Undergraduate entry requirements by region

New Zealand

Undergraduate entry requirements for applicants from New Zealand.

We welcome applications from students with the National Certificate of Educational Attainment (NCEA) for most subjects.

Please see specific requirements for entry from high school to medicine.

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

University Entrance and NCEA Level 3 with 65 Level 3 credits overall, with Merit endorsement in three subjects.

College of Science and Engineering

University Entrance and NCEA Level 3 with 65 Level 3 credits with merit in all required subjects, or Excellence where we require a grade A at SQA Higher.

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Biomedical sciences and Medical sciences

University Entrance (UE) certificate and NCEA Level 3 with 65 Level 3 credits overall, with Merit endorsement in three subjects which must include Biology and Chemistry.

Medicine

Minimum entrance requirements:

University Entrance (UE) certificate and NCEA Level 3 with 65 Level 3 credits with Excellence. Level 3 credits must include 20 credits with Excellence in Chemistry, and 20 credits with Excellence in two of Biology, Maths or Physics. Students must have at least 20 credits in Biology at Level 2 or above with Merit.

Applicants must also take the UCAT.

UCAT

For Graduate entry requirements to Medicine (MBChB), please see the Postgraduate entry requirements site.

Postgraduate entry requirements - Australasia

Once you have applied you should email a copy of your Record of Achievement to the relevant admissions office to assist in assessment of your application. The email should include your full name, the degree programme applied for and your UCAS Personal ID.

University Entrance (UE) requirements

  • NCEA Level 3
  • Three subjects - at Level 3 or above, made up of: 14 credits each, in three approved subjects
  • Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or above, made up of: 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing
  • Numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 or above

Approved Subjects

Each programme may have further specific entry requirements. All applicants must meet these requirements.

Veterinary Medicine

University Entrance (UE) certificate and NCEA Level 3 with 65 Level 3 credits with Excellence in Chemistry, Biology and one other. 

English Language Requirements

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence. 

If you are not a national of a country on the UK Government’s list of majority English speaking countries and you need a Student route visa you will also need to meet the UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) English language requirements. The English language qualification that you use for admission must be included in our list of accepted qualifications. 

Undergraduate English language entry requirements

If you are a New Zealand national or a national of another country on the UK Government’s list of majority English speaking countries we accept the following New Zealand qualifications to meet our academic English language requirements. 

National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA): a minimum of 14 credits of Level 2 or Level 3 English at Achieved or above

UK Government list of majority English speaking countries

English Language advice

Specific English language requirement by programme

Further guidance on academic entry requirements

Each course may have further specific entry requirements. All applicants must meet these requirements. Staff in the Admissions Offices will be able to provide further guidance:

Undergraduate admissions contact form

Applicant support

Our representative for New Zealand is Louise Zeelenberg. You can contact us for advice and support by emailing:

futurestudents@ed.ac.uk

Browse our events calendar to see if we are hosting an event in your area:

Events calendar

Review student visa requirements on our Student Immigration Service website:

Student Immigration Service

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Student numbers

There are around 64 students from Australasia currently studying at the University of Edinburgh.