The University of Queensland

Living in Australia is incredible and I’m so happy with my decision to move here. The warm weather, and great people, close friendships have all been worth it. The university of Queensland is a beautiful large campus. Very clean, lots of activity, and feels very vibrant. There’s lots to do on campus to get involved with events, food, etc. It’s a little quiet on late evenings/weekends. The program is great! It’s certainly challenging but very well organized. The program takes student feedback regularly and seriously and is constantly making changes to accommodate our needs. We have many good lecturers and mentors.

A large ability to learn on our own time, with most lectures being recorded. Most of the instructors are very knowledgeable and approachable. Sometimes course structure feels disjointed but they have done a lot to improve it since the change last year. Campus facilities are average but access to outdoor facilities are amazing. There are many club and event opportunities. Location of the university is ok, close to the city but still have to take the bus or drive all the way around because of the river. Prepare to use a lot of your time learning and reviewing outside of class. It is quite easy to make friends especially within the cohort do not worry about making friends.

Really lovely campus, probably one of the most beautiful in the world. Good facilities and plentiful student resources. Quality of teaching and curriculum structure could be improved, but faculty are willing to listen and make changes accordingly.

The UQ medicine program started off a bit chaotic in that the faculty was not entirely transparent about what was important to focus on, whether readings were mandatory etc. The classes felt disjointed and content was spread over different disciplines. However, after the first few weeks, the order of things was a lot more clear and the learning/teaching was more streamlined. It’s valuable to take advice from upper years, but always take it with a grain of salt as the program was changed significantly last year and changes are constantly being made. That being said, faculty is very open to feedback and take constructive criticism from students. There are some amazing facilitators and tutors who have made my experience with the medical content very fun and enjoyable. There are lots of clubs and events to be a part of so there is always something to do depending on your interest. The cohort is also very diverse with a large chunk from the USA & Canada, so I always feel very much at home. Overall, the content can be tough but it is manageable and I’ve made some amazing friends and memories this year!

The UQ campus is very beautiful! The campus is quite large so it can take 10-15 mins to get from one side to the other. Buildings are air-conditioned during the summer but it can also get very cold so carry a light sweater! There’s three ways to get on campus – two bus stops as well as a ferry stop which is pretty unique! Plenty of clubs and teams to get involved in depending on your interest so you’re spoiled for choice. There’s also lots of pretty great study spots and libraries, but they can get busy around exam time as with most universities.

I like the social environment of the school, there’s lots of events, and the other students both and my year and upper years are super supportive and open to sharing notes and study strategies, which makes for a great learning environment. I feel like I’m overall learning what I need to. It just feels a bit unorganized sometimes, and a lot of lecture time is devoted to things that yes are helpful but not testable, and sometimes I wish they would spend more time on teaching us instead of expecting you to learn it outside of class time.

This new program is a bit of a hiccup and there was a lot to navigate through this first year, but the program and content itself is superb. I love that we get early engagement with patients and learn how to do physical examinations, history taking, and other clinical skills.

I like the facilities and services, and campus is beautiful. There are definitely a lot of benefits of this program…. there were some kinks to work out especially in the beginning, however communication with the faculty is much improved now. It’s working better now and I’m liking it more now!

Like the physical campus, majority of the classes are good, bit challenging though because they have started this brand new program which really wasn’t what I was anticipating when entering Medical school, like the small groups we are assigned as that gives you a sense of belonging and friendship when learning (groups of 10), dislike that some of the classes are taught in workshop format and not many students engage in the discussions. Go in with an open mind and don’t let others opinions on the program impact your learning experience, if you’re enjoying it then enjoy it! You worked hard to get here.

I like that being a top tier school I get lots of opportunities for research, networking, etc. with top doctors. I wish the MD students had more resources on campus, such as more and nicer study space. I like that the new program has become pass/fail so I can dedicate more time to networking opportunities and extracurriculars. This year they started a new program and it definitely has a lot of hiccups that I wish we didn’t have to endure and it is very difficult to do the extra study required for USMLE. …check out events held by clubs like UQ Incision, Radiology Interest Group, etc. and get out there and participate because you learn so much, it’s a lot of fun, and they are things you can add to your CV!

UQ is amazing—teaching, resources, opportunities…everything is cutting edge. It’s really an amazing institution. It’s a dream come true to study medicine. Are you kidding me? Dislike?? I love it!

I love the campus and, the facilities and the location of the university. I dislike the disorganization of the administration at times. Program has been very enjoyable so far. I do enjoy the extra time being spent on developing clinical skills in our first year.

It was very clear method of applying. The team at OzTREKK were able to get back to me quickly with any inquiries. They also provided updated emails and helped guide me through the admission process.

I like that the campus has many nice facilities and is also very scenic. I also like that the University is big and well established. I like that there is a large cohort with many different students to connect with, and in particular I like that there is a large international student cohort. I also like that there are opportunities to do rotations internationally in 3rd and 4th year. What I dislike is that this year the program has been re-designed so things are not super smooth yet and a lot of things can be done to improve such as adjusting course material to be more medical science focused, etc. Try to connect with current students here and get advice from them on how to adjust to adjust to living in Brisbane and transition into starting the program. There are many medical clubs that med students may be interested in such as the GP club, the surgery one, etc.

Likes – fairly close to city center (15 min bus), large beautiful campus like back in Canada, the weather, supplemental exams are given so you can have a second chance before officially failing a course, if you fail a course you can still repeat and continue in medicine (lots of worst-case backup plans if things don’t go as planned), professors are extremely approachable and helpful, libraries open 24/7.

I like the campus, facilities, peers, many of the learning experiences. The organization between subjects sometimes feels disconnected. Large cohort has positive and negative aspects – you are bound to find people you get along with, but the size of the cohort takes away from the intimacy of the program. Make yourself aware of the possibilities post grad, what is required for your goals, and the reality of the challenges to getting there (e.g., matching back to Canada).

I love UQ and Australia. Although this year has been a bit challenging with the role out of the new program, I think it’s to be expected that not everything will be perfect. I have mostly enjoyed the classes, and getting to live abroad. Class size can be a little overwhelming. In addition, I was placed in a “learning community” which is significantly out of town and requires a car for transport by year 3. This is an additional expense that I did not initially account for. For future students: Continue to stay focused, find a mutually beneficial group of friends to avoid the hysteria. It’s what you make of it!

Rapid communication, available to assist with applications and any clarifications.

Facilities on campus have been great. Educational materials are also great. (Personally) dislike how small the campus is compared to Canadian universities. Instructors and staff are fantastic and open. I wish class sizes would be smaller.

Big North American cohort. I truly like Brisbane as a city and think it is a great city to do a med degree. Almost all classes and lectures can be done async. The admin is pretty terrible.  The course material is fine. No school truly has great lectures or resources. Most depend on online material. I think it is flexible enough that lets you get what you need out of it. I think exams are pretty fair, there are no tricks.

It has a beautiful campus but its far from the ocean compared to others. Its very comprehensive and attentive to the students, but I feel like some of the exam questions they use are very specific to the program and not useful anywhere else

The UQ campus and Brisbane are beautiful and I love studying and living here. UQ has so many supports in place for students like myself with accessibility needs, even more so than Canadian unis I think. There’s less Canadian-specific support or clubs than I expected, at least in the med program, but that doesn’t mean guidance and information don’t exist. A lot of the lectures and activities are online coming out of COVID, which can’t really be helped, but on the plus side it’s worked wonders for a flexible schedule which I’ve been using to explore clubs and research-participation opportunities.

The classes have been mostly online and recorded with the option to attend in-person, which has been amazing for my schedule and accessibility needs. I really enjoy the Case Based Learning groups where we do more clinically-relevant problem solving and Clinical Practice, but I believe both are changing with the new curriculum next year for the incoming cohort. The lectures are wide in scope and can feel a little disjointed with the plethora of information, but the more practical classes are fascinating. I was ok just coming out of a Biomedical Sciences degree, but some friends who haven’t studied anatomy in a while struggled to keep up with the fast pace. Regardless of any challenges however, there’s so many resources given to the students, whether its meeting with profs, using library or med hub resources, or those passed down from cohort to cohort, if you have the drive to learn, you’ll do just fine.

Instructors do care. They put in effort in improving their delivery based on our feedback – very receptive to our feedback. Teaching methods are ok – a little inconsistent sometimes with what is “expected” to cover in a sub-module vs what a specific clinician teaches. Tutors for Case Based learning and Clinical practice are amazing and so knowledgeable.

Great community, lots of events, lots of other international students; class sizes are a bit big.

The program is standard, and I think it teaches you everything you need to know. You will have to self-study anatomy (there’ an Anki deck in the Drive which is amazing) and keep up with it so you can find the Gross Anatomy Facility useful. The professors are clinicians and academics, so sometimes they can be a hit or miss with regards to their teaching style. The professor (Suja) who teaches Pathology, which is a huge part of the curriculum, is one of the best teachers I have ever had and is incredibly helpful. I don’t think the exams are too difficult if you manage to keep up with material and study throughout the semester; I would definitely recommend using Notion to create Anki decks for every lecture and reviewing them the same day so you won’t fall behind. I also purchased the Step 1 First Aid book which gives you everything that is taught in lectures but reworded, so you can organize your information and get some clarity if the lecture doesn’t make sense. The Cased Based Learning groups which you get assigned to in the beginning of the year are the group you do everything with, from tutorials to clin prac, and CBL sessions themselves are also helpful if you remain on top of the material taught that week. As you go through a case, you will discuss the differential diagnosis and treatment methods for the patient which can help consolidate a lot of the information for you. I definitely think the more you put into this program and your time in Australia, the more you will get out of it. Stay excited!

Stay on top of your lectures as it will make studying for the exams much easier. Go out and have fun, you’re still living your life here, don’t put it on pause for the sake of education!! Get a counsellor and discuss your struggles. The 10 months go by WAY TOO FAST, I feel like I was just arriving to Australia but now First Year is almost done! And trust me, don’t stress too hard if you’re having a difficult time, it will work out just fine.

It’s a gorgeous campus and there are no complaints regarding the services available. You can get free counselling 10x a year which I think is crucial for medical students; I would highly recommend it as starting out with the course load and maintaining your pace while living in a new country can become challenging as you go on. The opportunity for research through the student research portal is also amazing, I didn’t have to cold-email 50 professors to get 0 research opportunities!

Great program! Very supportive program with professors always keen to help. So much cool stuff to learn!

Love it. Weather is great, the cohort is friendly and the campus is really nice. Cons: I recommend self learning (recommended readings on your own and using additional resource like boards and beyond/pathoma even if you are not going to do USMLE). Also, the campus needs more study space. Love the content we are learning and I have a greater appreciation for the medical profession. You will see that some kids in the program are absolutely brilliant and are willing to help you out if you ask.

Yes UQ and the people there are great. There’s some stuff that the students complain about, but I’ve never been to another med school, and I imagine each has their flaws. I realize the rankings are relatively irrelevant, and what you put in is what you’re going to get out anyway…. Certainly some room for improvement, but overall, lots of good instructors and lecturers, and very comprehensive information is supplied.

I love the university and program. The university has a lot of events and things on campus to help you destress during exam time. It’s also very beautiful with lots of cute coffee shops to do homework at. The one awful thing about UQ is how unbelievably crowded it is. Finding a place on campus to study can be impossible and the place for medical students on the main st. Lucia campus is too small and almost always full to capacity. This is my own big problem with the university. The program is usually fantastic. I love the small groups for learning and the anatomy practicals (although there should be double the amount we’re getting) and the clinical coaching at the hospital. The large class size hasn’t been an issue as far as I’m concerned because everything is done in smaller groups out of lecture. The one problem is sometimes the modules can be disorganized and you might get a little lost if you don’t have the motivation to learn on your own time and search for your own resources. Also, from year to year they’ve been changing the exam formats and it seems like they’re not really sure about how they want to test you. There’s certainly a lot of support though with fellow class mates and the small group tutors if you need it.

The program always teaches me something new everyday. I enjoy hearing from doctors in various disciplines. I have found it valuable to learn about epidemiology and Australian healthcare system. I have found the peer tutorials at UQ valuable part of my learning. I wish there was more teaching done in anatomy practicals rather than self-learning. Also more time in anatomy facility would be awesome.

Everything is actually really really good. I’m surprised at the resources UQ pours into its students. Like, my old university was technically higher ranked on a lot of global indexes, but they didn’t really care as much about students as they do here.

I like the way the program is set up, and the administration seems very open to feedback and suggestions. The clinical coaches and tutors are all great.

Living in Australia is incredible and I’m so happy with my decision to move here. The warm weather, and great people, close friendships have all been worth it. The university of Queensland is a beautiful large campus. Very clean, lots of activity, and feels very vibrant. There’s lots to do on campus to get involved with events, food, etc. It’s a little quiet on late evenings/weekends. The program is great! It’s certainly challenging but very well organized. The program takes student feedback regularly and seriously and is constantly making changes to accommodate our needs. We have many good lecturers and mentors.