Medicine/Arts Program 3856

General information

The Medicine/Arts program is an alternative program of study in which, over a 7 or 8 year period, a student may complete the degree of Bachelor of Arts, together with the BMed MD. This program is only open to students who have been accepted for entry into the Faculty of Medicine.

The program allows students to pursue their interest in the Arts and Social Sciences during their medical studies and will appeal to those who are interested in a broader education or are considering a “different” type of medical career.

Students enrolled in Medicine/Arts can only study courses offered by the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture

Medicine/Arts students are exempt from 12 units of credit of General Education courses.

Program detials are available in the UNSW Handbook

How do students enrol in the Medicine/Arts Program?

Students can enrol in the Medicine/Arts Program at the commencement of their studies when they accept their enrolment online or by completing an Internal Program Transfer (IPT) application via myUNSW. 

What to consider before enrolling in the Medicine/Arts Program?

Students need to consider their ability to cope with the extra study load of up to 24 units of credit (uoc) per term in Year 2 as well as possibility of extending their overall study to 8 years.

Students also need to be mindful of the strong likelihood of timetable clashes.

How will timetable clashes be resolved?

The Medicine timetable has precedence and frequent changes do occur. It is not possible to adjust the Medicine timetable to suit the needs of individual students enrolled in the Medicine/Arts program.

Students wishing to do language courses are especially affected as these courses can only be studied in sequence (e.g. introductory T1, intermediate T2 etc.)

You should consider your choice of Arts subjects carefully and where necessary be prepared to choose alternative Arts courses if clashes cannot be resolved.

How many years will it take to complete the Medicine/Arts 3856 program?

In order to complete the combined program in 7 years, students are required to undertake an approved arts-focused Independent Learning Project as well as to complete an additional Arts course above the normal Term load (18 UOC) across an academic year. All other students will require 8 years to complete the combined program.

It is recommended for students to take the Arts year in Year 3 or Year 4 of the combined program and before doing their ILP/Honours research and clinical refresher course. Under special circumstances it may be possible to take the year's break between Phase 2 & Phase 3. However, this would only be considered in special circumstances and would be the last point in the program that the Arts year could be considered.

What are the requirements of the Medicine/Arts Program?

The course requirements for Medicine are the same as for the BMed MD program.

Can students take  Arts courses overseas?

Students can apply to do a session overseas (a maximum of 24 units of credit). Further information is available from the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture and the Student Exchange section on the International website.

Updated Oct 2023