Miroma Bunbilla Program

The Miroma Bunbilla Program is a pre-entry pathway to the Joint Medical Program held from Monday 1 December to Friday 5 December 2025. If you are currently studying and/or satisfy the academic requirements you may be eligible to participate. Participants are required to attend all scheduled sessions within the 5 day program.

Consideration for entry to the JMP through this pathway is based on establishing your Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander status within the University, successful completion of the MSA, satisfying the academic requirements, mandatory attendance at all scheduled activities and achieving successful results in all graded activities. Should a participant miss any scheduled activity or session for any reason the participant will be withdrawn from the program and will not qualify to be considered for entry to the JMP through this pathway. This does not exclude applicants from re-applying for future programs.

The Miroma Bunbilla Program will be delivered face-to-face in 2025. This program is designed to give you an insight into studying medicine in the JMP. During the program you'll participate in problem-based and group-based learning activities and experience some of the academic skills required for the JMP. Participants will collaborate in study groups and complete group and individual assessment tasks. Participants may have the opportunity to participate in the program at either the University of Newcastle (Callaghan campus) or the University of New England (Armidale campus).

The program consists of the following activities:

Participation in Multiple Skills Assessment (MSA)

For the MSA, you'll rotate through a circuit of online stations discussing various scenarios with an interviewer and/or undertaking various activities.

Participation in a series of other activities

During the week you'll participate in a series of compulsory pre-admission activities, such as:

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) tutorials: In small groups you’ll collaborate with your peers and facilitator to work through scenarios / working problems applicable to clinical practice
Anatomy and basic science resource sessions: This will entail working through an Anatomy worksheet relating to the PBL, with support from the team
Prepare for a short verbal presentation (VIVA) based on your PBL: Further detail will be provided during the program
Cultural Task Presentation

As part of the program, you'll be given the opportunity to meet staff from Thurru, the Indigenous Health Unit of the School of Medicine and Public Health and have the chance to talk to medicine students about their experiences of studying medicine through the Joint Medical Program. During the week, you'll have the opportunity to confirm your preferred study location – either the University of Newcastle (Callaghan or Gosford) or the University of New England (Armidale).

What you'll need for the Miroma Bunbilla Program

If you are invited to participate, you must:

Provide photo identification – such as your driver's license or passport – for the MSA (interview).