Frequently Asked Questions - International Applicants

Will coaching help me gain a place in the Medicine Program?

Applicants may be aware that there are courses that claim to improve performance in the interview. The Faculty would like applicants to be aware that:

For information on the content of ISAT, see the ACER website.

Can I enter UNSW Medicine straight after I have completed high school?

UNSW admits most students into its medicine program immediately after they have completed high school studies. High school examinations which students can use to gain entry include:

- New South Wales Higher School Certificate
- Year 12 examinations in other Australian states
- University of New South Wales Foundation Studies
- New Zealand NCEA Examination
- GCE "A" Level Examination
- Malaysian STPM
- International Baccalaureate
- All India Senior Secondary School Certificate
- Norwegian Upper Secondary School Examination

What subjects should I study at high school?

Although there are no prerequisites for entry into UNSW Medicine, we recommend that students study English for their final high school examinations. There is assumed knowledge of this subject and studying it is considered desirable for successful study in the Medicine Program. Students who do not have the assumed level of knowledge are eligible to apply, be offered a place and to enrol (subject to meeting UNSW's English requirement - see Do I need to sit a test of proficiency in English below), but may be placed at a considerable disadvantage.

In addition, study in Chemistry is recommended.

For students sitting the New South Wales Higher School Certificate, the following applies. It is assumed that students have studied English Standard, English Advanced or English Extension 1 in the HSC and have achieved a level of performance of at least Band 4. English as a Second Language (ESL) and Fundamentals of English are not considered sufficient preparation for the Medicine Program but, as stated above, will not prevent a student from enrolling in the Medicine Program.

Who should complete a Foundation Year course?

The UNSW Foundation Year is an alternative pathway to the final high school exams required for entry. The Foundation Year is one year in length and prepares students for the academic demands of study at UNSW, including study in the Medicine Program.

The minimum academic score for consideration for entry into Medicine is a GPA of 9.0. Students with a GPA of 9.0 and above are eligible for consideration in combination with ISAT and interview, as detailed in the section "Selection Criteria".

Do I need to submit an MCAT score?

It is not necessary for students to submit an MCAT score. However, if a student has sat the MCAT examination, submitting the score will assist UNSW staff in assessing the application for a place in UNSW Medicine.

Do I need to sit a test of proficiency in English?

All courses at UNSW are taught in English. Applicants who are applying on the basis of qualifications not conducted in English are required to provide proof of their competence in English. This is done by providing results from an accepted English test (CULT, TOEFL, IELTS or UEEC). Test scores are not valid if the test was taken more than two years before the commencement date of the Medicine Program.

Alternatively, applicants whose first language is not English but who have undertaken at least one year of full-time study at a university or other post-secondary educational institution where the sole language of instruction was English, will not be required to undertake a language test if they can provide a statement or certificate issued by the Registrar’s office of that institution confirming this. This study must have been undertaken no more than two years prior to the commencement of the program at UNSW.

For further details see the University’s website.

For students intending to apply to undertake internship in Australia, the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) requires proof of competency in English. At this time, students who did not complete their secondary education in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or the United States of America are required to demonstrate that they have the necessary English language skills required for registration. All applicants must be able to demonstrate English language skills at IELTS academic level 7 or the equivalent, and achieve in one sitting, the required minimum score in each component of the IELTS academic module or other tests that are specified in the registration standard. For further information see the AHPRA website.

Can I gain admission after partly completing or completing another undergraduate degree?

Students may apply for admission to UNSW Medicine after completing an undergraduate degree or prior to the completion of their first undergraduate degree, and can apply during their first year of university studies. Please note that the Faculty does not set a limit on the number of years an applicant may submit an application for admission.

For details on how applications will be assessed, see the earlier section "Selection Criteria". Note that certificates, diplomas, graduate diplomas, research work, masters by research and PhDs are not used in the assessment of applications.

The formula used to rank the academic component of applications from students who, at the time of the proposed commencement of medicine will have completed one year or more of tertiary studies, uses both the high school results and the undergraduate results, and they are weighted equally. Thus, if an applicant has a school academic rank of less than 96, their tertiary results can never be sufficient to raise their academic results to the equivalent of the minimum academic rank of 98 required for consideration for entry. An applicant who scores an school academic rank of around 98 would need to achieve results of high distinctions in some courses and distinctions in the rest in order to maintain the same equivalent academic rank.

Applicants who have not sat a high school examination recognised by UNSW as equivalent to the New South Wales Higher School Certificate must be in at least their second year of full time university studies in order to be eligible to apply.

Applicants need to be aware of the assumed knowledge and recommended subject detailed in the section "What subjects should I study at high school?"

Can I enter UNSW Medicine after partly completing a medicine program at another university?

In general, we do not accept applications from international students who wish to enter UNSW Medicine after partly completing a medicine degree at another university. The Faculty will only consider a request to transfer from another medical school where there are extenuating circumstances such as where studies have been interrupted or terminated by factors such as war in the country where the student is undertaking medical studies.

Can credit be given for previous studies?

Due to the structure of the curriculum, few if any credits can be granted to students transferring after partly completing or completing another degree. Exemption from part or all of the General Education program will continue to be able to be considered and granted when applicable. (General Education is 12 Units of Credit in each of Years 3 and 4 of the program.)

Can I complete my internship in New South Wales or elsewhere in Australia?

After completing and graduating from the six year Medicine Program, an internship is undertaken. In New South Wales this is called Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1). It is a paid position in a hospital, and is usually one year in length. It must be undertaken prior to full registration as a medical practitioner. In Australia, the internship training period is controlled by the various state Departments of Health and no guarantee can be given that an internship training program will be available to all international students. This applies in all states of Australia.

The NSW Clinical Education and Training Institute (CETI) follows a priority category system if there are more applicants than internship positions available. Please note that UNSW cannot guarantee that internship positions will be available in the future, particularly as there has been an increase in the number of local medical students. All international students who applied for internship in NSW for 2012 were offered a place, but this may not continue in future years. Students are encouraged to pursue alternatives such as an internship in their home country or another country, as well as applying for an internship in New South Wales and other Australian states.

After allocation, CETI and the Primary Allocation Centre will assist international graduates to obtain a visa to undergo internship in NSW.

For the most up to date information, please refer to the NSW Clinical Education and Training Institute website.

When do classes commence?

UNSW Medicine has one intake of students per year. Classes in the first three years commence in the last week of February or the first week in March and conclude in late November or early December. In 2013, classes in Year 1 will commence on Monday 25 February and the year ends with examinations which, it is anticipated, will finish in late November.

Who can apply as an International Student?

The Australian Government has determined that Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens are ineligible to apply as overseas students and must apply as local students. They are ineligible to apply as an international student irrespective of their citizenship of any other country. (New Zealand permanent residents are classed as international students.) All other applicants who have completed high school are eligible to apply, including students who have partly completed or completed another degree program.

I have applied for permanent residency - under what category should I apply?

If you expect to gain Australian permanent residency or New Zealand citizenship on or before the 31 March 2013, you are not permitted to enrol in UNSW Medicine as an international student. Please discuss your application with staff in the Office of the Dean on (+61 2) 9385 8765.

Are there any scholarships available for international students?

The main program of assistance for international undergraduate medicine students is the Australian Development Scholarship (ADS). ADS are funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). Only students from certain developing countries may apply. The conditions and level of assistance vary according to the country. Applications close as early as January of the year before the year of study. Information about ADS and other AusAID programs may be obtained from the Australian Diplomatic Post or the Australian Education Centre in your home country. Please see the UNSW website for more information on scholarships or the government website.

What types of accommodation options are available for international students?

There are a number of on-campus and off-campus accommodation options. On-campus accommodation includes self-catering apartments and residential colleges. Please note that residential college accommodation is limited and there are always waiting lists. Students interested in college accommodation must apply directly to the college of their choice preferably three to six months before starting at UNSW. For more information, please see the UNSW accommodation website for more information on housing.

Can I submit my application to UNSW Medicine before my final school results or ISAT results are available?

Students can apply to UNSW Medicine from March 2013, prior to their final high school results or ISAT results being available. However, the Faculty of Medicine does not make any offers based on forecast results. Offers for places are based on final academic, ISAT and interview results.

My final results will not be available until late January 2013 – can I still be considered for entry in March 2013?

The final date that the Faculty can accept academic results from international students (who have already completed a telephone interview) will be Friday January 18, 2013. Applicants who receive their results after this date cannot be considered for entry in 2013.

Please note, however, that it is likely that our quota for international students will be full before 18 January 2013. If the program is fully subscribed by this date, then any offers made at this time will be considered for deferral until March 2014.

If you receive your results after 18 January 2013, you may apply for entry to UNSW Medicine in 2014. Our application forms will be available from our website in March 2013 and telephone interviews will commence in April 2013.

Which Hospitals are used for Clinical Teaching?

The main hospitals located in Sydney which are used for clinical teaching are:

• Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick
• St George Hospital, Kogarah
• St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
• Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool
• Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
• Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick
• Sutherland Hospital, Caringbah
• Bankstown Hospital, Bankstown
• Fairfield Hospital, Fairfield

The main hospitals located outside of Sydney and in rural New South Wales and Victoria which are used for clinical teaching are:

• Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Wagga Wagga
• Albury Base Hospital, Albury
• Wodonga Regional Health Service, Wodonga (Victoria)
• Port Macquarie Base Hospital, Port Macquarie
• Coffs Harbour Hospital, Coffs Harbour

It is expected that students who gain entry via the Rural Student Entry Scheme will be allocated to a rural hospital and undertake between half and all of their final 2 years in rural hospitals. Other local students may have the option or be required to undertake at least 12 months and up to 2 years of studies in rural hospitals. International students are not usually given this option of undertaking an extended placement in rural hospitals. However, all students should expect at least 8 weeks in a rural rotation.

Students who are allocated to a rural hospital currently have as their home hospital Wagga Wagga, Albury, Coffs Harbour or Port Macquarie. Such students are also required to undertake some terms or part of terms in hospitals or health care facilities other than their home hospital. Wollongong Hospital is also being developed as a teaching hospital.

The Faculty will always consider the personal preferences of students in their allocation to home hospitals and to other hospitals on rotation. However, the Faculty reserves the right to allocate students to hospitals that are not their first preference in order to ensure that students receive the highest possible quality of teaching. Students considering applying for entry into UNSW Medicine must take this into consideration and be willing to undertake their training in a range of hospital and health care facilities. For further information please refer to the Faculty’s policy on Allocation of Students to Clinical Environments on the Faculty website.

What teaching methods and assessment are used?

The majority of teaching in Phase 1 of the curriculum (first 2 years) occurs on the main university’s Kensington campus and includes lectures, small group work, tutorials and practical classes held in laboratories. During this Phase, clinical sessions are held in hospitals.

In Phase 2 of the program (next 2 years), the clinical sessions held in hospitals increase to 3 days per week. Campus teaching (lectures, small group work, tutorials and practical classes) is held on the other 2 days per week at the Kensington campus. Phase 2 also includes the Independent Learning Project. In this unique learning experience, students undertake a supervised research project of their choosing.

In Phase 3 of the program (final 2 years), almost all teaching is conducted in hospitals. It includes bedside tutorials, classroom tutorials, ward rounds and attendance at clinics. Lectures held on the main university campus also form part of the teaching program in this Phase.

In all three phases of the program, students will be required to travel to various clinical environments associated with UNSW. These will be the predominant locations for learning in Phases 2 and 3, and will include at least 8 weeks in a non-metropolitan setting and one quarter of the local students will undertake one or two academic years in a non-metropolitan setting in Phase 3.

A wide-range of appropriate assessment methods are used to ensure students have achieved the level of knowledge and skill required. Methods include:

• Assignments
• Group Projects
• Practical Exams
• Written exams with multiple choice, short answer and essay questions
• Objective structured clinical exams
• Verbal viva exams
• Short cases, long cases and focused clinical exams.
• Thesis (Independent Learning Project)

Can I take leave during the program?

International students are subject to the conditions of their student visa. Subject to those conditions, UNSW Medicine will usually permit students to take one period of leave during the program.

As courses in Phase 1 (first two years) are held only once a year or once every two years, leave taken during Phase 1 usually has to be one or in some cases two years in length. In Phases 2 and 3, leave usually has to be one year in length. An exception to these cases is where a student has not made normal progression through the program.

Students therefore need to carefully consider their options when applying for leave, given the complexity of the sequencing of courses in the program.