The University of Newcastle will release 7,081 Main Round Offers to undergraduate students today.

"The University of Newcastle continues to be the university of first choice for students living locally, and in the Central Coast and Mid North Coast areas," Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Services), Dr Sue Gould said.

"An increase in first preference applications this year is a direct reflection of the University's strong position in the community.

"Our teaching and learning environment leads the higher education sector in many areas, and our research performance consistently places Newcastle in the top 10 universities in Australia.

"The large number of offers made today shows that the University continues to provide many opportunities for school leavers and people returning to study after a break. In 2009, 43 per cent of our Main Round Offers are to school leavers and 57 per cent are to non-school leavers."

University Advisory Day

The University of Newcastle will hold an Advisory Day on Thursday 22 January 2009 for all prospective students, including those who did not receive a Main Round Offer from the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC). Representatives from the University and TAFE NSW will be available to discuss options for study and alternative pathways to University, including enabling programs.

• Callaghan campus, 3pm – 6pm in the Great Hall
• Central Coast campus, 3pm – 6pm in the Student Hub
• Port Macquarie campus, 3pm – 6pm in A Block

Prospective students who cannot attend the Advisory Day can visit www.newcastle.edu.au or call 02 4921 5000 for more information.

Enquiries can also be emailed to the University at EnquiryCentre@newcastle.edu.au.

A breakdown of Main Round Offers follows:

University wide

Total number of offers: 7,081* (Commonwealth Supported Places)

* Please note this figure does not include Domestic Full Fee paying offers due to Australian Government legislative changes. The figure does also not include the offers made to full fee paying international students.

Individual campuses

Callaghan campus

Number of offers: 5,687

Central Coast campus

Number of offers: 1,279

Port Macquarie campus

Number of offers: 115

Most offers made to a degree program: 498 offers made for Commonwealth Supported Places in the Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts at the Callaghan campus.

New undergraduate programs offered in 2009: The Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Commerce are being offered at the Central Coast campus for the first time. The Bachelor of Industrial Design final year is being offered at the Newcastle campus for the first time. Students complete the first three years of this course at TAFE before transferring to the University for the final year.

Offers to students who have completed a preparation (enabling) course at the University of Newcastle:

• 552 offers to applicants who completed the Open Foundation program at the University in 2008. Open Foundation is a program for people who have been out of the education system for some time and hope to study in an undergraduate degree program in the future.
• 172 offers to applicants who completed the Newstep program at the University in 2008. Newstep is a program for 17 - 21 year olds who experienced disadvantage in their upper schooling.
• 3 offers to applicants who completed the Yapug program at the University in 2008. Yapug is a preparation program for Indigenous students.

Offers made by the University of Newcastle based on a TAFE qualification: 758. Under the Guaranteed Entry Scheme, students who have completed a Certificate IV level or higher qualification at TAFE NSW are offered a place in selected degree programs at the University of Newcastle.