How to get into Deakin Medicine
Your 2027 Entry step-by-step guide
Deakin University School of Medicine in Geelong, VIC runs a graduate-entry medicine program for 2027 entry. Admission tests listed: GAMSAT and MCAT. Published hurdles: GPA — minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted; GAMSAT — minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Deakin holds multiple mini interviews (MMI).
- Interviews (2027 entry)
- September (domestic MMI, online, per GEMSAS). International applicants are interviewed in Deakin's own rounds instead — for the 2027 cycle Deakin published rounds in May, August and October 2026; round dates are set on Deakin's international course page and change each cycle.
- Decisions (2027 entry)
- Late October 2026-early November 2026 (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November 2026, December 2026 and January 2027
Photo: Bob T · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Photo: Rolland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo: Mattplaysthedrums · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Paul Carmona · CC BY-SA 3.0
Still deciding where to apply? Hear it from a student who's there
Honest student guides to medicine universities
Current medical students at Australian universities are filming their guides right now: what the course and teaching are really like, the city they live in, the social side, and whether they'd pick it again.
Coming soonNot on sale yet — we'll open these up as soon as the first Australian videos land.
Filming now
Deakin expects a bachelor degree with Bachelor degree (completed, or final year scheduled for completion by 23 December in the year of application) with minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 over the most recent 3 FTE years; GAMSAT 50+ in each of the three sections and 50+ overall, sat within the preceding four years; online MMI.
The degree must normally be awarded within 10 years of commencement, though applicants outside that window may still be considered if they complete 0.5 FTE of AQF Level 8 or higher study by 31 July in the year of application.
GAMSAT and the 10-year recency rule are both waived for Rural Training Stream Tier 1 applicants, and GAMSAT is not required at all for the Indigenous Entry Stream.
International applicants may use GAMSAT or MCAT and sit a structured panel interview instead of the MMI. for Medicine (MD) and uses Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry) for interviews in the 2027 Entry cycle.
Entry is graduate-entry and selection uses GAMSAT and MCAT; applications close through GEMSAS or your state TAC (UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC, TISC), and CSP, BMP and full-fee places are all capped, so treat the standard above as a threshold to clear rather than a target to aim at.
This guide is written for 2027 Entry applicants and updated annually before each GEMSAS / UAC cycle. Sources include Deakin University School of Medicine's official course page, GEMSAS, the UCAT-ANZ Consortium, ACER (GAMSAT), and direct conversations with current students. Read time: ~12 minutes.
Compiled from Deakin University School of Medicine's published admissions material and checked for internal consistency. Not independently re-checked against the official course page for 2027 entry — confirm the figures with the school before you rely on them.
Deakin at a glance
| GPA | Minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted |
|---|---|
| GAMSAT | Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall |
| Interview format | Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry) |
| Interviews (2027 entry) | September (domestic MMI, online, per GEMSAS). International applicants are interviewed in Deakin's own rounds instead — for the 2027 cycle Deakin published rounds in May, August and October 2026; round dates are set on Deakin's international course page and change each cycle. |
| Decisions (2027 entry) | Late October 2026-early November 2026 (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November 2026, December 2026 and January 2027 |
Deakin entry requirements
| Pathway | Graduate entry |
|---|---|
| GPA | Minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted. GEMSAS weighting (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 3) / 6; each GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded. The degree must have been awarded within 10 years of the projected commencement date; applicants outside that window may still be considered if they complete the equivalent of 0.5 FTE of AQF Level 8 or higher study, finished by 31 July in the year of application. This currency rule does not apply to RTS Tier 1 applicants. Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 over the most recent three FTE years, progressively weighted x1, x2, x3. A GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results, and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded from the calculation. Deakin publishes the average GPA of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 6.72 for the 2026 intake and 6.68 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). |
| Admission tests | GAMSAT, MCAT |
| GAMSAT | Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Minimum 50 in each of the three GAMSAT sections and 50 overall, obtained within four years preceding the year of application. Deakin publishes the average GAMSAT of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 65.9 for the 2026 intake and 66.39 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). These are cohort averages, not thresholds — Deakin publishes no competitive or guaranteed score. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments, equally weighted. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted. |
| Interview | Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry) |
| Place types | 2027 intake: up to 100 CSP + 45 BMP + 15 International + 30 RTS (reserved subset of domestic) ≈ 160 total. Indigenous Entry Stream holds up to seven domestic places; a minimum 25% of domestic places goes to rural-background applicants over and above the 30 places reserved for the Rural Training Stream, and Deakin states that a minimum 50% of all course places (RTS + general stream combined) are offered to students meeting rural background criteria. |
| Indigenous pathway | Indigenous Entry Stream (IES) holds up to seven domestic places. IES applicants apply directly to the School of Medicine rather than through GEMSAS, may apply with a degree in any discipline (bachelor, or bachelor plus a higher-level coursework postgraduate degree, normally completed within 10 years of commencement), and are NOT required to sit GAMSAT — though GAMSAT results may be submitted if held. Ranking is on weighted GPA (5.0+), the IES application form and an interview, with a minimum overall interview score of 50%. Deakin's IES page listed a Doctor of Medicine close date of 5pm, 31 July 2026 for the 2027 intake — confirm the current date on that page each cycle. First Nations applicants may instead apply through GEMSAS, in which case Confirmation of Aboriginality and/or Torres Strait Islander Descent must be supplied by 30 June 2026. |
| Bonded / rural | 45 of the 145 domestic places for 2027 entry (about 31%) are Bonded Medical Program places — Commonwealth Supported Places carrying a return-of-service obligation of 156 weeks (3 years) as a medical practitioner in an eligible regional, rural or remote area, to be completed within 18 years of finishing the medical course. Separately, the Rural Training Stream (RTS) three-tier system: Tier 1 (Deakin's rural footprint, all locations in the Western Victoria Primary Health Network classified MM3-MM6, plus MM2 locations in and surrounding Ballarat; all other MM1 and MM2 locations in that PHN, and the MM3 and MM4 locations on the Bellarine Peninsula, are excluded) — NO GAMSAT required + 10-year currency waived. Tier 2 (MM2-7 Rural Victoria) and Tier 3 (MM2-7 other Rural Australia) require GAMSAT and currency. Every RTS applicant, all tiers, must also submit a written application (1000-character limit per section, covering rural community connection, interest in rural medicine, and evidence of capability to undertake postgraduate study) assessed by rural community members, academics and clinicians — it is worth 50% of the aggregate score used to shortlist for interview and 25% of the final offer score. Accepting an RTS place is a binding written commitment to all four years at a rural site: Years 1-2 are delivered blended (online plus 1-2 days a week face-to-face) at Deakin's Warrnambool Campus or East Grampians Health Service, Ararat (preference collected after offer, not guaranteed); Years 3-4 at Ballarat-Grampians, Warrnambool-South West or Rural Communities. Geelong-Barwon and Eastern Health are not available to RTS students, and transfer to the general stream is not possible — exiting the RTS forfeits the place. Adjustment bonuses (added to the combined GPA and GAMSAT score): Prior Clinical Experience +4% (12 months full-time AHPRA-registered practice, or speech pathology/dietetics); Work Experience +2% (2 years full-time, or 3744 hours over 4 years); Deakin Graduate +4% (degree completed at Deakin with at least two-thirds of course requirements at Deakin); Rural/Regional residency +4% (Geelong MM1 or MM2) or +8% (MM3-7); Financial Disadvantage +2% (approved Centrelink/StudyLink benefit for at least 12 months during recent study). Prior Clinical Experience and Work Experience are mutually exclusive — claiming one disqualifies you from the other — and there is no cap on the total adjustment points an eligible applicant can receive. |
Bachelor degree (completed, or final year scheduled for completion by 23 December in the year of application) with minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 over the most recent 3 FTE years; GAMSAT 50+ in each of the three sections and 50+ overall, sat within the preceding four years; online MMI.
The degree must normally be awarded within 10 years of commencement, though applicants outside that window may still be considered if they complete 0.5 FTE of AQF Level 8 or higher study by 31 July in the year of application.
GAMSAT and the 10-year recency rule are both waived for Rural Training Stream Tier 1 applicants, and GAMSAT is not required at all for the Indigenous Entry Stream. International applicants may use GAMSAT or MCAT and sit a structured panel interview instead of the MMI.
A completed bachelor degree (any discipline) with a competitive GPA is the academic gateway; admission-test performance and interview together carry most of the final ranking.
GAMSAT
GAMSAT is a 5.5-hour written test of Humanities & Social Sciences (Section I), Written Communication (Section II) and Biological & Physical Sciences (Section III). Run by ACER twice a year (March and September). Scores remain valid for ~4 years. Most competitive offer-holders score 60+ overall with each section above 50.
Written submissions
Australia has no equivalent of the UK's single UCAS personal statement. GEMSAS graduate-entry applications use GAMSAT + GPA without a written component; most state-TAC undergraduate applications use ATAR + UCAT-ANZ without a written component. The schools that DO require written content (JCU portfolio, Notre Dame Sydney/Fremantle questionnaire, Wollongong short answers, Bond essays) each ask different, school-specific questions. Treat each school's prompt set as a discrete short-answer test - do not recycle a single document across multiple schools.
Limits are school-specific. JCU portfolio responses: typically 250-500 words per question. Notre Dame questionnaire: 250-400 words per response. Wollongong short answers: ~300 words each. Bond essays: 500 words. Read the current cycle's prompt brief for each school carefully - limits and prompts shift cycle-to-cycle.
Five things that win
Four things that lose
Worked-example opener (do not copy — for shape only)
"At 14, watching the geriatrician on my rural placement explain a Goals of Care decision to a frightened daughter, I realised that medicine is as much about clarity in language as it is about clinical knowledge. The conversation lasted nine minutes; the silence afterwards lasted longer. Since then I have spent…"
Notice: a specific scene rather than a cliché, a precise detail (the nine-minute conversation), and a closing sentence that bridges to the next paragraph. We have a step-by-step written-submissions service if you want a tutor to help shape yours.
The Assessment interview at Deakin
Deakin uses Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry). For 2027 entry, interviews typically take place in September (domestic MMI, online, per GEMSAS). International applicants are interviewed in Deakin's own rounds instead — for the 2027 cycle Deakin published rounds in May, August and October 2026; round dates are set on Deakin's international course page and change each cycle.. Final decisions are released Late October 2026-early November 2026 (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November 2026, December 2026 and January 2027.
At Deakin, expect the following from the selection process. Assessment / recorded-interview format - some Australian schools (JCU's Kira Talent recording, Notre Dame Modern Hire) ask one-way recorded responses; others combine panel interviews with practical tasks (group work, written exercises, presentations). Allow 60-90 minutes for a recorded interview or 4-6 hours for a full in-person assessment day.
How the Deakin interview actually runs
Deakin runs a Multiple Mini Interview of up to 6 consecutive stations with 5 minutes per interaction. For 2027 entry GEMSAS states interviews are held online in September 2026, so there is no on-campus interview day this cycle.
Deakin lists the key areas addressed as ones that may include communication skills, commitment to rural and regional practice, evidence-based practice, self-directed learning, teamwork, motivation for a career in medicine, commitment to social justice, professionalism, effective use of resources and health promotion.
A minimum overall MMI score of 50% is required, and eligible applicants scoring less than 2 on any station undergo review. International applicants do not sit the MMI at all — Deakin interviews them itself, by panel, using a structured format.
What they assess
What Deakin assessors are scoring: Multi-station assessment lets the school triangulate - assessors compare notes from each station to spot consistent strengths (and red flags).
Common station / question themes
- Group task observation (how you contribute, listen, lead)
- Written ethics scenario
- Panel interview or recorded one-way response
- Portfolio / personal-statement deep dive
- Hot topics in Australian healthcare (Medicare, rural workforce, Indigenous health)
- Academic curiosity questions
Sample questions you might face at Deakin
Why medicine?
Tell us about your work experience.
In a group task, what role did you take and why?
How would you handle disagreement with a senior colleague?
Describe a recent biomedical news story and your view on it.
Model-answer guidance: “Why medicine?”
Our panel-interview prep covers ethics frameworks (SPIES, the four pillars), structured behavioural answers (STAR), and live mock interviews with admissions specialists.
Practise the Deakin interview
Rehearse the real format before the day — on demand with our AI interviewers, or live with a tutor.
Sit a mock with photoreal AI interviewers — any time
A timed MMI or panel interview on video — Australian & international voices — with interviewers who listen, react and press with follow-ups. Rubric-scored feedback and a replay the moment you finish.
Live mocks with a tutor who’s been in the room
A full Deakin-style mock with a medic or dentist tutor — honest scoring against real marking criteria, a station-by-station debrief and a written action plan.
Book a mock interviewMonth-by-month timeline for 2027 Entry
The cycle runs roughly January 2025 (start of prep) through GEMSAS preference lock and state-TAC deadlines in September 2026, MMIs in October-December 2026, to first-round offers in December 2026 and course start in late January / early February 2027. Here are the milestones you cannot miss.
Decide and start work / clinical experience
Confirm medicine or dentistry as your career direction. Start banking clinical exposure (hospital volunteering, GP shadowing, aged-care or disability-support roles) and non-clinical experience (research assistant, peer tutoring, leadership). Australian schools weight reflection over hours - track what each placement taught you.
Begin UCAT-ANZ / GAMSAT prep
Open your prep window 6-9 months before the test sitting. UCAT-ANZ candidates focus on the 4 sub-tests (Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Situational Judgement). GAMSAT candidates focus on Section I (Humanities), Section II (Written Communication) and Section III (Sciences) - the Section III sciences gap is the most common reason graduates under-perform.
GAMSAT March sitting
ACER GAMSAT March test date. Scores released early May. Most graduate-entry applicants sit GAMSAT in March of their apply year so results are available before GEMSAS preferences open.
UCAT-ANZ registration + GEMSAS portal info
UCAT-ANZ registration opens (test sat in July). GEMSAS portal information released for graduate-entry medicine. ATAR-tracking begins for current Year 12 applicants.
GEMSAS portal opens + UCAT-ANZ booking
GAMSAT March results released (late May). GEMSAS applications open 1 May and close 29 May across the ten consortium schools (ANU, Deakin, Griffith, Macquarie, Melbourne, Notre Dame Fremantle, Notre Dame Sydney, UQ, UWA, Wollongong). Sydney, Flinders and Monash are NOT in GEMSAS and need separate direct applications. UCAT-ANZ booking deadline is 15 May.
GEMSAS preference entry opens
Rank up to 6 preferences across the 8 GEMSAS schools. ACER GAMSAT September registration window opens (a second sitting option for applicants who under-performed in March).
UCAT-ANZ test window
Take UCAT-ANZ between early July and early August. There is one sitting per cycle - no retake until the following year. Results are released to state TACs (UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC, TISC) in October. State TACs (UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC, TISC) accept undergraduate medicine preferences from July onwards.
GEMSAS preferences lock + direct apps close
GEMSAS interview offers issued in early September; consortium interviews run September-October. ACER GAMSAT September sitting - too late for this cycle, results land mid-November. JCU QTAC + JCU-portal applications close 30 September. State-TAC medicine preferences close 25-30 September. (Bond's QTAC round does not open until January.)
MMI invitations issued
Most graduate-entry consortium schools issue MMI invitations through October. Bond runs its structured interview cycle. UCAT-ANZ results released to state TACs for undergraduate ranking. State TAC preference changes typically close late October.
MMIs run + ATAR results
MMIs run across consortium schools, Bond, JCU and Macquarie through October-December. ATAR results released to state TACs for school-leaver undergraduate applicants. GAMSAT September results released for applicants who sat the second window.
First-round offers
First-round offers released by GEMSAS, state TACs and direct-application schools. Acceptance deadlines are typically within 10 days of offer - reply on time or forfeit the place. Some schools release a second offer round in early January.
Late offers + course start
Late-round offers released through January. Deferral requests due. Orientation week is scheduled by most schools for late January or early February, with first-year teaching commencing late January / early February.
What makes Deakin different
Deakin was established as a rural-focused graduate-entry MD and remains one of the strongest pipelines into Victorian rural practice. Deakin's Years 3-4 clinical partners are named health services — Barwon Health (Geelong), Eastern Health (Melbourne), Grampians Health (Ballarat) and South West Healthcare (Warrnambool) — plus the nine-location Rural Communities network. A substantial proportion of places are reserved for rural-origin applicants, with bonded service options. Years 3-4 are spent at one of five Deakin Medical School sites — Eastern Health (Melbourne), Geelong-Barwon, Rural Communities, Warrnambool-South West or Ballarat-Grampians — allocated in Year 2 by preference and place availability. The Rural Communities site is the distinctive one: a 12-month Year 3 longitudinal placement following patients over time, at one of nine rural and regional Victorian locations. It is one option among five, not something every student does.
Notable research areas
Curriculum (PBL)
4-year graduate MD with problem-based learning. Years 1-2 at Waurn Ponds (Geelong) for General Entry Stream students. Rural Training Stream students do Years 1-2 elsewhere: blended online learning with a minimum of 1-2 days a week of mandatory face-to-face attendance, based at Deakin's Warrnambool Campus or East Grampians Health Service, Ararat, with occasional attendance at Waurn Ponds. Site preference is collected after the offer is accepted and is not guaranteed. Years 3-4 at one of five Deakin Medical School sites (Geelong-Barwon, Ballarat-Grampians, Warrnambool-South West, Rural Communities, Eastern Health), allocated in Year 2 by student preference and place availability; students placed at Rural Communities spend 12 months of Year 3 in a longitudinal placement at one of nine rural Victorian locations. RTS students cannot be allocated Geelong-Barwon or Eastern Health. Fees: Commonwealth Supported Place student contribution AUD $14,046 for one year full-time (indicative, based on 8 credit points, and indexed annually). International full-fee place: Deakin publishes an indicative annual tuition fee on its international course page (AUD $89,240 per year as last verified) — quote the live figure before publishing. Deakin publishes no domestic full-fee price for the MD. Online MMI of 6 stations × 5 minutes in September.
Location: Geelong, Australia
Founded in 2008. Whether the city suits you matters - five or six years is a long commitment. Visit on an open day if you can; current students will be the most honest assessors of culture and clinical placement quality.
Read the full Deakin course guide — problem-based learning + integrated, 4 years (graduate entry), with placements in Geelong, Ballarat, Warrnambool, rural Victoria and Melbourne's east.
Application statistics for Deakin
Deakin intake
2027: ~160 total (up to 100 CSP + 45 BMP + 15 international + 30 RTS reserved subset). Maximum 220 interview offers; implied interview-to-place ratio ≈ 1.6:1 (GEMSAS Medical Schools Admission Guide, Deakin entry, 2027 intake).
How Deakin selects, at a glance
Source: Deakin University School of Medicine admissions data; GEMSAS / state-TAC published statistics; ACER (GAMSAT) and UCAT-ANZ Consortium decile data; recent FOI responses.
Six mistakes that derail medicine applications
Deakin — frequently asked questions
Sources for this Deakin guide
Apply to Deakin with confidence
We have helped hundreds of applicants turn their GAMSAT / UCAT-ANZ, portfolio and MMI prep into offers from Deakin and other Australian medicine schools.