How to get into UQ Medicine
Your 2027 Entry step-by-step guide
University of Queensland Medical School (UQ) in St Lucia, QLD runs a school-leaver and graduate-entry medicine program for 2027 entry. Admission tests listed: GAMSAT, UCAT-ANZ and MCAT. Published hurdles: ATAR — Adjusted ATAR 95 (or equivalent) is the published MINIMUM for both school-leaver routes; GPA — minimum 5.0/7.0 in key degree. UQ holds multiple mini interviews (MMI).
- Interviews (2027 entry)
- Graduate (GEMSAS): mid-September 2026 for 2027 entry. Graduate direct/MCAT: w/b 13 July 2026 (Round 1) or w/b 14 September 2026 (Round 2). Provisional entry and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander provisional pathway: mid-late November 2026.
- Decisions (2027 entry)
- Graduate (GEMSAS): November 2026, with a small number in December and January. Graduate direct/MCAT: emailed w/b 3 August 2026 (Round 1) or w/b 5 October 2026 (Round 2). Provisional entry: UQ emails offers mid-December 2026, ahead of the QTAC offer round on 14 January 2027 (which also covers the 6-year BMedSc/MD dual).
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UQ expects either Year 12 ATAR or a bachelor GPA — Graduate entry: bachelor (key degree) completed in the last 10 years with minimum GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT minimum 50 in EACH section (no overall threshold is published), or MCAT 504, taken within 4 years before you commence; 8-station online MMI.
UQ also assumes — but does not require as a prerequisite — prior tertiary study in cell and tissue biology and systems physiology (UQ BIOM2011 and BIOM2012, or equivalent).
Provisional entry instead needs an adjusted ATAR 95, Queensland Year 12 English, a UCAT ANZ score from the year you apply, and the MMI. for Medicine (MBBS/MD) and uses Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations) for interviews in the 2027 Entry cycle.
Entry is dual-pathway (undergraduate and graduate) and selection uses GAMSAT, UCAT-ANZ 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 University of Queensland Medical School's official course page, GEMSAS, the UCAT-ANZ Consortium, ACER (GAMSAT), and direct conversations with current students. Read time: ~12 minutes.
A field on this record was corrected against University of Queensland Medical School's official course page on 11 September 2026; the record as a whole has not been re-checked against source.
UQ at a glance
| ATAR | Adjusted ATAR 95 (or equivalent) is the published MINIMUM for both school-leaver routes |
|---|---|
| GPA | Minimum 5.0/7.0 in key degree |
| GAMSAT | Minimum 50 in each of Sections I, II, III (any section below 50 = ineligible) |
| UCAT-ANZ | Shortlisting is on the UCAT ANZ aggregate, subject to a minimum 50% of domestic MMI invitees being Queensland Year 12 students |
| Interview format | Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations) |
| Interviews (2027 entry) | Graduate (GEMSAS): mid-September 2026 for 2027 entry. Graduate direct/MCAT: w/b 13 July 2026 (Round 1) or w/b 14 September 2026 (Round 2). Provisional entry and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander provisional pathway: mid-late November 2026. |
| Decisions (2027 entry) | Graduate (GEMSAS): November 2026, with a small number in December and January. Graduate direct/MCAT: emailed w/b 3 August 2026 (Round 1) or w/b 5 October 2026 (Round 2). Provisional entry: UQ emails offers mid-December 2026, ahead of the QTAC offer round on 14 January 2027 (which also covers the 6-year BMedSc/MD dual). |
UQ entry requirements
| Pathway | Undergraduate and graduate entry |
|---|---|
| ATAR floor | Adjusted ATAR 95 (or equivalent) is the published MINIMUM for both school-leaver routes — provisional entry (QTAC 721302 / 721402) and the 6-year BMedSc/MD dual (QTAC 721502) — and meeting it guarantees nothing. Actual Semester 1 2026 provisional-entry offer profile (latest published cycle), non-bonded: highest 99.95, median 99.65, lowest 95.00 excluding adjustments (99.95 / 99.95 / 98.10 including adjustments). Bonded: highest 99.95, median 99.20, lowest 93.25 excluding adjustments (99.95 / 99.95 / 97.25 including adjustments). |
| GPA | Minimum 5.0/7.0 in key degree. Currency rule: degrees > 10 years before commencement require ≥ 0.50 FTE subsequent coursework at GPA ≥ 5.0. |
| Prerequisites | Graduate entry assumes — but does not require — tertiary-level cell and tissue biology and systems physiology (UQ BIOM2011 Integrative Cell and Tissue Biology and BIOM2012 Systems Physiology, or equivalent, at about second-year level). Provisional entry requires Queensland Year 12 English, Literature, English and Literature Extension or English as an Additional Language (Units 3 and 4, C), and applicants must be current Year 12 students. The 6-year BMedSc/MD dual adds Mathematical Methods or Specialist Mathematics (Units 3 and 4, C); Year 12 chemistry and biology are recommended but not required. |
| Admission tests | GAMSAT, UCAT-ANZ, MCAT |
| GAMSAT | Minimum 50 in each of Sections I, II, III (any section below 50 = ineligible). Interview shortlist: 50% unweighted GAMSAT (mean of 3 sections) + 50% GPA, GPA as tiebreaker. Final offer: UQ does not publish a weighting. Interviewed applicants are ranked by tier and merit order within each pathway, with CQ-WB RMP and DD-SW MP offers determined first; where final scores tie, the MMI score is the tiebreaker; non-bonded (CSP) places are offered before bonded (BMP). |
| UCAT-ANZ | Required for Provisional Entry (school-leaver) and for the new 6-year BMedSc/MD direct-entry dual; must be sat in the year you apply. Latest published figures are for the 2026 intake: the lowest UCAT ANZ score invited to interview was 2290/2700 for applicants not eligible for the Rural Background Sub-Quota and 1960/2700 for those who were. No 2027-entry threshold has been published, and UQ has said it is reviewing how the recent UCAT ANZ format change affects interview selection. Shortlisting is on the UCAT ANZ aggregate, subject to a minimum 50% of domestic MMI invitees being Queensland Year 12 students. The final offer rank is a combined score of ATAR, MMI total and UCAT ANZ aggregate — UQ and QTAC publish no weightings. |
| Interview | Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations) |
| Place types | 2027 graduate intake: 107 CSP + 43 BMP + up to 190 international (incl. UQ-Ochsner). UQ does not break out a provisional-entry number; it publishes approximately 275 domestic MD places each year, of which approximately 60 sit in the CQ-WB Regional Medical Pathway and approximately 36 in the DD-SW Medical Pathway, plus approximately 100 international places across the provisional and graduate entry pathways (GEMSAS separately lists 190 international places for 2027 on a wider basis that includes UQ-Ochsner). 28% of domestic places go to the Rural Background Student Sub-Quota. |
| Indigenous pathway | Two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pathways — provisional entry (school-leaver) and graduate entry — both involving the ATSIS Unit. UCAT ANZ (provisional) and GAMSAT (graduate) are encouraged but NOT compulsory. Both require the 8-station MMI (November for the provisional pathway) plus a semi-structured interview with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (ATSIS) Unit. Provisional-entry students have guaranteed MD entry on successfully completing their first UQ bachelor degree. No set quota. Applications close 30 September (provisional) or 1 August (graduate) in the year prior to admission. Central Queensland applicants apply via CQUniversity and Darling Downs / South West applicants via the University of Southern Queensland. |
| Bonded / rural | 28.5% of CSP places reserved for rural-background applicants (≥5 consecutive or ≥10 cumulative years in rural Australia per MMM 2023). Rural applicants receive two upward GAMSAT score adjustments. Regional pathways: Central Queensland-Wide Bay (CQ-WB RMP) and Darling Downs-South West (DD-SW MP). |
Graduate entry: bachelor (key degree) completed in the last 10 years with minimum GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT minimum 50 in EACH section (no overall threshold is published), or MCAT 504, taken within 4 years before you commence; 8-station online MMI.
UQ also assumes — but does not require as a prerequisite — prior tertiary study in cell and tissue biology and systems physiology (UQ BIOM2011 and BIOM2012, or equivalent). Provisional entry instead needs an adjusted ATAR 95, Queensland Year 12 English, a UCAT ANZ score from the year you apply, and the MMI.
Year 12 ATAR (school leavers) or bachelor degree GPA (graduates) is the academic gateway, plus the admission test and interview.
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 UQ
UQ uses Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations). For 2027 entry, interviews typically take place in Graduate (GEMSAS): mid-September 2026 for 2027 entry. Graduate direct/MCAT: w/b 13 July 2026 (Round 1) or w/b 14 September 2026 (Round 2). Provisional entry and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander provisional pathway: mid-late November 2026.. Final decisions are released Graduate (GEMSAS): November 2026, with a small number in December and January. Graduate direct/MCAT: emailed w/b 3 August 2026 (Round 1) or w/b 5 October 2026 (Round 2). Provisional entry: UQ emails offers mid-December 2026, ahead of the QTAC offer round on 14 January 2027 (which also covers the 6-year BMedSc/MD dual)..
At UQ, 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 UQ interview actually runs
UQ uses an 8-station MMI. Each station gives you 2 minutes to read the scenario in silence on screen, then 7 minutes to respond, with a 1-minute-remaining warning at the 6-minute mark and roughly a minute of transition between stations. There are 8 stations, each in a separate Zoom room with a different assessor.
UQ delivers the MMI by video conferencing rather than in person, under exam conditions, with photo-ID and room checks at your first station and a desk clear of everything but your ID, your device and water. UQ assesses kindness and compassion, integrity, adaptability and verbal communication skills. UQ has Australia's largest MD intake so logistics run across multiple days.
What they assess
What UQ 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 UQ
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 UQ 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 UQ-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 UQ different
UQ runs Australia's largest 4-year graduate-entry MD (~470 places), anchored at the St Lucia MD Learning Hub and the Greater Brisbane Clinical School's eight clinical units — Children's Health Queensland, General Practice, Greenslopes, Ipswich, Mater, Northside, PA-Southside and Royal Brisbane. The UQ-Ochsner Clinical School runs Years 1-2 in Brisbane and Years 3-4 in New Orleans, but it is open only to US citizens and permanent residents and selects on the MCAT (minimum 504). Pre-interview ranking for graduate entry is a flat 50:50 of unweighted average GAMSAT and assessed GPA; after the MMI, applicants are ranked in merit order by pathway and tier, with the MMI score as the tiebreaker.
Notable research areas
Curriculum (Integrated)
4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 foundations and clinical skills at the Herston Health Sciences precinct. Years 3-4 clinical placements distributed across Princess Alexandra, Royal Brisbane, Mater, Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, and Rural Clinical School sites. Ochsner pathway places years 3-4 in New Orleans, USA. Provisional Entry: separate school-leaver pathway, ~140 CSP, uses UCAT-ANZ + ATAR + MMI.
Location: St Lucia, Australia
Founded in 1936. 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 UQ course guide — integrated + team-based learning, 4 years (graduate entry), with placements in Greater Brisbane, regional and rural Queensland, and New Orleans.
Application statistics for UQ
UQ intake
2027 graduate intake: 107 CSP + 43 BMP + up to 190 international = up to 340 across the GEMSAS graduate route for 2027 entry (Graduate CSP 107, Graduate BMP 43, International 190 including UQ-Ochsner; GEMSAS notes these are indicative and subject to annual variation). UQ separately publishes approximately 275 domestic places and approximately 100 international places across the provisional and graduate pathways each year; 28% of domestic places go to the Rural Background Student Sub-Quota.
How UQ selects, at a glance
Source: University of Queensland Medical School admissions data; GEMSAS / state-TAC published statistics; ACER (GAMSAT) and UCAT-ANZ Consortium decile data; recent FOI responses.
Six mistakes that derail medicine applications
UQ — frequently asked questions
Sources for this UQ guide
Apply to UQ with confidence
We have helped hundreds of applicants turn their GAMSAT / UCAT-ANZ, portfolio and MMI prep into offers from UQ and other Australian medicine schools.