Postgraduate courses - Doctor of Medicine

Overview

To become a Medical Doctor (MD) you need to study a Doctor of Medicine. Flinders University offers graduate entry to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) in South Australia and the Northern Territory. The four-year course enables you to graduate with a medical qualification comparable to a six-year medicine degree.

The Doctor of Medicine (MD) aims to develop the elements of knowledge, understanding and skill central to varied areas of medical practice, producing graduates well prepared for their internship and with the potential to follow a full range of medical specialties in subsequent training.

Flinders University has a considerable presence in rural and remote communities throughout South Australia and the Northern Territory.

To address the health work force gap in rural and remote areas, the university offers students the opportunity to study the Flinders Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Darwin, Northern Territory and in rural South Australia.

Flinders further provides rich and innovative student clinical placements across our clinical schools in Darwin, Nhulunbuy, Katherine Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Bedford Park, the Riverland, Mount Gambier and the Greater Green Triangle, the Adelaide Hills, Mallee, Fleurieu and Barossa Valley.

Flinders has a strong profile in medicine both nationally and internationally and continues to be at the forefront of innovation in teaching and research.

Course

Doctor of Medicine

Duration: 4 years

Delivery mode:
In person

Location:
Bedford Park
Regional South Australia
Darwin

Availability:
Full-time

Start dates:
February

Annual indicative fees (2025):
$13,241 (Commonwealth supported)

Further information on fees listed

Extend your Doctor of Medicine (MD) and pursue multiple passions with a combined degree

Combining your Doctor of Medicine (MD) with the Master of Public Health.

The addition of the Master of Public Health degree provides students with the ability to apply knowledge and skills in relation to public health principles, values and practices that reduce inequity in health care access and health outcomes, and improve population health status.

Doctor of Medicine / Master of Public Health

Kickstart your career as a clinician scientist by integrating a PhD in your Doctor of Medicine (MD).

You can reap the rewards of medical research with this well-supported and structured pathway to become a clinical scientist and future leader.

Study a MD-PhD

Your career

Upon graduation, you must complete a year as a hospital intern to qualify for medical registration with the Medical Board of Australia. After internship and a possible further year in a training position, you can then apply to undertake specialist training with a medical college. In addition to clinical practice in a wide range of medical specialties, medical graduates may work in research, public health or community aid around the world, or in health administration.

Potential occupations after internship include:

general practitioner
hospital medical officer
medical specialist
general practitioner in urban, rural and remote settings.

Professional accreditation/recognition

The Flinders University medical program has been re-accredited by the Australian Medical Council until 31 March 2025. Graduates of the Medicine degree will be registered with the Medical Board of Australia and permitted to practise medicine in Australia.

What you will study

Throughout the course there are three broad topics or themes: doctor and patient, knowledge of health and illness, and health professions and society. The program focuses on student-centred learning with longitudinal development of the knowledge, skills and personal and professional attributes required of a doctor. Topics cover areas such as interaction between doctor and patient, knowledge of health and illness, health professions and society, socially responsible health practice, clinical research foundations, and advanced studies.

Practical experience

The degree offers a hand-on approach, blending community and hospital training that offers you exposure to the broad spectrum of health care from the primary to the tertiary level. Topics introduce you to clinical practice and performance, and you will undertake practicals and clinical placements throughout the degree.

Practical experience requirements

This course includes clinical placements which aim to provide students with the practical experience required for the workplace. Students who are required to complete clinical placements must be immunised in accordance with the relevant State or Territory immunisation standards (eg Health Immunisation for Health Care Workers in South Australia 2014 Policy Guideline) and any additional private provider requirements as needed.

View study program

Doctor of Medicine

Entry requirements

Applicants must:

hold a Bachelor degree or equivalent qualification or be due to complete their most recent Bachelor degree or equivalent qualification before starting the course; and
have normally achieved a minimum Flinders equivalent non-weighted Grade Point Average of 5.00* or higher to be eligible to apply; and
hold a valid Graduate Medical Schools Admission Test (GAMSAT) result with a minimum score of 50 in each section.

Additional requirements apply for sub-quotas such as submitting Statutory Declaration forms, supporting letters etc. which are detailed in the sub-quota information below.

Selection is based on combining the scores for the GAMSAT, weighted Grade Point Average from the most recent Bachelor degree and interview score.

Applicants are ranked to be shortlisted for an interview on the basis of their overall GAMSAT score provided they meet the minimum in each section of the test.

_{*for 2025 entry, as part of a transition period, applicants who have achieved a Flinders equivalent GPA of 4.50 or above will be eligible to apply. Applicants will normally be required to have achieved a GPA of 5.00 or above from the 2026 MD intake to be eligible to apply. Applicants can determine their Flinders equivalent GPA at https://students.flinders.edu.au/my-course/gpa-calculator.}

South Australian sub-quotas and Place Types

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Sub-quota

We support the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Governments’ key priority to increase the participation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in medicine.

We are committed to equity and inclusiveness in the Doctor of Medicine. Flinders recognises and values the contribution that Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous doctors make to the health of our country. Our Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff teach you how to work safely and confidently in a multicultural society.

As an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicant you can choose from two pathways into the Doctor of Medicine.

If you have an undergraduate degree but do not have a valid GAMSAT score, you can apply for entry into the Indigenous Entry Stream (IES). Alternatively, if you do have a valid GAMSAT score you can apply for direct entry through the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Sub-quota.

Both pathways have different timelines and requirements.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants may confirm their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity in one of two ways:

Confirmation of Indigeneity - provide a formal document, confirming their Indigeneity, from an incorporated Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation, containing the Common Seal of the organisation.

Or

Affirmation of Indigeneity - when a document under Common Seal is not able to be obtained, applicants may submit an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent Statutory Declaration.

Permanent Humanitarian Visa Holder Sub-quota

Up to 4 places are available for applicants who currently hold or have held a Humanitarian Visa issued by the Australian Government and are permanent residents or citizens of Australia.

Applicants must submit a Permanent Humanitarian Visa Holder Statutory Declaration.pdf and a certified copy of their original Humanitarian Visa.

Doctor of Medicine Rural Stream (MDRS)

This Sub-quota is no longer available and has been replaced by the South Australia Rural Medical (SARM) Program.

Learn more about the SARM Program

Non-Flinders University Graduates

A minimum 25% of total places available are reserved for Non-Flinders University Graduates.

Applicants whose most recent Bachelor degree is not from Flinders University will be considered under this sub-quota.

Flinders University Graduates Sub-quota

A maximum 75% of total places are available for Flinders graduates of either their most recent completed Bachelor degree or any postgraduate study.

Flinders University Graduates Reserved Sub-quota

A maximum 30% of places are available for Flinders graduates whose most recent Bachelor degree is one of the following:

Bachelor of Health Sciences*
Bachelor of Health Sciences/Master of Physiotherapy*
Bachelor of Health Sciences/Master of Occupational Therapy*
Bachelor of Medical Science - excluding the Bachelor of Medical Science (Vision Science) and the Bachelor of Medical Science (Laboratory Medicine)
Bachelor of Paramedicine
Bachelor of Public Health
Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology - Medical Biotechnology Stream)* (per program of study either published in the course rule or the replacement study plan provided to students upon the stream being discontinued)

_{* These courses will no longer be eligible for this sub-quota. A transition period for applicants whose most recently completed Bachelor degree is one of these courses will be in place up to and including 2025 entry. Therefore, to be considered under this sub-quota with one of these courses for 2025 entry, the course must be completed by 31 December 2024 if the course is yet to be completed.}

Bonded Medical Program

There are two types of places offered within the MD degree in Adelaide. These are Non Bonded Commonwealth Supported Places and Bonded Commonwealth Supported Places.

The Bonded Medical Program provides students with a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) in a medical course at an Australian university in return for a commitment to work in eligible regional, rural and remote areas for a specified period after completion of their medical course. This commitment is referred to as a Return of Service Obligation (RoSO).

Participants of the Bonded Medical Program are subject to Part VD of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Act) and must abide by the Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Rule 2020 (Rule).

Students should obtain independent legal advice before agreeing to opt in to the Program.

South Australia Rural Medical (SARM) Program

New in 2025, our SARM Program will be offered entirely in rural South Australia for aspiring rural medical professionals.

Priority admission is for residents of rural South Australia, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants and applicants from interstate with rural backgrounds. Applicants from non-rural backgrounds who wish to pursue a career in rural medicine are also encouraged to apply.

Students will live and study Years 1 and 2 of the MD in the Riverland or Mount Gambier in the Greater Green Triangle (GGT). Later, in Years 3 and 4, students will study in either the Hills Mallee Fleurieu, Barossa Valley, Riverland or GGT.

With up to 46 places available, the SARM Program is a gateway to a fulfilling rural medical career.

Learn more about the SARM Program

Northern Territory Medical Program

The MD is also offered in Darwin, Northern Territory.

Places (Employer Reserved – Fee Paying) are funded by the NT Government. The NTBMS is an NT and Australia Government initiative with the aims of improving the health of all Northern Territorians, particularly Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Territorians, increasing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island doctors and to provide a sustainable supply of medical graduates to the NT health community.

The NTMP considers applicants who meet the eligibility criteria in the following priority order:

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicant who meets the NT residency requirements.
Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicant who meets the NT residency requirements.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicant but not a NT resident.
Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicant and not a NT resident.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants may confirm their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity in one of two ways:

Confirmation of Indigeneity - provide a formal document, confirming their Indigeneity, from an incorporated Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation, containing the Common Seal of the organisation.

Or

Affirmation of Indigeneity - when a document under Common Seal is not able to be obtained, applicants may submit an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent Statutory Declaration.

Applicants who are NT residents are required to submit a Northern Territory Residency Statutory Declaration and supporting letter(s) confirming they meet the NT residency criteria.

Learn more about the NTMP

Inherent requirements for studying Medicine at Flinders University

The following information is reproduced from the Medical Deans of Australian and New Zealand (MDANZ) document " Inherent requirements for studying Medicine in Australia and New Zealand", 2017.

Maximise your chances of entry to the Doctor of Medicine

To maximise chances of gaining entry to the Doctor of Medicine you need to:

meet the application eligibility criteria;
understand and adhere to the application procedures and meet relevant deadlines;
provide all the information and supporting documentation requested by Flinders University by the relevant deadlines;
read and understand the application terms and conditions;
follow all the instructions given carefully whilst applying and in any subsequent communications;
pay any fees by the required date; and
keep personal contact details up-to-date.

Eligible applicants must have successfully completed the GAMSAT in the last two years, and hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

How to apply

Register to sit GAMSAT (the Graduate Medical Schools Admissions Test). GAMSAT is held in March each year and results are released in May each year.

2025 entry GAMSAT overall score cut-offs for interview^

Rural Bedford Park - 66
Humanitarian Visa Holders - 65
Non-Flinders Graduates/Non-Rural/Non-Humanitarian Visa – 76
Flinders Graduate Reserved Places - 65
Flinders Graduate - 66

SARM program* - GAMSAT not published as selection is also based on priorities

NTMP - GAMSAT not published as selection is also based on priorities

^Cut-offs are based on the main round of interview offers. If further offers to interview are made the cut-offs will be updated.

_{*MDRS not offered from 2025 entry onwards and replaced with SARM program.}

Before applying you MUST read and understand the Doctor of Medicine Application Guide for domestic applicants which forms part of the application process.

Note key dates and deadlines per the timeline below to make sure you are considered for entry.

2025 entry*

Application Guide published
Friday 17 May 2024

Applications open
Monday 27 May 2024 (9:00am)

Applications close extended to
Monday 15 July 2024 (11.59pm ACST)

Deadline for payment of application processing fee extended to
Monday 15 July 2024 (11.59pm ACST)

Instructions to upload Statutory Declarations, Official Academic Transcript(s) and/or supporting letter(s)/documents after closing date
Applicants will be emailed between Monday 15 July and Friday 27 July confirming when they will be able to upload these to their application if not provided at the time of submission.

Deadline to submit Statutory Declaration(s), Official Academic Transcripts and supporting letter(s)/documents
Monday 31 July 2024

Applicants shortlisted for interviews notified
From mid to late August 2024

Interviews
Monday 16 to Friday 27 September 2024 for SA
Tuesday 17 to Friday 20 September 2024 for NT

Offers
Offers are normally made from late October and may be made right up until the commencement of the MD in February 2025 to fill places available.

*Timeline is subject to change

Apply online with Flinders University.

Entry requirements

Applicants must:

hold an approved undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution
hold a valid Graduate Medical Schools Admission Test (GAMSAT) or North American Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) which must be no older than 2 years at the time of application
attend an interview.

English language requirements