Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry

The Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry (PGDipClinDent) may be undertaken full-time (one year) or part-time (two years) at the Faculty of Dentistry depending on the endorsement. Clinical and academic teaching will be evidence-based and will emphasize the comprehensive nature of dental practice with integration of clinical and non-clinical disciplines. Current knowledge of clinical practice and related sciences will be emphasised. Clinical practice, seminars, assignments, case presentations and problem-based learning will be employed as teaching methods.

Please note completion of postgraduate study does not automatically enable you to work as a dentist in New Zealand. You must first complete the Dental Council of New Zealand's registration examinations. Please follow this link to the Dental Council: dcnz.org.nz/i-want-to-practise-in-new-zealand/

Postgraduate entrance requirements

Entrance requirements for postgraduate study vary by programme with most requiring a minimum bachelor-level qualification in the same field, and some having additional requirements such as relevant work experience and/or professional registration in New Zealand.

A postgraduate certificate or postgraduate diploma can usually be taken at any time after the completion of your bachelor's degree.

If you hold an honours degree or postgraduate diploma you may be able to eligible for master’s study by thesis only. In some cases if you hold a bachelor’s degree you may apply for a coursework master’s degree or for master’s study by coursework and thesis.

To study a PhD you usually require the completion of a master’s degree, or a first-class or upper second-class honours degree in the same area of study, or a related discipline, as your intended area of research.

Check the postgraduate students pages for specific information on the entrance requirements of the programme you are interested in.

IELTS (Academic module) (including IELTS Online) : Overall score of 6.5, no individual band below 6.0

TOEFL iBT : Overall score of 90 and a writing score of 21 The University of Otago TOEFL institution code is 9483 (Please note we do not accept MyBest TOEFL scores)

Pearson Test of English ( PTE ) Academic : Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50

Duolingo English Test : Overall score of 120 (with no Individual Subscore below 95)