Admission Requirements

Admission to Undergraduate Degree Courses



Applications from all prospective students are welcome and no test of religion, politics, race or sex is applied to determine admission as a student, graduation or the enjoyment of any benefit, advantage or privilege or the institution. Admission to Avondale College is dependent on demonstrated evidence of good character, intellectual competence, and a willingness to conform to College regulations. Several pathways are available to admission but the onus is on the student to demonstrate his/her capacity to succeed in tertiary education. The College will accept various forms of documentary evidence to support this claim.

Academic Requirements



Year 12 Satisfactory Completion



Australian and New Zealand students may provide evidence of satisfactory completion of Year 12 (Australia) or Year 13 (New Zealand). This may be through achieving a satisfactory Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) or OP for Queensland as set by the Academic Board, or the International Baccalaureate.

Australian students will require an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score of 63.40 or higher or OP (Qld) of 18.

  1. TAFE Qualifications


    Successful completion of an Australian VET or TAFE award at Certificate IV or higher (or equivalent) will normally be considered to meet the entry requirements into the undergraduate degree courses at Avondale College. Individual courses may have specific entry requirements.

  2. Diploma of General Studies


    Appropriate performance in, or satisfactory completion of, the Avondale Diploma of General Studies may be used as a pathway to demonstrate ability to succed in tertiary eduction.International students also may choose the Diploma of General Studies as a pathway to a degree course. Applicants from other countries whose first language is not English are advised that they will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the English language prior to enrolment in the Diploma of General Studies. Depending on their prior level of achievement, international students enrol for either one semester, two semesters or two years .

  3. Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)


    An appropriate score in the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) may be provided by applicants who do not have a satisfactory UAI or its equivalent, and who are more than nineteen years of age by the census date in the comencing semester of studies.

  4. Foundation Studies


    Successful completion of a Foundation Studies Course at a recognised Australian institution, designed to prepare students for tertiary education, may be used to gain entry into the undergraduate courses at Avondale College.

  5. Special Consideration


    Special consideration may be extended to people who have suffered economic or social disadvantage. Disadvantage may be the result of many factors including: low socio-economic background, non-English speaking background, family disruption, high mobility in childhood, little encouragement to continue study, primary care of children, remote area background, excessive travel time to school, personal illness, injury, disability, or refugee status. In such cases, the onus remains with the applicant to demonstrate a level of knowledge that indicates a capacity to succeed at tertiary level. This may be done by undertaking the STAT test, (at the discretion of the Registrar the age requirement may be waived in special circumstances), the Diploma of General Studies Course, relevant TAFE qualifications, or by recent passes in at least two degree level units completed at a recognized tertiary institution.

Additional Requirements



Specific pre-requisites



Some courses have specific pre-requisites and these are listed with the information about that particular course later in this Handbook.

For applicants for Commonwealth-supported places in teaching and nursing



Offers of places are made in order of academic merit (based on UAI/ATAR score in NSW or its equivalent score in other States or other entry qualifications as assessed by the Registrar).

For courses involving contact with vulnerable people



Applicants for courses offered by the Faculties of Education, Nursing, Theology and any other courses that include contact with children, young people, the ill, or other classes of vulnerable people are required to sign a self-disclosure form (Prohibited Persons Declaration) and consent to a criminal record check. These checks may be required by organisations providing professional experience placements, fieldwork, clinical placements, work experience or professional internship placements. Applicants should note that in order to run the criminal records check, an employer body or other agency may require the College to provide it with personal information including name, date and place of birth, citizenship status and current address.

For courses including fieldwork



Some courses require professional experience placements, fieldwork, clinical components, work experience or professional internship placements. If organisations/agencies providing such placements decline for any reason to permit a student to undertake this aspect of his/her studies, then he/she may not be able to complete the requirements of the course. The College will do all that is reasonable to arrange an alternative location for the student to undertake such compulsory components. However, the College cannot guarantee that such an option will be available. Students should therefore note that, in such circumstances, they may not be able to graduate with the anticipated award.

Other courses such as nursing also require adherence to relevant NSW Health Department vaccination and screening guidelines that are in place during the time of their course. This may require completion of some vaccinations or undertaking of particular screening for exposure to, or protection from, certain diseases. Non-participation in this vaccination and screening program may prevent the completion of compulsory clinical placements and hence the student may not be able to graduate with the anticipated award.

For further information regarding admission to undergraduate courses, please click here