Dunedin, New Zealand
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB)
Medicine
Health Sciences first year pathway
Admission into Medicine at Otago is usually through the Health Sciences First Year course. School leavers enrol at Otago for the common Health Sciences First Year course and then apply for admission to second year medicine. Graduates may also apply for admission at second year. If successful, students will complete a further five years, then after graduation work for another year under probation in order to gain general registration.
To be considered for admission in the HSFY category an applicant must be enrolled in HSFY at Otago and pass all the papers prescribed for HSFY at first attempt, with a minimum of 65%, and have a valid current UCAT result which meets the threshold in all of the four UCAT sections to be determined annually by the Medical Admissions Committee.
Applicants will also be required to have passed the HSFY English Diagnostic Test or have passed ENGL 128.
No interview is required for this entry pathway.
Alternative category pathway
This category for application for admission to second-year Medicine is open to allied health professionals, other graduates, or mental health professionals.
To be considered for admission under the Alternative category, an applicant must be a domestic student and:
Hold a degree from a New Zealand university, and no longer be eligible under the Graduate category; or have completed a degree at an overseas university at a standard of at least NZQF Level 7; or hold a master's or doctoral degree; or demonstrate health-related professional experience in a relevant field to a standard acceptable to the Medical Admissions Committee.
Applicants seeking admission to Medicine with health-related professional experience will be required to demonstrate academic and/or professional experience in the relevant field, to a standard acceptable to the Medical Admissions Committee, as part of the selection process. Allied health professionals are recommended to have not less than five years' experience in their chosen profession(s), and preferably at least two years in New Zealand.
International applicants are not considered under the Alternative category.
Candidate selection for alternative category is a two-stage process. Alternative category candidates will need to sit a medical interview based on an application statement and CV. Not all applicants will be selected for medical interview.
Important Dates
Applications for admission to Medicine via the HSFY and Graduate categories:
Open: Start of August
Close: Mid-September
Applications for admission to Medicine via the ‘Alternative’ category:
Open: Start of April
Close: Start of May
Read full details about Medicine / Medical Degree at the University of Otago.