The BDS and how the five years run
The School of Clinical Dentistry is at 19 Claremont Crescent, with Charles Clifford Dental Hospital next door, where most clinical placements happen. The course has been redeveloped in line with the GDC's Safe Practitioner framework and is taught in themes rather than stand-alone modules.
You carry out supervised treatment on patients in your first year, and year 1 and the first semester of year 2 are shared with dental hygiene and therapy students. Year 3 includes a research project of your choosing, and you can intercalate a BMedSci after year 2.
The five years, from Sheffield's course page
- Year 1 · Patients
Foundations
The body, head and neck, operative dentistry skills, and supervised treatment on patients.
Supervised clinics - Year 2
Wider treatment
More operative dentistry, root treatment, dentures and communication.
Multi-disciplinary clinics - Year 3
Planning care
Treatment planning, managing children, advanced operative work and a research project.
Research project - Year 4
Outreach
Advanced treatment planning, with two different outreach placements.
Two placements - Year 5
Holistic practice
Refining your professional practice as you bring the course together.
BDS
Entry requirements and how to apply
A-level route
AAA including Chemistry and Biology, with a pass in the practical element of any science A level.
Access+
A contextual offer of AAB through Sheffield's Access+ scheme.
Panel and group task
A semi-structured panel interview of up to fifteen minutes and a separate group task, on campus.
Contextual offers
Sheffield's Access+ offer is AAB. See how it compares with the other dental schools.
Clinical training and outreach
Patients from year 1
The year 1 Clinical Practice theme has you carrying out supervised treatment on patients safely and efficiently.
Two outreach placements
Year 4 includes two different outreach placements, alongside advanced treatment planning.
An enhanced DBS check, and proof of your childhood vaccinations (MMR, chickenpox and TB) during Welcome Week.
Student life in Sheffield
SUDSS
The Sheffield University Dental Students' Society runs dental families, balls, sport, social events, careers fairs and volunteering.
Students' Union: SUDSSNext door
The school and Charles Clifford Dental Hospital sit side by side on Claremont Crescent.
Sheffield: Dental SurgeryA fixed international fee
For international students, the fee in year 1 is the fee for every year of the course.
Sheffield: Dental SurgeryFees and key dates
Sheffield's general fees page says mandatory DBS checks and protective equipment are included in the fee.
Source: Sheffield: home tuition fees; Sheffield: Dental Surgery BDS
Key dates
Funding and support
No funding specific to this school is listed here. What you can get depends on where you live and where you study.
Strengths and things to plan for
- Patients in year 1. Supervised treatment from the first year.
- An EPQ route. AAB plus a B in a health-related EPQ.
- Fixed international fee. The same each year of the course.
- UCAT. Average or above, with SJT band 1 or 2.
- Personal statement. Used when choosing who to invite.
- On campus. Selection days are held in Sheffield.
- International fee. £55,000 a year for 2027/28.
Who to believe, and in what order
DentiSpark is not the authority on any of this, and does not want to be. University of Sheffield's own pages are the authority on what it will ask of you; where anything here disagrees with them, the school is right and we are not. Entry requirements, deadlines and course codes change from one cycle to the next.
Check these before you apply:
The regulator
The General Dental Council decides which degrees lead to registration as a dentist in the UK. Its list of approved providers is the only place to confirm where a programme stands.
GDC approved providers