Eligibility and types of entry requirements
Every undergraduate degree has a range of criteria and subject prerequisites you need to be aware of before you apply.
Minimum entry requirements help ensure you’re academically prepared and have a strong chance of succeeding in your course.
Meeting minimum entry requirements means you’re eligible to be considered for the course but it doesn’t guarantee selection. Applications are assessed through the VTAC process.
Your background will determine how your prior study results are calculated and how your personal circumstances are considered. You may be eligible for Access Melbourne, our special consideration and equity entry scheme, which covers a range of circumstances and may help you secure an offer and scholarship.
Whatever your background, you’re required to meet the prerequisite subjects for the course you're interested in. This ensures you have the right skills, knowledge and experience for the course. Prerequisite Year 12 level (or equivalent) subjects are listed in the entry requirements on each course page.
Subject prerequisites may include VCE Biology, Chemistry, Maths Methods, Specialist Maths or Physics, in addition to English.
If you’re a school leaver and applying from Year 12, you’ll likely already have satisfied subject prerequisites through completing the relevant subject studies in the last two years. If this is not the case, you can satisfy subject prerequisites in a range of alternative ways.
All undergraduate courses have a specific English language standard you need to meet as part of the course entry requirements.
As a domestic applicant, you’ll likely have already met the English language requirement through completing English or English as an Additional Language (EAL) at the required level in an Australian Year 12 or the International Baccalaureate (IB).
If you haven't recently completed Year 12, there are other ways to satisfy the English requirements. See English language requirements for undergraduate study.
Admissions information based on your background
Find out how you're assessed and selected.
You may it into more than one of these categories, start with what best matches your most recent study.
If you're currently completing or have completed an Australian Year 12 qualification or an International Baccalaureate Diploma (in Australia or overseas) in the past two years, you'll be assessed and selected based on your Year 12 academic results.
If you've taken some time off before applying for university (e.g. a gap year), you can still apply using your Year 12 results as the basis for selection.
If you've completed any other University or TAFE study since finishing Year 12, review the other categories in this section: 'Applicants with higher education study' or 'Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study'.
How you’re assessed and selected
All applicants are assessed, ranked and selected according to academic merit. This is done using your Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) or notional ATAR (an ATAR produced using a conversion if you haven't studied the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)), as calculated by your local state Tertiary Admissions Centre. In Victoria, this is VTAC.
This rank (not a score) is used by all tertiary institutions to compare the overall achievement of all students applying for courses across different combinations of Year 12 studies.
Your ATAR is based on the results from your Year 12 studies. Any additional contributions to your ATAR, such as results from university subjects studied in the University of Melbourne Extension Program, or completion of language subjects are factored in.
Visit VTAC to learn more about how ATARs are calculated.
Entry scores by course
You can find the minimum ATAR and the lowest rank selected in the previous year on all undergraduate course pages. They give an indication of how competitive the entry into a course may be in the next selection period.
Courses which select primarily on ATAR will have minimum ATARs set in advance. The only applicants selected below the minimum will be those whose additional criteria has been considered.
The standard required to receive an offer in any intake may be above the minimum ATAR, this is called the ‘lowest selection rank’ ATAR and will be determined as part of the selection process depending on the pool of applicants and the number of places available.
Special consideration and equity entry – Access Melbourne
If you don't meet the lowest selection rank ATAR, other factors may be taken into consideration in addition to your ATAR or notional ATAR. If you've applied for Access Melbourne through VTAC, our admissions team will take your personal circumstances into account when assessing your application. This can help you secure an offer for your preferred degree through an ATAR adjustment or entry guarantee.
See Access Melbourne for eligibility and circumstances information.
Prerequisites and English language requirements
You must satisfy the subject prerequisites with the minimum required scores for your preferred course/s, and meet the University’s minimum English language requirements. Check your course page for details.
Supplementary entry requirements
For some courses, particularly our Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, there may be additional entry requirements that are used alongside your ATAR for assessment and selection. These can include an audition, a folio or an interview. Carefully check the relevant course page to ensure you meet the entry requirements for your preferred degree/s.
If you've completed any study through a university or non-university higher education provider within the last seven years, you'll be assessed and selected based on your higher education results.
If your last study was more than seven years ago, see the information for 'Applicants with work and life experience', including the mature age (non-school leaver) entry pathway.
Higher education study does not include applicants who have completed subjects in the University of Melbourne Extension Studies Program (UMEP) taken as part of Year 12. Refer to 'Applicants with recent secondary education'.
How you’re assessed and selected
Applicants with higher education studies are ranked according to academic merit demonstrated by a weighted average mark (WAM) (weighted according to the point value of the individual subjects).
The WAM is calculated across any undergraduate and graduate coursework study undertaken. Any research study undertaken is considered in addition to the WAM.
If you have less than one year of higher education study
If you've completed less than 1 EFTSL (equivalent full-time study load)/1 year, then your entire academic record is considered, and both your ATAR (or other final secondary result) and your WAM will be considered together.
If you’ve completed less than a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study and don’t have a secondary qualification assessed by the University as equivalent to the VCE, you won’t be eligible for entry. You may be eligible under the non-school leaver entry pathway – refer to 'Applicants with work and life experience' in this section.
If you have one or more years of higher education study
If you have a year or more of higher education study, your weighted average mark (WAM) will be the primary factor in assessment. Where applicable, consideration may also be given to the relevance of your previous study and any future study or career goals.
Prerequisites and English language requirements
You must satisfy the subject prerequisites with the minimum required scores for your preferred course and meet the University’s minimum English language requirements.
Usually, prerequisites are achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject, but there are other ways you can satisfy subject prerequisites, including through the completion of approved tertiary subjects.
There's no time limit for satisfying an English prerequisite, but other prerequisites must generally be satisfied within the last 10 years to ensure the knowledge is current.
Advanced standing (credit)
Advanced standing (sometimes known as credit or recognition of prior learning) may be awarded based on prior study. It is not awarded for work experience in undergraduate degrees. For undergraduate degrees, a separate application for advanced standing is required – this is done after you've received a course offer.
Find out how to apply for Advanced standing.
If you've completed any vocational education and training (VET) study in the last seven years, you'll be assessed and selected based on your study results.
To be considered for entry, your VET study must be at Diploma or Advanced Diploma level and in a discipline relevant to the course you're applying for. If this is not the case, assessment will be based on other study completed (typically secondary school results).
If your last study was more than seven years ago see the information for 'Appplicants with work and life experience' in this section, including the mature age (non-school leaver) entry pathway.
How you’re assessed and selected
If you’ve completed a Diploma or Advanced Diploma in a relevant discipline, a weighted average mark (WAM) (weighted according to the point value of the individual subject) will be calculated.
Applicants are then selected according to academic merit, usually based on your WAM.
If you have undertaken a qualification which was not graded (for example, where only competency results are awarded), this will not be suitable for entry as assessment is based on the WAM.
Prerequisites and English language requirements
You must satisfy the subject prerequisites with the minimum required scores for your preferred course and meet the University’s minimum English language requirements.
Usually, prerequisites are achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject but there are other ways you can satisfy prerequisites, including through the completion of approved tertiary subjects.
There is no time limit for satisfying an English prerequisite, but other prerequisites must generally be satisfied within the last 10 years to ensure the knowledge is current.
Advanced standing (credit)
Advanced standing (sometimes known as credit or recognition of prior learning) may be awarded based on prior study. It is not awarded for work experience in undergraduate degrees.
For undergraduate degrees, a separate application for advanced standing must be submitted after you've received a course offer.
See Advanced standing for how to apply.
If you're 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 using the mature age entry pathway through our special consideration and equity entry scheme, Access Melbourne.
If you have studied within the last seven years, refer to the other categories in this section.
If you don’t meet the eligibility for the mature age entry pathway, are not an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicant and don’t have any secondary, higher education or VET study results, you won’t be eligible for entry.
Demonstrate your likelihood to succeed in tertiary study
There are several ways to show that you're ready to commence higher education study. They're listed on the Mature age entry/non-school leaver pathway page.
Prerequisites and English language requirements
You must satisfy the subject prerequisites with the minimum required scores for your preferred course and meet the University’s minimum English language requirements.
Usually, prerequisites are achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject but there are other ways you can satisfy prerequisites, including through the completion of approved tertiary subjects.
There's no time limit for satisfying an English prerequisite, but other prerequisites must generally be satisfied within the last 10 years to ensure the knowledge is current.
Additional considerations for entry
The University of Melbourne is committed to improving participation in higher education of Indigenous students.
If you tell us that you’re of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent (through the VTAC course application and/or an Access Melbourne application), your status will be verified by Murrup Barak. Once verified, an assessment will be made to determine whether you're likely to succeed in the course you apply for. The usual entry requirements and entry standards for the course will not necessarily apply. However, they will be considered as part of the assessment of whether you're ‘likely to succeed’. When determining ‘likelihood to succeed’, the support available through Murrup Barak and the Wilin Centre will be taken into consideration.
For some applicants, an Indigenous selection guarantee may apply. Indigenous applicants regularly receive offers when their ATAR, or notional ATAR, is significantly below the lowest selection rank to which an offer was made and the minimum ATAR for a course.
Through Murrup Barak you can also access transition support, mentoring, study support and scholarships to help with your undergraduate study, and undergraduate degrees tailored to your needs.
If you play sport at an elite level or you're an artistic performer, you may be eligible for our Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme. A separate application is required to be considered under this scheme.
Additional selection consideration will be given to individuals based on the circumstances described in your Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme application.
For some applicants, selection guarantees may apply. For all applicants eligible for the Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme, offers may be made below the lowest selection rank.
If you'll be under 17 years old on the following dates, after the commencement of your study, you may be required to attend an interview to determine whether your age may adversely affect your ability to successfully undertake the course:
- 31 March for start year intake
- 31 August for mid-year intake.
If you're a domestic student and have undertaken Year 12 study overseas, you must have completed a recognised Year 12 qualification that's approved for direct entry by the University.
You apply through VTAC even if you've studied overseas, and you'll be assessed and ranked alongside all other domestic students.
See specific information for domestic students studying Year 12 overseas.
If you're an international student, refer to Undergraduate entry requirements (international).
About selection
Selection into undergraduate degrees at the University of Melbourne is competitive. For domestic applicants, the number of students we can accept is determined by the number of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) available in each degree. While our admissions team may look at a range of entry criteria and other factors during assessment, applicants are usually ranked by academic merit.
For information about how you're assessed and selected, see Admissions information based on your background.
Undergraduate to graduate degree pathways
Don't yet meet the entry requirements?
The Uni Ready Enabling Program and undertaking single subject study can both be used as potential pathways to an undergraduate degree. While entry is not guaranteed, these programs help you meet the prerequisites for our undergraduate degrees so you can be considered for entry.
There are other approved tests and programs you can take to satisfy VCE subject prerequisites.
If you did not complete 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, this may include undertaking study at another tertiary institution or undertaking equivalent Year 12 studies in an adult learning environment (such as the Centre for Adult Education or a TAFE institution)
Frequently asked questions
Entry requirements vary by course but usually include completing Year 12 (or an equivalent qualification), meeting the required ATAR and satisfying any subject prerequisites.
Yes. You must meet all required subject prerequisites and minimum study scores in addition to the ATAR to be eligible for selection.
No. Meeting the minimum requirements makes you eligible for consideration, but entry is competitive and offers are made based on ranking and place availability.
You may still be considered through our equity entry scheme, Access Melbourne, if your circumstances have affected your results. If you are eligible under one or more of the Access Melbourne entry categories, assessors will take a range of factors into consideration as part of your application. Access Melbourne does not replace subject prerequisites.
Yes. The University considers interstate, overseas, IB and other recognised qualifications as equivalent to the VCE. Your results will be assessed for equivalency as part of the application process.
Yes. Previous university or TAFE study may be considered when assessing your application, depending on the course and how recently the study was completed.
Domestic applicants must still meet the University’s English language requirements. Most students meet these automatically through previous study in English.