fit for University of Otago — Dentistry (BDS)’s interview style. Try answering them out loud, then open Prometheus for the model answers and follow-up tips.
Why do you want to study dentistry rather than medicine, and what have you learned about what a dentist's working life in New Zealand actually involves?
Likely follow-up · What have you seen or done that tested whether you would actually enjoy the day-to-day manual and clinical work of dentistry?
The Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 transferred the power to direct fluoridation from local councils to the Director-General of Health. Proponents argue this removed local politics from an evidence-based public health measure; opponents argue it overrides democratic local decision-making.
Where do you stand, and how would you communicate the benefits and risks of fluoridation to a sceptical patient?
Likely follow-up · What is the strength of the current evidence base for community water fluoridation at the levels used in NZ (0.7–1.0 mg/L)?
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Hit the UCAT-ANZ cut-off for University of Otago — Dentistry (BDS) with one-to-one tutoring from top scorers.
Learn morePractise the Panel interview format with students who interviewed at University of Otago — Dentistry (BDS).
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Learn moreCompiled from University of Otago — Faculty of Dentistry's published admissions material and checked for internal consistency. Not independently re-checked against the official course page for 2027 entry — confirm the figures with the school before you rely on them.
We've helped students turn their UCAT, personal statement and interview prep into offers from University of Otago — Dentistry (BDS) and other New Zealand dentistry schools.
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