Dentistry provides a rewarding career in the provision of oral health care and is satisfying not only in terms of performing high-standard clinical procedures but also in terms of social interaction. The dentist also fulfills an important function in educating patients regarding their oral care.
Dentistry will appeal to students who have empathy for people, who are interested in their welfare and who like carrying out precision work with their hands. The University Dental School and Hospital encourage applications from mature students and from qualifying students with special educational backgrounds.
This five-year course incorporates the vertical integration of traditional pre-clinical and clinical subjects to deliver an educational experience and training which follows contemporary best-practice teaching methodologies.
Why Choose This Course
Dentistry is a highly satisfying and rewarding career. It affords you the opportunity to provide a high standard of clinical care for patients. Coupled with this is the potential to alter the patient’s lifestyle to enhance their oral health.
The course marries a high degree of technical knowledge with clinical expertise and patient interaction. As the course progresses, you undertake clinical care for your patients which is progressively more complex, challenging and rewarding.
Small-group teaching is provided which gives you the opportunity to share learning experiences with fellow students and experienced staff.
Skills and Careers Information
On graduating from this course, you will have developed an ability to listen to and engage with your patients. You will also be able to deliver clinical care for your patients to a high technical level. This clinical care is grounded in a deep theoretical knowledge base reinforced by key problem-solving skills. The undergraduate degree will serve as a solid foundation to pursue further career options upon graduation.
The NUI offers, through the University Dental School and Hospital, Cork, the postgraduate degrees of MDS, MDPH, DClinDent and PhD.
Qualified dentists may enter general practice, may enter the community dental service, or may undertake further study with a view to specialising in a number of disciplines or becoming university academics.
Our dental graduates may work in EU countries, Australia, Singapore, or Canada.
*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution
Expected January 2026
UCC Campus
College Road,
Cork,
T12 K8AF, Republic of Ireland
Non-EU applicants are expected to have educational qualifications of a standard equivalent to the Irish Leaving Certificate
Duolingo English Test (DET): DET 120 with a minimum score of 120 in each individual section.
IELTS - International English Language Testing System/ IELTS Indicator Test: Minimum overall score of 6.5 and a minimum of 6.5 in each band
TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language - TOEFL iBT/TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition Test: TOEFL 90 (Listening 23; Reading 21; Speaking 22; Writing 23)
University of Cambridge: 176 overall with not less than 176 in each element of the test
Pearson PTE Academic: Minimum of 63 (with at least 63 for each item in the Communicative Skills section)
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
UCC is an award-winning, world-class teaching and research university with over 170 years of history.