The University of Queensland (UQ)/CQ University/UniSQ offers a graduate medicine degree with four entry paths -

• Year 12 school leavers may secure provisional entry, meaning an allocated place in the graduate medicine degree is provided (this requires the student to maintain satisfactory performance in their undergraduate degree undertake at UQ),

• domestic Year 12 school leavers may secure provisional entry through the Bachelor of Medical Science degree undertaken at CQU,

• Year 12 school leavers may also secure provisional entry through the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences degree undertaken at UniSQ, and

• graduates with a completed degree.

Entry Requirements - The full details regarding the entry requirements for medicine at UQ/CQU/UniSQ are given in the table below.

How UQ/CQU/UniSQ Compares with Other Universities - Scroll further down, below the table  and you'll also see the UQ/CQU/UniSQ Comparitor. This tool enables you to compare the 4 paths to medicine at UQ/CQU/UniSQ, with other university paths to medicine (offered by 19 Australian university programs). 

UQ detailed entry Requirements

The key aspects in how UQ/CQU/UniSQ structures its graduate medicine degree and how the 4 paths flow into it include:-

More than postgraduate

The Provisional Entry undergraduate degree path is for high achieving students and has an adjusted ATAR requirement of 95. Approximately half the Commonwealth supported places in the UQ medicine program are allocated to students coming through this path (135 places out of the total 275). These students are required to maintain a grade point average of a minimum of 5 and need to complete their undergraduate degree in minimum time in order to commence the Doctor of Medicine degree.

Of these places, a rural program is now also being offered through CQU at their Rockhampton and Bundaberg locations with approximately 20 places in each and also through UniSQ at their Toowoomba campus. These pathways enable students to complete the Doctor of Medicine program at the UQ Rural Clinical School in Central Queensland or Wide Bay, or at the UQ Rural Clinical School in the Darling Downs – South West region.

Interviews now needed

UQ was one of the few Australian universities that had not included an interview as part of the selection criteria for the Doctor of Medicine degree - but this has now changed with the introduction of an interview process for both Provisional Entry and Graduate Entry paths. 

How UQ and UniSQ determine the offer of a place for Provisional (Year 12) entrants taking into consideration interview performance, is not disclosed in terms of relative weighting. Weightings are, however, specified for CQU provisional entry, with this being ATAR (25%), UCAT (25%) and interview (50%) so it is clear this new requirement has significant influence in terms of place offers for Provisional UQ medicine students at both CQU, UniSQ and UQ.

UQ/CQU/UniSQ offer a bonus scheme

If you are a high school student, you can gain up to 5 extra points that are added to your entry rank, for studies in languages other than English, Specialist Mathematics or if you have completed a university-level enrichment course. Two bonus points are added to your entry rank if you are a rural applicant applying for entry from Year 12. If you are a rural applicant from Central Queensland or Wide Bay for the Bachelor of Medical Science program at CQU or are from the Darling Downs and are applying for the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences at UniSQ you receive 3 bonus points.

Prerequisites - University subject requirements are also changing

Along with the changes regarding commencement of interviews, UQ also changed their university subject prerequisites for undergraduate degrees. UQ does not currently specify the types of previous degrees required for the graduate medicine program.

In 2022 things stepped up a notch with UQ requiring UQ Provisional Entry and Graduate Entry students to have completed two prerequisite subjects by the end of the year prior to commencement of the Doctor of Medicine degree, these subjects being:

• Integrative Cell and Tissue Biology, and

• System Physiology

Note, there is a table that provides approved prerequisite subjects. If you have undertaken subjects that are not on this approved list, you need to submit your subject prerequisites to UQ for assessment by 1st May in the year of application so they can be assessed in time for the GEMSAS closing date.

CQU/UniSQ do not specify prerequisite subjects as these are part of their Bachelor degrees.

Prior degrees - the 10 year rule with a twist

For Graduate Entry applicants’ previous university studies need to be completed within 10 years (like many other universities) of commencement of the medicine degree. The notable difference in this, however, compared with other universities, is additional required studies involve 1 semester of graduate coursework, when often it is 1 year. 

Higher Degrees Count

The way UQ calculates grade point average (GPA) for graduates seeking to enter the medicine program allows your most recent degree to be recognised. This means if you have a higher degree (such as a Masters or a PhD) you are able to use this for your GPA calculation. The introduction of an interview in the selection process also includes changes in how GPA is taken into account, with this now contributing 25% of the assessment for offers of a place in the medicine program.