University admission criteria

Selection ranks

Admission to most tertiary courses is based on your selection rank. If you are eligible for an ATAR, your selection rank will be your ATAR + adjustment factors. If adjustment factors are taken into consideration (eg your achievement in an HSC course related to your preferred degree or as a result of equity considerations), these will be combined with your ATAR to adjust your selection rank and make it higher than your ATAR. These adjustments used to be called ‘bonus points’.

If you complete the IB you do not receive an ATAR but an equivalent rank is calculated for you. If you complete a non-standard Year 12 program you need to discuss your options with each institution.

The interaction of three factors determines the lowest selection rank required for a course each year:

• the number of places available in the course
• the number of applicants for the course
• the quality of those applicants.

These three factors mean that the lowest selection ranks required can change from year to year and are not known before applicants are selected for a particular course in a particular year.

The lowest selection rank does not represent the average ability of the students accepted for the course and does not reflect the difficulty or quality of the course.

Find out:

• how we assess different types of Australian Year 12 qualifications
• how selection rank adjustments work.

Prerequisites and additional selection criteria

You may be required to have completed (or to have achieved a specified standard in) an HSC course before you can be considered for an offer – these are called prerequisites. Some courses also have additional selection criteria such as a personal statement, questionnaire, portfolio, audition, interview or test, which are considered either instead of, or together with, your selection rank. Where relevant, prerequisites and additional selection criteria will be listed in the course descriptions (which you can access via the course search).

Explore your options as a Year 12 applicant

Applicants awarded the IB Diploma

UAC's participating institutions accept the IB Diploma and Bilingual Diploma as equivalent to an Australian Year 12 qualification. If you are attempting the IB Diploma overseas, you may also have to provide proof of English language proficiency.

If you've been awarded the IB Diploma or Bilingual Diploma you'll receive a UAC rank based on your IB Admissions Score; you are not eligible to receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).

If you’re attempting the IB Diploma with another secondary qualification (eg NSW HSC, ACT Year 12 Certificate), you must declare details of both qualifications in your UAC application. Where appropriate, UAC will calculate a rank for both qualifications. If both qualifications are completed in the same year, you'll be considered on the basis of the higher of your ATAR or ATAR equivalent and your IB Diploma UAC rank.

An ATAR is only calculated for students sitting an Australian Year 12 qualification.

Details about applying for uni with an IB Diploma (and view the IB/UAC rank conversion table).

Applicants who undertook the full IB Diploma Programme but were not awarded the IB Diploma

If you undertook the full IB Diploma Programme, or were a Retake candidate, but did not meet the requirements for the award of the IB Diploma, you will receive a UAC Rank if you meet specific criteria.

Criteria for UAC Rank if not awarded IB Diploma

All other applicants

If you have undertaken any other IB studies, you are not eligible for a UAC rank. You may, however, be considered for an offer through UAC where offers are based solely on other selection criteria. Note that this applies to only a very small number of courses. Check with the admissions officers of participating institutions for further information about pathways.

If you completed Year 12 before 2024, most institutions will consider factors in addition to your ATAR when assessing your application for tertiary study. Institutions will usually consider one or more of the following:

• secondary studies
• tertiary studies
• other relevant factors such as employment experience.

Institution-specific admission criteria for applicants with work and life experience

Explore your options as a post-school applicant.

How we assess different types of Year 12 qualifications.

Most institutions offer pathway options for applicants who don't meet the entry requirements for their degree courses or need further support and preparation before studying at degree level. These generally include non-degree courses such as foundation studies, preparatory courses and certificate, diploma or associate degree courses.

If you successfully complete a pathway course, an institution may guarantee you entry into a particular degree course. Otherwise, you can use your non-degree studies to apply and compete for admission to other degree courses. You may also be awarded credit for some studies undertaken in your non-degree course.

Pathways to university

Tertiary preparation courses are designed for applicants who haven't completed Year 12. These courses help you to become proficient in the skills that you will require to succeed in your bachelor degree, such as essay writing and research.

Most universities will consider the tertiary preparation courses offered by other institutions as well as the TAFE NSW Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation (otherwise known as the Tertiary Preparation Certificate), which covers study skills as well as subject-specific content.

You are strongly advised, however, to check this with each university.

Institutions will usually also consider other completed TAFE, private college or university qualifications: Certificate IV, diploma, advanced diploma, associate diploma and associate degree. Check with the university as to which level of qualification will make you competitive for admission into a bachelor degree.

Each institution sets its own admission criteria, including the qualifications it will accept. If you've completed or partially completed a tertiary course, institutions may take any or all of the following into account when considering your application:

• tertiary studies
• secondary studies
• post-secondary studies.

How we assess and grade your qualifications

Courses not assessed by UAC

The following courses aren't assessed by UAC:

• Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificates I and II
• statements of attainment
• TAFE statements
• courses delivered by Australian private providers that are not accredited. Only those courses accredited under the AQF, or by the relevant state/territory accreditation authority, will be assessed. Qualifications undertaken with private providers will not be assessed without proof of accreditation for the particular course
• short courses run by a university (eg Project Management Essentials)
• other short courses such as first aid certificates.

Institution-specific admission criteria for applicants with higher education study

How to apply

If you've partially completed a tertiary course and want to transfer to another course at a different institution, apply through UAC. If you want to transfer to another course at the same institution, check with your institution to see if you need to apply though UAC. In either case, you may be eligible for advanced standing/academic credit.

For some courses you may need to satisfy additional selection criteria – such as a portfolio, an interview, an audition, a questionnaire, a personal statement or a test – in addition to submitting a UAC application. Read the relevant institution entries for their admission policy and selection criteria.

Qualifications Assessment Service

If you'd like your qualifications assessed before you apply for study, our Qualifications Assessment Service (QAS) can provide you with a qualifications assessment statement.

Each institution sets its own admission criteria, including the qualifications it will accept. If you're applying with overseas secondary or tertiary qualifications, contact the relevant institution/s to discuss your eligibility for admission before you apply through UAC.

English language proficiency

If you have qualifications from countries where English is not the standard language of instruction, you must provide evidence of English language proficiency.

Additional selection criteria

For some courses you may need to satisfy additional selection criteria – such as a portfolio, an interview, an audition, a questionnaire, a personal statement or a test – in addition to submitting a UAC application. Read the relevant institution entries for their admission policy and selection criteria.

Secondary qualifications

There are commonly accepted overseas secondary qualifications that institutions may consider consider and some non-assessable overseas secondary qualifications. Check if your qualification is assessable.

UAC ranks

As part of the assessment process, your results for your overseas secondary qualification will be converted to a UAC rank. Institutions use the UAC rank in different ways when assessing applications for admission. For example, they can give different weightings to different qualifications, or use a UAC rank in combination with other selection criteria. Therefore, your UAC rank is not necessarily your selection rank.

If you have an assessable qualification and would like it assessed without applying for a tertiary course through UAC, our Qualifications Assessment Service (QAS) can provide you with a qualifications assessment statement, which will include a UAC rank based on your results.

Alternatively, you can purchase a UAC assessment schedule for your qualification, which will show you how various scores convert to a UAC rank. It will not give you your specific UAC rank. Call our Customer Service team on (02) 9752 0200 to discuss if purchasing an assessment schedule is the right option for you.

New Zealand NCEA Level 3 students

If you have completed the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 3, an ATAR will be calculated by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). This will be done in January, once all NCEA Level 3 results are available.

Your ATAR will be used in the selection process, provided that you've fulfilled NZQA's university entrance requirements.

You need to ask your school to check that your tertiary release indicator (privacy flag) on the school management system is set to 'Yes' so that UAC can access your results. If you don't do this, your results won't be provided to UAC and we won't be able to assess your application.

In your UAC application, select 'No' when asked if you're undertaking an Australian Year 12.

Applying to Australian universities with NCEA Level 3 results and obtaining your ATAR score

Tertiary qualifications

If you would like your international qualification assessed without applying for a tertiary course through UAC, our Qualifications Assessment Service (QAS) can provide you with a qualifications assessment statement, which will notify you of your grade point average.

How we assess your tertiary qualifications

Some institutions take employment experience into account when considering an application. All employment experience must be fully documented – in your application you will be asked to provide a statement of service for each of your jobs.

Download a sample statement of service.

Generally, only paid employment that totals one year or more will be considered. This can be continuous employment with one employer or a combination of shorter periods performing a similar role or function with different employers. Unpaid and voluntary work experience will not be considered. Therefore, current Year 12 students are not given the option to enter employment experience.

Check with the institutions for details before applying.

Many of UAC’s participating institutions accept military ranks for entry into bachelor degrees. When you apply through UAC:

• Answer 'Yes' to the question 'Are you a current or former member of the Australian Defence Forces'. The institutions you are applying to will then be able to contact you to discuss your study options and the individual assistance they can offer.
• In the qualifications section, enter your Defence Force rank under 'Professional registration/qualifications' and your Defence Force experience under 'Employment experience'. You'll be asked to provide a statement of service detailing your experience. Download a sample statement of service.