Australia · Sydney, New South Wales
University of New South Wales
Sydney's engineering, business and medicine university, admitting by published IB score
Photo: J Bar · CC BY-SA 3.0
- QS World Ranking 2027
- #19
- Founded
- 1949
- Students
- 86,000
- Bachelor's degree
- 3 years
- Acceptance rate
- Not published; admission by IB score against programme thresholds
- Typical IB offer
- 28–41 points by programme (Aviation 28; Science, Arts 29; Engineering 35; Actuarial Studies 41)
- Typical A-level offer
- 10–17 points by programme (A*=6, A=5, B=4, C=3); Science 10, Engineering 13, Actuarial Studies 17
- How admission works
- Apply directly to UNSW or through UAC. The IB scores apply to a completed and awarded diploma; applicants still sitting the IB can apply on provisional results.
- Language of instruction
- English
UNSW calls the 2027 table a guide only: actual requirements may be higher or lower, and the IB column rests on the scores needed for 2025 entry.
Worth knowing
The main Kensington campus covers 38 hectares, seven kilometres from the centre of Sydney. UNSW runs its own Flying Operations Unit at Bankstown Airport for the Bachelor of Aviation (Flying), which has the lowest entry score in the table (IB 28).
How hard is it to get in, and why
UNSW publishes an entry score for each programme and a table that it calls a guide only, so actual scores can be higher or lower. The spread is wide: IB 29 for Science and Arts, 35 for Engineering, 41 for Actuarial Studies and 40 for Medical Studies/MD. Offers go out in scheduled rounds, and the medical degree is offered outside the rounds after the faculty confirms eligibility.
What it costs
Tuition
$35k–73k per year
2027 fees are charged per credit point, A$1,035 for Arts up to A$1,375 for Science and A$2,175 for Medicine, times 48 points a year, which gives A$49,680 to A$104,400 a year. Medicine is the combined Medical Studies/MD degree. UNSW says fees are reviewed annually and may rise each year. Living costs: UNSW's own Sydney estimate is A$22,220 to A$49,920 a year, and the student-visa requirement of A$29,710 sets the lower bound.
Living costs
$21k–35k per year
Scholarships and financial aid
The International Student Award gives 20% off tuition for every year of the programme to citizens of eligible countries starting in 2026 and 2027. The International Scientia Coursework Scholarship covers full tuition or A$20,000 a year for the minimum length of the programme and is judged on academic merit, leadership and extracurricular activity. Scholarships are open to international students only after an offer is received.
How to apply
Apply directly to UNSW or through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC). For the 2027 cycle, applications from offshore applicants for Term 1 2027 stay open until 15 November 2026, and UNSW aims to give an outcome by 10 December 2026 but cannot guarantee it for late applications. Offers for other terms follow published offer rounds. UNSW publishes an IB score for each programme.
Official websiteWhat makes it special
- Seven faculties: Arts, Design & Architecture, Business, Engineering, Law & Justice, Medicine & Health, Science and UNSW Canberra.
- More than 4,100 beds on campus; on-campus apartments cost A$365 to A$580 a week and colleges A$435 to A$630.
- From 2028 UNSW moves to a flex-semester calendar; students starting in 2027 may study across the old and new calendars.
- Programmes in the entry table include combined degrees such as Engineering (Hons)/Commerce and Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
- Bachelor of Aviation (Flying) trains pilots on the university's own flying unit.
About studying in Australia
Three-year degrees, two intakes a year (February and July) and admission by IB score, with programme-specific thresholds. Applications go directly to the university and decisions are usually quick. International tuition at Melbourne and Sydney is around US$30,000 to US$40,000 a year, and bachelor's graduates can stay to work for two years on the Temporary Graduate visa.
Teaching staff
The dossier on teaching staff for this university is still being written.
The campus in photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.
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