Universities That Require the UCAT in Australia & New Zealand
Seventeen universities — fifteen in Australia and two in New Zealand — use the UCAT ANZ as part of selection for medicine, dentistry and related programmes. At every one of them the UCAT is one component of the decision, combined with your academic results and, usually, an interview. How heavily each weights it, and any score threshold, varies by university and is mostly not published officially.
How universities use the UCAT
Across the consortium, the UCAT is used as one of three broad inputs into a selection decision: your UCAT score, your academic record (ATAR in Australia, or the NZ equivalent — and GPA for graduate-entry pathways), and an interview (often a multiple mini-interview). The balance between them is set by each university.
Two things follow from that. First, a strong UCAT rarely gets you in on its own — but a weak one can keep you out, because many universities use it to decide who reaches the interview stage. Second, because each university sets its own weighting, the “score you need” genuinely differs between schools — which is why a single national cutoff number doesn’t exist.
The full list of UCAT universities (2026)
Here’s every consortium member and how each offers medicine — by direct entry (straight into the medical degree from school) or provisional entry (you start at one institution and progress into a medical degree, sometimes at another). Provisional pathways are increasingly common and easy to overlook, so they get their own column.
Australia (15)
A green tick means medicine is offered by that route — ticks link to our verified course guide where one is live. A red cross means the university doesn’t offer that route. Direct = a school-leaver offer straight into the medical degree. Provisional = you win a conditional place in Year 12 and hold it through a first degree — arrows show where the medical place is held. This table covers medicine only; dentistry and other UCAT programmes aren’t shown here.
New Zealand (2)
Auckland and Otago select into medicine after a shared first year at university — a different model from the Australian school-leaver routes, so the ticks aren’t linked until their guides are live.
A few are worth flagging: at Griffith and the University of the Sunshine Coast, the UCAT is optional for some programmes — check the specific entry you want. And several Queensland pathways (CQU, USQ, Sunshine Coast) are provisional-entry routes into a UQ or Griffith medical degree rather than standalone medical programmes.
Per-university official admissions links are being added to each row. Until then, always confirm the current requirement on the individual university’s own admissions page — membership and programme details update each cycle.
Direct vs provisional entry: what the difference means
Every school-leaver route in the table above is one of two shapes: direct entry or provisional entry. Both let you secure a medical place from Year 12 on your ATAR and UCAT (plus an interview at most schools), and — importantly — neither requires the GAMSAT or any second admissions exam. What differs is how the place is held.
Direct entry is a single school-leaver admission that runs all the way through to a medical qualification without re-applying. You’re selected once, from school, into a continuous program — usually a combined bachelor’s-and-MD (for example a Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine), or at a couple of schools a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). As long as you meet progression requirements, you move straight through to the medical degree. The ten universities marked Direct in the table are these.
Provisional entry splits the journey in two. You win a conditional medical place from Year 12, then complete an approved bachelor’s degree first — and the place converts to an MD only if you meet the progression conditions, typically a minimum GPA, a minimum amount of study, and set prerequisite courses. There is no second UCAT, no re-interview and no GAMSAT — but the place is held, not unconditionally guaranteed. The five universities marked Provisional in the table are these.
Provisional routes also differ in where the MD sits. Two hold your place at the same university you start at; three are feeder pathways, where you study your first degree at a regional university but the medical place you hold is at a different one. The feeder routes are built around regional and rural participation, so they carry their own quotas and, in some cases, adjusted entry gates.
University names link to our provisional-entry guide for that pathway. Feeder routes reserve places for students from their region — confirm the current eligibility rules and progression conditions on the official pages before relying on them.
The usual alternative is the graduate route: finish any bachelor’s degree, sit the GAMSAT, and compete for a graduate-entry MD place. Direct and provisional pathways let a strong Year-12 student skip that second competition entirely — which is a large part of why they draw such high ATAR and UCAT bars.
Which universities don’t require the UCAT?
Not every medical or dental school in Australia and New Zealand is in the consortium. The clearest example is graduate-entry medicine: many graduate programmes use the GAMSAT rather than the UCAT. There are also undergraduate programmes outside the consortium that select on other criteria.
The reliable rule: the 17 universities listed above are the ones that use the UCAT ANZ. If a school isn’t on that list, it doesn’t require the UCAT for the programmes covered here — confirm its actual requirement (GAMSAT, ATAR-only, portfolio, etc.) on its own admissions page.
Cutoffs and weightings: what we can and can’t tell you
This is the question everyone wants a number for, so here’s the straight answer: most universities do not publish an exact UCAT cutoff or a precise weighting. Selection is competitive and the bar moves year to year with the applicant pool.
Because of that, we hold a firm line on numbers. We will never present an unpublished cutoff as if it were official. Where we can show a concrete figure, it is drawn from what applicants tell us they scored and where they got offers — and it is always labelled as student-reported, useful as a rough guide and never a guarantee. For anything stated as a requirement, we link the university’s own admissions page so you can confirm it at the source.
As more MedPath users report their scores and outcomes over time, those student-reported ranges get sharper — a picture built from real applicants rather than guesswork. (That data layer is being assembled; this page will surface student-reported ranges per university as they reach a reliable sample.)
Choosing where to apply
Picking your universities isn’t only about who’ll take your score — it’s about where you actually want to study, what you’re eligible for, and how each school weighs the parts of your application. Those three things — your preferences, your circumstances, and each university’s requirements — are best looked at together.
What’s a good UCAT score? (and what you need)Real 2025 cohort data, and the three meanings of “good.”→Prepare once, apply broadly
One UCAT score goes to every consortium university you apply to, so the work you put in is leveraged across your whole list. The most efficient preparation targets the specific traps each question type is built around and drills your timing until spotting them is automatic.
MedPath breaks every subtest down to that trap level and adapts to the ones you keep missing — so a single preparation effort lifts your standing everywhere you apply.
One score, every university on your list.
Drill the traps each question type is built around and lift your standing across the whole consortium.
UCAT universities FAQ
How many universities require the UCAT in Australia and New Zealand?+
Seventeen — fifteen in Australia and two in New Zealand (the Universities of Auckland and Otago) — make up the UCAT ANZ consortium for medicine, dentistry and related programmes.
Does every medical school in Australia use the UCAT?+
No. The 17 consortium universities use the UCAT ANZ for the undergraduate programmes covered here. Graduate-entry medicine often uses the GAMSAT instead, and some programmes select on other criteria — always check the specific school.
How much does the UCAT count toward getting in?+
It varies by university. Every consortium member uses it as one component alongside academic results and an interview, but the weighting differs, and most don’t publish exact figures. Many use it to decide who’s invited to interview.
What UCAT score do I need for a specific university?+
Most universities don’t publish an official cutoff. Where we show a figure it’s student-reported and labelled as such — treat it as a guide, and confirm any stated requirement on the university’s own admissions page.
Can I use one UCAT score for multiple universities?+
Yes. Your single UCAT result is sent to all the consortium universities you apply to for that cycle, so you sit the test once and apply broadly.
MedPath is an independent UCAT preparation resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ACER or UCAT ANZ. Figures are re-expressed from official sources and attributed; always confirm dates, fees and requirements at the source before relying on them.