FAQs

Some programs may offer online delivery, although it is important to note that international students in an online program are not eligible for an Australian student visa. If you choose to study online, you will have to study this program from your home country.

Typically, international universities do not allow an automatic transfer of studies; however, you can apply for credit based on your previous studies, and if the university determines your previous courses are equivalent to those in their program, they will offer you credit for those subjects.

To apply for credit, you will need to provide a list of subjects from your undergraduate degree that you feel are relevant to this program or which might overlap with program content. You will then need to collect the detailed course outlines for each of these subjects, and we can submit these to the Australian university with your application.

Honours studies in Australia differ from Honours studies at Canadian universities. In Australia, an Honours degree is typically awarded after an additional year of research has been completed following the standard 3-year undergraduate degree program. In Canada, an Honours degree is usually awarded after four years of undergraduate study and may or may not include an undergraduate thesis, depending on the school and program.

The university is looking for students to have considerable experience in a biomedical science degree with an 80%+ GPA, as outlined on the Monash website. The university requires students to have completed a minimum of 6 of the following units:

• BCH2011: Structure and function of cellular biomolecules
• BCH2022: Metabolic basis of human diseases
• DEV2011: Early human development from cells to tissues
• DEV2022: Principles of organ and body design
• GEN2052: Genomics and population genetics
• IMM2011: Basic Immunology: The body’s defense system
• IMM2022: Immunology in health and disease
• MIC2011: Introduction to microbiology and microbial biotechnology
• MIC2022: Microbes of health and disease
• MCB2011: Molecular Biology: Genes and their expression
• MCB2022: Molecular biology: gene technology and its application
• PHA2022: Drugs and society
• PHY2011: Neuroscience of sensory and control systems in the body
• PHY2032: Endocrine control systems
• PHY2042: Body systems physiology

If you don’t meet these biomedical courses, you will need to take the relevant courses, or you won’t be eligible. Monash does not do pre-assessments; the only way to know for sure if you meet the requirements is to apply.

To apply to the UQ MD, you will need to check to see if you meet the Integrative Cell & Tissue Biology and Systems Physiology prerequisites. Search by course code to see if your university is listed in the UQ Credit Database.

If your courses are not listed, you may submit your transcript and relevant course outlines to applicationstatus@uq.edu.au and UQ will arrange a credit assessment to be completed by the faculty. If you don’t meet the prerequisites, you will need to take courses that meet the requirements.

If you are a current student who is studying in Australia, or a commencing student who happens to already be in Australia, we recommend that you remain in Australia if you are serious about completing your studies on time.

There are a few scenarios that you may find yourself in when deciding to return home to Canada, and ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what is best for you and your family.

1. You wish to fully withdraw from studies

• If done on time (please confirm with your uni as to what this date is) your fees will be refunded. Should you choose to attend studies in Australia later, you would need to reapply to the program.

2. You wish to complete studies online

• Before making the decision to return home, please check in with your program coordinator/faculty to ensure that this is an option, and that if so, there are no components you might miss (this semester and next) by returning home.
• If you return home, please be aware that you will need to be quarantined in Canada. You will not be able to return to Australia until the current Australian-entry travel restriction has been removed.

3. You wish to defer studies to a later intake

• Some programs will allow students to defer their studies to the next available intake. We are currently not sure of the possibility of deferring a professional program (medicine, dentistry, health sciences, etc.) but will update this page as we learn more info. We strongly recommend that you check with your university to see if you are able to defer your program.

Further items to consider

Leaving Australia

• Outgoing restrictions: Non-Australian citizens and temporary visa holders are permitted to leave Australia, but Australian citizens and permanent residents require an exemption to leave. For further information, see the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs “Leaving Australia” webpage.
• Restrictions in destination country: Students should check any entry restrictions in their destination country, including quarantine periods and costs. They may wish to contact their local Embassy or Consular Office to see if help is available.
• Personal travel: travel to a students’ home country is not “University travel” and therefore will not be covered by University travel insurance.

Returning to Australia

• Border restrictions: the Australian government has imposed strict border restrictions – entry is not permitted unless the traveller is in an exempt category or has been granted an individual exemption. Only a limited number of people are permitted to enter Australia each day.
• Limited availability of flights: commercial flight availability to and from Australia is currently very limited and this is likely to continue into 2021. Even passengers with tickets are not guaranteed to travel and delays and cancellations have been reported.
• Quarantine: if students are able to enter Australia, they are currently required to quarantine for 14 days at a designated facility, such as a hotel, at their port of arrival at their own cost. The current cost to quarantine in NSW is $3,000 per adult, unless the traveller is granted a fee waiver or exemption. See NSW Government “Quarantine Rules” website.
• International student corridor: At this stage, there is not enough information to offer any certainty for any form of corridor for international students and students should take care not to use the concept of a corridor on which to base their decisions.

Visa, student loans, scholarships or other entitlements

• Students should make inquiries to ensure they understand what effects their decision to return home may have on their Australian visa and eligibility for student loans or other entitlements (such as scholarships), particularly if they are unable to return to Australia in 2021.

Updated: November 24, 2020

If you have to take a leave of absence from your program because you can’t return to Australia, OzTREKK recommends that you do not undertake additional studies from other universities. Your Australian university may request to assess those courses before you recommence.

We’ve reached out to our university partners regarding this, and we’ll post more information once we receive it.

Updated: November 24, 2020

All universities are doing their best right now to structure everything in a way that meets requirements. Professors and all supporting staff are working beyond their normal working hours to make online studies as suitable for students as they can be. In instances where a high level of instruction is not possible online, universities have made the difficult decision to forego online studies even though this means that numerous high-quality and competitive international students will be unable to enroll at this time.

Updated: November 24, 2020

It will differ by university and by program. We recommend that you enroll in your courses as early as possible, so that you may secure course times that work well with your North American time zone.

Please keep in mind that there will be some tutorials and sessions that require group work, and these could be in the middle of the night. You’ll need to go into this prepared to study at odd hours, and to adjust your schedule and sleep patterns accordingly.

Updated: November 24, 2020

Your university will be supportive during your quarantine period, and should provide you with a faculty-level contact who can support your transition from online studies to in person.

Updated: November 24, 2020

Yes, if you are currently studying online, or have a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for a program starting in early 2021 and have 100% decided that you will attend that program, it is crucial that you start your student visa application. You must have a student visa so that you can promptly get to Australia when borders reopen.

If you are a student who has commenced online studies and have not applied for your visa, please be aware that you may receive an “invalid CoE” error message during the application, which may prevent you from proceeding with the application. Because the program start date will have already passed, The Department of Home Affairs’ visa application system considers these CoEs to be invalid.

Please let us know if you have started online studies and do not yet have a visa, so that we can contact the university and request an updated CoE.

Updated: November 24, 2020

In order to meet Australian and Canadian accreditation standards, you may have a designated amount of clinical hours to complete. If you commence your studies online online and are unable to get to Australia for the foreseeable future, it is possible that you may not finish your clinical components on time to graduate.

Extended Studies
If you are unable to get into the country to complete these hours, you may need to pause your studies until you are able to continue in person, or, where some clinical hours have been obtained, you may need to extend your course.

Cost and structure will vary by university and program; however, it is likely that you will be charged per additional course block, and of course any additional living expenses and OSHC for the duration of your remaining studies.

Updated: November 24, 2020