Home

Special Care Dentistry PG Cert

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2026/27 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Special Care Dentistry PG Cert (2025/26), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

Part-time

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£9,350

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

Fees to be confirmed

Duration

1 academic year

Programme starts

September 2026

Applications accepted

All applicants: 20 Oct 2025 – 30 Jun 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

All applicants must hold an approved dental qualification and normally have a minimum of two years' clinical experience post-qualification and be working in an appropriate UK- based practice throughout the proposed period of enrolment at UCL.

The English language level for this course is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The number of people with complex disease that may impact upon their oral health and dental care is ever rising. Special Care Dentistry ensures that patients are appropriately managed to enhance their function and quality of life.

The PG Cert Special Care Dentistry provides a grounding in the basic practical and academic skills necessary for the practice of special care dentistry. You will identify the key concepts which underlie successful patient treatment and gain an understanding of the evidence base for special care dentistry and the ability to critically access scientific literature.

We emphasise putting theory into practice to ensure that graduates are well equipped to manage patients with complex needs and help them maintain good oral health and general wellbeing.

Who this course is for

The programme is for dentally qualified clinicians who wish to extend their knowledge and skills in special care dentistry to become a competent practitioner in this field.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities:

Friendly, welcoming staff, and a highly experienced Professional Services team.
A comprehensive education portfolio.
Teaching by national and international leaders of special care dentistry and allied subjects who bring a wealth of experience in teaching at the postgraduate level and the clinical care of patients with complex needs.
Access to a wealth of online material allied to the course and UCL Library services.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Successful graduates of this programme have progressed to:

Entry to the GDC specialist list for Special Care Dentistry
Senior posts within the special care dentistry services.

According to the HESA Graduate Outcomes survey (2018-2022), 80% of Special Care Dentistry graduates have remained in, or progressed onto, highly skilled work in dental practice. This includes roles in UK NHS Trusts and overseas in dental services and governments in Australia and Hong Kong. The remainder have gone onto further study.

Employability

As well as enhancing their clinical skill and knowledge and increasing their opportunities for promotion, students can also network with the senior UK specialists who teach on the programme. This interaction between graduates and teaching staff has also led to our staff being invited to lecture to the colleagues of graduates.

Networking

There are regular networking opportunities, including events where you can hear from expert speakers. We encourage students to broaden their skills and expand their networks by attending and participating at conferences.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials, and seminars. Teaching is provided by academic staff and honorary academic staff of UCL Eastman Dental Institute and the allied UCLHT Eastman Dental Hospital. We also invite external speakers from institutions such as the British Dental Association, General Dental Council and groups who champion unconscious bias. We encourage students to ask questions and to read independently around their subject areas of interest.

Your examinations take place around two weeks after the module teaching is complete, allowing a revision period before the assessment takes place. The assessments comprise two departmental tests (MCQ and MSA), which make up 66% of the weighting, and an oral examination, which makes up 34% of the weighting.

All students must prepare a logbook of 75 patients with special needs whom they have managed in their clinical practice(s) during the programme. You must also complete case study reports of four of these patients. We do not provide access to patients, so students must have a reliable source of patients.

Your logbook is examined within the oral examination of each module, while the four case studies are covered within the oral examination of the second module. You must pass both modules to achieve the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Special Care Dentistry.

The programme is spread across 27 days between October and July. Teaching is delivered on Mondays during term time. Most teaching takes place online between 9am and 5pm. You will need to allow 6-7 hours during these days for teaching.

Aside from this, you will need to make time for your logbook and case study reports, as well as revision time for assessments. You're expected to complete around 4 hours of self-directed study per week.

This is a modular programme that is principally delivered online. There may be occasions when some teaching sessions may take place at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute. In such instances, you will be informed well in advance of any suggested dates.

Modules

This programme comprises two 30-credit modules.

Applied Biology, Systemic Disease and Behavioural Sciences

This module enhances your knowledge of the interplay of common systemic disease upon oral health and oral health care.

Ethics, Governance and Public Health Policy in Special Needs Dentistry

This module enhances your knowledge of common, essential aspects of the delivery of ethical and clinically safe oral health care to individuals with special needs in the UK.

Compulsory modules

Applied Biology, Systemic Disease and Behavioural Sciences

Ethics, Governance and Public Health Policy in Special Needs Dentistry

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Certificate students undertake modules to the value of 60 credits. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Special Care Dentistry.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£9,350
Tuition fees (2026/27)	Fees to be confirmed

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

There are no additional costs associated with this programme.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for Eastman Dental Institute courses of £120 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme
why you want to study special care dentistry at graduate level
what particularly attracts you to this programme
what is your source of funding and is this something you have applied for already
what is your previous experience of special care dentistry
your present clinical position within the UK.

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will endeavour to deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This course only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.