Special Admission
If you are interested in attending university and your education was disadvantaged over a long time by circumstances beyond your control, you can apply for admission to UTS through the Special Admission Schemes.
These schemes allow approved applicants to enter a UTS course with a lower University Admissions Index (UAI) score than is normally required. The schemes aim to recognise the educational disadvantage, and limited opportunities to properly prepare for university entrance, of people who have:
- Experienced financial hardship, illness or disability, family disruption, language difficulties, attendance at a disadvantaged school and other long term disadvantages.
- Refugee status (and are Australian citizens or permanent residents)
- Extensive elite level sport or performing arts commitments
Applicants for the Special Admissions Schemes must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
Applicants who have experienced educational disadvantage during their Years 11 and/or 12 or equivalent qualification and who have not previously commenced tertiary study, should consider the inpUTS Educational Access Scheme.
Special Admission Scheme - Educational Disadvantage
This scheme is for undergraduate applicants who are non-current school leavers and who have commenced tertiary studies in the past.
You have commenced tertiary study if you have been enrolled in a university, college or TAFE institution in a course that is above a certificate level. Tertiary study includes:
Diploma, advanced diploma, associate diploma, degree or higher level studies undertaken in Australia or overseas.
(Applicants who have commenced or completed a certificate course at any level at TAFE or another institution, and have experienced educational disadvantage can apply under the inpUTS Scheme).
To apply for the Special Admissions Scheme - Educational Disadvantage you must have experienced any of the following disadvantages during one or more of your educational qualifications.
- Financial hardship
- Personal illness or disability
- Severe family disruption
- Excessive family responsibilities
- English language difficulty
- Attending a disadvantaged or isolated school
- Disrupted schooling
- Adverse study conditions
- Other long term disadvantages which have impacted on your education.
For example an applicant may have experienced financial disadvantage during both the HSC and their degree or diploma studies, and family disruption during the HSC but not their tertiary studies.
You will be required to provide supporting statements and documents to support your application.
Special Admission Scheme - Refugees
This scheme is for undergraduate and postgraduate applicants who have an Australian permanent humanitarian visa, click here to download a PDF list of these visas. If you are non-current school leaver and you are unable to provide documentary evidence of previous studies because of your refugee experience you may be able to complete an alternative assessment. For further information about this scheme please contact the UTS Equity and Diversity Unit on 9514 1084.
Special Admissions - Elite Athletes / Performers
This scheme is for undergraduate and postgraduate applicants who are elite athletes and/or performers and whose sport or performance commitments have impacted on their studies.
Applicants will be asked to demonstrate that these commitments have had an impact on their educational performance.
How the schemes work
Eligibility under the Special Admissions Schemes does not automatically lead to an offer of a place in a place in a UTS course. Applicants are still required to compete for a place on the basis of academic merit.
The Special Admissions Schemes work by providing eligible applicants with a concession on their academic ranking, and thus making them more competitive in the application process.
Applying on the basis of your UAI
If you are applying for admission to UTS on the basis of your Australian Year 12 or equivalent qualification, you must have achieved a minimum Universities Admission Index (UAI) of 66.00 to be considered under the Special Admissions Schemes.
Those applicants eligible for a scheme may gain entry to a UTS course with a UAI that is lower than the standard cut-off mark for that course, that is:
- Up to 10 points lower than the cut-off, under the Educational Disadvantage and Refugee schemes.
- Up to 5 points lower than the cut-off, under the Elite Athletes/Performers scheme
Previous tertiary studies
For non-current school leavers, previous tertiary studies (commenced or completed) will be considered when assessing your application for admission to UTS.
Each faculty has specific selection criteria for admission for admission into their undergraduate courses, You can check to see which qualifications a faculty will consider for selection.
The faculty will consider how the disadvantages that you describe may have impacted on the gradings that you achieved in these previous qualifications
How to apply
You can download an application form or pick one up the UTS Student Admin and Info Centre on Level 4 of the Tower Building, Broadway campus. Applications must be submitted by Tuesday 30 September 2008.
All applicants under these schemes must also submit a university admissions application with the NSW Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) and complete any other UTS admission requirements such as personal statements for the courses they are applying for.
