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BDS

Dental Surgery

International student route
Duration
18 months
Start
March 2024
Delivery
Campus Taught

Our Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) - International Route is designed for overseas qualified dentists and allows entry to our BDS programme after the third year.

Why study with us

  • Develop your clinical skills in our state-of-the-art facilities and treat real patients in modern clinics.
  • Links with the UK’s largest dental provider with access to largest clinical support network in UK dentistry and access to financial support.
  • Dentistry at the University ranked 1st in the UK for Student Satisfaction (Complete University Guide 2022).
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What you'll do

  • Gain experience of dental practice in the UK while you study.
  • Advance your personal development as well as professional and clinical knowledge in line with UK dental graduates.
  • Be supported by an experienced teaching team in preparation for your degree assessments.

Module overview

Course delivery

Following the pandemic, we have found that some courses benefit from a blended learning and teaching approach. Therefore, the majority of your teaching will be face-to-face on campus, with some online teaching where we have learnt it works best.

70%Face-to-face
30%Online

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information. However, our programmes are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may cause alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses. Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies or revisions to subject benchmarks statements. As well as to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

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Hear from our students

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Your teaching team

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MyDentist and the University of Central Lancashire

Accreditations

  • UCLan has developed a new programme targeted at international students which reflects the final years of the existing BDS programme. This international programme is awaiting assessment by the GDC for a decision as to its sufficiency for the purposes of registration as a dentist in the UK.

Industry Links

  • We are working with {my}dentist, the UK’s leading provider of dental services, to deliver this course. You may be eligible to apply for financial support from {my}dentist and, upon successful graduation, {my}dentist will provide you with a placement.

Practising dentistry in the UK

After completion of the BDS programme, you'll be able to register with the General Dental Council to practise dentistry in the UK.  

Entry requirements for BDS in the UK

This course is only available to international students.

  • Overseas BDS or equivalent (dental degrees from outside the UK and EEA) and the ability to demonstrate that their degree contains modules that will allow them to receive APL for years 1, 2 and 3 of the award.
  • For all students for whom English is not their first language, proof of competence in English Language as evidenced by IELTS Grade 7.0 or above in each of the four IELTS components (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking). Find out more
  • A minimum of 600 hours within the past 5 years of clinical postgraduate dentistry experience where you have personally treated patients in the dental chair. These are hours spent undertaking appropriate investigations and administrating dental treatment during post-qualification experience.
  • A letter or certificate of good standing from the dental authority in the country where they last worked as a dentist and the country they qualified in.
  • All applicants will be required to attend an entry assessment in the UK. The entry assessments are a written MCQ exam followed by an OSCE and interview. The entry exam and OSCE will sample the Learning Outcomes covered in the GDC document: Preparing for Practice GDC learning outcomes for the first 3 years of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree.
  • All successful applicants will need to undergo Occupational Health Screening (including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C and HIV) prior to admissions and to undergo an Enhanced DBS check prior to enrolment.
  • Applicants are required to ensure they have read and understood the student fitness to practice guidance before applying.

This course will involve you working with vulnerable groups of individuals, including children. In order to ensure that the University offers places on their programmes to suitable candidates, you will all be required to obtain a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service clearance (formerly termed CRB) or an in-country police check and self-declaration form.

Applicant guidance notes

Requirements to apply 

Fees and funding

2023/24
International
First year£20,000 per year
Second Year£48,000 per year
2024/25
International
First year£20,000 per year
Second year£48,000 per year

Scholarships and bursaries

We have a wide range of bursaries, scholarships and funds available to help support you whilst studying with us.

Select your country to see eligibility information and how to apply by selecting more info on the cards below.

  • Care Leaver Bursary

    Our Care Leaver Bursary is for students who need extra support because they have been in care or are estranged from their parents.

    Find out more about Care Leaver Bursary
  • Estranged student support

    Estranged Student Support Bursary is for students who need extra support because they are estranged from their parents.

    Find out more about Estranged student support
  • Dependants Bursary

    Students with financially dependent children may be eligible for our Dependants Bursary as part of our financial support package. 

    Find out more about Dependants Bursary
  • Contextualised Admissions Bursary

    We recognise that the last two years have been very challenging for young people and learning has been impacted. To help support students eligible for a contextualised offer we are offering a bursary of £250 in their first year of study.

    Find out more about Contextualised Admissions Bursary

Frequently asked questions

Anyone who wishes to practise as a dentist in the UK needs to register with the General Dental Council (GDC). Our BDS International programme provides you with the skills, qualifications and experience needed to register with the GDC (subject to approval) and practise dentistry here in the UK, you will qualify with a BDS degree.

The tuition fees for 2022/23 entry are £20,000 for the first 6 months block (payable in March 2023) and £48,000 for the second 12 months block (payable in October 2023). In order to receive your CAS letter, you will be required to pay £20,000 and this will be detailed as a financial condition in your offer letter.

Your reference for the 600 hours needs to be signed and stamped and clearly identify that the referee was/is on a professional regulatory register at the time of the experience (local GMC/GDC).  Clinical experience must be in the last 5 years and the reference no older than 3 months. We will not accept self-certification.

Yes, if you meet the entry requirements, but not if you have gained British Citizenship.

If you have dual British and other citizenship and are not a resident in the UK, you would have to complete our Tuition Fee Questionnaire to determine whether you are able to apply for the BDS International programme.

{my}dentist will provide all successful applicants with £12,000 of financial support during the course. This funding does not need to be repaid so long as you continue to work at a {my}dentist practice for a minimum of three years after you graduate from the BDS International.

{my}dentist will also offer the opportunity for students who meet the minimum requirements, and who are appropriately registered, to earn an additional £12,000 of income during their 12 months at the ETP by working as a private hygienist.

  • An application for financial support will be considered from any student who is (i) accepted and registered on the March 2022 BDS international course, (ii) is in the UK to start the on-campus teaching in April 2022, and (iii) has paid the first instalment of course fees in full.
  • Provided the above criteria have been met, all applications will be successful and {my}dentist will provide a total of £12,000 financial support to each successful applicant.
  • Payments will be made as follows (dates to be confirmed):
    • £6,000 in August 2022
    • 12 monthly payments of £500 from September 2022
  • All payments must be made to a UK bank account in the name of the student.
  • All payments are subject to UK tax and NI and it is the student’s responsibility to account for these deductions.
  • This funding does not need to be repaid so long as the student continues to work at a {my}dentist practice for a minimum of three years after graduating from the BDS International.
  • If a student who has received a financial support payment (either in full or in part) but does not complete the BDS International, or leaves {my}dentist during the first three years post-graduation, then the full amount of financial support paid to them will need to be repaid to {my}dentist.

Yes you can apply without ORE.

Candidates who successfully pass the BDS International will not need to take or pass the ORE in order to practise dentistry in the UK.

{my}dentist will seek to support all successful graduates of the BDS International to undertake Performer List Validation by Experience, which is a further mentorship allowing them to deliver NHS treatments. During this mentorship, clinicians will earn an income for all of the dental work and have their mentorship fees fully paid.

After completion of the PLVE mentorship, {my}dentist will seek to provide you with an associate contract at one of their 600 dental practices across the country and provide sponsorship of your visa in the future. You will also benefit from being part of the leading network of dental clinicians in the UK, as well as having access to the largest clinical support team in the country.

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This course is based in the School of Medicine and Dentistry

For information on possible changes to course information, see our essential and important course information

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at the University of Central Lancashire on our student contract page