School of Dentistry, SZABMU
BDS seats
50
Recognized seats
Annual fee
PKR 24,000
BDS tuition
Closing merit
94.60%
2025, Open merit
Clinical beds
120
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS)
Overview
The School of Dentistry is the constituent dental college of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) in Islamabad. The school states that it is the first public sector dental college in the capital city 1.
SZABMU lists the school as a constituent institute with 50 BDS seats each year 4. The PMDC register lists it with 50 seats in Islamabad 6.
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is the teaching hospital of SZABMU 5. The fact sheet records 120 beds at the attached hospital.
The school works in two parts, an academic wing and a dental hospital component with more than 125 dental chairs and two operating theatres 1. The fact sheet records the school as established in 2014.
The university runs its BDS admission process for the school through the admission page, where the eligibility rules and the seat quotas sit 3.
At a Glance
public Sector
SZABMU Islamabad
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS)
120 Beds
Campus Facilities & Infrastructure
Accreditations & Global Listings
Data verified for Session 2025-2026 admissions. Source: PMDC gazette, SZABMU Islamabad admission prospectus, official merit notifications, and university admissions office.
History and growth
The fact sheet records the school as established in 2014 on the SZABMU campus in Islamabad. Its history note dates the current school to 2020.
SZABMU was established through an Act of Parliament on 21 March 2013, and the university started teaching in January 2014 5.
The university works from the premises of PIMS in Islamabad 15.
Federal Medical College and the School of Dentistry are the constituent medical and dental colleges of the university 5.
The school states that work on it started in 2016 and finished four years later as an HEC-sponsored project 1. That four-year span matches the 2020 date in the fact sheet history.
The university now teaches more than 8,000 students and works with more than 20 affiliated institutions 5. The school grew into the dental wing of that federal university.
The school site lists its departments, its admission rules and its contact details for students in one place 12.
BDS program
4 yearsRecognized seats
50
Open merit seats
Annual tuition
PKR 24,000
Public fee
Closing merit (latest)
94.60%
Open merit (2025)
| Year | Open merit | Self-finance |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 94.60% | Not published |
| 2024 | 92.20% | Not published |
Fee structure
Annual tuition in PKR. Public colleges charge a single nominal rate; private colleges run a separate self-finance schedule that is several multiples higher than the public rate.
| Program | Open merit fee | Self-finance fee | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| BDS | PKR 24,000 | Not published | 4 years |
Closing merit history
Aggregate percentage for the last candidate admitted in each year. Public colleges report open-merit; private colleges report the self-finance pool.
What the merit trend shows
The fact sheet records two closing aggregates for the BDS open-merit quota: 92.2% in 2024 and 94.6% in 2025.
SZABMU sets the aggregate for BDS admission at 50% MDCAT, 40% HSSC and 10% SSC 3. The MDCAT paper itself moved from 210 marks to 200 marks and then to 180 marks over recent years. An aggregate is not the same as a raw score.
Both figures sit on open merit at a federal public college, where the cut-off runs high. Expect each year to move with the applicant pool. The fact sheet holds these two years, and SZABMU publishes its merit criteria on the admission page 3.
Admission process (BDS)
SZABMU publishes the BDS admission rules for the school, and the fact sheet records 50 BDS seats 4. The admission page links the prospectus, the PMDC admission regulations and the exam portal for applicants 3. Quota seats need their own papers, such as an FGE certificate for the federal government employee quota 3.
- Check the eligibility rules: at least 60% in HSSC and at least 50% in MDCAT 2026 3.
- Aggregate uses MDCAT at 50%, HSSC at 40% and SSC at 10% 3.
- The 50 seats split across quotas: Punjab 14, Islamabad 14, open merit 3, and federal government employees 5 3.
- Sindh holds 5 seats, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3, Balochistan 2, plus one each for Gilgit Baltistan, FATA, AJK and disabled candidates 3.
- Show your domicile and proof of stay for a provincial quota seat 3.
- Send a disability certificate from a federal or provincial disability board for the disabled quota 3.
- Upload SSC and HSSC certificates as scans of at most 512 KB each 3.
- Pay the application fee challan issued for BDS 3.
- Transfer candidates to BDS first year are selected on open merit, and second-year transfers need a vacant provincial quota seat 2.
Teaching hospital and clinical training
PIMS is the teaching hospital of SZABMU 5. The fact sheet records 120 beds at the attached hospital.
The school runs a dental hospital component with more than 125 dental chairs and two operating theatres 1. Students train on the chairs and theatres of the hospital component on the same campus 1.
The school set a first-year target of more than 15,000 patients in the dental hospital 1. The target covers the first year of work for the dental hospital component.
The fact sheet records clinical rotations in oral pathology, orthodontics and restorative dental medicine.
Campus and facilities
The school address is School of Dentistry, SZABMU, Ravi Road, Sector G-8/3, Islamabad 44000 13.
The BDS admission office works on the fifth floor of the school building on Ravi Road 3.
Facilities recorded in the fact sheet include a phantom head skills lab, oral and maxillofacial theatres, the SZABMU central library and student residencies.
The school runs departments from anatomy, pathology and pharmacology through to orthodontics, periodontology, prosthodontics and oral surgery 1.
The university publishes its institutes list and its admission pages from the same domain, so applicants work from official university sources 43.
Recognition and standing
The PMDC register lists the school with 50 seats in Islamabad 6.
The school is a constituent college of SZABMU, a federal university established by an ordinance of the National Assembly 5.
The school offers MPhil, MDS and FCPS training in dentistry 1. The admission page works under the PMDC admission regulations linked by the university 3.
The fact sheet records PMDC recognition, WHO (WDOMS) listing, ECFMG eligibility and CPSP accreditation for the school.
Student life
The fact sheet records student residencies, so outstation students can stay near the campus.
The fact sheet records both male and female students at the school.
The campus sits in Sector G-8/3 of Islamabad 3, and students use the SZABMU central library recorded for the campus.
The dental hospital component receives patients from the capital, so students meet clinical work through the course 1.
Contact and official links
- Address
- School of Dentistry, SZABMU, Ravi Road, Sector G-8/3, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
- Phone
- +92-51-9107687
- School website
- sod.szabmu.edu.pk
- University website
- szabmu.edu.pk
- BDS admission page
- szabmu.edu.pk/admission/bds-admission
Common questions
Does the School of Dentistry offer MBBS?
No. The school is the dental constituent college of SZABMU 5. Federal Medical College is the separate medical constituent of the university 4, and the PMDC register lists the school as a dental college 6.
How many BDS seats are there?
SZABMU lists 50 seats each year for the school 4, and the PMDC register lists 50 seats 6. The seats split across the quotas on the admission page, with 14 for Punjab and 14 for Islamabad 3.
What is the fee?
The fact sheet records an annual fee of Rs 24,000 for BDS. The university prospectus carries the current fee structure 3, and the admission page links that prospectus for applicants.
Other colleges in ICT
- Federal Medical and Dental CollegeIslamabad, public, 100 MBBS, 50 BDS96.76%
- Army Medical College (NUST School of Health Sciences)Rawalpindi, public, 204 MBBS, 54 BDS95.40%
- NUST School of Health SciencesIslamabad, public, 100 MBBS93.90%
- Dental Section, Army Medical CollegeRawalpindi, public, 54 BDS
- Shifa College of Medicine (Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University)Islamabad, private, 100 MBBS89.10%
- Fazaia Medical CollegeIslamabad, private, 100 MBBS88.60%
- Foundation University Medical CollegeRawalpindi, private, 150 MBBS88.30%
- Islamic International Medical College (Riphah)Rawalpindi, private, 100 MBBS, 75 BDS87.40%
Sources
Page research verified 2026-10-07. Every numbered marker in the text links to the matching entry below.
- [1] School of Dentistry, SZABMU — Home, college website, accessed 2026-10-07
- [2] School of Dentistry, SZABMU — Admissions, college website, accessed 2026-10-07
- [3] SZABMU — BDS admission, admitting university, accessed 2026-10-07
- [4] SZABMU — Our institutes, admitting university, accessed 2026-10-07
- [5] SZABMU — Home, admitting university, accessed 2026-10-07
- [6] PMDC — Public dental colleges register, pmdc, accessed 2026-10-07
PMDC (pmdc.pk/colleges) for the current recognition status. SZABMU Islamabad admission prospectus for the latest published seats and fees. Individual college websites and fee notifications for any figure not in the prospectus. Wikipedia "List of medical schools in Pakistan" for cross-checking seat counts.
MDCAT test score scales changed over time (210 in 2021, 200 in 2022, 180 from 2025). The MDCAT weightage in the aggregate formula (typically 50% MDCAT, 40% HSSC, 10% SSC) has stayed stable across cycles we cover. Closing merit numbers between cycles may not be directly comparable.