Full list: More than 18,500 university offers for SA students in 2021

Adelaide, Flinders or UniSA: Which university will you and your friends be heading to this year? We’ve got the full list of offers in our exclusive searchable database.

Chris Russell

@ChrisRussellBiz

9 min read

January 16, 2021 - 5:06PM

Flinders uni students Sebastian Reichelt and Christopher Radzikiewicz at Tonsley. Picture: Russell Millard

SA News

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A surge in applications to study at university by people who have already been in the workforce has been recorded by the South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre.

In addition, there has been a significant increase in offers for postgraduate positions as the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic drive workers to lift their skills in a competitive job market.

This weekend, SATAC has made the main round of offers for undergraduate places in 2021, taking the total to 18,588 offers, steady with the offers made by the same time last year.

Overall, there were 26,390 applications, up 6.1 per cent.

UPDATE: LOOKING FOR 2022 UNI OFFERS? CLICK HERE

There were 13,276 applications from school leavers, up 3.4 per cent, and 13,114 from other applicants, up 9 per cent.

“This year’s offer round is broadly consistent with last year, with a slight increase in offers both in terms of overall offers and first preference offers,” SATAC chief executive Stuart Mossman said.

“We’re currently tracking about 6 per cent up on last year to date, and we’d expect this trend to continue into the later rounds.”

SATAC handles offers for Adelaide, Flinders, UniSA, Charles Darwin, CQU, SAIBT, Tabor and Torrens universities.

It will make further offers through to the end of March.

SATAC chief executive Stuart Mossman.

Offers to the most popular areas of study show a mixed picture in terms of the Federal Government’s new funding arrangements which were intended to push students toward “job-ready” courses by making some courses cheaper and others more expensive.

Law and legal studies courses, which are now more expensive, recorded a 10.8 per cent increase.

Education and teaching, which is cheaper from this year, fell by 3.6 per cent.

However, medicine and health – some courses of which will be cheaper – saw the biggest increase in offers at 16.5 per cent.

Adelaide University said its new School of Allied Health Science and Practice – offering programs in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Pathology – had strong demand in its first year, with 102 offers made on Friday.

Overall, Adelaide made a record 6573 undergraduate offers. It also made 938 postgraduate offers, up 77 per cent.

The high level of interest was “incredibly pleasing”, interim vice-chancellor Mike Brooks said.

“This shows a willingness of students of all ages and backgrounds to seek out a quality education at a critical time, either as school leavers or for those who are looking to re-skill and upskill in a more competitive jobs market,” he said.

Flinders also recorded big increases – with 6358 undergraduate offers, up 15 per cent, and 1692 postgraduate offers, up 9.7 per cent.

“We’re not at all surprised to see strong demand for health-related courses, given the immense focus on health and wellbeing as a result of the pandemic and the strong future job opportunities in these fields,” senior deputy vice-chancellor Clare Pollock said.

Professor Clare Pollock from Flinders.

Professor Allan Evans from UniSA.

UniSA made about 7100 undergraduate and 1000 postgraduate offers, roughly steady with 2020.

“We finished the year in a sound financial position,” acting vice-chancellor Allan Evans said.

“As always, we are keeping a close eye on the overall situation, including the return of international students to South Australia.”

Mr Mossman said ATARs remained a key consideration in processing applications with 58 per cent of offers being based on an ATAR.

However universities are increasingly looking at other attributes of candidates.

”We recognise that an ATAR isn’t the only or necessarily the best measure of a student’s potential and so we also have a variety of entry pathways for students who did not receive an offer or missed out on their first preference, such as commencing in one degree and later transferring to their degree of choice,” Flinders Professor Pollock said.

UniSA’s Professor Evans said various factors affected offer numbers.

Professor Jennie Shaw from Adelaide Uni.

“In addition to these SATAC applications, we have direct entry to UniSA Online, which can be submitted at any time,” he said.

“In 2020, almost 3500 students commenced study through UniSA Online.”

Education Minister John Gardner welcomed the increase in offers.

“As students transition into their next phase of learning, I urge them to remain determined and continue reaching for goals,” he said.

“I’d like to congratulate our next generation of doctors, nurses, scientists, lawyers, journalists, engineers and more as they take the next step in achieving their dreams.

“To those who may not have got their first university preference, don’t lose heart. Build on your efforts and resilience from 2020 and you’ll go far.”

Opposition higher education spokeswoman Susan Close said students should be confident that “choosing to go on to further study is the best investment they can make in their future”.

“Our universities are a vital part of our economy and society and the increase in places for young people is welcome,” she said.

SATAC also manages applications from international students who completed schooling in Australia.

However, offers are made separately and quotas for international students are set independently of domestic places supported by the Commonwealth.

Adelaide University interim deputy vice-chancellor (academic) Jennie Shaw said there had been a surprising increase in applications from international students for undergraduate programs.

“However, we anticipate that, given international travel restrictions, acceptances from new international students will be down this year,” she said.

New Flinders University students Sebastian Reichelt and Christopher Radzikiewicz said they aim to tap into some of South Australia’s strongest growth sectors.

Mr Reichelt wants to work in maritime engineering while Mr Radzikiewicz is interested in robotics and automation, essential ingredients in advanced manufacturing.

The two students, both aged 18, were given conditional offers to Flinders based on their Year 11 school results, but comfortably achieved Australian Tertiary Entrance Rank scores for Year 12 that would have got them into their chosen courses anyway.

“I’ve always loved the ocean and been a big fan of how boats work,” said Mr Reichelt, a graduate of Sacred Heart College.

“And I’ve always been interested in engineering and applying maths to real life situations.”

Mr Radzikiewicz, a graduate of St John’s Grammar School, said he was drawn to Flinders for the robotics engineering course.

“I like maths and I’ve always thought computers are pretty cool, so why not make moving computers,” he said.

Flinders student Nicole Catabran. Picture Emma Brasier.

UniSA student Khushi Jadhav.

Nicole Catabran, 20, is halfway through her Flinders double degree in law and finance.

“I’m really enjoying the topics and feel passionate about doing law.

One of the topics in her course was law in a digital age.

“We work in groups with real-life clients,” she said.

“My group was assigned to Community Bridging Services to make an app on how to advise clients with autism about applying for funding from the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

“So we worked closely with them and they were very happy. They needed a few changes but they will actually use it, so that’s pretty exciting.”

Over at UniSA, Khushi Jadhav, 19, is studying mechanical and mechatronic engineering.

“It’s challenging but I’m learning a lot of things,” she said.

“It’s about half practical work and half lectures.

“It’s a lot of fun – we’ve built mousetrap cars and robots and things like that.”

The honours-level degree begins with understanding mechanical concepts and design and building teamwork.

It integrates mechanical engineering with computing, control, automation and actuation and prepares pathways to employment through placements, internships and networking events.

In the honours year, students spend at least half their time on a major research project working with industry, a government agency or in an academic area.

Adelaide Uni student Amy Roff.

At Adelaide Uni, Amy Roff, 23, is going into her third year of a music theatre course.

“Our degree covers lots of different avenues,” she said.

The coronavirus restrictions had led to a focus on acting for cameras, writing scripts and composing music.

“That’s been really exciting,” she said.

2021 SATAC APPLICATIONS AND OFFERS

Applications for undergraduate places – 26,930, up 6.08 per cent

Includes:

13,276 school leavers, up 3.4 per cent

13,114 other applicants, up 9 per cent

Undergraduate offers – 18,589

Includes:

15,755 made now

2834 made earlier

Offers in most popular areas of study

Medicine and health – 7273, up 16.5 per cent

Humanities, social sciences and religious studies – 3031, up 6.43 per cent

Education and teaching – 1354, down 3.6 per cent

Business and economics – 1282, down 10.3 per cent

Law and legal studies – 985, up 10.8 per cent

Science and mathematics – 970, down 7.9 per cent

Engineering – 962, up 7.4 per cent

Art and design – 818, up 8.2 per cent

Computing and information technology – 521, up 4.2 per cent

Agriculture and animal studies – 506, down 5.1 per cent

NOTE: Data is year-to-date. Further offers will be in a fortnight and through February and March before numbers settle in April.

UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Undergraduate first preference applications – 8826, up 11 per cent

Undergraduate offers – 6573, up 3 per cent

Postgraduate applications – 1438, up 53 per cent

Postgraduate offers – 938, up 77 per cent

Top Ten courses with highest ATAR cut-off

Bachelor of Engineering (Hon) Environmental – 99.95

Bachelor of Engineering (Hon) Petroleum – 99.20

Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Hon) – 98.70

Bachelor of Psychology (Advanced)(Hon) – 98.05

Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Hon) – 96.45

Bachelor of Teaching (Middle)/Bachelor of Business Management double degrees – 96.20

Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences (Advanced) – 96.10

Bachelor of Engineering (Hon) Environmental double degrees – 95.95

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Mining double degrees – 95.95

Bachelor of Arts (Advanced)/Bachelor of Laws double degrees – 95.90

Bachelor of Science (Advanced) (Hon) – Direct Entry – 95.90

Most popular courses by number of first preference applications

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery -1996

Bachelor of Nursing – 485

Bachelor of Dental Surgery – 408

Bachelor of Science (Veterinary Bioscience)- 320

Bachelor of Commerce – 283

Bachelor of Arts – 279

Master of Psychology (Clinical)- 248

Bachelor of Health & Medical Sciences – 242

Bachelor of Psychological Science – 228

Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)- 60

New programs in 2021

Undergraduate

Bachelor of Business

Bachelor of Media with Bachelor of Creative Arts

Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours)

Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours)

Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours)

Bachelor of Technology (Construction)

Bachelor of Technology (Honours) (Construction)

Postgraduate

Graduate Certificate in Public Policy

Graduate Diploma in Business Analytics

Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced) (OL)

Graduate Diploma in Public Policy

Master of Business Analytics

Master of Public Policy

Professional Certificate in Business Studies

Professional Certificate in Public Policy

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

Undergraduate first preference applications – 5935, up 12.5 per cent

Undergraduate offers – 6358, up 15 per cent

Postgraduate applications – 2292, up 12.2 per cent

Postgraduate offers – 1692, up 9.7 per cent

Top Ten courses with highest ATAR cut-off

Bachelor of Engineering (Bio)/Master of Engineering (Bio) – 99.85

Bachelor of Law (Hon) – 99.25

Bachelor of Paramedic science – 98.3

Bachelor of Engineering (Mech)/Master of Engineering (Bio) – 98.05

Bachelor of Science (Hons) Enhanced – 97.65

Bachelor of Health science/Master of Physiotherapy – 97.35

Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice Hons combined – 96.6

Bachelor of Laws combined (Hon) – 96.5

Bachelor of Engineering (robotics)/Master of Engineering – 96.25

Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice Hons – 96.05

Most popular courses by number of first preference applications

Bachelor of Clinical Science/Doctor of Medicine – 667

Bachelor of Paramedic Science – 509

Bachelor of Nursing (Pre-reg) – 492

Bachelor of Midwifery (Pre-reg) – 159

Bachelor of Medical Science (Vision Science)/Master of Optometry – 136

Bachelor of Medical Science – 130

Bachelor of Psychology (Hon) – 114

Bachelor of Social Work – 110

Bachelor of Speech Pathology – 106

Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics – 104

New courses in 2021

Bachelor of Information Technology (Game Development)

Bachelor of Information Technology (Game Development) (Hon)

Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) (Hon)

Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental) (Hon)

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) – General Entry

Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Electronic Systems and Security)

Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Electronic Systems and Security)/Bachelor of Science (Physics)

Bachelor of Engineering (Robotics)(Hon)/Master of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic)

Bachelor of Paramedic Science (NT)

Bachelor of Health Sciences (streams: Health Sciences, Ageing, Health Management, Health Promotion, Innovation)

Bachelor of Health Sciences (Digital Health)

Bachelor of Health Sciences (Physiology and Neuroscience)

Bachelor of Health Sciences (Psychology)

Bachelor of Health Sciences (Therapy Studies)

Bachelor of Public Health

Bachelor of Disability and Community Inclusion

Bachelor of Social Work (External)

Bachelor of International Business (Wine, Spirits and Tourism)

Bachelor of International Relations and Political Science (Hon)

Bachelor of Creative Industries (streams: Digital Media, Film and Television, Interactive Design, Theatre and Performance, Writing and Publishing, Festivals and Arts Production)

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Undergraduate first preference applications – about 8500, steady with 2020

Undergraduate offers – about 7100

Postgraduate offers – about 1000

Top Ten courses with highest ATAR cut-off

Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (Medical Imaging) – 99.85

Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (Radiation Therapy) – 99.15

Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (Nuclear Medicine) – 98.9

Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Hon) – 98.5

Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Hon) – 97.55

Bachelor of Midwifery (Pre-registration) – 95.1

Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Hon) – 95