How offers are made
Some graduate programs assess applications on a rolling basis, issuing offers throughout the year to applicants who meet the published selection criteria.
For highly competitive programs, eligible applicants may be ranked according to the published selection criteria during selection rounds, with the highest-ranked applicants selected and offered places until all available places are filled.
Some courses have limited places, in which case your application may be placed on hold and assessed in a later selection round.
This means there’s no guarantee of an offer. If this happens, you’ll be notified that your application has been placed on a waitlist. If you're waitlisted, there may be a delay in receiving your final outcome, but we’ll let you know when you can expect a decision.
Sometimes offers are made pending an applicant meeting certain conditions, such as providing evidence of English language proficiency or submitting final results. If your offer is conditional, you'll need to meet the conditions before accepting the offer.
Once you have the required documentation to meet the conditions, you can upload it directly to your application. See How to upload documents.
How to respond to your offer and enrol
Ensure you respond to your offer by the date specified in the offer letter, otherwise it may lapse.
If you've been sent an unconditional offer, you can choose to accept it online immediately. Your offer must be accepted by the date on your offer letter. After this date, the offer will lapse*.
Follow the instructions in your offer email to accept. Then you can enrol and start planning your studies.
- If you've already completed a Melbourne undergraduate degree, you can enrol in the graduate course from your current student account.
- To enrol as a new student, go to Get Started at Melbourne. There you can create a student account, apply for a student card, plan your course, apply for subjects, find out about orientation day and more.
Once you enrol, you'll be bound by the Terms and conditions for Australian fee-paying students and agree to pay tuition fees for every semester you're enrolled in.
*To request an extension of the offer lapse date, submit an enquiry to see if this is possible and if there are still places in your course.
How to defer your offer
If you're offered a place in a graduate coursework degree, you can apply to defer the commencement of your studies. Not all courses allow deferral. Information about how to defer your offer, the University's deferral policy, and which courses accept deferrals is available on Get Started at Melbourne.
The deferral application must be submitted online by the census date, or course fees will apply.
How to decline your offer
If you've received an offer for a place at Melbourne and decided not to accept, you'll need to log in and decline your offer.
Alternatively, you can defer your offer if you think you might change your mind later and the course allows deferral.
Advanced standing (credit)
Review your course offer letter for details of any advanced standing (credit for recognition of prior learning).
For some courses, advanced standing is assessed at the time of your application, while other courses require a separate application. If you didn’t apply for advanced standing or you believe you were eligible for credit, see advanced standing for further information about the process.
Didn't receive an offer?
Your outcome email from the University will explain why your application was unsuccessful. This may be because you didn't meet the minimum entry requirements or scores, or because all available places in the course have been filled.
If you believe there's been a failure in due process and you're not satisfied with the outcome, you may be able to request a formal review.
Explore and learn about other study options to increase your chances of getting into a course in the future.
Frequently asked questions
You’ll be notified by email (to the email address you used to apply) and in the application portal. Your offer letter will include instructions on how to accept, defer or decline.
If you don’t respond by the deadline, your offer may be withdrawn. It may be possible to request an extension to the offer lapse date. Contact us as soon as possible to discuss your options.
Some offers are conditional on providing further information or documentation (for example, final transcripts). You need to meet all the conditions by the stated deadline for your offer to become unconditional.
After you accept your offer, you’ll receive instructions to set up your student account and complete online enrolment. This includes choosing subjects, verifying your details and agreeing to University policies.
Yes. Subject changes can usually be made through your student portal before the census date. Check the Handbook or your course’s specific timelines for details.
If you decide a different course is a better fit, you’ll need to submit a new application for that program. Acceptance of one course offer doesn’t mean you can automatically be transferred to another course.