• Section 1 - Introduction
• Section 2 - Application Process
• Application Process
• Section 3 - Admission Requirements
• Minimum Academic Requirements
• Personal Qualities Assessment
• Bio Medical Science Pathway
• Section 4 - Selection Ranking
• Section 5 - Offers
• Central Coast Clinical School Allocation
• Section 6 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Applicants
• Section 7 - International Applicants

Section 1 - Introduction

(1) The Joint Medical Program (the JMP) consists of the Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine undertaken consecutively and offered jointly by the University of Newcastle and the University of New England.

(2) Admission to the JMP is administered at the University of Newcastle and managed through a common selection process.

Section 2 - Application Process

Application Process

(3) To be eligible for consideration, all applicants are required to:

1. complete a direct university application, either Standard or Rural (Rural Remote Admission Scheme), by midnight on the stated closing date in the year prior to that in which admission is sought. The JMP Admission Committee is responsible for setting the closing date for direct university applications. Details will be available on the JMP website. Applicants will have the opportunity to indicate their preferred enrolment location (University of Newcastle or University of New England) when they lodge their direct application to the JMP.
2. lodge an application with the Universities Admission Centre (UAC) by the relevant UAC closing date listed on the JMP website. The application must include a preference for the Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine by the last date to add this program to the UAC application listed on the JMP website; and
3. register to undertake the approved selection test (i.e. UCAT ANZ) by the final closing date set by the organisation responsible for delivering the selection test. Details regarding the selection test will be available on the JMP website.

Section 3 - Admission Requirements

(4) To be eligible for admission, all applicants must satisfy both the minimum academic requirement and the Personal Qualities Assessment as specified below.

Minimum Academic Requirements

(5) To satisfy the minimum academic requirement, an applicant must:

1. have achieved an ATAR of at least 94.30 in the New South Wales Higher School Certificate (or equivalent), or 91.40 (or equivalent) for applicants eligible under the Rural and Remote Admissions Scheme (that is, applicants who completed their studies at a school in a designated rural or remote location). The postcode classification is based on the Federal Government’s ASGC-RA classification; or
2. have completed at least one full-time (or equivalent) of approved study (1 FTE excluding credit) in a single program of study at a higher education institution and have achieved in that study a UAC (ATAR Based) Rank of 88.40 or better. An applicant’s most recent program of study which satisfies the 1 FTE requirement will be used to assess academic eligibility.

(6) Where an applicant has undertaken one or more years of tertiary study and subsequently completes secondary studies, eligibility will be based on the most recent tertiary studies. 

Personal Qualities Assessment

(7) The Personal Qualities Assessment consists of two stages:

1. Stage 1 comprises a selection test(s) (UCAT ANZ) as approved by the JMP Admission Committee; and
2. Stage 2 comprises interview(s) as approved by the JMP Admission Committee.

(8) Stage 1 details will be available on the JMP Website at the beginning of each year for the following year.

(9) To be eligible for Stage 2, Assessment of Personal Qualities, an applicant must satisfy the minimum threshold score in   Stage 1 as determined each year by the JMP Admission Committee. The minimum threshold score for standard and rural applicants may differ.

(10) Only those applicants who satisfy Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Assessment of Personal Qualities and satisfy the Minimum Academic Requirement will be eligible for admission and selection ranking. Applicants who do not attend Stage 1 and/or Stage 2 of the Assessment of Personal Qualities will have their application withdrawn and will be ineligible for admission.

Bio Medical Science Pathway

(11) Applicants who have completed, or are expecting to complete, one of the following programs at the University of Newcastle in the listed timeframes may be considered for admission through the Biomedical Science Pathway:

1. Bachelor of Biomedical Science – to be completed in the two years prior to the year in which the applicant expects to commence the Joint Medical Program; or
2. Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) – to be completed in the year prior to the year in which the applicant expects to commence the Joint Medical Program.

(12) Applicants must submit a direct university application indicating that they are completing or have completed the Bachelor of Biomedical Science or Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) at the University of Newcastle. Applicants will be required to meet the threshold score in the Stage 1 Selection Test which is used for rural applicants to progress to Stage 2. Applicants who meet this threshold will progress to Stage 2 – Assessment of Personal Qualities.

Section 4 - Selection Ranking

(13) Applicants who complete Stage 2 of the Assessment of Personal Qualities will be ranked for selection in descending order of merit according to their results in Stage 2. Applicants with the same score in Stage 2 will be sub-ranked on the basis of their performance in Stage 1.

Section 5 - Offers

(14) Offers will be made through UAC with the available positions allocated to rural and non-rural applicants at each university in the proportions determined by the JMP Admission Committee and approved by the Dean of Medicine – Joint Medical Program, taking into consideration each applicant’s preferred enrolment location provided in the direct university application.

(15) The Dean of Medicine – Joint Medical Program (or nominee) shall ensure that sufficient offers of admission are made each year to the first year of the degree to fill the various quotas: Rural / Non-rural, Bonded Medical Places, Central Coast Clinical School and Indigenous. The number of commencing domestic students at each university will be determined by each university based on the number of places allocated under the Federal Government Funding Agreement.

Central Coast Clinical School Allocation

(16) Applicants who are successful in gaining entry through the University of Newcastle will have an opportunity to express their interest in undertaking the first three years of their study at the Central Coast Clinical School (CCCS) in Gosford. Applicants will receive priority allocation to the CCCS if they currently reside on the Central Coast, NSW and have done so for no less than two years, and are able to provide supporting documentation. A Central Coast Priority List is provided as part of the application process.

(17) If the number of expressions of interest to commence study at the CCCS exceeds the available number of places, then offers will be made on the basis of final selection rank.

Section 6 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Applicants

(18) Provisions for the selection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Applicants are outlined in the Bachelor of Medical Science / Doctor of Medicine – Joint Medical Program – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Selection Procedure. Please refer to this document.

Section 7 - International Applicants

(19) Applicants will be accepted from onshore and offshore international applicants to fill the available places within the program. The JMP Admission Committee will set the closing date for applications and will monitor the number and eligibility of applicants received.

(20) International applicants will be required to register to undertake the approved selection test (i.e UCAT ANZ) by the final closing date set by the organisation responsible for delivering the selection test. Details regarding the UCAT ANZ test are available on the JMP website.

(21) A limited number of positions within the approved international quota places are reserved for students entering via the University of Newcastle College of International Education.

(22) The selection criteria for international applicants will include:

1. Academic Eligibility – assessed as being equivalent to the domestic academic requirements as defined in Section 3 of this document; and
2. satisfying the minimum threshold UCAT ANZ score for international applicants as determined each year by the JMP Admission Committee; and
3. Assessment of Personal Qualities.

(23) International applicants will be ranked for selection based on the results of their Personal Qualities Assessment. Offers will be made in descending order down the ranked list to fill the available places.

(24) The JMP Admission Committee is responsible for managing the quotas for the international pathways to the Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine.