Planning the next step in your education journey? Here’s everything you need to know about gaining entrance into university.
If you meet the minimum entry requirements, you may be selected for one of our courses. However, meeting the minimum requirements doesn’t guarantee that you will be selected.
You may be offered a place once we have assessed:
For some courses, an assessment of your personal capabilities and aptitude is also made.
Visit our Course Search to find out about the specific criteria for entry into individual courses.
Students must be at least 17 years old at the time their course begins to be eligible for entry into any Higher Education course. We may consider exceptions in some circumstances and will take into account your academic record and availability of appropriate support.
Online learning resources and materials are integral to teaching and learning activities and assessment tasks for our courses. All online students must have regular access to an internet-connected computer, capable of communicating with our online systems.
Informed choices statements provide information about essential physical and behavioural abilities, skills or acuities needed to perform assessment tasks and professional placements in a field of study and progress to a career in that field. This information is intended to assist you to decide if you can successfully participate in and complete a course.
We are an inclusive and welcoming environment for people living with a disability, medical condition, mental illness or primary carer responsibilities. Our AccessAbility advisers can provide information about services and reasonable adjustments that may be available to support you to achieve your goals.
All Swinburne students must be able to meet out our English language requirements. You’ll be able to provide evidence of your English language skill if you have:
These requirements vary for prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students, depending on your chosen course. For the most up to date English language requirements information, use CourseSearch or see the Entry Requirements for International Students page.
You can take the Pearson Test of English on our Hawthorn campus. It's a single, two-hour test that usually returns fast results within 48 hours.
Each Swinburne course has minimum English language requirements that students need to meet to participate in their studies. Refer to the table below for more information or use CourseSearch to find the specific English language requirements for your chosen course.
For local applicants with overseas qualifications, see the Entry Requirements for International Students page.
For UniLink Diplomas
For undergraduate courses: associate degrees, bachelor degrees and honours (except education, law, information technology, honours in psychology and professional degree courses)
For undergraduate courses: education, information technology, law, honours in psychology and professional degrees
For postgraduate courses: Graduate Certificates
For postgraduate courses: Graduate Diplomas and Masters
* Only specified courses will accept STAT and Work experience as a basis of entry – check Course Search.
Use Course Search to find the English language requirements for your chosen course or see the English entry requirements website for international students.
Individual course admission criteria will identify where prerequisite study needs to have been undertaken within a certain time period.
Access opportunities. Get tailored support with your studies. Thrive as an Indigenous student with the team at the Moondani Toombadool Centre.
We understand that you might find adjusting to university life difficult — but rest assured, you are not alone. Whether you’re looking for work, a home, need help with studying or if you’re feeling lonely, we are here to help you.
When applying through VTAC, applicants that meet certain criteria are eligible for special consideration through the Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS). This includes but is not limited to:
On top of meeting the English language requirement and any prerequisite subject scores Swinburne also assesses applications in a variety of conditions depending on your educational background and/or work history. Information on assessing applications on Australia Year 12 studies can be found here.
The qualifications of Australian applicants who completed secondary or tertiary study overseas are assessed for equivalence to course entry requirements, based on guidelines provided by International Education Online and UK NARIC (National Recognition Information Centre)
Check whether your overseas qualifications meet our academic and English language entry requirements via the international students page.
If you have previous Vocational Education and Training, we can use your results as a basis of admission to an undergraduate course.
We take into consideration how many units you have passed and whether you completed the course.
Even if it’s been a while since you were in TAFE or other VE studies (i.e. not within the past seven years), you will be considered for entry if you completed your VE qualification.
You’ll receive an offer if your study is assessed as meeting the admission requirements for your preferred Swinburne course. If you don’t meet the requirements, you'll be given an alternate course offer or pathway option.
Where course entry requirements include prerequisite subjects, you must present evidence of having successfully acquired the required knowledge and skills through current or previous studies. Individual course admission criteria will identify where that prerequisite study needs to have been undertaken within a certain time period.
You can also apply for academic credit on the basis of your VET results.
Learn more pathways from specific VET courses and entry requirements to degree-level courses on Swinburne’s Course Search.
You could be studying at a different university, then decide to switch to Swinburne. Your results from your previous university will be used to assess whether you can enter an undergraduate course.
We take into consideration your results and whether you completed the course:
Where course entry requirements include prerequisite subjects, you must present evidence of having successfully acquired the required knowledge and skills through current or previous studies.
Individual course admission criteria will identify where that prerequisite study needs to have been undertaken within a certain time period.
You can also apply for apply for academic credit on the basis of your previous Higher Education results. Use our academic credit calculator to see if you may be eligible to have academic credit applied to an undergraduate degree at Swinburne.
Find more information about pathways from other higher education courses and entry requirements to individual courses via Swinburne’s Course Search.
Some undergraduate courses accept applicants based on their relevant work and life experience – see Course search to further details. Applicants will be asked to provide a detailed Curriculum Vitae, position description/s of relevant current and past employment and letter/s of recommendation from employers.
For entry to some undergraduate courses, you may sit the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) Multiple Choice.
To be eligible for admissions on the basis of the STAT, you must be:
Swinburne will consider your STAT results if you have:
Your scores from the STAT test will be used to determine your selection rank.
You must also meet any course prerequisites and additional entry requirements to receive an offer to a preferred course. Your STAT results may satisfy Maths prerequisites for most courses, except Engineering. STAT Written test results may satisfy English requirements (except Law, Psychology (Honours), Professional and Education courses).
Results from your STAT test are valid for two years.
