In only their third year, the New Generation degrees - Arts, Biomedicine, Commerce, Environments, Music and Science - continue to attract prospective students with 6299 first preferences for 2010 - up by 2.9 per cent.

Arts, Biomedicine, Commerce and Science are all in the top 10 most popular courses based on first preferences.

A total of 8372 students - one in eight students in Victoria applying for a Commonwealth-supported place (CSP)  through VTAC  - have put one of the University of Melbourne’s 17 undergraduate courses as a first preference.

Melbourne has a record number of first preferences for Science (1334), Biomedicine (818), Music (270) and Oral Health (99) and a continued dominance for Arts (2096).

Sciences at Melbourne are stronger than ever with first preferences for CSPs in Biomedicine and Science up around 43 percent.

International Year 12 students studying in Australia are also increasingly attracted to the Melbourne Model with first preferences from these students rising by 2.7 per cent.

University of Melbourne Provost Professor John Dewar says that the 2010 VTAC ‘pop polls’ are a welcome endorsement of the Melbourne Model. 

"Students are seeing the value of being able to undertake depth in their discipline plus breadth of study, and they like the flexibility of career pathways that this offers."

As the University of Melbourne transitions to the Melbourne Model it has dramatically reduced its undergraduate course offerings - from 65 courses available through VTAC in 2007 to 17 in 2010.

Discontinued undergraduate courses at Melbourne in 2010 include Dental Science, Optometry, Physiotherapy and Veterinary Science which, from 2011, will be offered at graduate level.

In 2010, Melbourne’s undergraduate intake will be similar to the 2009 intake of around 5000.

The University’s New Generation undergraduate courses - Arts, Biomedicine, Commerce, Environments, Music and Science - are the cornerstone of the University’s Melbourne Model.  They all provide excellent employment opportunities on graduation and pathways to a wide range careers and further study options.

The introduction of the Melbourne Model in 2008 set the University of Melbourne apart from other Australian universities. Some other Australian universities are now embracing both substantial and partial elements of this significant educational reform.