Year 9 and Year 10 subjects and Australian degrees

Most families start looking seriously at Australian universities in Year 12. By then, the subjects chosen 2 or 3 years earlier have already decided which degrees the student can apply for.

Students usually choose subjects for good reasons: what they enjoy and what they are good at. School subject meetings cover many destinations at once, so it is worth checking Australian entry requirements separately before the choice is made.

Prerequisite, assumed knowledge and recommended studies

Australian universities describe course requirements using terms that read almost interchangeably in a handbook and mean different things in practice.

Prerequisite. This is a mandatory requirement. Without the named subject at the named level, the application does not proceed. No amount of strong results in other subjects substitutes.

Assumed knowledge. The university will admit the student and teach the first year as though the student has prior knowledge. The student who has not studied this subject can enrol and then find themselves a term behind in a subject everyone else did at school.

Recommended studies. Useful, not required, and generally not something to reshape a school timetable around.

The practical consequence of subject choice is large. A course listing Chemistry as assumed knowledge is still open to a student who dropped Chemistry, though it will be harder to understand the concepts and catch up to the rest of the class. A course listing Chemistry as a prerequisite is closed, and a student will be unable to apply if they have not studied this subject previously. Same subject, same student, but different outcomes.

Whether a course calls a subject a prerequisite, assumed knowledge or recommended differs by university and by state. It is common for institutions in New South Wales to lean on assumed knowledge where institutions elsewhere set a firm prerequisite. That variation is worth knowing, because a degree you cannot apply for at one university may be open to you at another university.

Search courses by the career you want to see which degrees lead there, then check each one’s prerequisites in the university handbook.

The decision point in each curriculum

Advice written for Australian families talks about Year 10 and Year 11, because that is when Australian students choose senior subjects. Schools in the UAE teach many different curricula, so the decision point moves, and in 2 of the most common curricula it comes earlier.

The year names differ between curricula, so the table also gives the student’s age at each decision.

Curriculum	Decision point	Age at the time	What is being decided
British	End of Year 9, then end of Year 11	About 14, then about 16	The IGCSE combination narrows which A Levels are available. The 3 or 4 A Levels chosen at the end of Year 11 are what matters to admissions offices at Australian universities.
IB Diploma	End of Year 11	About 16	Higher Level subject choice. Some courses require a named subject at Higher Level specifically. A Standard Level choice in the same subject does not meet the entry requirement.
CBSE and Indian boards	After Class 10	About 16	Stream selection: Science, Commerce or Humanities. It is almost impossible to reverse the decision once made, and important to understand the university requirements as early as Year 10.
American, AP and SAT	Ongoing, through to senior year	From about 14	Whether the student reaches calculus by senior year, and whether they take AP sciences at all. Some universities also accept SAT scores from students who choose to sit the test.

For a family on the British curriculum this means the first consequential choice happens after Year 9. For a CBSE family it happens after Class 10, and it is close to final. In both cases, speaking to an advisor before the choice is made will give you a better understanding of which degrees each subject combination keeps open.

The subjects most commonly required

The same 3 subjects come up again and again.

Chemistry. The most common prerequisite. Health and life science degrees, including veterinary science and pharmacy, frequently require Chemistry as a prerequisite.
Mathematics at the higher level. Not simply Mathematics, but the more advanced strand. Engineering, computer science, physics, economics and actuarial degrees often specify the higher option, and the standard Mathematics does not substitute for it.
Physics. Commonly needed for engineering and related fields. Some universities list Physics as assumed knowledge, and others set it as a prerequisite.

Biology is the exception. Families often assume it is the essential subject for medicine or veterinary science. Frequently it is Chemistry that is required, and Biology is only recommended or assumed knowledge.

What to check, and when

Year 9, or before Class 10 ends. Do not try to pick a degree. Pick a subject combination that keeps the widest set of degrees reachable. Keeping options open at this stage is sensible, because they can be narrowed later when you choose a degree and a university.
Year 11. Name 3 or 4 courses you are drawn to and read the current entry requirements for each, at the specific universities.
Year 12. Confirm nothing has changed, because requirements are revised between intakes. Then work on the shortlist, the total cost to graduation, and scholarships.
Already in Year 13 and worried. Check before assuming the worst. Many courses may still be open to you.

If you do not meet a prerequisite

It is rarely the end of the pathway, though it usually costs time or money or both. 3 routes come up most often.

Bridging units. A number of Australian universities run short intensive courses in Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics before first semester, designed for students who did not take the subject at school.
Articulated entry. A diploma or pathway program with guaranteed progression into the second year of the degree. Adds time, and sometimes puts the student in a stronger position than direct entry.
A related degree with a transfer point. Enter a related course, meet the prerequisite along the way, then transfer. The most common workable answer when the deadline is close.

Case note

A Year 12 student in Dubai came to me with her parents and a shortlist of highly ranked universities. She wanted to study veterinary science, but the subjects she had chosen 2 years earlier meant she was ineligible.

We mapped a pathway that starts with a foundation program in a related field and gives direct entry into the second year of the veterinary science degree. We modelled the total cost to graduation against the original plan, and found a campus with strong graduate outcomes and a lower fee base.

Arrived: Year 12, mid-cycle
Constraint: Incorrect subject combinations in Year 10
Work: Foundation pathway, cost model, direct entry into second year
Outcome: A route into the second year of veterinary science

Entry requirements differ between universities

Entry requirements change between intakes, differ between universities, and differ again between states. That is why speaking to an advisor early helps students plan properly. Always check the current handbook entry for the specific course, at the specific university, for the year you will apply.

If you are in Year 9 or later and have not checked this against the courses you are drawn to, it is worth half an hour. Bring your year group, the subjects you have already chosen, and a rough budget.

Aqeeb AkramFounder of Ironbark Advisory. He has worked in international education since 2014: at 2 education agencies and Macquarie University, then in senior roles at the Australian National University and at Study NSW in the New South Wales Government, and went to Sydney as an international student himself in 2016. He now advises families in the UAE on studying in Australia, and education providers on the region. More about Aqeeb

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Subject choices made as early as Year 9 decide which Australian degrees you can apply for.