First-year enrolment for undergraduate health programmes

Helping you choose the right courses for your first year of study in the Bachelor of Biomedical Science (BBiomedSc), Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc), or Bachelor of Science (BSc) with a health major.

Things to take note of before you enrol

  • Check class locations: your classes will be scheduled across two campuses – Grafton and the City. Factor in the time you need to travel between campuses if necessary. 
  • Check Class Notes - before you confirm your enrolments, read the Class Notes for your courses to ensure it is right for your programme. What are Class Notes?
  • Class availability: places in lecture streams and associated labs/tutorials will be released throughout the enrolment period, so you may not see all available options straight away. If a class appears full, check back later as additional places or streams may be added. 
  • Make every effort to avoid timetable clashes: the only timetable clashes that will be permitted are those between two lectures or a lecture and a lab/tutorial/workshop/studio. When you have a timetable clash, it is your responsibility to catch up on the missed content by watching the lecture recording. 
  • Concessions: if you are unable to self-enrol in a specific course, you may be able to submit an enrolment concession. Any ‘class full’ concessions will be declined, so please enrol in streams with open places or wait for more places to be opened if none are available at the time. Once submitted, your concession will be assessed by staff and approved or declined as appropriate. 
  • Choose elective and General Education courses wisely: ultimately, you'll need to choose elective and General Education (GenEd) courses that fit around your required courses. However, this is also an opportunity to explore subjects beyond your degree; you're strongly encouraged to consider options that align with your interests and strengths. 

What courses should I enrol in for my first year?

For the BBiomedSc, BHSc and BSc (with a health major) programmes, you can choose to apply to transfer into a clinical programme after your first year (taking the clinical pathway) or to continue to complete the full degree (non-clinical pathway).

The courses you enrol in will depend on which pathway you wish to follow. For more information on selecting courses for your degree for both clinical and non-clinical pathways, please see below. 

What first-year clinical pathways can I use to apply for a clinical programme?

Clinical programmes: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm), Bachelor of Optometry (BOptom), Bachelor of Medical Imaging (Honours) BMedImag(Hons). 

Pathway MBChB BPharm BOptom BMedImag(Hons)
BBiomedSc  ✓  ✓  ✓  ✓ 
BHSc - Community Health ✓  ✓  ✓  ✓ 
BHSc - Health Systems and Data Analytics ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
BSc - Cell and Molecular Bioscience ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
BSc - Exercise Sciences ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
BSc - Medicinal Chemistry ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
BSc - Nutrition ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
BSc - Pharmacology ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
BSc - Physiology ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
University of Otago Health Science First Year (HSFY) ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓

Important to note 

  • Students who want to apply for a clinical programme in 2028 must complete a full-time workload of the eight required courses. 
  • Only the first attempt for these courses will be considered for admission in the First-year category. 

If you want to enter a clinical programme, you must enrol in these courses in your first year:

BBiomedSc and BHSc    BSc (with a health major) 
BIOSCI 107 BIOSCI 107
CHEM 190 CHEM 190
MEDSCI 142 MEDSCI 142
POPLHLTH 111 POPLHLTH 111
WTRMHS 100 WTRSCI 100
3 x 15-point courses from your degree 3 x 15-point courses from your degree

More about the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB)

First-year entry applicants must: 

  1. Achieve a minimum GPA of 6.0 across:  
    1. BIOSCI 107 
    2. CHEM 190 
    3. MEDSCI 142 
    4. POPLHLTH 111 
  2. Have no grades lower than a B in any of their eight first-year courses. 
  3. Complete the University of Auckland situational judgement test (Casper) in the year of application. 

Final selection ranking 

Interviewed applicants' final ranking is based on:

Component Weighting
MMI fair score 50%
Situational judgement test (Casper) 50%

For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the Entry requirements tab on the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery page.  

More about the Bachelor of Optometry (BOptom)

First-year entry applicants must: 

  1. Achieve a minimum GPA of 5.5 across:  
    1. BIOSCI 107 
    2. CHEM 190 
    3. MEDSCI 142 
    4. POPLHLTH 111 
  2. Have no grades lower than a B in any of their eight first-year courses. 

Final selection ranking 

Interviewed applicants' final ranking is based on:

Component Weighting
GPA of the four core courses 50%
MMI fair score 50%

For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the Entry requirements tab on the Bachelor of Optometry page.  

More about the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm)

First-year entry applicants must: 

  1. Achieve a minimum GPA of 5.0 across:  
    1. BIOSCI 107 
    2. CHEM 190 
    3. MEDSCI 142 
    4. POPLHLTH 111 
  2. Have no fail grades in any of their eight first-year courses. 

Final selection ranking 

Interviewed applicants' final ranking is based on:

Component Weighting
GPA of the four core courses 50%
MMI fair score 50%

For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the Entry requirements tab on the Bachelor of Pharmacy page.  

More about the Bachelor of Medical Imaging (Honours) (BMedImag(Hons))

First-year entry applicants must: 

  1. Achieve a minimum GPA of 5.5 across:  
    1. BIOSCI 107 
    2. CHEM 190 
    3. MEDSCI 142 
    4. POPLHLTH 111 
  2. Have no grades lower than a B in any of their eight first-year courses. 

Final selection ranking 

Interviewed applicants' final ranking is based on:

Component Weighting
GPA of the four core courses 50%
MMI fair score 50%

For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the Entry requirements tab on the Bachelor of Medical Imaging (Honours) page.