Undergraduate Dentistry in Australia for Canadians: Entry Requirements, UCAT and Cost
By Muntasir • Published May 28, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • Money & Budgeting, Canadians Studying Abroad
Australian dentistry splits the same way medicine does: the University of Melbourne and University of Sydney run graduate-entry programs needing a prior degree, while the University of Queensland and Adelaide University (formerly the University of Adelaide, merged with the University of South Australia from January 2026) have historically admitted straight from Grade 12. Every UCAT ANZ Consortium dental program requires the test plus an interview, and Canadians sit UCAT ANZ from a Pearson centre without traveling to Australia.
🎓 Graduate-entry dental schools need a completed bachelor's degree first
Undergraduate-entry dental schools admit straight from Grade 12
UCAT ANZ is required across the consortium's dental programs, the same test used for medicine
📩 Canadians sit UCAT ANZ from a Pearson test centre, no travel to Australia needed
Confirm each school's current pathway on the Australian Dental Council's accredited list
Graduate Entry Versus Undergraduate Entry
Australian dentistry follows the same split as Australian medicine. Graduate-entry dental schools require a completed bachelor's degree before you apply to a Doctor of Dental Medicine or Doctor of Dental Surgery. Undergraduate-entry dental schools admit you straight from Grade 12 into a Bachelor of Dental Science or Bachelor of Dental Surgery that runs 5 years.
The University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney both run graduate-entry dental programs, so a prior bachelor's degree is required before you apply. The University of Queensland and Adelaide University have historically run undergraduate-entry dental programs admitting straight from Grade 12. Confirm current status for every school on the Australian Dental Council accredited program list before you build a shortlist, since a school can shift its entry model between intakes.
UCAT ANZ for Dentistry
Dental schools inside the UCAT ANZ Consortium use the same test medical schools use. It runs as a computer-based test at Pearson centres across Australia, New Zealand and worldwide, so you sit it from Canada. Scoring counts correct answers only, with no penalty for a wrong guess, so answer every question. Register inside the window the consortium sets each year, since a late registration adds a fee.
Weighting differs by school. Some dental programs weight the situational judgment subtest more heavily than others, and some set a minimum score in each subtest rather than an overall cutoff, so check your target school's own UCAT policy rather than assuming one score works everywhere.
The Interview
Most undergraduate-entry dental programs add an interview after UCAT, commonly a multiple mini interview format with short stations testing communication, ethics and reasoning rather than dental knowledge directly. Practice with scenario-based questions rather than a memorized script, since interviewers ask follow-up questions that expose a rehearsed answer.
Cost Considerations
Dental degrees run 5 years for undergraduate entry, or a bachelor's degree plus a graduate program for the other route, and international tuition is set independently by each school. Pull the current international fee from your target school's own course fee page rather than an estimate from a forum, since dental tuition changes annually and differs meaningfully between schools. Add Overseas Student Health Cover for your full enrolment length and a living cost estimate from the Study Australia cost of living calculator to build your real total.
Building Your Shortlist
Pull the current accredited program list from the Australian Dental Council
Sort for undergraduate-entry programs open to international applicants
Confirm UCAT weighting and interview format for each school
Register for UCAT ANZ inside that year's window
Pull a current international tuition figure directly from each school before you compare cost