On line applications for local students and international students have now closed.

The overall GAMSAT cutoff score for 2009 was set at 57. This score is subject to change from year to year depending on the number of applicants.

In 2001 the Faculty of Dentistry introduced the Bachelor of Dentistry program (BDent). This innovative four-year graduate-entry program was developed in response to the changing demands on dental health care professionals and has now replaced the previous five- year course. Students, staff and the profession have praised the BDent for its progressive educational approach, focus on total patient care, early clinical contact and for its emphasis on the importance of life-long learning. The program is designed to arm its graduates with the tools needed to practise as ethical and accomplished dental practitioners in the 21st century.

The Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Sydney actively fosters excellence in dentistry. Through the superior quality of its graduate training and research the Faculty has established a strong international reputation. The BDent program builds upon the Faculty's existing strengths by embracing recent advances in educational research and delivery. Key features include graduate entry, problem-based learning and self-directed learning. The clinical component of the course has a strong and early emphasis, with practical experience commencing in the first year. The use of new technologies is central to the delivery of the BDent program. Close links have been established with the University of Sydney Medical Program and there are extensive opportunities for dental and medical students to collaborate in learning.

The BDent is open to applicants who have completed a Bachelor's degree in any discipline from an accredited University. Graduates of the BDent program will be fully qualified to practise dentistry upon completion of the four-year course.

Please note, there is no chance to transfer from a Dentistry degree conducted at another university as you must have a completed undergraduate degree to be eligible to apply.

The Faculty does not conduct Bridging Courses for overseas trained dentists. If you wish to apply for the Bachelor of Dentistry, you must complete the full four year program. There are no credits granted for previous study.

As the Faculty will be conducting Multiple Mini-Interviews]] (MMI) in conjuction with the Faculty of Medicine. Information regarding the MMI for local students can be found at the following website: local interviews

In recent years the roles of the dental health care provider have changed considerably. Effective preventive measures, rapid advances in biomedical and genetic research and the development of new dental technologies and material are just some of the factors that have altered the scope and challenges of modern dentistry. The aging of the population has led to an increase in chronic and multi-system illness and an associated increase in complex pharmacological management. There is also an increasing expectation that all health care providers adopt an evidence-based approach, ensuring that their patients get the very best treatment available.

The BDent aims to equip graduates with the skills they will need to meet these changing demands. These skills include:

The Faculty of Dentistry selected from amongst graduates to ensure that applicants have a greater level of maturity and self-knowledge and a greater understanding of the nature and pressures of dental practice. Successful applicants will have demonstrated a sustained capacity for tertiary study as well as reasoning skills in the humanities, sciences and social sciences. They will thus be prepared for self-directed learning and be ready for focussed dental and bio-medical studies at the start of the program.

The Faculty seeks students from a diverse range of primary degrees to provide a broad base for shared learning in an environment where group work is a major component. The variety of first degrees amongst students ensures that all group learning is reviewed from a wide range of perspectives and students are able to learn from one another. The Faculty values the contribution that research makes to advances in dental practice and offers some selection advantage to appropriately qualified applicants who have developed strong research potential.

The graduate dental program has chosen problem-based learning (PBL) as an important method of curriculum design and delivery. Students work together in small groups (of up to nine or ten) with a facilitator. Each week in the first two years students are presented with a clinical problem.

The group looks for cues, develops hypotheses and discusses basic mechanisms relevant to the problem. Key issues are identified for learning. They cover not only basic and clinical sciences but behavioural, family, ethical, professional or community concerns. Students break to undertake self-directed learning and return for a second and later a third tutorial in which they contribute new ideas towards a solution of the problem. Relevant additional classes – including lectures and practical sessions – contribute to learning during the week.

The problem-based tutorials represent the core of learning, which is supported by extensive web-based resources. Much of the learning in the first two years is shared with medical students. In the latter two years, dental and relevant medical clinical problems continue to be studied, but in a more sharply focussed way. Most of the learning is undertaken in clinics treating patients, mainly in the dental schools but also in rural and other settings.

The structure of the BDent curriculum is both horizontal (year by year) and vertical (by theme). The first two years of the curriculum builds on the University of Sydney Medical Program, with an additional dentistry Clinical Practice component. Years 3 and 4 place emphasis on dental case management and build on prior learning.

The curriculum is grouped into four major themes, outlined below.

Through the theme of Total Patient Care students learn the necessary reasoning and communication competencies for effective dental diagnosis as well as developing the clinical understanding and technical skills to manage the care of patients with common dental conditions.

In the first two years of the program this is encountered as Foundations of Total Patient Care, which provides an introduction to, and foundation for, competency in the technical, clinical and communication skills essential for the practice of professional dentistry. The weekly program in the dental teaching hospitals introduces students to dental competencies in simulation settings and dental clinics as well as in the laboratory.

Personal and Professional Development material covers the personal and professional skills needed for effective and rewarding practice, including ethical behaviour, productive teamwork, evidence-based decision making, self-evaluation and life-long learning. Aspects of dental practice and time management will be included.

Within the Dentist and the Community strand students learn about the place of dentistry in health care, interactions with the community and dental public health issues. The theme introduces students to the unique role of dentistry among the health professions, as well as to issues of prevalence, epidemiology and the impact of dental disease and disability in the community. Preventive dentistry is also included.

Life Sciences is designed to teach the underlying biomedical and clinical sciences to ensure an understanding of the mechanisms of health and disease. This theme is emphasised in the first two years although new knowledge is added progressively throughout the program, building on earlier understanding. Most of the content of the Life Sciences theme is shared with the medical students.

Dentistry is an exciting, versatile, and challenging career choice. Primarily it is a career about helping people and as such it is important that you have excellent communication and social skills and a compassionate nature. Other qualities that will contribute to making dentistry a rewarding path are an enquiring mind, a strong sense of vocational commitment, and a commitment to life-long learning. Thus you will be equipped to welcome the challenge of a career the scope of which is continually evolving. There are some practical considerations to be taken into account when making the decision to study dentistry. Dentistry is a 'hands-on' profession and it is essential that you possess good manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Many students find that this hands-on work is a welcome and rewarding aspect of the course, and later the profession.

The actual weekly contact hours during the BDent are quite long, and the year itself is considerably longer than the regular tertiary year. It is important to be aware of these commitments if you are considering holding a part-time job while studying, or if you have substantial personal or family commitments which may be in conflict with the demands of your educational workload.

During the first two years of the BDent program much of the teaching occurs on Camperdown campus, in collaboration with medical students. The course has a substantial problem-based learning (PBL) component, with the focus of each week's learning provided by the problem presented that week. The PBL tutorials take place at the Surry Hills campus. Students then learn independently or in co-operative groups, from books and journals, and from the web, triggered by the issues raised in the tutorials. Additionally one day per week is devoted specifically to learning dental skills in dental schools as part of the Foundations of Total Patient Care strand.

All underpinning basic biomedical sciences, as well as aspects of important and common medical disorders, are introduced in the first two years through PBL. Throughout the course, this introductory knowledge provides the solid base from which students can build further knowledge as their level of sophistication and clinical experience grows.

In the explicit dental skills strand, students learn and practise dental skills and techniques progressively. By the end of the second year students are well prepared to undertake simple patient treatments and ready to enter the intensive clinical environments of the last two years.

Below is an abbreviated example of an average weekly timetable for a Year 1 BDent student. This is intended as an indication only as the timetable varies significantly from week to week, and from student to student. A detailed calendar is provided via the intranet to keep BDent students up to date with their weekly schedule.

In the latter two years, there is a dramatic shift to practical and clinical experience as the focus for all learning. Year 3 consists largely of supervised clinical placements at the Sydney Dental Hospital and Westmead Centre for Oral Health, while Year 4 includes community placements and specialty experience, including paediatric dentistry and orthodontics, and experiences in an elected sub-specialty.

For most of the week, students are engaged in patient care, working as members of multidisciplinary treatment teams. The focus is on the total care of the patient, rather than sub-specialty rotations. A list of common preventable or treatable clinical problems defines the core learning for all students. Individual clinical experience in dental settings expands this knowledge, further augmented by additional, more specialised clinical problems which will be prepared on the web or presented on CD-ROM.

A concurrent structured teaching program extends throughout this part of the course. The balance between patient-based activities and scheduled sessions varies progressively, with formal teaching sessions reduced in number and frequency, and hands-on clinical work increased as students move through the third and fourth years.

Dental practice is increasingly dependent on the efficient and effective use of computers. The BDent has been designed to incorporate the use of information technology in its delivery from the word go. Material for PBL, including the introductory triggers, laboratory and imaging data and various learning resources, is presented via an intranet, together with voluntary assessments and feedback opportunities. This intranet links all the teaching sites and the University of Sydney Dentistry Library with the dental hospitals and is used in the tutorial delivery of the problems as well as for self-directed learning. In addition, students have access to the world wide web, to databases and to computer-based educational programs and texts.

Students have access to networked computers in tutorial rooms, practical classrooms, the library and in the two dental clinical schools as well as from home or practices remote from campus, providing a flexible resource to support student learning.

Upon graduation from the BDent, candidates will be eligible for immediate registration with the Dental Board of NSW, allowing them to go straight into practice.

Employment is usually secured soon after graduation and starting salaries are amongst the highest across degrees. From here on opportunities are many and varied, from private practice to research, to further education and beyond. Dentistry is a profession of great scope, allowing freedom of movement and experience. Abundant possibilities for career development exist in both the public and private sectors, in rural areas and city centres, within Australia and abroad.

Some possible career paths include:

International applicants are advised to check the relevant web site for the latest admissions testing information. Please refer to the final page of this publication for contact details.

Information regarding overseas MMIs can be found at the following website:International interviews.

Students are selected from amongst recent graduates in order that a committed, mature and academically diverse group may optimise the learning opportunities provided by this program. There is no preference given to graduates with a particular Bachelor's degree. Students will be selected on the basis of three performance criteria:

All applicants must have completed or be in the final year of a Bachelor's degree and have achieved a weighted Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 or above (which is equivalent to a pass level at the University of Sydney) in order to be considered for admission. The weighted GPA will be calculated on the last three full-time years, or six semesters, of the most recent Bachelor's degree, including an Honours year if undertaken. Postgraduate research or coursework qualifications are excluded.
If you intend to use your GAMSAT result from the previous year, you will have to ensure that you include your GAMSAT registration number on the application form.

Applicants whose Bachelor's degree was completed more than ten years ago without subsequent postgraduate activity or evidence of other continuing academic activity will not be considered.

Details of the procedure for calculating a weighted GPA are included in the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Guide, which is available from the GAMSAT website.

GAMSAT is designed to assess three areas:

Applicants must register with ACER to sit GAMSAT by the published deadline date. The test takes place only once a year and the results are valid for two years (e.g. an applicant sitting for GAMSAT in 2007 may apply to enter the program commencing in 2008 and/or 2009).

Applicants to the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Sydney will be ranked according to their overall GAMSAT score. Applicants must attain a minimum level of 50 in each of the three sections for consideration for entry to the dental program, however this does not guarantee an invitation to attend the interview.

Comprehensive information about GAMSAT, including material to assist candidates in their preparation for the test, is available through ACER.

Interviews will be conducted in conjunction with the Faculty of Medicine, for local students. The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) will last 72 minutes and will consist of 8 different stations. Applicants who apply for both Dentistry and Medicine will be interviewed during the week of the 29th September 2008 and applicants who apply for Dentistry only will be interviewed during the period 8th, 9th and 10th October 2008.

Please note the wire bending skills test will no longer be part of the interview procedure.

Applicants selected for interview will be required to travel to the interview venue at their own expense. Applicants will be notified by email if they have obtained an interview. Some email messages/attachments may not be accepted or may be flagged as spam by some email providers (e.g. Hotmail or Yahoo). Applicants are advised not to provide a Hotmail or Yahoo or similar address for the purposes of admission and are responsible for any delays caused by the above problem. Neither the University of Sydney nor ACER will be held responsible for unread email communication.

For more information please contact the Dental Faculty

The MMI has been designed to assess suitability based on personal qualities deemed important for success in the BDent and in future dental practice. The qualities rated as desirable by the Faculty are:

International students may apply to sit one of the following:

Applicants with MCAT scores should have achieved minimum scores of 8/8/M/8 or a computerised numerical aggregate of 24 with a grade of M. Applicants using the DAT or CDAT must achieve a minimum score of 15 in each of the sections to be considered for interview.

Please note these scores will not be considered if the exam results are over 2 years old.

Applications for International Applicants close end of June each year and applications will only be processed if all the criteria is complete at the time of lodging an application form i.e. completed bachelor's degree and successfully achieving the required score in the above mentioned admission entry tests.

International applicants interested in applying should complete the International applicants on line application form.

International applicants are advised that at the present time the BDent program is not accredited with the USA or Canadian dental Boards.

Successful applicants must provide evidence that they hold a current approved Senior First Aid certificate at enrolment. The following organisations conduct First Aid Training courses that are accepted by the Faculty of Dentistry

Australian Red Cross Society
Medilife
New South Wales State Emergency Service
Royal Life Saving Society Australia
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
St. John Ambulance Australia
University of Western Sydney.

Prospective students must meet their own cost for the training for the First Aid Certificate as it is not funded by the Faculty.

International students may provide First Aid certificates which are recognized by their own governments.

Students in the Faculty of Dentistry are required to perform exposure- prone procedures. Students who are HIV positive, HBV e-antigen positive, HBV DNA positive or Hepatitis C PCR test positive will not be able to complete the course requirements for the Bachelor of Dentistry degree because of NSW Health Department Guidelines preventing them from performing exposure-prone procedures. All details are available on the NSW Health website:

Prior to commencement of clinical placement, students are required to comply with the NSW Health Department Circular, Occupational Screening and Vaccination Against Infectious Diseases, which is posted on the NSW Health website

Once established, proof of immunity or vaccination must be carried with students at all times. As a full course of vaccinations may take several months to complete, applicants are advised to consult their doctor well in advance of commencing the course.

All successful applicants are required to obtain a criminal record clearance as mandated by NSW Health.

Applicants will be required to complete a Criminal Record Check form at enrolment and must bring relevant Identification with a combined value of 100 points, eg current passport 70 points, Driver licence 40 points. Information relating to documents can be obtained by contacting the Faculty.

One of the Faculty of Dentistry's strengths is the extensive range of clinical and research / teaching facilities located on several campuses throughout Sydney.

BDent students spend much of the first two years of their studies at the Camperdown campus. The Camperdown campus is the historic centre of the University, with its magnificent main quadrangle and thriving student campus life.

The Faculty itself is housed at the Sydney Dental Hospital, opposite Central railway station at Chalmers Street, Surry Hills. The Dean and Administrative Offices are here, as well as seminar and recreation facilities, the Faculty library and some teaching facilities, and extensive clinical facilities at the hospital.

The Faculty is excellently placed. It is about five minutes' walk from Sydney's Chinatown and ten minutes from the heart of the Central Business District. Across the road from the campus you can take a train to Circular Quay and the Rocks, where some of Sydney's most popular tourist attractions are located. Central Station is also the exit point to many tourist spots outside Sydney, including the Blue Mountains and regional coastal attractions. The Sydney Dental Hospital is one of the two main teaching hospitals affiliated with the Faculty. It provides clinical and technical facilities for the instruction of dentistry students and general and specialist dental treatment.

This major teaching hospital is affiliated with the Faculty and co-located with the New Children's Hospital. Westmead Hospital is about a 45 minute train ride from Central Station and the Faculty. The Westmead Centre for Oral Health provides clinical and technical facilities for the instruction of dentistry students and general and specialist dental treatment.

The Aboriginal Medical Service is an out-patient health care unit for Aboriginal patients from all over Australia.

The Service has been affiliated as a teaching institute of the University of Sydney. It has a dental clinic that offers students training in preventive dentistry in particular. It also provides excellent opportunities to conduct follow-up treatment and clinical practice in a community setting.

HECS / Commonwealth Supported Places

The Higher Education Contribution Scheme is a government charge that applies to most tertiary students who are citizens or permanent residents of Australia, or citizens of New Zealand. The scheme imposes an annual charge designed to contribute to the cost of education. This charge is indexed each year. Australian citizens can elect to defer the full amount each year to the taxation system, or can elect to pay 'up-front', payable at the start of each semester, and receive a 20% discount. It is also possible to make partial up-front payments, deferring the remaining amount. Permanent residents of Australia will need to take particular notice of the options available to them. Up to date HECS information is available from the HECS website: http://www.backingaustraliasfuture.gov.au/student_info.htm

Equipment Costs

In the first semester of the BDent, students will be required to purchase an equipment kit in order to carry out the requirements of the course. The combined cost of this kit and other course material incurred in the first semester is estimated to be about AU$3000. There will be subsequent costs throughout the course.

Fees for International Students

Students who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, or who are not citizens of New Zealand, are considered international students, and are accepted into the University only on a full-fee basis. The University’s tuition fees are reviewed annually and may be varied during the period of study.
The fee is AU$45,108 per year for 2009 with about AU$25,000+ required for living costs. Additional to this estimate are equipment costs and Student Fees and Subscriptions and Overseas Student Health Cover.

International students have access to various student loans.

Health Cover

Medical insurance is compulsory for all international students with the exception of Norwegian and Swedish students. Upon the receipt of the Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) premium the International Office will pay the OSHC on behalf of each student. This provides access to the University Health Service and to public hospitals. Family cover is also available for students who will be bringing a spouse or child with them.
There are some limitations to OSHC; therefore if you have any existing health concerns you should contact the ISSU for further advice before you leave home. Higher level coverage (e.g. access to private hospitals, dental) will be your own responsibility. More information on OSHC can be found at the Medibank Private website www.medibank.com.au.

Education Expenses for the Children of Students

Most holders of temporary visas are required to pay the Temporary Visa Holder's Education Fee. In 2001 the twelve month tuition fee was AU$4500 for primary to junior high school (Kindergarten to Year 10) and AU$5500 for senior high school (Years 11-12). A non-refundable administration fee of AU$110 also applies.

Financial Assistance

Australian citizens and permanent residents may be eligible to receive Austudy, Abstudy or Youth Allowance whilst undertaking the BDent. Students should contact Centrelink for information on eligibility.