17 November 2025
By email: [FYI request #32613 email]
Tēnā koe
I refer to your information request dated 20 October 2025 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act):
… I respectfully request the following information regarding admission to second-year
professional programmes for international students who have completed the Health Sciences
First Year (HSFY) course at the University of Otago.
1. The official definitions and distinctions between a “conditional offer” and a “pre-conditional
offer” as used by the University in the context of progression from HSFY to second-year
professional programmes.
2. The specific conditions that typically apply to each offer type for international HSFY
applicants.
3. Whether pre-conditional offers are normally extended to:
a. Privately-funded international students, and/or b. Government-funded or scholarship-
sponsored international students.
4. For each admission cycle from 2021 to 2024 (inclusive), please provide for each of the
following programmes: MbChb, BDS, BPharm, BMLS the following details:
a. The number of international HSFY students who received each offer type (conditional vs pre-
conditional).
b. The minimum and maximum HSFY averages (best-7-paper or overall average, as applicable)
for each offer type in each year.
c. Any internal or formal policy documents, memos, or committee guidelines (including
Admissions Committee papers) that define how pre-conditional offers are to be used or
allocated in these professional programmes.
d. Please also indicate whether the definitions or use of these offer types have changed
between 2021 and 2024, and if so, describe those changes.
Our response to your request follows.
Please note that the University classifies an ‘international’ students as a non-‘Domestic Student’ as per
the University’s fee paying categories.
Office of the Registrar and Secretary to the Council | Te Tari o Te Pouroki me te Kaituhi ki te Kaunihera
PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
[University of Otago request email]
otago.ac.nz
1.-3. and 4.c-d.
Conditional and pre-conditional offers
Information is available on the University’s website about entry requirements for the Bachelor of
Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Bachelor of Pharmacy
and Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLSc) programmes. Please see: Guidelines for
admission to Health Sciences professional programmes.
A ‘conditional offer’ of admission may refer to an offer made to an applicant (domestic or international)
for admission to the second year of a Health Sciences professional programme:
under the Graduate and Alternative categories for the MB ChB and BDS programmes
under the Graduate, Alternative and Two or More Years of University Study categories for the
BPharm and BMLSc programmes.
Such an offer is subject to the applicant passing prescribed HSFY papers to a standard determined by
the relevant programme’s admissions committee, before commencing second year classes. Such
offers are not applicable to Health Sciences First Year
(HSFY) applicants (domestic or international) as
they have completed HSFY papers.
A ‘pre-conditional offer’ (which is not terminology currently used by the University) may refer to an
offer of admission to the second year of a Health Sciences professional programme made to an
international HSFY applicant, under an agreement with an overseas government or university, and
subject to the applicant meeting the relevant minimum academic requirements for admission via the
HSFY category. The University has consistently held agreements with overseas governments or
universities to prioritise places for international students, including from 2021 to present. This is a
standard practice amongst universities globally.
The total number of places for international students in Health Sciences professional programmes is
restricted. This reflects both the New Zealand government’s requirements for training the New
Zealand health workforce (for example, the maximum number of domestic places permitted through
government funding for the MB ChB programme) and the University's agreements. The following
restrictions applied in 2025 for international applicants under all categories of admission (including
HSFY 2024):
Selected Health Sciences professional programmes
Restriction on international admissions 2025
MB ChB
up to 25 places
BDS
up to 40 places
BPharm
up to 20 places
BMLSc
up to 10 places
4.a.
International HSFY admission numbers
The total number of international HSFY applicants to receive an offer of admission to selected Health
Sciences professional programmes 2022 to 2025, follows (please note that the number of offers may
exceed the number of admissions):
Number of applicants to receive an offer of admission to selected Health Sciences
professional programme 2022-2025, HSFY category, international only
Number
Programme
2022
2023
2024
2025
MB ChB
16
10
33
32
BDS
11
17
35
21
BPharm
18
20
45
33
BMLSc
18
14
32
25
The University operates in a highly competitive commercial environment, competing with other
domestic and international tertiary education institutions to attract students. Accordingly, we decline
to provide a breakdown of the number of international HSFY applicants to receive offers of admission
under agreements or otherwise:
under section 9(2)(i) of the Act, to allow the University to carry out, without prejudice or
disadvantage, commercial activities, and
under section 9(2)(k) of the Act, to prevent improper gain or improper advantage.
4.b.
International HSFY admission average academic scores
The HSFY category uses “average academic scores”, which are calculated using a student’s top seven
paper scores across the year. This calculation can include one of the approved optional 8th papers if it
is one of a student’s top seven scores.
It is the University’s standard practice not to provide information where it relates to fewer than five
individuals and we consider that such disclosure could affect an individual’s privacy and wellbeing.
Where the numbers are very low, there is a risk that the identity of these students could be determined
or inferred, and that their personal information could be disclosed. Accordingly, where there are fewer
than five individuals in a particular dataset, we have withheld the data, and indicated using “<5” (“fewer
than five”) under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy of natural persons.
The range of average academic scores of international HSFY applicants to receive offers of admission
to selected Health Sciences professional programmes 2022 to 2025, follows:
Range of average academic scores to receive an offer of admission to a Health
Sciences professional programme 2022-2025, HSFY category, international only
Minimum – maximum
Programme
2022
2023
2024
2025
76.29 – 97.00
MB ChB
72.71 – 95.29
80.43 – 92.99
69.43 – 94.71
(84.29*)
69.00 – 91.00
BDS
67.14 – 91.57
72.14 – 92.14
73.57 – 96.14
(81.43*)
BPharm
67.14 – 94.00
64.86 – 92.29
65.43 – 96.14
61.57 - NA
BMLSc
67.43 – 89.43
66.57 – 92.29
65.43 – 95.14
<5
* Non-waiting list minimum score
In the cases above, we consider that good reasons exist for withholding information, not outweighed by
other considerations which would make it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information
available.
We hope the information we have provided is helpful. If you have further questions please consider
contacting our AskOtago service: [email address], or to book an appointment with a Student
Development adviser see: Request an appointment.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your information request, section 28(3) of the Act provides
you with the right to ask an Ombudsman to investigate and review this response. However, we would
welcome the opportunity to discuss any concerns with you first.
Ngā mihi
Bill Frewen
Manager Policy and Compliance
