The University of Melbourne, founded in 1853, is one of Australia’s oldest and best-known universities. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published in June 2026, it was 22nd in the world and second in Australia. Its main campus is in Parkville, next to Melbourne’s city centre, and it’s known for medicine, law, the sciences, engineering, business, education and the arts.
Melbourne has an unusual degree structure, and admission to most bachelor’s degrees is based mainly on your academic results. Here are 10 things you can do to give yourself the best chance, based on the University of Melbourne’s own guidance and official Australian government information.
1. Understand the Melbourne Model
Melbourne offers a small number of broad bachelor’s degrees, such as Arts, Biomedicine, Commerce, Design, Fine Arts, Music and Science, where you choose a major and take subjects from other areas too. Many professional qualifications, such as medicine, law and engineering, are studied at graduate level after your first degree. For example, students who want to become engineers usually take a Bachelor of Science or Design with an engineering major, followed by a Master of Engineering. Plan your route before you choose a degree.
2. Apply directly by 30 November 2026
If you have an overseas secondary qualification, you apply directly to the University through its online application. For Semester 1 2027, which starts in early March, the closing date for direct international applications is 30 November 2026. If you’re studying for an Australian Year 12 or an IB Diploma in Australia or New Zealand, you usually apply through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) instead, which has its own dates. Some courses have earlier dates, so check yours. Melbourne international undergraduate applications.
3. Meet the entry score and prerequisites
Each bachelor’s degree publishes the results it expects from your qualification, such as the IB, A levels or your national school leaving exam. Some degrees also need prerequisite subjects, such as mathematics and chemistry for Biomedicine, or mathematics for Commerce and Science. Keep your grades strong through your final year, because offers can be conditional on your final results.
4. Prepare for any extra requirements
Most bachelor’s degrees don’t ask for essays or interviews, but some do have extra requirements: for example, Fine Arts and Music degrees ask for a folio or audition. Check your course’s entry requirements early, so you have time to prepare.
5. Meet the English requirement
For most bachelor’s degrees, Melbourne asks for IELTS Academic of 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0, but some courses ask for more. Your test must be taken in one sitting, at a test centre, within 24 months of when you plan to start, and Melbourne doesn’t accept online or at-home tests. You can also meet the requirement through some school qualifications, such as a grade C or better in English at A level. Practise with our free IELTS and TOEFL practice tests. Melbourne undergraduate English requirements.
6. Check your scholarship options
Most of Melbourne’s international undergraduate scholarships are assessed automatically when you apply for your course. From 2027, the Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarship gives a 20% fee reduction for the length of your degree to students who are citizens of a country with a GDP per capita of US$10,000 or less, selected on their final school or foundation results. Melbourne also offers other awards, such as the Melbourne International Excellence Scholarship. Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarship.
7. Understand the fees
At Melbourne, your tuition depends on the subjects you take. For students starting in 2027, the University’s indicative first-year fees are about A$56,451–62,464 for Commerce and A$55,556–65,344 for Science, and fees usually rise each year. When you accept your offer, you pay a tuition deposit of A$17,000, which counts towards your first fees. Melbourne international fees and payments.
8. Accept your offer and plan your housing
After you accept your offer and pay your deposit, Melbourne issues your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (eCoE), which you need for your visa. Housing near Parkville is in high demand, so apply early for University accommodation or one of the residential colleges, which have their own application dates.
9. Apply for your Student visa
If you’re not an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident, you’ll usually need a Student visa (subclass 500). Since 1 July 2026, the visa application charge for most applicants has been A$2,500. You must meet the Genuine Student requirement, have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for your stay, and show that you can pay your travel, tuition and living costs, including at least A$29,710 a year for living costs. Since 2 October 2026, most new Student visa applicants can no longer include family members, with exemptions for doctoral students, nationals of Pacific and ASEAN countries and some government-sponsored students. Rules change often, so check the Department of Home Affairs for the latest advice.
10. Plan for work during and after your studies
While your course is in session, you can usually work up to 48 hours a fortnight, with no limit during scheduled course breaks, and research master’s and PhD students have no limit once their course has started. After you graduate, you may be eligible for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) in the Post-Higher Education Work stream, which usually lets you stay and work for two to three years, depending on your qualification, if you’re 35 or under when you apply. Its application charge rose to A$5,750 on 1 July 2026.
Applying for a master’s or PhD at Melbourne?
Because of the Melbourne Model, many of Melbourne’s best-known professional degrees, such as the Juris Doctor (law), the Doctor of Medicine and the Master of Engineering, are graduate degrees with their own entry requirements, tests and deadlines. For a research degree, such as a PhD, you’ll usually need to contact a potential supervisor first. See our sample SOPs and free GRE practice tests.
Be ambitious, but apply to a balanced list
Melbourne’s popular degrees are competitive, so apply to other options too. Read our guides to UNSW Sydney, the University of Sydney, the Australian National University and Monash University. Our guide to studying in Australia explains how the Australian system works, and our free study abroad assessment can help you build a shortlist.
Information was taken from the University of Melbourne’s official admissions, English language, fees and scholarship pages, official Australian government sources and the QS World University Rankings 2027, and checked in October 2026. Admissions rules, deadlines, fees and immigration rules can change, so always confirm the details on the University of Melbourne’s website before you apply. StudyAbroadMarket is not affiliated with the University of Melbourne.