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Australian Medicine · 2027 Entry
Newcastle / JMP Medical School
2027 Entry Requirements & Interview Format
University of Newcastle / Joint Medical Program in Newcastle, NSW runs a school-leaver medicine program for 2027 entry. Admission tests listed: UCAT-ANZ. Published hurdles: ATAR — ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard. Newcastle / JMP holds multiple mini interviews (MMI).
- Location
- Newcastle, Australia
- Established
- 1978
- Interviews (2027 entry)
- Late November - early December (30 Nov - 11 Dec 2026 for 2027 entry); mid-January 2027 for interstate non-rural applicants, and w/c 11 Jan 2027 for Excellence through Equity and Regional Excellence Pathway applicants. Invitations go out early-to-mid November. International applicants sit the MSA online 30 Sep - 2 Oct 2026.
- Decisions (2027 entry)
- January (UAC Round 1, offer information 8 Jan 2027; a later January round for applicants assessed in mid-January). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants receive offers in UAC December Round 2.
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Full guide
How to get into Newcastle / JMP medicine
Step-by-step: entry requirements, admission-test prep, personal statement, interview format and the key deadlines.
Open the guide →Interview guide
Prepare for the Newcastle / JMP interview
Format breakdown, school-specific sample questions, FAQs and prep tips from tutors who interviewed here.
Read the guide →The course
What the Newcastle / JMP medicine course is like
Problem-based learning + Case-based learning, 5 years (undergraduate entry), placements in the Hunter, New England, Manning and Central Coast regions.
See the course →Overview
About Newcastle / JMP
The JMP is a five-year undergraduate-entry program run jointly by the University of Newcastle and the University of New England, awarding a Bachelor of Medical Science (years 1-3) then a Doctor of Medicine (years 4-5) taken consecutively, taught at Callaghan, Armidale and Gosford with placements across the Hunter New England and Central Coast Local Health Districts, and distinguished by a rural and Indigenous workforce mission.
What makes Newcastle / JMP different
The Joint Medical Program is delivered jointly by the University of Newcastle and the University of New England, but admission is administered at Newcastle through one common process: a direct JMP application plus a single UAC preference (code 785000). You nominate a preferred enrolment location, and there is no guarantee you get it.
The program targets a minimum 30% rural or remote background intake (33 places at Newcastle, 18 at UNE) and sets aside up to 17 places a year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants.
Invitation to the assessment day is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate alone; the final selection rank then comes from assessment-day performance, with UCAT used only to break ties.
Newcastle / JMP course & teaching
PBL curriculum. Five years, two degrees taken consecutively: Bachelor of Medical Science in years 1-3, Doctor of Medicine in years 4-5. Campus-based problem-based learning dominates years 1-2, at Callaghan (Newcastle), Armidale (UNE) or the Central Coast Clinical School at Gosford, where 30 students a year are allocated for their first three years.
The last three years shift to clinical placement across the Hunter New England and Central Coast LHDs and the Hunter, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Central Coast, Maitland, Manning, Peel and Tablelands clinical schools.
Newcastle / JMP research strengths
Newcastle / JMP is strong in these research areas:
- Rural workforce
- Indigenous health
- Public health
- Genomics
How the Newcastle / JMP interview runs
Format: Multiple Skills Assessment (MSA) - rotating 8-minute stations (six, per the JMP's Applicant Assessment Guide)
The JMP Assessment is a half-day, in-person session held at the University of Newcastle (Callaghan) or the University of New England (Armidale) - you nominate a preferred location on the direct application, allocation is not guaranteed, and it has no bearing on where you enrol.
It has two parts sat on the same day: the Multiple Skills Assessment, rotating eight-minute stations (six, per the JMP's Applicant Assessment Guide, with a two-minute break between each) where you discuss scenarios or undertake activities with an assessor; and the Personal Qualities Assessment, an online test the JMP says you 'aren't required or advised to prepare for'.
The four published MSA domains are capacity to thrive in the JMP learning environment, ability to make decisions without certainty of the outcome, interpersonal and communication skills, and drive to be a doctor. International applicants sit the MSA online via Zoom; the PQA is used only where the MSA is conducted face-to-face.
Newcastle / JMP intake
170 places a year across the JMP (UoN + UNE combined) for more than 3,000 applicants. The JMP publishes no BMP count of its own; the national 28.5% rule for commencing medical CSPs would imply roughly 48. International places sit outside the 170.
Where Newcastle / JMP is
University of Newcastle / Joint Medical Program was founded in 1978 and is based in Newcastle.
Programmes offered:
- Rural Medicine
- Indigenous Health
- Population Health
- General Practice
Practise
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Newcastle / JMP at a glance
| Entry pathway | Undergraduate (school-leaver) entry |
|---|---|
| ATAR | ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard |
| UCAT-ANZ | For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700 |
| Interview format | Multiple mini interviews (MMI) |
| Intake | 170 places a year across the JMP (UoN + UNE combined) for more than 3,000 applicants |
| Admission overview | Minimum ATAR 94.30 (85.00 if you sat Year 12 at an MM2-7 rural/remote school under the Rural Bonus Scheme), or tertiary results at roughly credit level after one full-time year of university study; no subject prerequisites. UCAT ANZ decides who is invited; the half-day in-person JMP Assessment - a rotating-station Multiple Skills Assessment plus an online Personal Qualities Assessment - then sets the final rank. 2027 entry. |
|---|---|
| ATAR | ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard; 85.00 under the Rural Bonus Scheme, which turns on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the high school where you sat Year 12, not where you live. Applicants with at least one full-time year of university study are assessed on their tertiary results instead (UAC describes the bar as results averaging close to credit level; the JMP Admission and Selection Policy states a UAC (ATAR-based) Rank of 88.40 or better). Once the hurdle is met, academic results no longer rank at all: UCAT ANZ alone decides who is invited, and the final selection rank comes from assessment-day performance, with UCAT used only to sub-rank ties. |
| Contextual ATAR | Rural Bonus Scheme drops the ATAR floor to 85.00, based on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the school where you sat Year 12. The Educational Access Scheme adds up to four adjustment points, applied to academic eligibility. The Regional Excellence Pathway offers an assessment place with no UCAT ANZ score at all to school leavers who complete Year 12 at a school in the Hunter New England or Central Coast LHD footprint and achieve an ATAR of 99.00 or higher, in the intake year immediately following. |
| UCAT-ANZ | No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no minimum on any individual subtest. The JMP states the cut-off is not set until after direct applications close because it depends on the applicant cohort that year, and that separate, lower thresholds apply to rural (RRAS), Communities Entry List and UoN Biomedical Science Pathway applicants. It does not publish past cut-offs, and no lowest-UCAT-to-interview figure is published by the university, UAC or UCAT ANZ. For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700. |
| Place types | 170 places a year across the JMP (UoN + UNE combined), for more than 3,000 applicants. Published sub-quotas: up to 17 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, 30 starting at the Central Coast Clinical School, a minimum 30% rural/remote target (33 at Newcastle, 18 at UNE), up to 6 Excellence through Equity places and up to 10 Regional Health Professional places. The JMP does not publish a BMP count; the national 28.5% CSP rule implies roughly 48. International places are a separate, smaller quota. |
| Indigenous pathway | Miroma Bunbilla is a separate admission process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, with up to 17 places set aside each year. Applicants are NOT required to sit the UCAT ANZ and do not lodge the direct JMP application, but they DO sit both the Multiple Skills Assessment and the Personal Qualities Assessment, and must attend the Miroma Bunbilla pre-admission program (a five-day series of activities, 30 November - 4 December 2026 for 2027 entry). UAC applications close 31 October 2026 and offers are released in UAC December Round 2. |
| Bonded / rural | Rural Bonus Scheme (ATAR 85). The JMP does not publish a Bonded Medical Program place count. The national rule requires universities to allocate 28.5% of commencing medical Commonwealth Supported Places to the BMP (and allows that to be averaged over three consecutive years), which on the JMP's 170 places would imply roughly 48 - a derivation, not a published figure, and one the two universities apply separately. You lodge a BMP expression of interest with the direct application, with 4 December 2026 the last date to submit one for 2027 entry. The main rural route is the Rural and Remote Admissions Scheme: five consecutive or ten cumulative years living in an MM2-7 location, verified by a rural community leader, which lowers your UCAT ANZ threshold rather than your final rank. JMP is one of Australia's longest-standing rural-focused programs. Note: Situational Judgement Test excluded for 2026 entry applicants. |
| Specialities offered | Rural Medicine, Indigenous Health, Population Health, General Practice |
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Interview
How Newcastle / JMP interviews applicants
| Format | Multiple Skills Assessment (MSA) - rotating 8-minute stations (six, per the JMP's Applicant Assessment Guide) |
|---|---|
| Interview window (2027 entry) | Late November - early December (30 Nov - 11 Dec 2026 for 2027 entry); mid-January 2027 for interstate non-rural applicants, and w/c 11 Jan 2027 for Excellence through Equity and Regional Excellence Pathway applicants. Invitations go out early-to-mid November. International applicants sit the MSA online 30 Sep - 2 Oct 2026. |
| Decision date (2027 entry) | January (UAC Round 1, offer information 8 Jan 2027; a later January round for applicants assessed in mid-January). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants receive offers in UAC December Round 2. |
| Post-interview chances | Not published - the JMP discloses 170 places against more than 3,000 applicants, but not how many are invited to the assessment day, so no interview-to-offer rate can be stated. |
Tutor insight
Know where the JMP actually decides things: UCAT ANZ (Verbal Reasoning + Decision Making + Quantitative Reasoning only) is the sole gate to the assessment day, and your final selection rank then comes from that day alone - UCAT is used only to break ties. Once you are invited, the MSA and PQA are the whole game. Stations are scored on the four published domains (thriving in a PBL environment, deciding without certainty, communication, and drive to be a doctor). If you have a rural background, the pathway you apply through - RRAS, Communities Entry List, Rural Bonus Scheme - is where it counts, and genuine rural motivation belongs under 'drive to be a doctor'; there is no published expectation that you arrive able to discuss NSW Health workforce policy. If you have rural origin, lean into it concretely; if you don't, demonstrate genuine exposure (placements, volunteering, community work). Avoid sounding parachuted in.
Practice
Practise for your Newcastle / JMP interview
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Interview questions matched to Newcastle / JMP
Two questions our tutors flagged as a strong fit for Newcastle / JMP’s interview style. Try answering them out loud, then open Prometheus for the model answers and follow-up tips.
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Where Newcastle / JMP's figures come from
Compiled from University of Newcastle / Joint Medical Program'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.
FAQ
Newcastle / JMP — frequently asked questions
UCAT-ANZ: No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no minimum on any individual subtest. The JMP states the cut-off is not set until after direct applications close because it depends on the applicant cohort that year, and that separate, lower thresholds apply to rural (RRAS), Communities Entry List and UoN Biomedical Science Pathway applicants. It does not publish past cut-offs, and no lowest-UCAT-to-interview figure is published by the university, UAC or UCAT ANZ. For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700. UCAT ANZ required, and valid only for admission in the year following the test. The JMP ranks on an aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning only - Situational Judgement is excluded for 2027 entry - with no minimum on any individual subtest. The cut-off is set after direct applications close and differs for rural and non-rural applicants.
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