Admission of domestic applicants

• Admission requirements


• Eligibility


• Grade Point Average (GPA)


• Admissions test (GAMSAT)


• Application

Before you apply, please read:The Admissions guide and frequently asked questions


• Apply online here
Note: Online applications will open from Monday 23rd April to 5pm Friday 01st June (Eastern Standard Time).

Admission requirements

There are three basic admissions criteria for admission into the graduate-entry program:

1. All applicants must have completed, or be in the final year of, a bachelors degree and have a minimum GPA of 5.5 out of 7.0 (or equivalent) at the time of application in order to be considered for admission*;
2. Domestic applicants (i.e. Australian or NZ citizens or Australian permanent residents) must submit Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) results, and their eligibility for admission to Sydney Medical School will be assessed using their GAMSAT results; Domestic students who are also US citizens, nationals or permanent residents, and intend to apply for the US loan must refer to http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/future-students/medical-program/international/international-admissions.php#test as they will be required to take MCAT as well. Their eligibility for admission to Sydney Medical School will, however, be assessed using their GAMSAT results.
3. Applicants who have achieved both the required grade point average and admissions test results will be invited to attend an interview.

Please note: Offers of admission are made by the Dean. At the University of Sydney, the Dean of a Faculty is responsible for the admission of candidates to courses within that Faculty subject to the policies of the Senate and the Academic Board and the authority of the Vice-Chancellor: clause 37.2 of the University of Sydney (Amendment Act) Rule 1999.

The Dean in exercising his responsibility in making any decision will abide by University policies in relation to admission to Sydney Medical School award courses, including those that specify that applications for admissions are considered according to the criteria detailed in the course resolutions.

*Note: Applicants with a PhD or a Masters degree by research from a recognised institution whose GAMSAT results have met the minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT will be deemed eligible for interview regardless of their undergraduate GPA.

Eligibility

Applicants must have a Bachelor degree from a recognised institution:

1. an Australian university listed in the Australian Qualifications Framework at: sub-category i. Australian Universities or ii. Self-Accrediting Higher Education Institutions;
   OR
2. an overseas university listed by the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR).

Note:
a) Applicants must complete at least two years full time (or equivalent if not studying full-time) of the bachelor degree program at the awarding institution. (New)

(b) For further information about recognition of institutions and qualifications, applicants may contact NOOSR directly.

c) An applicant who has been excluded from any university must indicate this on the application form. Sydney Medical School may contact the applicant for further detail.

Applicants for the Medical Program whose bachelor degree was conferred 10 or more years before 1 January of the year in which the applicant intends to commence the Medical Program must either:

1. obtain a second bachelor degree at a recognised institution* within 10 years before 1 January of the year in which the applicant intends to commence the Medical Program; or
2. obtain a Graduate Diploma or a Master or PhD degree at a recognised institution* within 10 years before 1 January of the year in which the applicant intends to commence the Medical Program.

For example, for 2013 entry, an applicant's first bachelor degree must not be conferred earlier than 1 January 2003. Otherwise, an applicant needs to obtain a Graduate Diploma or a Master or PhD degree which must not be conferred earlier than 1 January 2003.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

BACHELOR DEGREE

All applicants must have completed, or be in the final year of, a bachelor degree and have a minimum GPA of 5.5 (7.0 scale) at the time of application (roughly approximate to a credit level at the University of Sydney or 65% based on a pass mark of 50%) in order to be considered for admission (calculations are not rounded up, i.e. a GPA of 5.49 does not meet the entry requirement).

(Note: Applicants with a PhD or a Masters degree by research from a recognised institution whose GAMSAT results have met the minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT will be deemed eligible for interview regardless of their undergraduate GPA.)

The bachelor’s degree must be completed by 1 January of the year in which the applicant intends to commence the Sydney Medical Program.

Applicants who have undertaken a bachelor degree in an accelerated program are eligible to apply only after completion of the full degree.

Applicants with overseas qualifications are required to achieve an equivalent level (e.g. a GPA of 2.7 out of 4 for USA/Canada universities, a GPA of 3.3 out of 5 for Singapore universities, bachelor degree at a Lower II class for UK universities.

The University will not calculate your GPA prior to your application.


GPA CALCULATION (New)

Given the different structure of grades across universities a range of formulae have been developed by institutions to calculate an Annual Average Mark (AAM) or Grade Point Average (GPA). For the purpose of admission to the SMP and DMD program, academic results from a bachelor degree are used as a hurdle only. For example, a score of 5.5 and a score of 7.0 are ranked equally in terms of selection for interview.

Do I need to fill out any GPA forms?

1. If you are a domestic applicant with a bachelor degree from a university outside Australia or New Zealand, you are required to contact UAC to have your qualification assessed and GPA calculated. Allow at least two weeks for UAC to process this assessment. Please note that a service fee may apply. Although you do not need to fill out any GPA forms, you are required to summit a copy of the outcome of the assessment along with other required documents (e.g. transcript) when you complete the online application form. If you cannot submit the UAC form by the 01st June 2012 please email medicine.localmp@sydney.edu.au.
2. If you are a domestic applicant with a bachelor degree from an Australia or New Zealand university, Sydney Medical School will calculate your GPA. Although you do not need to fill out any GPA forms, calculate your GPA using the information below to ensure that you meet the minimum GPA requirement

The method of calculating a GPA is as follows:

1. The GPA is calculated over the final three years of the most recent bachelor degree including an honours year if undertaken.
2. For applicants who have undertaken a combined degree program, all units of study undertaken in the last three years will be used in the calculation of a GPA.
3. The unit values or credit points of each subject must be used. If this information is not available, a value of 1 should be assigned.
4. All years of study regardless of level are weighted equally.
5. Percentages are used when available rather than grades, this includes honours years. Grades should be converted to percentages where no percentages are given; the conversion table (pdf) can be used for this purpose. The mark assigned should be the lowest equivalent percentage in the relevant band.
6. All failed subjects must be included in the calculation with a mark of zero (0). If a subject appears on your transcript as 'withdrawn' or 'discontinued', i.e. a subject in which you were enrolled but did not complete, you only include this in the GPA calculations if 'Withdraw/Fail' or 'Discontinue/Fail' is shown. In this case, these subjects are assigned a zero (0) and no percentage marks can be used.
7. If a subject has been failed and repeated, both marks must be included in the GPA calculation.
8. The calculation is based on subjects completed at the time of application. First semester results of applicants who are applying whilst in the final year of their degree will be included in the assessment only if those results are available on the transcripts at the time of application. It should be noted that any offer of a place is provisional and conditional upon the applicant completing his/her degree at the appropriate level of performance.
9. Credit transfer subjects (from another institution) are excluded from the calculations.
10. Exchange subjects are excluded from the GPA calculation.
11. Postgraduate coursework qualifications are not used in the calculation of a GPA.

PASS/FAIL basis only

Applicants with a Bachelor degree where results in 1/3 or more of the units of study in the final three years of the degree are awarded on a Pass/Fail basis only must provide official documentation, signed by the Dean of the relevant Faculty, indicating that they have a credit average. Pass/Fail results which comprise less than 1/3, of the final three years of the degree, do not need to be included unless they were failed subjects.

PhD OR MASTERS BY RESEARCH DEGREE

Applicants with a PhD or a Masters degree by research** from a recognised institution* whose GAMSAT results have met the minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT (see Admissions Test) will be deemed eligible for interview regardless of their undergraduate GPA.

The PhD or Masters Degree by research must have been conferred less than 10 years before 1 January of the year in which the applicant intends to commence the Medical Program (i.e. 2013 entry, an applicant's PhD or Masters degree by research must not be conferred earlier than 1 January 2003.)

Applicants must submit proof of award of a PhD or a Masters degree by research along with their transcripts of a Bachelor degree at the time of application. Otherwise applications will be processed as standard applications.

Please note that applicants with PhD by research will have 3 percentage points added to their total final score (determined by the Medical School). There will be no extra points for other types of doctorates or Masters degrees.

The policy above will be reviewed in 2015.

*Either an Australian university is listed in the Australian Qualifications Framework at: sub-category i. Australian Universities or ii. Self-Accrediting Higher Education Institutions) or an overseas university listed in the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition guide

**Some Masters by research degrees may require a limited amount of coursework, however, the research component must comprise 2/3 or more of the overall course requirements. The proof of award must indicate that the degree met this requirement.

Admissions Test

GAMSAT REQUIREMENTS

Domestic applicants (i.e. Australian or NZ citizens or Australian permanent residents) must submit Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) results as part of the application process. Their eligibility for admission to Sydney Medical School will be assessed using their GAMSAT results.

Please note that domestic students who are also US citizens, nationals or permanent residents, and intend to apply for the US loan must refer to http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/future-students/medical-program/international/international-admissions.php#test as they will be required to submit MCAT results and a consent form. Their eligibility for admission to Sydney Medical School will, however, be assessed using their GAMSAT results. .

Applicants must have achieved a minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT to be considered. Domestic applicants should have GAMSAT results prior to submitting the online application.

Applicants who have achieved a minimum GPA of 5.5 will be selected for interview based on their Overall GAMSAT Score.

Each year’s cut-off score is determined once all applications have been received by Sydney Medical School.The minimum Overall GAMSAT Score for admission has been:

Year of entry	Cut-off score
2005	58
2006	59
2007	61
2008	61
2009	59
2010	63
2011	62
2012	67

For 2012 entry, the minimum GAMSAT overall score was 67 (at least 50 in each section) for standard applicants and 60 (at least 50 in each section) for rural applicants.


NB. Rural, ATSI, and refugee applicants are all considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants with a PhD or a Masters degree by research from a recognised institution whose GAMSAT results have met the minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT will be deemed eligible for interview regardless of their undergraduate GPA.

GAMSAT REGISTRATION

The GAMSAT has been developed as a selection instrument by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with the graduate-entry medical schools.

GAMSAT is designed to serve five major purposes:

• to ensure that all commencing students have analytical and problem-solving skills and basic competence in the biological and physical sciences
• to recognise those applicants who have a broad understanding of those basic concepts in the social sciences and humanities which are considered advantageous to the study and practice of medicine
• to ensure that applicants have an acceptable standard in written communication in English
• to provide valid and reliable information that will allow ranking of applicants
• to indicate to potential applicants the background knowledge necessary to commence the course and the standards required (how an applicant gains this knowledge is an individual choice).

The test consists of three sections designed to assess each applicant's performance in the areas of:

1. reasoning in humanities and social sciences
2. written communication in English
3. reasoning in biological and physical sciences (Chemistry 40%, Biology 40%, Physics 20%).

The assumed level of knowledge for the section on reasoning in the biological and physical sciences corresponds to the first year of university studies in biology and chemistry, and Year 12 in physics.

ACER produces materials to assist candidates in their preparation for GAMSAT.

The GAMSAT takes place once a year only, in March, and can be taken one or two years before the year in which an applicant seeks to begin the Medical Program. Applicants must register with ACER to sit the test by the published deadline date in January.

Please note GAMSAT results are valid for two years; for 2013 entry, 2011 or 2012 results will be accepted. The applicant nominates which year's results are to be considered if more than one set of test results are valid. Individual section scores from tests in different years cannot be mixed.

When considering which year's results to nominate, be aware your overall score is the relevant factor, not your percentile.

GAMSAT UK results are valid for two years; for 2013 entry, 2010 or 2011 results will be accepted

Registration for GAMSAT and application for admission to the Medical Program are separate processes.

Applications, information and sample questions for GAMSAT are available online from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) website

You can also contact ACER directly:

Tel: +61 3 8508 9097
Email:

Application

All domestic applications for entry into the Medical Program must be submitted online directly to the University of Sydney.

Please note that in order for all Sydney Medical Program (SMP) and Doctor of Dental Medicine program (DMD) applications to be processed in time for interview, the Sydney Medical School and Faculty of Dentistry will only process first preference applications: i.e.

• Applications for DMD must nominate DMD as their first preference;
• Applications for SMP must nominate SMP as their first preference;
• Applicants wish to apply for both DMD and MBBS must submit two separate applications to be considered.

Please note: There is no fee to make an application to the Medical Program. There is an Interview Booking and Administration Fee for applicants who are made, and accept, an invitation to interview.

In order to complete the online application, applicants must upload transcripts and any other required documents, electronically, at the time of application. Any applicant who is seeking admission under one of the special-entry schemes (ie. rural, indigenous, refugee or PhD/Masters by research) must upload supporting documentation at the time of application or the application will be processed as a standard application.

All documents must be correctly certified, as per the University’s guidelines.

Please note: The online application form is open for all University of Sydney courses. Due to the timeframe involved, if you do not nominate either Dentistry or Medicine as your first preference on this form, you will not be considered for either of these courses.

Domestic applicants should have GAMSAT results prior to submitting the online application.

(NOTE: Registration for GAMSAT and application for admission to the Medical Program are separate processes.)

Applicants should be aware that the presentation of forged documents in connection with admission to the Medical Program is a criminal offence and the University may take appropriate action against such cases, or other admissions irregularities, including the withholding of relevant information.
Action may include cancellation of an application for admission, of an offer of admission, or of enrolment.