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Birmingham — Dentistry
Figures are on the current UCAT scale of 2700 unless a cell says otherwise.
Birmingham - Dentistry
BDS Dental Surgery (A200), 5 years
How this university scores applications, with the figures it publishes.
High level summary
Simple summary. Excruciating detail below.
| Question | Answer |
|---|
| Is there a score to clear? | Not published. No score can be called safe or out of reach here. Treat figures from other sources with care. |
| How to read the UCAT figures here | A lowest score and an average are both published. Judge yourself against the average. The lowest is one person. |
| What else counts | GCSEs are a gate. Meeting the minimum is what counts; beating it earns nothing.
No SJT rule is published. |
| The odds | Of every 100 who applied, about 36 were interviewed and about 13 were offered a place.
(2026 entry, UCAT scale 2700.) |
| Where it is decided | Before interview. Most applicants never get one, so the score does most of the work here.
Of those interviewed, about 37 in 100 were offered a place. |
| Note | Birmingham refused the whole FOI but publishes three cycles itself, and the figures are high. The lowest score interviewed for 2026 entry was 2190 and the mean was 2303, above the ninth national decile. Places also fell to 65 from 71. This is one of the most UCAT-selective dentistry entries in the workbook. |
Summary of the selection model
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Scoring approach | Personal statement assessed for motivation. Contextual offers one grade below standard |
| UCAT | Required |
| UCAT threshold | No fixed cut-off published. Lowest interviewed 2026 entry: from 2190 of 2700 |
| UCAT lowest accepted | Lowest interviewed, excluding contextual and widening participation applicants. 2026 entry, of 2700: 2190 interviewed and 2210 offered. 2025 entry, of 3600: 2870 at both stages, about 2180 on the current scale. 2024 entry, of 3600: 2780 at both stages, about 2100. |
| UCAT average accepted | Mean, excluding contextual and widening participation applicants. 2026 entry, of 2700: 2303 interviewed and 2288 offered. 2025 entry, of 3600: 3013 and 2956. 2024 entry, of 3600: 2914 and 2925. The 2026 mean interviewed of 2303 sits above the ninth national decile, so this is one of the most UCAT-selective entries in the workbook. |
| Interview format | MMI |
| Data status | Three cycles of UCAT published by Birmingham itself: lowest, mean and highest at both the interview and the offer stage, for 2024, 2025 and 2026 entry, excluding contextual and widening participation applicants. Eight years of volumes. Not published: acceptances, decile or quartile distributions, and SJT band counts. Birmingham refused all seven FOI questions under 2026.08.2429 of 15 September 2026, so everything held here comes from its own published statistics. |
Source
https://www.dentalschoolscouncil.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DSC-Entry-Requirements-entry-2026.pdf
BDS volumes, three most recent cycles (published statistics)
| Metric | 2026 entry | 2025 entry | 2024 entry |
|---|
| Total applications | 880 | 791 | 937 |
| Overseas applications | 140 | 100 | 154 |
| Total interviewed | 320 | 317 | 320 |
| Overseas interviewed | 16 | 15 | 12 |
| Widening participation interviewed | 92 | 72 | about 50 |
| Total offers | 118 | 141 | 140 |
| Overseas offers | 9 | 10 | 6 |
| Widening participation offers | 26 | 25 | 19 |
| Places available | 65 | 71 | 72 |
BDS UCAT, excluding contextual and widening participation
| Metric | 2026 entry (of 2700) | 2025 entry (of 3600) | 2024 entry (of 3600) |
|---|
| Lowest interviewed | 2190 | 2870 | 2780 |
| Mean interviewed | 2303 | 3013 | 2914 |
| Highest interviewed | 2660 | 3420 | 3370 |
| Lowest offered | 2210 | 2870 | 2780 |
| Mean offered | 2288 | 2956 | 2925 |
| Highest offered | 2470 | 3420 | 3370 |
| 2025 lowest interviewed on the current scale | n/a | 2180 | 2100 |
BDS earlier cycles
| Metric | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|
| Total applications | 1050 | 1085 | 850 | 650 | 600 |
| Overseas applications | 187 | 123 | 150 | 115 | 120 |
| Total interviewed | 317 | 311 | 285 | 280 | 275 |
| Widening participation interviewed | 60 | 50 | 44 | 41 | 28 |
| Total offers | 136 | 133 | 130 | 175 | 170 |
| Widening participation offers | 17 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 14 |
| Places | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
Reading the dentistry figures
| Point | Detail |
|---|
| The scale change is flagged | Birmingham states: 'The UCAT changed in 2025 for 2026 entry, with one module (Abstract Reasoning) being removed. Scores from pre-2025 are therefore not directly comparable.' So 2026 entry is on 2700 and earlier years on 3600 |
| A very high floor | The lowest UCAT interviewed for 2026 entry was 2190 of 2700, close to the ninth national decile, and the mean interviewed of 2303 sits above it. Birmingham dentistry is one of the most UCAT-selective entries in the workbook |
| Places fell | 65 places for 2026 entry against 71 for 2025 and 72 for 2024. The Office for Students maximum fundable limit records 71, with 67 home and 4 overseas |
| Unknown | Acceptances, decile or quartile distributions, and SJT band counts |
Source
University of Birmingham FOI response 2026.08.2429, 15 September 2026, which refused all seven questions under section 21 and directed to the published MBChB and BDS admissions statistics and the selection for interview pages
Entry requirements
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Country | England |
| Course (UCAS code) | BDS Dental Surgery (A200), 5 years |
| GCSE | Maths 7, English Language or Literature 7, Biology 8, Chemistry 8 |
| A level | AAA including Biology and Chemistry plus one other |
| Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers | Contact admissions |
| IB | 32 points with grade 6 in HL Chemistry and Biology plus one other subject at 6 |
| English language | IELTS 7.0 overall with 7.0 in all bands (see Birmingham medicine entry for the full list) |
| Resits accepted? | Unknown |
Volumes, places and competition
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Figures cover | 2026 entry, UCAT scale 2700 |
| Applications | 880 |
| Interviewed | 320 |
| Offers | 118 |
| Interviews per place | 4.92 |
| Offers per interview | 0.37 |
| Previous years - application year and UCAT figure | 2026 entry (of 2700): 880 applications, 320 interviewed, 118 offers, 65 places; UCAT interviewed 2190 to 2660, mean 2303; offered 2210 to 2470, mean 2288. 2025 entry (of 3600): 791 applications, 317 interviewed, 141 offers, 71 places; UCAT interviewed 2870 to 3420, mean 3013. 2024 entry (of 3600): 937 applications, 320 interviewed, 140 offers, 72 places |
Further detail
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Course type | Standard entry |
| Degree requirement (graduate routes) | Unknown |
| Position on the national scale (converted) | Current-scale equivalents, 2025 entry, 2024 test cycle. lowest interviewed 2870 = about 2130 (9th decile). mean interviewed 3013 = about above the 9th decile. highest interviewed 3420 = about above the 9th decile. The 2026 entry figures are already on the 900 to 2700 scale: 2190 at the lowest interviewed sits just below the 9th decile, and the mean of 2303 is above it. Entry years stated explicitly, so the cycles are certain. |
Totals as shown on the comparison table
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Places (further detail) | 65 |
How the UCAT is turned into a score
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Is a UCAT points conversion published? | No points conversion has been published. What the University does say about the UCAT is in the row below. |
| How the UCAT is used, in the University’s own words | Personal statement assessed for motivation. Contextual offers one grade below standard No fixed cut-off published. Lowest interviewed 2026 entry: from 2190 of 2700 |
Entry requirements and places, as shown on the comparison table
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Degree requirement | Unknown |
| SJT - how the band is used | Unknown. Birmingham publishes no SJT rule for dentistry. |