Doctorate (PhD)
Complete your medical journey
Building on the foundation laid in our Bachelor of Medical Studies, the Doctor of Medicine will complete your training as a practice-ready doctor.
The Medical program at the University of Adelaide has a six-year full-time duration which leads to the awards of Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine. Entry to the Doctor of Medicine is based on completion of the Bachelor of Medical Studies at the University of Adelaide.
This masters-level degree has a dual emphasis on high-level clinical and research skills.
You will undertake multiple placements in diverse settings, including primary care, rural hospitals, outreach clinics and more. And you'll be encouraged to broaden your horizons by doing at least one placement interstate and/or overseas.
You'll do internship rotations in medicine, emergency medicine, surgery and psychiatry, and have the opportunity to explore a discipline of particular interest in greater depth.
In the area of research, you'll conduct two key projects in consultation with world-class University of Adelaide researchers: a minor project in year one, and major in year three.
You'll graduate with the knowledge, skills and insight to:
You will also have a solid grounding in the non-clinical aspects of a medical career, such as practice management, entrepreneurship and working with industry. And you'll have a firm grasp of medicine's future, including the exciting possibilities of AI, gene therapy and personalised medicine.
Upon graduation you will have the confidence and capability to enhance health and wellbeing anywhere in the world. You could join a thriving metropolitan GP clinic. You might strengthen a busy regional hospital's consulting team. Perhaps you'll help close the health gap in Indigenous communities.
*Times Higher Education World Rankings by Subject, 2024.
^World University Rankings by Subject, 2023.
The Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine is an integrated program. Combined, these degrees will equip you with the knowledge, skills and attributes that will enable you to practice as a medical doctor safely and effectively. Throughout all six years, there is a strong emphasis on scenario-based learning, evidence-based decision making and professional practice. You will learn in South Australia's premier health education precinct, the Adelaide BioMed City, situated next door to the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. You will be part of the eco-system of education, research and clinical care working together to create better health outcomes for individuals and communities.
You will practice and refine your skills in our world-leading simulation facilities, the only simulation facilities in Australasia with accreditation by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare for excellence in learning and teaching. You will be taught by practising clinicians who are leaders in their field and learn from the best of the best.
Whilst you get clinical experience throughout the early years of the medical program, the final three years under the Doctor of Medicine are structured to ensure you are ready for the workforce and ready to practice as a medical doctor.
The Doctor of Medicine utilises situated learning during supervised clinical placements and parallel consulting to facilitate the development of clinical skills in history taking, physical examination, advanced communication, clinical diagnostic reasoning, patient consultation, and management. These clinical placements will occur across a range of primary care, rural, community-based, outreach, allied health, research institutes, regional and tertiary hospital settings, where you are an integral member of the health care team.
Building on what started in the Bachelor of Medical Studies, in year 4 you will continue to build your research skills, but a major focus will be the commencement of the full-time clinical placement.
In year 5, you will have the opportunity to choose from continuing to undertake a full-time clinical placement in Adelaide or undertake an extended longitudinal rural placement based in one of our six rural clinical sites.
In year 6, you will undertake a nine-week research placement and nine-weeks of elective professional placements. During the professional placement, you will have the option to choose the discipline of medicine most appealing-this placement may be undertaken locally, interstate or overseas.