To an outsider, Perth must look like a desert oasis. It is the largest city in Western Australia and the fourth most populous in all of Oceania. More to the point, over 80 per cent of the state's population lives in Greater Perth.
All told that's a remarkable statistic, especially considering how vast Western Australia is.
For all of its size, Perth was rated one of the world's most livable cities. The urban landscape is dotted with historical buildings and heritage sites, and all five of Western Australia's universities are in Perth. Of them all, the University of Western Australia's Winthrop Hall is itself a distinctive landmark.
But we're not reflecting on Western Australian culture, heritage or even architecture today. We're talking about careers in medicine and how to secure your place in a medical study program.
Courses in medicine abound across Australia but what about remote Perth? Let's see what this mega-city has to offer medical students in Western Australia.
Edith Cowan University Medical Schools
Edith Cowan University stands out as the only university in Australia named after a woman. Specifically, the first woman to win a seat in the Australian Parliament. She is celebrated for uniting the downtrodden and establishing pathways for their financial security and well-being, including pathways to education. Thus, naming this university after her is doubly fitting, as it is a blending of several smaller colleges.
Edith Cowan University is globally renowned for its cybersecurity and research programs, but not for medical studies. Indeed, like some universities in Canberra, this institution only offers medicine-related degree programs. For instance, you might apply to their Bachelor of Health Science program. Its curriculum is broad, covering insights into many current social health crises such as obesity and drug/alcohol use.
Such a program will not teach you how to diagnose and treat patients. If that's where your passion lies, you can plan on sitting the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) once you earn your Bachelor's degree. This will give you graduate-level entry into a medical studies program at any other university's medical faculty.
Affordability and relatively low entry criteria make Edith Cowan University undergraduate degrees worth considering. Entry to this school's Bachelor of Medical Science requires a minimum 70 Australian Tertiary Assessment Rating (ATAR).
And for domestic students, the A$7,800 indicative fee is far lower than any medical studies at any university in Melbourne. Even international students enjoy lower tuition rates than elsewhere in Australia.
Medical Schools At Curtain University
Like Edith Cowan University, Curtain University is named after a prominent Australian. Prime Minister John Curtain steered Australia through all but the last weeks of the Second World War. His contemporaries celebrated his wisdom and leadership skills. To this day, he is renowned as one of Australia's greatest Prime Ministers.
However, unlike Edith Cowan, Curtain University offers a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree. This five-year, full-time program prepares you for a diverse career in medicine. You'll spend your first two years in an academic setting. Starting in your fourth year, you'll leave the classroom fully behind to gain hands-on experience in a clinical setting. After one year of supervised work, you'll function as a member of a clinical team, to prepare you for your medical internship.
Curtain Medical School welcomes applications from school leavers with a minimum of 95 ATAR, even if they are two years beyond graduation. It also welcomes applicants who've completed Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and Vocational Education Training (VET) in the past two years. For school leavers, a Chemistry ATAR is a prerequisite. Maths ATARs will also speak favourably.
International students from non-English speaking countries must demonstrate their English language capabilities. A 7 International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score is the minimum acceptable level. Academic requirements depend on the country of origin. Nowhere does Cook Medical School indicate that an International Baccalaureate certificate is acceptable.
As part of this degree program includes clinical work, all applicants must sit the University Clinical Aptitude Test for Australia and New Zealand (UCAT ANZ). Your exam results may not be more than one year old. For instance, if you sat the exam in 2022 but apply for a 2024 entry, those exam results will be invalid. You will have to retake it.
All applicants must also take the Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics (CASPer) test. This online, open-response test determines your inherent requirements, such as judgment and decision-making capabilities. Your CASPer results must also be recent; you cannot take this test a year before you apply to Curtain Medical School. This CASPer requirement seems unusual; combing through Queensland medical school admissions criteria, we found no mention of it.
Current tuition fees sit around A$9,200 for domestic students, based on the first-year average credits earned. International students will pay much more because they are not entitled to Commonwealth Supported pricing.
Students must further factor in the cost of lab coats and equipment, books and other study resources. Curtain Medical School has scholarships and bursaries available; students may apply based on need or merit.
Study Medicine in Perth at Notre Dame University
The University of Notre Dame is a private Catholic University with Schools of Medicine on their Freemantle and Sydney campuses. In fact, Notre Dame's School of Medicine has eight clinical schools scattered throughout Australia. Perth's Freemantle campus compels all students to take mandatory courses in philosophy, theology and ethics. For medical students, a course in bioethics is also compulsory.
Like Edith Cowan University, Notre Dame does not offer undergraduate courses in medicine. However, their catalogue is full of postgraduate study opportunities, including a Doctor of Medicine degree. This four-year program covers everything from communication skills to clinical science. Notre Dame welcomes domestic and a narrow selection of international students into this program.
Domestic students who have completed their Bachelor studies up to ten years prior are welcome to apply. So are students in the last year of their Bachelor's education. Applicants must submit a GAMSAT result of at least 52 or higher, with a minimum score of 50 in each section. Every applicant under consideration will submit to multiple-mini interviews, currently conducted online.
Each applicant must also submit a Graduate Entry Medical School Admissions System (GEMSAS). GEMSAS is an independent system to assess medical school candidate viability. This system provides prospective students with greater access to graduate-entry medical programs. It also streamlines the application process; students only need to fill out one online form for consideration at up to six different schools.
International students do not have to submit a GEMSAS application. However, they must submit a Bachelor's degree equivalent to an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level 7 degree. They must also provide their university transcripts to assess their overall weighted Grade Point Average (GPA). Finally, they too must submit a GAMSAT result following the same criteria as domestic students.
Notre Dame Freemantle Campus makes only five places available for international students, with those from New Zealand preferred. As a concession, these students may present a Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) rather than a GAMSAT result. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are also welcome to apply.
They may follow the GEMSAS application process or request a Freemantle School of Medicine specialised application form.
The University of Western Australia's Illustrious Medical Schools
In South Australia, the University of Adelaide School of Medicine is the top medical studies program. In Perth, the University of Western Australia takes the top spot. However, unlike the Adelaide School of Medicine, the University of Western Australia (UWA) does not offer medical programs at the undergraduate level. More precisely, their MBBS program was discontinued in 2012 in favour of a four-year graduate study program.
The UWA School of Medicine's Doctor of Medicine is the school's flagship program. To gain access, domestic school leavers, and rural and Indigenous students may apply as they begin their undergraduate studies. They may gain conditional acceptance with an ATAR of 98 or higher, along with a satisfactory UCAT ANZ score. International undergraduates may secure their place by providing corresponding documentation and proof of their English language skills.
From there, your first year of graduate studies starts with science and incorporates medical practice during the second year. Once you've met the clinical skills requirements, you'll experience your first hospital placement. Your third and fourth years will see you rotating through various clinics, from paediatrics to psychiatry. You may also choose to train in a rural setting if you plan to practise medicine outside of Perth.
Studying medicine anywhere in Australia - or, for that matter, around the world, isn't cheap. A student may consider A$9,000 a year as a baseline for UWA tuition if they're eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place.
Domestic and international students must also consider the cost of books and supplies, as well as dorm fees and other costs of living. Fortunately, UWA offers a range of scholarships to help offset those costs.
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