Mature Age applicants (non-school leaver)

The University of Melbourne is committed to significantly increasing the participation of students from diverse backgrounds and welcomes applications from mature aged students.

We recognise that not everybody who starts university comes straight from completing an Australian Year 12 qualification. There are a number of different ways to become eligible to enter a University of Melbourne degree.

If you successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent) in recent years but have taken some time off before applying for university courses, you can still apply for University of Melbourne courses using your Year 12 results as the basis for selection.

Check out information about our standard undergraduate application process to see what steps you need to take.

If you are over 23 years of age, haven't been studying at either Year 12 level or university/TAFE level for at least seven years, and are an Australian or New Zealand citizen (or Australian permanent resident or holder of a permanent Humanitarian Visa) you may be eligible to apply for a University of Melbourne degree using our Non-school leaver entry pathway.

If you commenced a degree at another university or TAFE after Year 12, you can follow the standard application process for undergraduate University of Melbourne courses and your entire academic record (including Year 12 results and your university/TAFE Grade Point Average) will be used as the basis for your application.

Prerequisite subject requirements

You are still required to meet the prerequisite subjects for the course you're interested in. If you did not complete them in Year 12 it may be possible to meet them with tertiary subjects you have studied since. Contact us to have an assessment made.

Credit for previous study

Credit for recently completed tertiary studies may be granted if any of your previous studies are comparable in content, equivalent in standard and suitable to be included as part of your preferred course. You can apply for credit (advanced standing) once your have been made an offer of a place in the course.

If you have not completed an Australian Year 12 qualification or equivalent (or didn't do well enough in your Year 12 subjects for admission to your preferred degree) you will need to consider how you can become eligible to start a degree. Possible ways include:

If you have already completed part of an undergraduate course at another institution, you can follow the standard application process for undergraduate University of Melbourne courses and your entire academic record (including Year 12 results and your university/TAFE Grade Point Average) will be used as the basis for selection.

Prerequisite subject requirements

You are still required to meet the prerequisite subjects for the course you're interested in. If you did not complete them in Year 12 it may be possible to meet them with tertiary subjects you have studied since. You should contact the relevant faculty or graduate school.

Credit for previous study

Credit for recently completed tertiary studies may be granted if the studies that you have successfully completed are at a similar level and standard, and are equivalent in content to studies within your preferred degree.  You can apply for credit (advanced standing) once your have been made an offer of a place in the course.

To be eligible for entry to a course, you must have completed a qualification deemed to be equivalent to the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). A number of qualifications, both in Australia and in other countries, have been assessed by the University as equivalent to the VCE and approved as entry pathways.

Prerequisite subject requirements

You will need to meet the prerequisite subject requirements and any tests or auditions for the specific course you're interested in. A number of common qualifications are included on our find a course database, where you can search for the individual requirements of your preferred course. If the qualification you are studying (or have completed) is not included on Course Search or the list of equivalent qualifications please contact us.

English language requirements

As well as meeting the prerequisites for your preferred course, you must also satisfy the English language requirements of the University to be eligible for a place. You can satisfy the English language requirements in a number of ways depending on your circumstances.

Check out detailed information about English language requirements

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