The Deakin Medical School will offer 120 Commonwealth supported places (CSP) in 2009. This includes 5 Medical Rural Bonded Scholarships (MRBS) and 30 Bonded Medical Places (BMP). The School originally planned to offer 8 full fee places to Australian residents but this is unlikely to occur following a change in Australian Government policy. 

Admission to the Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS)  is determined by a combination of grade point average (GPA) in an approved undergraduate degree, Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) score and interview performance. No exemptions or advanced standing are offered.

Applicants are required to sit the GAMSAT test in the two years prior to the year in which they wish to commence study. Further details are provided in the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Guide, which is available at the GAMSAT website (http://gamsat.acer.edu.au/index.php)

International full fee paying places will be offered from 2009. These places will be subject to demonstration of proficiency in spoken and written English. Information on entry requirements can be found in the international students section.

Minimum entry requirements

• A completed undergraduate degree from an Australian university, (listed in the Australian Qualifications framework at: subcategory ii. Universities and other Self- Accrediting Higher Education Institutions, or an overseas university listed in the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition Guide).
• An overall GAMSAT score of 50 and a score of 50 in each of the three sections of GAMSAT.
• A GPA (weighted) score of 5. The GPA score is based on academic grades during the final three full time equivalent years of the most recent undergraduate degree (including an honours year if applicable). Greater weight is given to results from later years of academic study, with the final year weighted x3, the penultimate year x 2, and the first of the final 3 years x 1. There is no bonus added to the weighted GPA for postgraduate study beyond an honours year.

Applicants are required to have graduated from their undergraduate degree within 10 years of their projected commencement date. Applicants whose undergraduate degree was completed outside the 10 year period are considered for admission if they have completed the equivalent of 1 year's full time tertiary studies at Graduate Diploma level or higher within 10 years of the projected commencement date at an Australian university or an overseas university listed in the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition Guide.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites

Selection

1. Selection for interview

Invitations to interview will be sent to approximately 192 applicants based on GAMSAT + GPA Score (50:50) with additional weighting for:

Rural / regional residency:
Applicants who lived or studied for at least 3 years after commencing primary school, in a place classified as RRMA 2-7 receive a weighting. Applicants from RRMA 3-7 regions (e.g Ballarat, RRMA 3; Colac RRMA 4) receive a 4% weighting. Applicants from a RRMA 2 region (e.g. Geelong) receive a 2% weighting.  Information about the RRMA classification is available at (http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/internet/otd/publishing.nsf/Content/work-RRMA)

Prior learning:  
Applicants who have completed a major sequence in biomedical or health sciences during their undergraduate degree receive a 2% weighting.

Prior clinical experience in a health discipline:
Applicants who have completed one year of clinical practice as a registered health professional (eg dentistry, dietetics, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, and speech pathology) receive a 2% weighting..

2. Interview

Deakin Medical School uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) process. Each applicant undertakes a series of 5 minute interviews at 10 stations. The stations are designed to assess Deakin Medical School graduate outcomes such as:

• Communication skills
• Evidence-based practice
• Health promotion
• Teamwork
• Career motivations
• Social Justice
• Self-directed learning
• Professionalism
• Resource use
• Rural awareness
  

3. Selection for Offer

At the completion of interviews, applicants are ranked according to a selection score calculated from the GAMSAT score, weighted GPA and interview score (1:1:1). Weightings for rural/regional residency, prior learning and prior clinical experience are included in the ranking score. Offers will be made in order of ranking until all available places have been filled.

The School ranks applicants interviewed at other Australian graduate medical schools who have not been offered a place at that school and have listed Deakin Medical School on their preference forms. These applicants’ selection scores are derived by calculating an interview score based on ranking at the medical school where they were interviewed. (Applicants interviewed at Deakin who are not offered a place are passed on to the medical school listed as their next preference.)