Medicine is an exciting and challenging profession. The Doctor of Medicine at UOW aims to produce knowledgeable, caring, and competent graduates, who are well prepared to practise medicine under supervision as interns and subsequently to commence postgraduate specialist training in any area of medicine. UOW offers a four-year program of study and encourage applications from a diverse range of backgrounds. No preference is given to any type of undergraduate degree.
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MD Program Curriculum
The four years of the course focus on four curriculum themes: Clinical Competencies, Medical Sciences, Personal & Professional Development and Research & Critical Analysis. The first phase of the MD program is conducted face to face at across two campuses: Wollongong and Shoalhaven. In the later years of the course, learning experiences are focussed in a range of clinical settings, including extended placement opportunities in rural and regional communities. A key teaching approach is the use of Case Based Learning and core clinical presentations. These are designed to prepare graduates for medical practice in Australia.
Celebrating student excellence
The Emeritus Professor John Hogg Memorial Lecture and Prize Night is held by the Graduate School of Medicine annually to recognise academic excellence.
Order of Proceedings (PDF: 68 KB) View photo gallery
Belong to one of the best
Our medicine degrees rank among the best in the world:
- Exceptional graduate outcomes: In the 2021 Good Universities Guide, UOW ranked first in Australia for graduates in full-time employment for Medicine. UOW also ranked first in NSW for median starting salary, overall quality and teaching quality for Medicine
- Number 1 in NSW: UOW ranked first in NSW/ACT for student experience in Medicine, in the Federal Government's Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) 2021.
- We give all students the opportunity to undertake a 12 month longitudinal integrated clinical placement in a rural or regional community across NSW (70% of students undertake this clinical placement rurally).
- The MD degree incorporates extensive placements to prepare graduates to practise medicine under supervision as interns, or continue specialist training in any area of medicine.
- Almost 50% of the entire four-year medical program is delivered rurally
UOW maintains strong links with industry bodies, such as the Local Health Districts, Private Health providers and Heath Agencies to ensure programs are relevant to the latest industry developments.
Our courses are taught by professionals who are world-leading experts and experienced practitioners/clinicians so the skills and knowledge you acquire can be applied to real-world challenges today and in the future. Our professional health degrees are highly respected and valued by industry.
You'll benefit from studying in a university that is deeply immersed in medical research - and the home of Molecular Horizons.
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From Arnhem Land to Antarctica, Dr Rhys Harding has always searched for adventure. Now, the UOW graduate has certainly found it, as the only doctor on the ground at a research station in Antartica.
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Become one of the world's most employable graduates
There is a forecasted growth of 25.1% within Health Care and Social Assistance and with this brings increased employment opportunities and career options. Health care has been the primary provider of new jobs within Australia and is projected to make the largest contribution to employment growth from 2017 to 2022. Source: Employment Projections.
UOW is strongly committed to the training of high-quality doctors who are able to choose any career path within medicine and practice in any location – metropolitan, regional, rural or remote. Our graduates undertake speciality training in a wide range of specialties
Here are just some of the specialties you could pursue:
- General practice
- Rural generalism
- Internal medicine
- Anaesthetics
- Surgery
- Emergency medicine
- Pathology
- Psychiatry
- Obstetrics and gynaecology
- Paediatrics
- Radiology.
Meet Jennifer
I’m interested in the critical care specialties and hope to continue working around rural or regional Australia and overseas at some point doing humanitarian healthcare. UOW Graduate Medicine makes you very adaptable to new environments and I’d like to challenge myself in this way throughout my career.
Campus locations
Students studying medicine at UOW will receive a broad-based education with a focus on rural medicine, with the skills and ability to practice in any geographic setting. You will also have the choice to study at either the Wollongong or Shoalhaven Campus.
Wollongong, home to UOW's main campus, is a vibrant, multicultural city, situated on the coast about 90 minutes drive south of Sydney's CBD.
Among the city's many physical attractions are 17 patrolled surf beaches and the spectacular bushland backdrop of the Illawarra escarpment.
The Illawarra region has a total population of just over 400,000 living in regional centres and rural communities. It has a wide range of medical facilities from large hospitals to specialist clinics, community medical facilities and traditional doctors' surgeries – making it an ideal location to provide medical students with a range of clinical experiences.
Anatomy Laboratories
Students will have the opportunity to participate in human cadaver dissection learning activities in the Anatomy Teaching Laboratories located on the Wollongong Campus. The laboratory houses two teaching areas, one large open plan area catering for 55 students participating in both wet and dry practical learning sessions, and one tutorial room seating 20 students in an informal classroom setting. The tutorial room houses 7 PCs with web access. The main lab area has audiovisual projection facilities and has multiple computer facilities for individual/small group multimedia presentations.
Shoalhaven and Wollongong Campus facilities
Both Wollongong and Shoalhaven campuses offer state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities:
- In the Clinical Skills Centre, students have opportunities for ‘hands-on’ practice of clinical skills with a variety of medical equipment and mannequins.
- The Clinical Examination Suites allow students to develop skills in a mock clinical environment.
- Both campuses have lecture theatres with video conferencing capabilities.
- Tutorial rooms are the primary teaching site for medical students whilst on campus. There are four tutorial rooms in the Wollongong facility and three in the Shoalhaven facility.
- Both campus buildings provide wireless access to the UOW network; computer workstations; multimedia learning resources; medical reference texts; and a range of journals.
- The Wollongong campus building houses a Student Learning Centre providing open access to medical students for individual and group study.
- The Shoalhaven campus has a shared library and resource facility providing 24-hour access.
UOW's Shoalhave campus offers the equivalent educational resources, availability of teachers and placements with local doctors and the Shoalhaven District Hospital.
Utilising state of the art video conferencing facilities provides a highly interactive learning environment for its students. This environment allows for two way communication between students and lecturers at either campus. Combined with a cutting edge clinical skills laboratory and other educational delivery methods, students will experience a media-rich learning experience.
The curriculum of our Doctor of Medicine degree has a regional, rural and remote theme and that's part of the feeling you get when you come to Nowra to visit the Shoalhaven Campus.
UOW’s Shoalhaven Campus is located in Nowra, approximately 60 minutes drive south of Wollongong. Nowra is the main rural centre in the Shoalhaven, an area famous for its beautiful coastline and beaches, rivers, lakes and rolling green farmland. We would be happy to show you around and answer your questions. In addition, look around the Shoalhaven at the natural beauty of the river, Jervis Bay and the National Parks.
The Shoalhaven Campus may well be what you are looking for. Contact Lyndal Parker-Newlyn at lyndal@uow.edu.au or Leanne Betts at lbetts@uow.edu.au
Shoalhaven and Wollongong Campus facilities
Both Wollongong and Shoalhaven campuses offer state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities:
- In the Clinical Skills Centre, students have opportunities for ‘hands-on’ practice of clinical skills with a variety of medical equipment and mannequins.
- The Clinical Examination Suites allow students to develop skills in a mock clinical environment.
- Both campuses have lecture theatres with video conferencing capabilities.
- Tutorial rooms are the primary teaching site for medical students whilst on campus. There are four tutorial rooms in the Wollongong facility and three in the Shoalhaven facility.
- Both campus buildings provide wireless access to the UOW network; computer workstations; multimedia learning resources; medical reference texts; and a range of journals.
- The Wollongong campus building houses a Student Learning Centre providing open access to medical students for individual and group study.
- The Shoalhaven campus has a shared library and resource facility providing 24-hour access.
FAQ's
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When will I have to make the decision to go to Shoalhaven or Wollongong?
If you receive an invitation for an interview, you will be sent a campus allocation form. This form shows us your decision about where you wish to study. This form must be completed and returned on the day of your interview.
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Won't the opportunities and training be better at the Wollongong campus?
No, the course has been carefully planned to allocate resources and teaching equally across both campuses. But there are differences; Wollongong is a much bigger campus in a much bigger city, Shoalhaven is a smaller, more personal place in a country town, possibly not unlike your home town. But for all the differences, you will still be studying the same MD degree at the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong.
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Once the choice is made, can I change my mind?
No, only in exceptional cases can students be considered for transfer.
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What library facilities are available at Shoalhaven?
The library will stock the same textbooks and other medical literature as at the Wollongong campus.
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What about student accommodation?
There is no student accommodation at the Shoalhaven campus, however, there is a to help you track down flats and rooms to rent in and around Nowra.
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Getting about, do I need a car?
The Shoalhaven campus is on the edge of town, the hospital is in town and most of the doctors where you will do “placements” are in town. A bike would work, as would a car-pool but our guess is that most students will own a car.
Ways to pay for your degree

Eligible students will be automatically offered a CSP if places are still available. This means the Government will fund up to 75% of your tuition fees.

In addition to CSPs, eligible students can access HECS-HELP to defer all or part of their course fees.
Without a Commonwealth supported place, studying wouldn't have been an option for me. I've gained given skills and experiences that have set me up for a career in my field. Lisa Gilogley