University of Queensland (Brisbane) Medicine Entry Guide — UCAT, GAMSAT, Course Structure & Selection

How Do You Get Into Medicine at University of Queensland?

UQ uses a multi-stage selection process that differs by pathway. Across both pathways, three components determine your outcome: academic performance, an admissions test, and the MMI.

Provisional (undergraduate, school-leaver) pathway

• Academic performance (ATAR or equivalent; indicative ATAR ~95+)
• UCAT ANZ — used to rank applicants for interview (SJT used only as a tie-breaker)
• Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
• Final-offer weighting: ATAR 25% + UCAT (excluding SJT) 25% + MMI 50%

Graduate-entry pathway

• GPA (minimum 5.0 on the 7-point scale)
• GAMSAT (minimum 50 in each section and overall)
• Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
• Final-offer weighting: GPA 25% + unweighted-average GAMSAT 25% + MMI 50%

Timeline: Provisional — UCAT July–August; QTAC opens ~August, closes ~30 September; interview offers ~mid-October; online MMIs mid–late November; offers ~mid-January. Graduate-entry — GAMSAT in the relevant window; apply via GEMSAS with multiple interview rounds (~one month after each round closes).

What Does University of Queensland Require for Medicine?

The practical checklist of what you actually need. Requirements differ by pathway.

Academic

• Provisional (school-leaver): indicative ATAR ~95+ (or equivalent). To progress from your UQ bachelor's degree into the MD, complete that degree within minimum time at a GPA of 5.0
• Graduate entry: a completed (or near-complete) approved bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA of 5.0 on the 7-point scale

Admissions test

• Provisional: UCAT ANZ required — primary ranking tool for interview shortlisting (SJT used only as a tie-breaker), contributes 25% of the final offer (excluding SJT)
• Graduate entry: GAMSAT required — minimum 50 each section and overall; unweighted GAMSAT average contributes 25%. International graduate applicants may use MCAT (minimum 504)

Interview

• Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), held online, for both pathways — the single largest component of the final offer at 50% — see interview preparation

Subject & course prerequisites

• Queensland Year 12 General English (Units 3 & 4, C) or equivalent
• Two MD prerequisite courses, completed during the bachelor's degree (both pathways): BIOM2011 Integrative Cell and Tissue Biology and BIOM2012 Systems Physiology

Additional & special-entry

• Completed application via the correct portal (QTAC for provisional; GEMSAS for graduate entry)
• Provisional students must maintain GPA 5.0 and complete within minimum time to retain the guaranteed MD place
• Pre-placement compliance once enrolled (immunisations, police/criminal-history check, First Aid certificate)
• Rural background sub-quota (~28% of places): at least 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years in a designated rural/remote area, via the QTAC Rural Access Scheme (indicative ATAR ~95.35)
• Bonded Medical Program (BMP) via QTAC code 721402 (standard code 721302)

What Interview Does University of Queensland Use for Medicine?

UQ uses a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for both the provisional and graduate-entry pathways. The MMI is conducted online via video conferencing, with applicants rotating through a series of short stations (around 8), meeting a different assessor at each. The UQ med MMI assesses personal qualities and values such as:

• Kindness and compassion
• Integrity
• Adaptability
• Verbal communication skills
• Ethical reasoning and motivation for medicine

Each assessor scores your performance independently, and those scores combine into your overall admissions rank. The MMI is the single largest component of the final offer for both pathways, contributing 50% — so interview performance is decisive even for applicants with strong UCAT/GAMSAT and academic results.

Interview dates: provisional (school-leaver) offers ~mid-October with online MMIs mid–late November; the rural sub-quota runs a longer window (offers October–February, interviews November–February); graduate-entry interviews run in multiple rounds, ~one month after each application round closes. See our MMI interview preparation resources.

Clinical Placements & Training

UQ medical students complete placements across one of Australia's largest clinical-training networks, spanning metropolitan teaching hospitals in Brisbane (including the Herston and Princess Alexandra precincts) and regional clinical units across Queensland.

In Phase 2 (Years 3–4), students undertake a sequence of core clinical immersions across disciplines such as medicine, surgery, child and adolescent health, mental health, rural health, and obstetrics and gynaecology, followed by a final-year elective and a Transition to Practice term in which students function as active pre-intern members of a clinical team.

Placements are delivered through hospital, community and regional health settings, giving students broad exposure to varied patient populations and to rural and remote medicine. International students may also complete clinical training through the UQ-Ochsner Clinical School in the United States.

University Life at University of Queensland

Students studying medicine at UQ benefit from a large and diverse medical student cohort across provisional and graduate-entry pathways, with extensive support and opportunities.

• Active medical and health student societies (such as the UQ Medical Society) supporting peer learning, mentoring and professional development
• Opportunities to engage in research projects, global health initiatives, rural placements and clinical electives
• Strong academic, wellbeing and pastoral support services throughout the degree
• Guaranteed accommodation options through UQ's residential colleges and halls for eligible students
• The UQ Excellence Scholarship (~$6k/year) and rural health scholarships ($2k–$10k) for eligible medicine students

The St Lucia campus and the Herston health precinct provide access to Brisbane's extensive hospital network, research institutes and biomedical facilities — supporting clinical training and pathways into clinician-scientist careers through UQ's leading biomedical and clinical research institutes.

Frequently Asked Questions