Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) degree is commonly referred to as the 'medical degree'. School leavers enrol at Otago for the common Health Sciences First Year course and then apply for admission to second year medicine. Graduates may also apply for admission at second year. If successful, students will complete a further five years, then after graduation work for another year under probation in order to gain general registration. There is a wide range of specialisation available in the public and private sectors, involving research, academic medicine, public health, clinical medicine and other areas. Specialties include Cardiology, Oncology, Paediatrics, Psychological Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, Public Health, General Practice and many others. Most doctors complete postgraduate training in their chosen specialty. Medicine is a respected, rewarding, and truly international career.

Applications for admission may be made under the following categories: Health Sciences First Year, Graduate, Alternative.

We recognise many other qualifications as equivalent to the New Zealand qualification for entrance.

We also accept the following international qualifications:

• International Baccalaureate: IB Diploma with a minimum of 24 points.
• Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) GCE Advanced Levels: minimum Numerical Score of 8

English language requirements

• IELTS (Academic module) (including IELTS Online) - Overall score of 6.0, no individual band below 5.5.
• TOEFL iBT - Overall score of 80 and a writing score of 20.
• C1 Advanced (previously Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)) or C2 Proficiency (previously Cambridge English Proficiency (CPE)) - Overall score of 169 (with no individual band below 162)
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 50 with no communicative skills score below 42.
• LanguageCert - International ESOL: C1 Expert (LRWS) with a pass overall and no less than a pass in each skill
• NZCEL - NZCEL 4 Academic endorsement
• English New Zealand's Accredited Pathway Assessment - Assessment Level 2 (with no skill lower than Level 1)
• APIEL Advanced Placement International English Language Examination - Grade 3 or higher

Applications for admission to Medicine via the HSFY and Graduate categories: Close: 15 September; Applications for admission to Medicine via the 'Alternative' category: Close: 1 May.