BDS Dental Surgery pre-arrival information

Congratulations on securing your place to study Dental Surgery with us this September. On this page you’ll find useful information and tasks to help make your transition to the University of Sheffield as smooth as possible.

We know this can be a busy time for you, and we want to make preparing to start your course as straightforward as possible. This pre-arrival page is just for new Dental Surgery students starting in September 2025. Here you’ll find information and tasks to complete specific to you and your course.

Complete your registration

Follow this link for a step-by-step outline of everything you need to do in order to complete your registration at the University.

Welcome from the Dean of the School of Clinical Dentistry

I write to offer you a very warm welcome as a new student in the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Sheffield.

During Welcome Week, you will be introduced to members of the Sheffield University Dental Students Society (SUDSS), and will be allocated an Academic Tutor whose role is to provide pastoral support and academic guidance.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send an e-mail to dental.undergraduate@sheffield.ac.uk.

Should you believe that, for whatever reason, you may have difficulty in taking up your place this year, please contact us immediately rather than wait until you are due to arrive in Sheffield.

I hope you will enjoy your time studying with us; I look forward to meeting you.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Ali Khurram
Dean of School of Clinical Dentistry
University of Sheffield

Important pre-arrival information

Intro Week programme

This year Intro Week takes place on week commencing Monday 22 September.

Throughout the week there'll be lots of events to help you explore the campus and city, make friends, and find out how the university can support you. Information about University-wide activities will be shared with you directly in the run-up to Intro Week.

During Intro Week, we’ll also be holding important introductory talks and activities to introduce you to the BDS Dental Surgery programme.

Included with this information is your Intro Week programme. Please note all sessions are compulsory and attendance will be recorded for each session.

Your Intro Week programme [PDF download]

Accessing additional course information

Could we please ask over the coming weeks for you to check your personal and University email accounts for additional course information.

Also in the coming weeks information will also be available for you to access via Blackboard. To access this learning platform please follow the steps below:

Log into the University webpage: www.sheffield.ac.uk
Log into MUSE
Enter your University username and password (issued during pre-registration)
Click on My Services at the top of the screen
Click on Blackboard
Click on Organisations on the left hand side of the screen
Click on DEN-Dental School Intro Week and Orientation

Other appointments during Intro Week

You will notice from reading the documents you are required to attend an individual DBS appointment. Please make sure you bring with you to this appointment your selected original ID documents. If you are an overseas student or have lived outside of the UK within the last 5 years could you please bring your police certificate/certificate of good conduct to Sheffield with you. Please make a note of your allocated date and time.

At this appointment we will also issue you with a padlock for a locker and your Lab Coat and Clinical Tunics along with any other course information.

Please also make a note from this information on blackboard the date and time for your Health Sciences Library Tour and your Occupational Health appointment which will be at the start of your course. This appointment is compulsory and cannot be missed. You are also required to attend any further appointments arranged by Occupational Health.

It may be necessary over the coming weeks to add further mandatory material to the Intro Week section on Blackboard and you will be notified via email of any additions. Once all Materials have been released to you, you will be asked to complete a declaration confirming you have read/viewed and understood all the materials. Information is also available on this platform from the Dental Students’ Society (SUDSS) along with the information such as the dress code policy and Library and computing facilities.

After reading your Intro Week Programme if you have already booked your ID and UCard appointment and this clashes with any of your timetabled Intro Week events for the Dental School you will have an option to cancel and rebook this appointment. If you need to rebook your appointment details on how to do this are in your original confirmation email from the University. From this email there is a link to cancel and rebook your ID and UCard appointment to an alternative time. You will then receive a confirmation email confirming your new collection time.

We hope you have a great Intro Week.

DBS check information

As part of your Dentistry course, we require you to apply for a DBS check and you should shortly receive an email from Know Your People with a link to begin the application. If you do not receive the email, please check your Spam folder. Please read the following instructions carefully before starting your application.

As part of the DBS application, you will be asked to input details of 3 forms of ID. The system will show a list of ID documents which can be accepted. At least one must be a photo ID and at least one must contain your address. The application form will ask you to input your current address. This address must match the address on your ID documents. This is also the address your DBS certificate will be sent to

Bank statements must be dated within 3 months of the date of your DBS Appointment.

You will be asked if you would like to receive a paper copy of your completed disclosure report please select Yes.

Please complete this online application and submit it to the University as soon as possible and before Intro Week.

During Intro week you will be allocated an appointment to have your ID documents verified therefore please bring your original ID documents to Sheffield and to your DBS appointment. We can only accept original ID documents no photocopied documents are accepted.

We will allocate you an individual appointment and will email this to you over the coming weeks. Appointments will also be added to Blackboard for you to make a note of your appointment day and time.

If you are an overseas student or you have lived abroad during the last 5 years could you please bring your police report/certificate of good conduct to Sheffield with you and hand this to us during your DBS appointment. Please note this document must be an original stamped document (photocopied documents are not accepted) and this original document must be dated WITHIN 3 MONTHS of you starting the BDS Course.

Occupational health questionnaire reminder

For those of you who received your A-level results on Thursday 14 August you are due to be sent an email from Occupational Health via MyCority. We need you to complete and submit this as soon as you can. This will have been emailed to the email address which was on your UCAS application.

All students will have a compulsory appointment with Occupational Health in the first few weeks of term.

BDS Dental Surgery term dates

Please find a copy of the term dates for the BDS Dental Surgery course below:

Term Dates [PDF download]

Registering with the University Health Service

If you're moving to Sheffield to study you may want to register at the University Health Service, your on-campus NHS GP Practice dedicated to students. It's free, quick and easy to sign up.

Find out more here.

Welcome from Sheffield University Dental Students’ Society (SUDSS)

Welcome to Sheffield Dental School and SUDSS!

Firstly, congratulations on securing your place at the most supportive, hands-on, and best dental school in the country. We’re so excited to welcome you into the Sheffield Dental family!

You’ve worked so hard to get here, and now the real adventure begins. Over the next five years, you’ll learn, grow, laugh, and occasionally feel like your brain might melt, but you won’t be doing it alone. SUDSS is here to support you every step of the way.

Whether it’s organising unforgettable socials, hosting talks and workshops, helping you prep for clinics and exams, or just being a friendly face in the common room, SUDSS is your student community. We’re run by students, for students, and every single one of you is now a part of it!

Get stuck in. Come to the events. Ask questions. Make mistakes. Make friends. From the socials to the sports and support, we’re here to make your Sheffield experience unforgettable.

We can’t wait to meet you!

Zac Blackwell
President
Sheffield University Dental Students’ Society (SUDSS)

Contact us

If you have any questions prior to Intro Week, please get in touch with us via email: dental.undergraduate@sheffield.ac.uk.

School of Clinical Dentistry