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.

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We know this can be a busy time for you, and we want to make preparing for your course as straightforward as possible. This pre-arrival page is just for new Dental Surgery students starting in September 2026. Here you’ll find information and tasks to complete specific to you and your programme.

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.

Register as a student

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 academic support and guidance.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send an email 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

Welcome Week programme

Your Welcome Week takes place the week commencing Monday 21 September.

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

During Welcome Week, we will also be holding important introductory talks and activities to introduce you to the School and the BDS Dental Surgery programme.

Please note that all sessions are compulsory and your attendance will be recorded for each session.

We are currently preparing your Welcome Week timetable. Please bookmark this page and come back in early September to download the programme.

As part of the Welcome Week programme, we will be hosting some catered events. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements or food allergies by filling out this quick form.

Dietary requirements form

We hope you have a great Welcome Week here at the School of Clinical Dentistry.

Accessing additional Welcome Week information

In the coming weeks, additional information will be made available via Blackboard. To access this virtual learning environment, please follow the steps below:

Visit 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 Welcome Week

Appointments during Welcome Week

You will have individual appointment times for the following:

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) appointments
Occupational Health appointments
Library tour
Dental School/Hospital tour

Your individual appointment times will be emailed in early September. These appointments are individual to you and cannot be swapped.

Please make a note of your allocated dates and times.

Please arrive on time for your appointments so we can keep things running smoothly for everyone.

If your registration ID check and/or a right to study check (non-UK and non-Irish students only) clashes with any Dental School Welcome Week events, please reschedule it. You can do this by using the cancel/rebook link in your original confirmation email from Student Registry. You will receive a new confirmation email once the appointment has been updated. At your registration ID check, you will also collect your UCard (your student ID card).

Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check

We administer our DBS checks via a system called Know Your People.

You should receive an email from Know Your People by the start of September with a link to begin the application. If you do not receive the email, please check your Spam folder.

You do not need to pay for your application.

Please complete this online application as soon as possible and before Welcome Week.

Read the following instructions carefully before starting your DBS check application:

You will be asked to input details of 3 forms of identification (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.
You will be asked to confirm 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, etc must be dated within 3 months of the date of your DBS appointment, which will take place in Welcome Week.
Unfortunately, online bank statements can not be accepted as a form of ID. If you are using a recent bank statement as one of your forms of ID, you will need to ask your branch to either send you a paper statement in the post or call into your branch and ask them to print and stamp a statement.
You will be asked if you would like to receive a paper copy of your completed disclosure report. Please select Yes.
During your DBS appointment in Welcome Week, your ID documents will be verified. Therefore, please bring the same ID documents you selected on your application to Sheffield and to your DBS appointment. We can only accept original ID documents. Photocopied documents are not accepted.

As part of your enhanced check, we need to check if you have been outside the United Kingdom for an extended period. Please complete the form below:

Overseas travel request form

Individual DBS appointment times will be emailed in early September. Please make a note of your appointment day and time.

If you are an international applicant or have lived outside the United Kingdom for more than three consecutive months in the previous 5 years, please bring your police reports/certificates of good conduct to Sheffield with you ready for your DBS appointment. Each document must be original, stamped and dated within 3 months of the date of your DBS appointment. Photocopied documents are not accepted.

In rare cases, applicants may be deemed unsuitable to continue with their programme of study based on the contents of a disclosure. We regret having to alert you to this possible outcome. However, we must point out this potential risk.

Occupational health questionnaire reminder

You should have received a link to an online health questionnaire via Cority - Sheffield Occupational Health Service’s (SOHS) electronic patient record system.

If you haven’t already done so, please complete this questionnaire now. Failure to submit your questionnaire now may result in the University withholding your registration, which will prevent you from starting the programme in September.

In most cases, SOHS will decide that an applicant is ‘cleared’.

In some cases, SOHS may decide that an applicant is ‘cleared with reasonable adjustments’.

In rare cases, SOHS may decide that an applicant is ‘not cleared’. In such cases, applicants may not be permitted to complete their registration at the University, or may be asked to defer their entry.

We regret having to alert you to this possible outcome. However, we must point out this potential risk. In such cases, a clear rationale will be provided, and applicants have the right to submit further evidence or appeal.

Compulsory in-person Occupational Health appointments have been arranged for every student during the first week of the semester.

Your individual Occupational Health appointment time will be emailed by early September. Please make a note of your appointment day and time.

You will usually be required to arrange follow-up appointments with Occupational Health. At these appointments, you may need to have some immunisations. You must fully engage with this process and attend all required appointments.

Immunisations required for healthcare [PDF download]

BDS Dental Surgery term dates

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

Please remember you must be available to attend on campus Monday to Friday between these dates. Please do not book any holidays that fall within term time as there is no guarantee this leave will be approved.

2026/27 Term Dates [PDF download]

Reading list

You can view your previously shared reading list below.

We recommend waiting until the semester begins before you consider buying any books. Core books will be available via the Library, and academic staff can provide further guidance on your reading list when you start.

The Dental School Students’ Society also usually runs a book sale where you can save money on books you wish to purchase.

2026/27 year one reading list [PDF download]

Changes to the BDS programme

You can view the previously shared information about future changes to the BDS programme below.
Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Information about your programme of study [PDF download]

School policies

We have recently updated our clinical student entry agreement. Please take the time to read this before Welcome Week, when you will be asked to sign it.

Clinical student entry agreement [PDF download]

You will need to follow Sheffield Teaching Hospital’s dress code policy when you start attending clinics. Please take the time to read this policy before Welcome Week.

Dress code policy [PDF download]

Welcome from Sheffield University Dental Students’ Society (SUDSS)

Welcome to Sheffield Dental School and SUDSS!

Firstly, a huge congratulations on securing your place at Sheffield Dental School, you've worked hard and earned your place here, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome you to our incredible community.

The next few years will be some of the most rewarding, challenging, and memorable of your life. You'll develop new skills, make lifelong friendships, celebrate successes, and overcome challenges together. Whilst dental school can be demanding, you'll quickly discover that Sheffield is a place where students genuinely support one another, and that's something we're incredibly proud of.

SUDSS is at the heart of that community.

Our aim is simple: to make your time at Sheffield as enjoyable, inclusive, and rewarding as possible. Whether it's unforgettable socials, sports, charity events, wellbeing initiatives, revision sessions, practical workshops, or simply having friendly faces around the Dental School, we're here to support you throughout your journey.

This society is run by students, for students, and every one of you is now part of it. We'd love you to get involved, come along to events, meet new people, try something new, and make the most of every opportunity. Some of your best memories at university won't just come from the clinics or lecture theatres! They'll come from the friendships and experiences you build along the way.

On behalf of the entire committee, we're so excited to meet you and can't wait to share an amazing year with you. Welcome to the Sheffield Dental family, we're delighted to have you with us.

Diya Kanabar
President
Sheffield University Dental Students’ Society (SUDSS) 2026/27