University of Newcastle Undergraduate Medicine Australia

How good is Newcastle University for Medicine?

Newcastle Uni offers an Undergraduate medical program called the Bachelor of Medical Science/ Doctor of Medicine Joint Medical Program. The program is designed to be a modern course adapted for the rapidly evolving health care field. The Newcastle Uni medical course  assists students to improve their medical expertise and skills required to improve community health, especially the Indigenous and rural regions in Australia. The faculty at Newcastle Uni Medicine consists of a team of medical experts in their prime as inter-professional health care practitioners. 

Need proper guidance on your undergraduate medicine written application? Read our undergraduate medical apps article to ace your written application!

Newcastle Uni Undergraduate Course Overview

Newcastle University Undergraduate Medicine is a five-year Bachelor of Medical Science degree and Doctor of Medicine - a Joint Medical Program (MD - JMP). It is delivered jointly by the faculty of Newcastle Uni Medicine and the University of New England, which are located in  the Hunter New England and Central Coast Local Health District’s respectively.  

The University of Newcastle Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Science offers a clinical internship to most of their graduates upon completing their medical degree program in five years. The Joint Medical Program is divided into the Bachelor of Medicine from years one to three (1-3), and the MD program between years four and five (4-5). 

The Newcastle Uni Undergraduate course follows a Problem-Based Learning method, JMP Clinical Method workshops, highly patient-centric clinical forums, clinical panels, research seminars, and clinical placements. Professional development opportunities are also offered.  

Newcastle Uni Course Structure

First-year studies in Biomedical Sciences focus on:

• Major body structures, mechanisms and implications of diseases
• Clinical skills workshops to discuss safe practice, communication, basic patient assessment, and specific physical examination
• Patient-specific assessment - cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, gastrointestinal and endocrine systems

The Second-year of the medical degree focuses on expanding all the themes introduced during the first year. In addition, students will receive a foundational course around the structure, functioning, and patient assessment of the immune, nervous, musculoskeletal, reproductive, growth, psychiatric, and haematological systems. During year 2, students gradually transition into the clinical setting and adapt to medical General Practice.

Year 3 primarily establishes patient assessment and teachings on patient management. The teaching method involves Case-based learning and Student-directed seminars. Furthermore, students spend more time around General Practice, General Medicine, and Surgery. Another significant feature during Year 3 is the Community Placement Option and the Research Project that encourages students to apply clinical learnings within clinical contexts overseen by a research supervisor. The Research Project also extends into Year 4. The course additionally explores the functionality of the clinical environment with students undertaking full-time placements in Medicine and Psychiatry, Women's Health, and Adolescents' & Children's health.

Finally, during Year 5, students are wholly immersed in clinical environments as full-time pre-interns. The placement areas during the final year involve areas of Surgery, Medicine, General Practice and Critical care, which also includes Emergency Medicine and Anesthetics. 

Newcastle Uni Undergraduate Admissions Criteria

Newcastle Uni Medicine ATAR

While applying to study medicine at Newcastle Uni, it's best to understand the Newcastle Uni Medicine entry requirements to determine your eligibility. The first and foremost factor to consider is your academic achievement from your high school or any previous university study. An ATAR score is used to assess the academic eligibility of applicants who wish to pursue the Newcastle Uni Undergraduate.

• A minimum ATAR score of 94.3 or higher for applicants who completed the Higher School Certificate (HSC) or equivalent
• A minimum ATAR score of 91.4 or higher for applicants who completed their HSC or equivalent from a rural/remote location.

Newcastle Uni Medicine UCAT Cut-off

Another essential requirement for each applicant applying to the Newcastle Uni Undergraduate program is to perform well in the UCAT exam. The UCAT score is a major determining factor to receive an invitation to the Joint Medical Program Assessment (the next crucial step in the admission process).

Newcastle Uni Medicine considers an aggregate UCAT score to rank applicants for the Joint Medical Program Assessment. However the fifth subtest,the  UCAT Situational Judgement Test, is excluded from the JMP selection process for applicant's undertaking the undergraduate medical degree in 2022.

Medical Degree Newcastle Uni - JMP Assessment

Unlike most Australian medical schools that merely use medical interviews as a fundamental assessment for selection, the Newcastle Uni Medicine instead employs the Joint Medical Program Assessment to evaluate students' ability to progress during medical school and subsequently in their medical practice. 

Successful applicants will be contacted, and the assessment is conducted in person within the defined testing period at either the University of Newcastle or the University of New England. If students fail to attend the evaluation, the university considers the application as withdrawn.

The Joint Medical Program Assessment is divided into two parts:

1: Part A - Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA)

The PQA is an online test that evaluates a range of important personal qualities to study and practice medicine in the long run. Once you complete the online PQA, you will be allocated an MSA session on the same day.

2: Part B - Multiple Skills Assessment

The MSA is a close replica of the Multiple Mini Interview process. To learn more about the MMI stations, read our series of MMI-related articles to ace this medical interview format.

In terms of the MSA, there are usually eight, eight-minute rotating stations. Each station discusses various scenarios and undertakes activities with the interviewer, or in this case, the assessor.

If you are invited to the MSA, you will be evaluated based on your:

• Potential to thrive within the undergraduate program,
• Ability to make critical day-to-day decisions impacting yourself and others, and having a level of certainty about the outcome,
• Interpersonal and communication skills,
• Personal desire and motivation to be a doctor.

Newcastle Uni Medicine: Enrolment Location

While filling out the online application form, you should indicate your preferred MSA location: either at the University of Newcastle or the University of New England. There is no guarantee that you will receive a medical place offer based on your preferred medical school location. The reason behind this being that besides enrollment location the Joint Medical Program shortlists applicants based on factors such as available places at each university and position on the ranked list. 

Newcastle Medicine Application Process

Before applying to the Newcastle Uni Medicine, you must sit the UCAT ANZ exam, preference the Joint Medical Program and then apply via the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) by 30 September 2021.

Each year, approximately 170 places are offered across both the University of Newcastle and the University of New England. Kindly note that the UAC accepts late submissions, but a late fee will be applied. 

Newcastle University Medicine Fees

All our university articles discuss the Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) and the Bonded Medical Places (BMP) offered by most Australian medical schools. In brief, a CSP is basically when the Australian Government supports your study at the University. All undergraduate domestic students qualify for a CSP and a BMP under this scheme; a smaller number of places is allocated for the Newcastle University Medicine Postgraduate program.

A BMP is a scheme that aims to improve healthcare in rural and remote areas by employing junior doctors to spend time in a predefined area of workforce shortage. Learn more about the BMP from our detailed article explaining the specifics of this scheme.

Suppose you are considered for a CSP place. In that case, you must make a student contribution amount for your course as most of your payable tuition fee is covered by the Australian Government as a subsidy. 

The Commonwealth Supported Student Contribution Amount varies according to the subject you choose to pursue within the University of Newcastle. For Newcastle Uni Medicine, the payable tuition fee appears to be AUD $11,300.

Newcastle Uni Medicine Interview Dates

Where To From Here?

We hope our article on the Newcastle Uni Undergraduate Medicine was useful and helps you through your application process. Here’s a list of FREE RESOURCES available on the Fraser’s website to get you started on preferencing medical schools for undergraduate courses. Additionally, check your odds of receiving a medical interview offer and enrol into some of our medical interview prep courses.