Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)

MBBS Application Information Steps

1. Know which MBBS category you are in. Review the relevant information for your category and complete the admission requirements.
2. Know the Important Dates and Deadlines
3. Find out if you are eligible to apply as a Greater Western Sydney (GWS) applicant
4. Review the MBBS Admission Criteria and action steps as required, including online Registration and associated forms 
5. If you have any questions or issues that are not covered on this website, please contact medstudent@uws.edu.au or telephone (02) 4620 3600. 

MBBS Categories

There are five MBBS categories and it is important to know what category you fall into for the MBBS application process: 

• Local Applicants - Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens (excluding currently or previously enrolled MBBS students). For details on how to apply, go to: Local Applicants - How to Apply for MBBS
• International Applicants - All applicants other than Australian citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or New Zealand citizens - either onshore or offshore. For details on how to apply, go to: International Applicants - How to Apply for MBBS
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Applicants - Eligible applicants may apply under this scheme - please visit the ATSI site for further information. For details on how to apply, go to: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Applicants - How to Apply MBBS
• Advanced Science Pathway - Applicants who complete Year 1 (full time) of any of the three Advanced Science courses (including Medical and Natural Sciences) will be considered for an interview if they achieve a GPA of 5.5 or more, achieve 50 percentile or more in UMAT and have met all mandatory requirements of the Advanced Science course as advised by the Head of Program. There are a total of six spaces available for interview in this category (six in total, not six per course). If there are more eligible applicants than there are interview places, applicants will be ranked using their UMAT total percentile. Applicants in this category should apply in the same way as "local applicants", above.
• Transfer Requests – Applicants who are either Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents OR New Zealand citizens and who are currently (or have previously been) enrolled in a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (or equivalent course) at another university, must apply using the Transfer Request form. Such applicants are not eligible to apply via any other pathway. If any student is found to have gained a place in the MBBS or MBBS/BA program via any other pathway, such place will be rescinded. Please visit Transfer Information for further information.  Any International applicants who are currently (or have previously been) enrolled in a BMedicine/BSurgery (or equivalent) must apply via the UWS International Office.

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GWS Definition

The University has a commitment to the Greater Western Sydney community in which it is located. To that end, a proportion of the places available in this course will be allocated to applicants from the Greater Western Sydney area. Applicants who have lived in one of the 14 Local Government areas defined as Greater Western Sydney for at least five consecutive years immediately prior to commencing the MBBS or MBBS/BA are eligible to be considered for these places. Of the 14 GWS Local Government areas, a few suburbs “cross boundaries” with another LGA. In such cases, those suburbs have been included in the GWS definition. Please check if your postcode is included:

Please Note: The School of Medicine definition does differ from other definitions of "Greater Western Sydney" used by the university - however there was intense government involvement in the creation of the medical school and therefore the School has chosen to adopt the NSW Government's definition. There is comprehensive information about these LGAs at the Division of Local Government website.

Postcode table:

*   The Suburbs of Bucketty and Mogo Creek within the Hawkesbury City Council are also included for the purposes of GWS identification. 

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MBBS Admission Criteria

To be eligible for a place in MBBS, applicants must meet three criteria - two discrete thresholds (academic and UMAT) plus performance in an interview. The School does not consider any other criteria.

Criteria 1 – Academic Rank

Non Greater Western Sydney applicants - ATAR (or equivalent) of 95.5

• Equivalency: IB 37 or higher; OP3 or higher; GCE of A*A*AA or higher
• Up to 1 semester full time GPA = 6.5
• Between 1 semester full time and 1 year GPA = 6.1
• Between 1 year and 3 years GPA = 6.0
• 3 years, but incomplete GPA = 5.6
• Completed degree GPA = 5.6

Greater Western Sydney applicants - ATAR (or equivalent) of 93.5

• Equivalency: IB 35 or higher; OP 4 or higher
• Up to 1 semester full time GPA = 6.0
• Between 1 semester full time and 1 year GPA = 5.7
• Between 1 year and 3 years GPA = 5.5
• 3 years, but incomplete GPA = 5.1
• Completed degree GPA = 5.1

Criteria 2 - UMAT

Applicants must register to sit the UMAT at a time determined by ACER. For details about registration and dates for the UMAT please see the ACER web page or contact ACER directly via:

Phone: (03) 9277 5746 International: (+61 3) 9277 5746
Fax: (03) 9277 5757 International: (+61 3) 9277 5757
Email: umat@acer.edu.au 

The threshold level of achievement the University requires in UMAT changes each year and is determined by the performance of all applicants competing for a place in the MBBS course and will not be disclosed. GWS applicants may have a slightly lower threshold than non-GWS applicants.

Applicants who meet both academic and UMAT thresholds are subsequently invited to interview. Final rankings for offers for the MBBS will be based on interview performance, plus UMAT scores (with a greater emphasis being on the interviews). 

Criteria 3 - MMI

The interview will take the format of a Multistation Mini Interview (MMI). This involves the applicant being asked a series of questions; each question is asked by a separate interviewer in a separate interview station. Applicants will have approximately eight minutes to respond to the question before being asked to move to the next interview station.