Admissions criteria
The type of applicant you are will determine how your results are calculated and how work experience or personal circumstances are taken into consideration.
Applicants who will be aged less than 17 years old at the following dates after the commencement of study (31 March for start year intake or 31 August for mid-year intake) may be required to attend an interview to determine whether their age may adversely affect their ability to successfully undertake the course.
Please note: this is general information that applies to most applicants. If this information is not relevant to applicants of a specific course it will be noted in the course-specific information.
Applicant types
The information below relates to applicants who have completed an Australian Year 12 qualification or an International Baccalaureate Diploma (in Australia or overseas) in the past two years.
If you have completed an equivalent overseas secondary qualification in the past two years information is available here.
How you're assessed
Applicants are selected according to academic merit, in the form of the ATAR or notional ATAR, as calculated by the relevant Tertiary Admissions Centre.
Courses which select primarily on ATAR will have minimum ATARs set in advance and the only applicants who will be selected below this point are those for whom additional criteria have been considered. The standard required to receive an offer in any intake may be above the minimum ATAR and will be determined as part of the selection process depending on the pool of applicants and the number of places available.
External assessment is a key component required in all qualifications approved as entry pathways to the University of Melbourne. For this reason, you’ll need an ATAR or notional ATAR for courses which select primarily on ATAR, and study scores to satisfy prerequisites (not simply completing the subject).
We don't not make any adjustments for applicants eligible for the Victorian Baccalaureate.
Prerequisites
All applicants must satisfy the course prerequisites. Usually this is achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject but there are other ways you can satisfy prerequisites.
Criteria that may apply in addition to ATAR
If you’re not clearly-in, factors may be taken into consideration in addition to your ATAR or notional ATAR:
Access Melbourne
Circumstances described in your SEAS application. For some applicants, selection guarantees may apply. For all applicants eligible for Access Melbourne, offers are regularly made significantly below the lowest selection rank offered to and the minimum ATAR.
Check if you are eligible for Access Melbourne
Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme
Additional consideration is given on an individual basis 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 offered to.
Adjustments for the following criteria are already made as part of the ATAR calculation and we do not adjust for:
- Extension studies undertaken as part of Year 12
- Bonus points for completed language subjects.
Personal statements
Only relevant work and community experience will be considered and only where work experience is specified in the course selection criteria.
Done through a university or non-university higher education provider within the last seven years (not including extension studies taken as part of Year 12).
If your last study was more than seven years ago see the information about the non-school leaver entry pathway in the section for applicants with work and life experience below.
How you're assessed
Applicants 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.
See Instructions about how to calculate a WAM
If you have less than a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study
Your entire academic record is considered and both your ATAR (or other final secondary result) and your WAM will be considered. 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, however, under the non-school leaver entry pathway, see the section for applicants with work and life experience below.
If you have a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study
Generally, your WAM will be primary factor in assessment, particularly if your study is in a relevant discipline.
If you have more than a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study
WAMs will be calculated across all your higher education study and across the last year (1 EFTSL) and the higher of the two will be considered in assessment. If the points equating to the last EFTSL fall within a study period (e.g. a semester) then all subjects within that study period will be included in the calculation. The information provided in your VTAC personal statement regarding your motivation in applying for the course and your study and career goals will also be taken into consideration.
VTAC personal statements
Some elements of your VTAC personal statement may be considered during assessment:
- Relevant work and community experience will be considered only where work experience is specified as part of the course selection criteria.
- Explanations about why the WAM does not truly represent your potential:
- Difficult circumstances - we would typically assume that these have been dealt with via special consideration and other internal mechanisms at your previous institution. If this is not the case, you can describe the issue and the impact it had in a personal statement and attach independent supporting documentation to corroborate your claim.
Please note: if you have previous higher education study you are not eligible for Access Melbourne (excluding extension studies done as part of Year 12 and applicants eligible for the non-school leaver entry pathway). For most applicants with higher education study we do not look at information provided in the VTAC SEAS application, only at information provided in the personal statement.
- If you believe your performance was impacted by the discipline you were studying and you are now seeking a ‘fresh start’, you can mention this in this form. If your higher education study was consecutive, recent, not more than a year, and your secondary results are above the level required for entry, then in some cases you may be assessed mainly on your secondary results.
If you have completed more than a year of tertiary study, details about your motivation in applying for the course and your future study and career goals will be considered.
Prerequisites
All applicants must satisfy the course prerequisites. Usually this is 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.
This information relates to your vocational education and training (VET) study from the last seven years. If your last study was more than seven years ago, see the information about the non-school leaver entry pathway in the section for applicants with work and life experience below.
To be considered for entry, your study must be at Diploma or Advanced Diploma level and in a discipline relevant to the course you are applying for. If this is not the case, assessment will be based on other study completed (typically secondary results).
How you're assessed
Applicants are selected according to academic merit, usually in the form of the weighted average mark.
Your weighted average mark (WAM)
If you have 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. Qualifications which are not graded (for example, where only competency results are awarded) are not suitable for entry as assessment is based on the WAM.
Access Melbourne
If you’ve undertaken vocational education and training (VET), you can apply through Access Melbourne, our special entry scheme.
Personal statements
Onlyrelevant work and community experience will be considered and only where work experience is specified as part of the course selection criteria.
Prerequisites
All applicants must satisfy the course prerequisites. Usually this is achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject but there are other ways you can satisfy prerequisites, 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.
Applicants in this category typically fall into one of the following categories:
- applicants with non-recent secondary education (older than the last two years). If you have secondary study from the last seven years, see the section for applicants with recent secondary education. If your last study was more than seven years ago, see the information about the non-school leaver entry pathway below
- applicants who are eligible for the non-school leaver entry pathway
- indigenous applicants who don’t fit into one of the categories described above but are assessed as likely to succeed in the proposed course.
How you're assessed
See non-school leaver entry pathway
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
The University of Melbourne is committed to improving participation in higher education by Indigenous students. If you tell us you are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent (through the VTAC course application and/or the VTAC SEAS application), your status will be verified by Murrup Barak, the Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development.
Once verified, an assessment will be made to determine whether you are 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 are ‘likely to succeed’. When determining your ‘likelihood to succeed’, the additional 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.
The selection process
Your selection ranking
You’re allocated a Selection Rank that takes into account a number of factors including your ATAR, any adjustment factors such as equity or additional points (previously known as ‘bonus points’) that can be used in combination with your ATAR to derive your Selection Rank.
Other criteria looked at
We also look at the completion of prerequisite subjects, portfolio assessments, work and life experience, previous non-secondary study, and results of special admissions or supplementary tests.
How ranking is given
Eligible applicants are ranked in order of merit as measured against these criteria. The applicants that most closely meet the criteria are chosen first until the quota of places available in the course are filled.
Our principles of selection
The University is committed to maintaining internationally recognised high academic standards in its courses.
To see how this is achieved, read our Selection and Admission Policy
If you believe a selection decision was incorrect there is a process for selection appeals