News Archive

Record offers for New Courses 2012

Total numbers

For the first year of our New Courses the University has made a record number of undergraduate offers to commencing students.

In all, the number of preliminary and main round offers has risen by 6.5% per cent from 4,599 in 2011 to 4,896 in 2012. (The figures include offers made outside the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre system.)

The total number of offers and the strong demand for the distinctive Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) course represent a resounding endorsement of the new direction the University is taking with its revised curriculum structures.

While the figures for New Courses are not directly comparable to previous years’ figures, the pattern of first preferences indicates significant increases in those wishing to study Science and Arts. In areas such as Commerce and Engineering, which are likely to be attractive as second majors, the full picture will not be known until enrolments at the unit level are completed.

B.Phil (Hons)

The new prestigious Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) course has attracted strong demand, with hundreds of students applying for 30 regular entry places, making the cut-off point an ATAR score of 99.85 – which may well be the highest cut-off score in Australia.

About half of those receiving offers of a place in the B.Phil (Hons) applied for assured entry pathways into Engineering, Medicine or Law.

A further five places are being offered to students from either rural or low SES backgrounds. The School of Indigenous Studies nominated one Indigenous student, who has yet to confirm that she is definitely interested in taking up a place in this course. The remaining two Indigenous places were reallocated to the rural/low SES quota. Offers have also been made to four high-quality international students.

There appears to be a reasonable variety of probable subject areas amongst the successful applicants, and their gender balance and school provenance is consistent with the larger applicant pool at this end of the ATAR distribution.

Equity and social outreach

There were 611 offers to students in rural WA and 134 to students through the University's Mature-age Access Program.

UWA’s commitment to ensuring access to all those who have the capacity to benefit from a UWA education has seen new equity and diversity programs in demand. In this main round, 106 offers have been generated as a result of the Broadway UWA alternative entry pathway, which supports students from areas traditionally under-represented at UWA such as those from rural and remote areas. A further 27 offers have been generated as a result of the Aboriginal Provisional Entry scheme.

A second round of offers is being made at the start of February.

Comparisons with other WA universities

Analysis of the first round offers to local applicants with a UWA ATAR showed that in 2012, compared with the average of 2010 and 2011 figures:

• 34.4% of the 10311 offers made were for a place at UWA, representing an increase of 2.1% in UWA’s share, whereas offers for the other WA universities either declined (Murdoch and ECU) or were virtually unchanged (0.1% increase for Curtin).

• There was an increase in UWA’s percentage share of offers within each ATAR band (low, medium and high), including the categories of students with an ATAR of 98+ (up to a 82.5% share) and 99+ (up to a 85.2% share).

• There was an increase in the number of offers for ‘Engineering and Related Technologies’ courses at Curtin.

• The number of offers of undergraduate Law at Murdoch declined sharply but did not change significantly at ECU, where the numbers were and remain low.

Ian Reid, Senior Academic Reviewer

with input from Wayne Betts (Associate Director, Student Services), Janine McDonald (Associate Director, Public Affairs), and Greg Marie (Director, Institutional Research Unit)