Deakin University

The facilities on Deakin Waurn Campus are great in terms of anatomy and pathology labs and group learning space. The only downside is a lack of comfortable study space for medical students only. I’m not a super club oriented person but there are SO many medical clubs available as well as just general hobby clubs on campus! I love how supportive the school and teachers are, they will always understand if you have a health issue going on and always want you to prioritize yourself and your wellbeing. They always reach out to people who struggled after assignments to get a plan in place on how to get back on track. They are also up front about assignments and their rubrics etc., The only downside for me is the sheet number of non-medicine related written assignments they require which take a lot of time.

The student body is amazing, supportive, and very friendly. The staff at the school of medicine care about their students, and actually listen to feedback and work so that you feel well supported in your journey to becoming a doctor. The program is engaging, with lots of face-to-face time with staff, and fellow students. There is a wide-variety of teaching methodologies implemented within the course, from anatomy labs, to small-groups, to didactic lectures. This ensures that there is something for everyone at the school. Of course, given the nature of medicine – the course is fast-paced, and stressful at times. But the school, and your peers, offer tremendous support during these times. My only critique is that the school is looking to remove some teaching sessions which involve how to think critically in the clinical space. I thought that this aspect of the course was extremely beneficial, and I am sad that it may be removed. The student body is, however, working to retain this aspect of the course.

Deakin university offers beautiful campuses, and study spaces, in Geelong. The proximity to major cities (Melbourne), tourist attractions (Torquay Beaches), and national parks (You Yangs, Grampians) makes it a wonderful spot to study.

Supportive staff and a small-ish cohort, lots of opportunity to get involved in the learning process and other ways to get involved outside of classes. Course structure is broken down nicely, you find that a lot of the content that you learn initially keeps coming up in different blocks, and the concepts build on each other. Really enjoy the clinical teaching when they have doctors from the region come in and give lectures.

Sometimes feels like the ratio of instructors/support staff to students is lacking in the lab settings, was less of an issue in the first semesters when we had upper year students in the labs able to answer questions as well.

Lots of different clubs you can join that are specific to different interests you may have (GP, Paeds, OBGYN, Surg, EMD etc.) and they host heaps of events throughout the semester which is a good way to connect with other students who may have similar interests. Take advantage of the support that is provided to you early and try to get involved in some clubs to try and keep a bit of balance between studying and not studying.

Why did I chose Deakin? They definitely value their students and really want to get to know us each and talk with us like they are our peers. They really see us as their equals. We learned from them and they learned from us and I really liked that.

Good campus, good program. Decent class size.

I like the new facilities and the science teaching.

lots of services, good culture, needs more support for internationals, help with studying (how to study more effectively). decent class size (130) small groups for building connections. Quite a few clubs available. Im part of the Skill it Kitchen – learn to plan and make affordable and nutritious foods.