Graduate entry to Optometry

• Domestic and International applications open on 1 March and close on 31 August the year prior to commencement. Apply via UWA’s online application process for postgraduate coursework studies. International students may also apply via an authorised international education agent. 
• Domestic applicants who may be eligible to apply as an Indigenous applicant should contact the Specialist Admissions team or contact the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH) regarding this pathway.
• Domestic applicants who may be eligible to apply as a rural applicant should submit the Rural Eligibility form with their application.

Interview periods

• The School of Allied Health plan to carry out interviews for shortlisted domestic and international applicants during October.
• Applicants who are eligible for Indigenous entry should contact the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH) regarding interview timelines for the current admissions period.

Course offers

• Offers are planned to commence during November. Timing of subsequent round offers will depend on the outcome of previous rounds
• An offer cannot automatically be deferred; in exceptional circumstances, a deferral request may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants should consider their personal circumstances and apply during an admissions period where they are prepared to commence should they receive an offer.

Domestic
Australian citizens (including dual citizenship holders), permanent residents and New Zealand citizens must apply for a domestic place.

Rural (Domestic)
The Rural program is part of a Federal Government initiative to address workforce shortages in medicine, dentistry, and allied healthcare in regional, rural and remote Australia. To be eligible, an applicant’s principal home address must have been in an area defined by the Department of Health as regional, rural or remote according to the Modified Monash Model (MMM) for any five years consecutively or at least 10 years cumulatively. A search engine for eligible locations can be found on the DoctorConnect website - click on Modified Monash Model 2019.  The MMM 2019 rates locations based on 2016 census data on a scale of 1 - 7. If you are a domestic student who lives or has lived in areas rated MM-2 through MM-7 for the defined periods you may be eligible for consideration within the Rural quota.

Graduate applicants for Dentistry, Podiatric Medicine, Optometry, Pharmacy or Social Work who believe they fit the rural definition must submit UWA's Rural Eligibility form to be considered for a Rural place.  Domestic graduate applicants for Medicine will indicate their eligibility via GEMSAS. Contact the Admissions team for further information.

Indigenous (Domestic)

Applicants who identify as an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and are accepted as such by the community in which they live, or have lived, are eligible for consideration as an Indigenous applicant. Applicants must provide a person or organisation who can verify their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status. Applicants should contact the Admissions team or the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH) for information regarding this pathway.

International
Applicants who are not Australian citizens, permanent residents or New Zealand citizens, must apply for an international place. International students who have applied or are intending to apply for Australian permanent residency or citizenship need to be aware of the following:

• An offer for an international place will lapse if the applicant’s residency status changes before commencement. Applicants in this situation will need to re-apply during the next admissions period for a domestic place.
• A student whose residency status changes after commencement cannot be guaranteed a domestic place in a course.

Domestic applicants for the OD are able to apply for consideration for The Head of School's List of Commonwealth Supported Places in the Doctor of Optometry (The Head's List). Successful applicants to The Head's List will be offered one of a limited number of Commonwealth Supported Places for the Doctor of Optometry. 

All minimum requirements under the current Admission Rules for the Doctor of Optometry must be achieved in order to be eligible for consideration for The Head's List, including attending an interview. 

In addition, the following eligibility categories will be considered:

• Rural applicants – To be eligible for the Rural quota, your principal home address must have been in an area defined by the Department of Health as regional, rural or remote according to the Modified Monash Model (MMM) for any five years consecutively or at least 10 years cumulatively. A search engine for eligible locations can be found on the DoctorConnect website - click on Modified Monash Model 2019.  Applicants who have completed the Rural Eligibility Form and returned it to the Specialist Admissions Team as part of their application will automatically be included for consideration in The Head's List. If you have not returned the Form, and you believe you are eligible, please complete and return the Rural Eligibility Form.  
• Indigenous applicants – If you believe you are eligible for this pathway, please contact the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health for more information at camdh@uwa.edu.au.
• Academic Merit demonstrating Financial Need –  Eligible current applicants must submit the Student Income Statement Form.  Applicants who are under 22 must also submit the Parent/Carer Income Statement Form.

Please refer back to this page for updated information as it becomes available.

To fulfil the English Language Competency requirement applicants must have:

• Completed 2+ years or full time equivalent tertiary study in English only at an institution in Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Ireland, Canada (except Quebec), and New Zealand; OR
• IELTS Academic with overall score of 7.0 and no band less than 7.0 (IELTS Indicator will be accepted during the 2020-2021 admissions period):
  • from one test sitting; or
  • a maximum of two test sittings within a six month period only if:
    • a minimum overall score of 7.0 is achieved in each sitting; and
    • a minimum score of 7.0 in each band across the two sittings; and
    • no score below 6.5 in any band.

Applicants who have completed English A-Levels in Singapore are required to submit a IELTS result.

ELC requirements must be met by the application closing date.

Applicants must complete a bachelor's degree in biomedical science, or an equivalent bachelor's qualification and must meet the following prerequisites*:

• Chemistry – Year 12 ATAR Chemistry is accepted, or a tertiary chemistry unit
• Mathematics OR Statistics – Year 12 ATAR Mathematics Applications or higher is accepted, or a tertiary mathematics or statistics unit
• Microbiology – tertiary level (for example MICR2209, MICR2208 or equivalent foundation unit)
• Pharmacology – tertiary level (for example PHAR2210 or equivalent foundation unit)

*Listed prerequisites are for 2023 commencement onwards. Students applying during 2021 for 2022 commencement require a bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science at UWA, or an equivalent bachelor's qualification, or a bachelor's degree together with demonstrated adequate knowledge in health and/or medical sciences as recognised by UWA. 

Recommended prior study
It is recommended that applicants have undertaken studies in some or all of the below listed fields.  These subjects are not prerequisite; however, in addition to the prerequisites will provide applicants with a strong foundation of knowledge for their Optometry studies.
 
Anatomy at Tertiary level
For example: ANHB1101 Human Biology I: Becoming Human; or ANHB1102 Human Biology II: Being Human
 
Physiology/DNA, RNA Cell and Molecular biology at Tertiary level
For example: SCIE1106 Molecular Biology of the Cell 
 
Genetics at Tertiary level
For example: GENE2250 Principles of Inheritance 
 
Metabolism, Cell signalling and survival at Tertiary level
For example: PATH2220 Introduction to Human Disease. Or BIOC2001 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Cell
 
Population health and disease at Tertiary level
For example: IMED1108 Issues in Women's Health Across the Lifespan
 
Physics to Year 12 or Tertiary level
For example: Physics ATAR; A-Level or IB Physics,  PHYS1021 Applied Physics A; PHYS1030 Physics Bridging Unit

• Final ranking for non-rural domestic and international candidates will be based equally on GPA and interview score.
• Final ranking for rural candidates will be based equally on GPA, interview score and rurality rating.

Applicants who are eligible for a course offer during the final year of their initial bachelor’s degree will be made a conditional offer requiring them to:

• attain a minimum GPA of 5.0 for semester two of the final year of their degree; and
• complete their bachelor’s degree requirements by the end of the year prior to commencement.

Applicants who are in progress of their initial bachelor’s degree and undertake a course of action that will result in receiving late results may not meet offer conditions. Therefore applicants must take care when undertaking any course of action which could delay the receipt of results or degree completion. This may include undertaking deferred/supplementary exams, undertaking units that fall outside normal semesters (e.g. summer units or trimester units) or going on exchange during the final year of study. Applicants who do not complete all requirements for their initial bachelor’s degree by the 31 December deadline will have their offer withdrawn.

Details regarding the selection GPA (sGPA) calculation method are available on the GEMSAS website and should be considered alongside information below regarding UWA’s sGPA calculation method.

sGPA calculation method

• Applicants must show they have achieved the course-specific minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) in order to be considered.
• Each year is weighted equally: ("GPA most recent year" + "GPA 2nd most recent year" + "GPA 3rd most recent year")/3.
• No preference or scaling is given to particular universities or fields of study.
• Special consideration cannot be granted as part of the admissions process. sGPA will be calculated from an applicant's results as they appear on their transcript.
• The sGPA as calculated by UWA may differ to that calculated according to the GEMSAS instructions.

What is included in the sGPA calculation

UWA's sGPA is calculated from the most recent three years of university study. A full time equivalent (FTE) will be calculated for students who have studied part time or overloaded.  

There is no 10-year rule for entry to UWA which means that applicants with degrees older than 10 years, including the initial Bachelor's degree, will be considered. 

The calculation is from units taken in chronological order, regardless of exemptions, credit or advanced standing which may have been applied to the most recent degree.

The sGPA calculation includes recognised bachelor’s, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, master’s by coursework, completed honours, completed master's by research and completed PhD levels of study. Note that in order for honours or other research degree studies to be included in the sGPA calculation, it must be completed by the end of semester one of the application year (or equivalent period). See information below regarding the treatment of research degree studies.

Recognised degrees are those conferred by Australian or overseas universities or higher education institutions recognised by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), or the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR).

Domestic MD applicants who have undertaken additional study (whether postgraduate or additional bachelor level study) should indicate this on the GEMSAS application (when prompted to by the application questions). All other applicants should indicate this on their UWA application form and provide transcripts for studies not undertaken at UWA.

Accelerated Bachelor's degrees and conversion courses 

UWA will accept recognised two-year accelerated bachelor’s degrees and one-year conversion degrees for the purpose of graduate admission into Medicine, Dentistry, Podiatric Medicine, Pharmacy, Optometry and Social Work. Applicants who are in progress of a one-year conversion degree must complete that course before applying, unless they also hold a previously completed bachelor’s degree.

Postgraduate degrees by research

Applicants with a completed PhD at time of application will be awarded a sGPA of 7.0. Applicants with a completed master’s by research at time of application will be awarded a bonus of 0.2 to be added to their overall sGPA. Incomplete honours, master’s by research and PhDs are not considered in the sGPA calculation. In order to be included, all research degree requirements must be met by semester one of the application year (or the equivalent period).

Applicants who only hold higher degrees

All applicants require a recognised bachelor’s degree for graduate entry into UWA’s MD, DMD, DPM, DOpt, MPharm and MSW. Applicants who have completed a higher degree but have not completed a recognised bachelor’s degree will not be eligible for consideration.

COVID19 - Treatment of Results from Semester 1 2020

As a temporary measure due to impacts of COVID19, all results obtained from studies undertaken during Semester 1 2020, and concurrent non-standard study periods, were treated as ungraded pass/fail in the sGPA calculation. As the impact from this period on the overall sGPA has lessened, the sGPA calculation will now treat results from this period as shown on the transcript.

Ungraded passes

The credit value/unit weighting of ungraded passes will count towards the three years of FTE study; however, the result itself is left out of the calculation. For example, if a student has 0.125 FTE of ungraded pass in a particular year, that year's sGPA will be based on 0.875 FTE of results. Where an applicant has more than one year or FTE of ungraded passes within their most recent three years FTE the calculation will include results from older study where available.

Ungraded or graded fails

Both the result and credit value/weighting of ungraded fails are included in the sGPA calculation. An ungraded fail will confer a sGPA result of 0 for that unit. All Fail results falling within the most recent three years FTE, whether graded or ungraded, will be included in the sGPA calculation.

Minimal results in the current year of study

Where an applicant has 0.25 FTE (or less) of results for their final sGPA year, the calculation will include older study. Where no older study is available, the sGPA will be calculated from only the GPA 2nd most recent and GPA 3rd most recent years. Where there has been no older study, and if an applicant is made an offer, it will be conditional upon their performance in all enrolled units which had been incomplete during the application year (see information below about conditional offers).

Exchange studies

The sGPA calculation will use the results that appear on the home university’s transcript. In most cases, such studies are shown as an ungraded pass or an ungraded fail. If an applicant has ungraded pass/fail units amounting to more than one year FTE of their most recent three FTE years of study, the Admissions team may require the applicant to provide the host university's actual graded results.

Credit/Exemptions/Advanced Standing

The sGPA is calculated from units that an applicant has undertaken in the most recent three study years FTE, regardless of credit/exemptions/advanced standing units which have been applied to the most recent degree. For example, if an applicant previously completed 1.5 years FTE, and then transferred into a different degree with credit/exemption/advanced standing applied for 1 years FTE, and has since then completed a further 1.5 years FTE in the new degree, the most chronologically recent 1.5 years FTE from the previous recognised degree studies will be included in the calculation. This will include any Fail results which fall within the most recent 3 years FTE.

Credit/Exemptions/Advanced Standing from pre-Bachelor's Diploma studies

Results from Diploma or other studies completed as a pathway to Bachelor degree studies will not be included in the sGPA calculation, including where such studies have been credited to a Bachelor's degree. 

Repeated units/subjects

Applicants who successfully complete a unit and subsequently repeat the same unit (or an equivalent unit) will not have the repeated unit included in their sGPA calculation, whether or not the unit was taken as part of degree studies. If the applicant has repeated a unit due to failing the first time, then the standard sGPA rules apply. That is, all units completed within the most recent three years of valid full time or equivalent study will be included in the calculation, including the fail result if it falls within the most recent three years FTE.

Not for degree studies

Results from individual units which are not taken as part of a degree are not included in the sGPA calculation, excepting where not-for-degree study constitutes more than 0.5 year of FTE study.

As an example, where an applicant's study includes 4 Access UWA undergraduate units within the most recent three years, these would not be included as the 4 units are equivalent to 0.5 year of FTE study. If 5 Access UWA undergraduate units have been undertaken within the most recent three years or full-time equivalent, these would be included in the sGPA calculation, as this exceeds 0.5 years of FTE study.

• The School of Allied Health will interview eligible applicants.
• Applicants who can meet the eligibility requirements and prerequisites will be ranked and shortlisted for an interview based on their Health & Medical Sciences Selection GPA (HMS GPA).  Shortlisting for interviews will take place after applications have closed.
• Eligible applicants will be contacted with more information after shortlisting is complete (approximately mid-September).
• The interview will be a structured process allowing applicants to display some of the personal qualities considered desirable in allied health practitioners, and increase their competitiveness for a place.
• Applicants who accept their interview will be provided with information and preparation material prior to the interview.

• Interviews are planned to be held early October.  

On completion of the OD, graduates will have both an undergraduate and a postgraduate degree, ensuring they have a well-rounded skill set as well as the specialist skills needed in their professional career.

The Doctor of Optometry program is accredited by the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand. Graduates will be eligible to register to practise as an Optometrist in Australia and New Zealand.