Bachelor of Dental Surgery
James Cook University · Cairns
Bachelor degree · 5 years · On campus
See every dentistry course comparedCan I get in?
- Lowest rank that got an offer: 86.95
- Lowest ATAR that got an offer, before adjustments: 86.95
- Median rank that got an offer: 97.05
About studying dentistry
Dentistry and oral health degrees combine coursework with supervised clinical practice. Entry to dentistry is decided by a rank, an admission test and often an interview, not by the ATAR alone. Oral health therapy and dental science are different qualifications from a dentistry degree.
This describes the field in general, not this course. Check the university's page for what this course covers.
Getting into dentistry courses
Your ATAR is necessary here and nowhere near sufficient. Direct-entry dentistry usually combines a very high rank with an admission test and an interview, in the same shape as medicine. Treat the rank shown here as one requirement among several and read the admission centre's page for this specific course.
This describes the field in general, not this course. Check the university's page for what this course covers.
These are the lowest rank and the lowest ATAR that got an offer in 2026, not a cut-off or a guarantee. Next year's depends on how many places there are and who applies. How ATARs really work · Didn't get the ATAR you needed?
What this course asks for beyond your ATAR
Entry to dentistry is usually decided by three things together: a very high rank, an admission test, and an interview. The rank below is one requirement among several, and it is not a target to aim at.
Before you can start placement you will need a police check or working with children check and a first aid certificate. This does not affect whether you get in. It is worth knowing early because some of it takes time to organise.
We show that these requirements exist, not what they currently say, because universities change them and we would rather send you to the source than repeat something out of date. Check the current requirements with QTAC.
Three kinds of figure on this page
They are not all about the same thing, so they are kept apart. Each section says who its numbers describe.
This course
Bachelor of Dental Surgery at James Cook, Cairns. These describe this course and nothing else.
- Lowest rank that got an offer
- 86.95
- Lowest ATAR that got an offer, before adjustments
- 86.95
- Median rank that got an offer
- 97.05
- Length
- 5 years
- Study mode
- On campus
- Campus
- Cairns
- TAC code
- 327091
Dentistry at James Cook
Source: QILT, SES 2023-2024, CEQ 2024-2025, GOS 2023-2025Every dentistry student at James Cook, not this course alone. The tick on each bar is the national figure for dentistry.
National average: 76.6%
National average: 80.5%
National average: 75.1%
National average: 76.2%
- Median starting salary
- $120,000
- National, same field
- $74,000
All of James Cook
Every student at James Cook, across every subject. Nobody publishes them for one course or one study area.
Where graduates end up
Source: QILT, 2025 GOS-LQILT does not publish three-year outcomes at course level.
of supervisors would hire another James Cook graduate. Employers of recent graduates, surveyed by QILT (ESS 2023-2025).
Do students stay and finish?
Source: Dept of Education, 2024Of students who started at James Cook in 2016, nine years later:
- Finished a degree
- 64%
- Still studying
- 4.8%
- Left after returning
- 20.2%
- Never came back after first year
- 11.1%
More recently: of new James Cook bachelor students in 2023, 13.1% didn't come back to study at any university the following year.
Students are followed if they move: finishing a degree at another university counts as finishing, and moving to another university doesn't count as leaving. Read these alongside the quality measures, not instead of them. Completion and attrition partly reflect who a university enrols – universities serving more regional, mature-age and part-time students naturally run higher attrition without being worse at teaching. What completion rates tell you
What it costs, next to what graduates earn
Total student contribution:5 years × $14,046/year ≈ $70,200Estimate
The Australian government sets this rate by field of study, so it is the same at every university in the country – James Cook did not set it and cannot discount it. Your exact total depends on the subjects you pick. Paid through HELP once you're earning, not upfront. How HECS-HELP works
- Typical starting salary (this study area)
- $120,000
- Typical salary three years on (all James Cook graduates)
- $93,900
Our arithmetic, from the fee and salary figures shown elsewhere on this page with their sources. It never affects how well this course fits you.
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