Australian National University (ANU) Doctor of Medicine & Surgery
The Doctor of Medicine and Surgery or Medicinae ac Chirurgiae Doctoranda (MChD) aims to produce graduates committed to ethical health care, compassionate work during clinical years and dedicated to expanding medical knowledge.
Located in the inner-city suburb of Acton, Canberra, ANU is the only Australian university to offer a Ph.D. double post-graduate degree, graduating as a MChD/Ph.D. This also happens to be the highest joint qualification offered across Australia.
The ANU MChD coursework is an AQF Level 9 Extended qualification, leading graduates to pre-register as a junior doctor. Four themes drive the MChD coursework, enabling the student to gain scientific knowledge and ethical experience deemed essential for future doctors.
The Four Themes of ANU Doctor of Medicine and Surgery
- Medical Sciences - It covers a vast scope of ever-evolving and expanding knowledge around modern medicine.
- Clinical Skills - This theme ensures graduates acquire the communication skills, ability to examine patients, and critically examine information necessary for medical practice
- Population Health - Drawing key analysis between individual health, society, and environment.
- Professionalism and Leadership - These skills are highly desirable to function as a medical practitioner within the profession.
ANU Medicine Course Information
The ANU Medicine is a four-year, full-time comprehensive course that requires a minimum of 192 credit points to achieve the postgraduate degree. The ANU Medical School is proximally located to Canberra Hospital, which happens to be the primary teaching location.
Students attend sessions based on the PBL (Problem-based learning) structure during the first two years of the medical curriculum. PBL sessions are designed to test the student’s ability to be creative and develop analytical thinking skills through cooperative and self-directed learning. Each week, the students are presented with a PBL case study supported by lectures, practical tutorials, and once-a-week clinical experience in one of Canberra’s hospitals. Additionally, students also spend one week in a rural location around Canberra and/or a southeast region of NSW.
The second year of their study period focuses on Indigenous health and encourages students to undertake a research project to upgrade their research skills through collaboration with ANU’s research teams. At the end of the second year, all students spend most of their study period within the health sector and are immersed in major medical disciplines through clinical rotations spanning over four or more weeks. Calvary Public Hospital complements the ANU Medical School facilities. Calvary John James Hospital, Calvary Private Hospital, and the National Capital Private Hospital.
The third year of the ANU medical program revolves around rural clinics extended for over six weeks. Once students commence their fourth year, they must undertake an elective that runs over four or more weeks at any reputable worldwide location of their choice. The main motive behind the final year of the study period is to broaden students’ clinical domain beyond the school curriculum.
Domestic and international students choosing to pursue medicine at ANU must have completed or studied in their final year of Bachelor’s Degree. The Bachelor's degree will only be accepted if it is an AQF Level 7 qualification, at a minimum.
The final offers for students is based on the combinations of:
- Minimum weighted GPA score of 5.6 (25%)
- A satisfactory GAMSAT score (25%)
- ANU Medicine Interview (50%)
NOTE: A 50:50 ratio of weighted GPA: Overall GAMSAT score is weighed to rank students for an interview.
The GPA calculation is based on the last three years of full-time equivalent study from a recently completed eligible undergraduate degree program.
Students must pass all sections of the GAMSAT and must obtain an overall score of 55 or more. If a student has completed a standalone Honours degree or a Masters by Research, they may receive a 2% bonus or a 4% bonus for Ph.D. added to the combined GAMSAT/GPA score while ranking the applicants for an interview offer.
Alternatively, international applicants can either sit the GAMSAT or the MCAT. Students must achieve a minimum score of 125 in each MCAT section to receive the ANU Medical Interview Offer.
All applicants are required to meet the English language proficiency requirements determined by ANU for graduate admission into medicine.
The Bachelor of Health Science (BHLTH) provides a pathway to the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine and Surgery program at ANU without requiring the GAMSAT. This connection between the two programs is not a formal double degree but a designated pathway. It is accessible to both domestic and international students.
Each year, up to 30 domestic BHLTH students will be granted entry to the MChD program. Among these positions, ten (10) will be given preference to students with a rural background.
Additionally, this pathway offers up to 20 positions annually for international students.
Selection for these opportunities is based on academic performance in the Bachelor of Health Science program, along with an interview process and consideration of the applicants' responses to specific selection criteria.
Application for this pathway closes July 30 2024.
The Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) – Science, or PhB, is a distinctive program designed for intellectually ambitious students seeking to delve into their interests, hone research skills, and benefit from personalized mentorship by esteemed academics.
Within a science-related discipline, the PhB offers a direct pathway to the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine and Surgery without the necessity of taking the GAMSAT. This pathway, while not a formal double degree, serves as a pathway and is accessible to both domestic and international students.
Each year, a maximum of 10 domestic students from this pathway will be offered admission to the MChD program. International student admissions are considered separately from the domestic quota.
Selection for this pathway is contingent upon academic performance in the PhB program and successful completion of an interview process. Additionally, to fulfill government initiatives aimed at admitting students from rural backgrounds, preference may be granted to candidates meeting rural criteria.
Application for this pathway closes July 30 2024.
ANU offers a pathway exclusively for Tuckwell scholarship recipients to pursue the postgraduate Medicinae ac Chirurgiae Doctoranda (MChD), Latin for Doctor of Medicine and Surgery program upon completion of their undergraduate degree(s) at ANU.
This pathway, known as the Tuckwell-MChD pathway, is not structured as a formal double degree but rather as a guaranteed route from an undergraduate program at ANU to the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine and Surgery Program.
It is available solely to domestic students.
Domestic applicants must apply through the GEMSAS website. You are considered to be a domestic applicant if you are:
- An Australian Citizen
- A New Zealand Citizen
- An Australian Permanent Resident
- An Australian Humanitarian Visa Holder
International applicants must register via the Australian National University website and complete their application to pursue medicine at ANU.
Domestic applicants must attend the ANU Medical interview at the ANU, Acton campus. The interview covers a range of topics and scenarios to evaluate students’ ability to understand and comprehend the work ethic of a medical practitioner. International applicants are invited for an interview via Skype.
The medical interview is divided into two parts:
Part 1 = A scheduled interview (online interview in overseas students) with recorded responses to a series of scenarios posed by the interviewer.
Part 2 = A 30-minute panel interview.
Domestic students to pursue the MChD are eligible for the Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) and Bonded Medical Places (BMP). Due to the limited number of available places, the postgraduate CSPs are highly competitive. There is no requirement to submit an application to be considered for a CSP as all domestic students who have received the confirmation of enrolment are automatically deemed CSP-eligible for a postgraduate program before the commencement of the medical course.
Approximately 64 places are allocated for CSPs and 26 for BMP under the current program. In addition, up to 30 places are reserved for international students each year to study medicine at ANU. Please note that approximately 40 of the total available places are reserved for students who come through an ANU Undergraduate pathway program.
What Should You Read Next?
Now that you have read about applying for medicine at ANU check out Fraser’s detailed Medical Interview Ethics - Example, Questions, and Approach to be fair and equitable at MMI stations.
