8,000 offered UON places

Thursday, 16 January 2014

The University of Newcastle has tonight offered places to 6,724 prospective undergraduate students.  This follows nearly 1,500 offers made in early January to students with Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) scores above 90, under the University's new High ATAR Guarantee Scheme.

Main round offers

Eighty per cent of offers have been made to students living in the Hunter, Central Coast and Mid North Coast regions.

"In 2014, there were 18,587 applications from students across Australia with at least one preference for an undergraduate degree at the University of Newcastle, indicating a high degree of interest in our programs," said Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Andrew Parfitt.

"Importantly, 26 per cent of our offers are to applicants with an ATAR of 90 or above, and the median ATAR of applicants receiving an offer is 83.  This is a testament to the quality of students choosing to study at Newcastle," Professor Parfitt said.

The Joint Medical Program (Bachelor of Medicine) continued to attract most preferences.  Almost 3,000 people applied for 170 places (110 at the University of Newcastle and 60 at the University of New England).  Other health programs that continued to attract high demand included the Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Physiotherapy. The new Bachelor of Pharmacy (honours) attracted very strong interest with 370 applications.

"We are also thrilled that interest in science and mathematics teaching has increased. Offers to date for our Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)/Bachelor of Science have increased by 67 per cent while offers for our Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)/Bachelor of Mathematics have increased by 43 per cent."

"With the country's focus on building capabilities in maths and science, an increase in future teachers in these areas augers well for Australia's economic future."

The top four degree program offers at the University of Newcastle were:

  • Bachelor of Nursing (Callaghan)
  • Bachelor of Arts (Callaghan)
  • Bachelor of Teaching (Primary)/Bachelor of Arts (Callaghan)
  • Bachelor of Business (Callaghan)

Professor Parfitt said the calibre of the University's science programs was also recognised with a strong increase in demand for entry into the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science at the Central Coast campus, with offers up 15 per cent compared to last year.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to accept their Main Round Offer without delay by visiting www.newcastle.edu.au/uac by Thursday 23 January 2014. 

University of Newcastle-wide:

Total number of offers to date: 8,241* (Commonwealth Supported Places)

  • 36 per cent school leavers
  • 64 per cent non-school leavers

* This figure does not include offers made to international students

Breakdown of offers to-date: 

Callaghan campus

Number of offers: 6,527 

Central Coast campus

Number of offers: 1,442 

Port Macquarie campus

Number of offers: 184 

Distance education

Number of offers: 88

Top five 

The top five degree programs by number of offers are in the areas of nursing, arts, teaching, business and science.

Faculty breakdown 

Offers to date across the University's five faculties are:

Business and Law: 842 offers YTD

Education and Arts: 2,432 offers YTD

Engineering and Built Environment: 933 offers YTD

Health: 2,341 offers YTD

Science and Information Technology: 1,682 offers YTD

Among 242 offers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are 14 to the Joint Medical Program and 11 to the Wollotuka Institute's Bachelor of Aboriginal Professional Practice Program.

Total number of programs offered across all campuses:  86 

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

  • 842 offers to applicants who have completed the Open Foundation program at the University. Open Foundation is a program for people who have been out of the education system and hope to study in an undergraduate degree program in the future.
  • 465 offers to applicants who completed the Newstep program at the University. Newstep is a similar program to Open Foundation, aimed at 17 – 21 year olds.
  • 14 offers to applicants who completed the Yapug program at the University. Yapug is a similar program to Open Foundation and Newstep, aimed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

University of Newcastle Advisory Day

The University of Newcastle will hold an Advisory Day on Friday 17 January 2014 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 pathways to University, including enabling programs.

  • Newcastle campus, 3pm – 6pm in the Great Hall
  • Central Coast campus, 3pm – 6pm in the Tourism and Hospitality building
  • Port Macquarie campus, 3pm – 6pm corner Oxley Highway and Widderson Street.

Prospective students who cannot attend the Advisory Day can visit www.start2014.com.au or call 02 4921 5000 for more information.

Facebook live chat: Students who are unable to attend Advisory Day can also join a Facebook live chat via the UON Future Students page between 3pm-6pm on the same day. 

Late Round:

Change of preferences for consideration in the Late Round of offers close on Thursday 23 January 2014.  Late Round offers will be made on Thursday 30 January.

Final Round:

Applications through UAC for consideration in the Final Round of offers close on Thursday 31 January 2014.  Final Round Offers will be made on Wednesday 6 February.

Contact

  • Carmen Swadling, Media and Public Relations.
  • Phone: +61 2 4985 4276 or 0428 038 477.

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