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 these cases, 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 its conditions before accepting it.
Once you have the documentation to meet your offer condition, you can upload it directly to your application. See How to upload documents.
Conditional CoEs
If you have an offer for a graduate coursework program that's conditional on final results, you may be eligible to formally accept your offer and pay your tuition fee deposit early (prior to the receipt of these results) through the conditional Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) process. You may be eligible to apply for a conditional CoE when your final results will be released too late to otherwise get a visa, and the University is confident that you will satisfy the academic entry requirements of your course.
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.
To accept your offer online, you must do so through our acceptance portal by the date listed on your offer letter. After this date, your offer will lapse. If you need to extend your offer lapse date, submit an enquiry to see if this is possible and if there are still places in your course.
Through the portal, you’ll complete and submit your Student Acceptance and Payment Agreement, pay your tuition fee deposit and arrange your Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). After your acceptance agreement and payment have been processed, you'll receive an electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from the University. You'll need your CoE to apply for your student visa.
To enrol, go to Get Started at Melbourne. Here you can create a student account, apply for a student card, plan your course, apply for subjects, find out about orientation day and more. If you've already completed a Melbourne undergraduate degree, you can enrol from your current student account.
Read the Tuition fee terms and conditions for international students before completing your enrolment. Once you enrol, you'll be bound by our fees policy and agree to pay tuition fees for every semester that you're enrolled in.
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 on 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 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 credit for recognition of prior learning.
For some courses, advanced standing (credit) 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
A conditional offer means you still need to meet specific requirements, such as final transcripts or English language results, before your place can be confirmed. Once all conditions are met, you’ll receive an unconditional offer.
Follow the acceptance steps provided in your offer letter. You’ll need to log in to our acceptance portal to formally accept your offer and pay your tuition fee deposit. Make sure you accept by the deadline, as offers may expire if not actioned. If you need more time, you’ll need to submit an enquiry to request an extension to your offer lapse date. Some courses fill places quickly, so this is not always possible.
See the section above 'How to respond to your offer and enrol'.
Some courses allow deferral for up to 12 months, but not all. If deferment is available, you can apply to defer.
Your CoE is issued once you have accepted your offer, met all conditions and completed any required payments. You will need your CoE to apply for an Australian student visa. Some applicants may be eligible to request a conditional CoE.
Your offer may lapse if you don’t accept or finalise any required payments on time. Contact the University as soon as possible if you need assistance or want to extend your offer lapse date.
No. You can accept your offer and complete online enrolment from overseas. However, you must meet your visa and arrival requirements before classes begin.