← all questions · Research and qualifications
Usually not, and a research masters beats a coursework one everywhere both are distinguished. Vascular pays 3 for research and 2 for coursework 1; OHNS 1 and 0.5 2; orthopaedics 2, and names public health, physiotherapy and health management as ineligible 3. RANZCOG scores none at all 4.
Where a masters scores, it scores small. Vascular pays 3 points for a research masters and 2 for coursework, out of a CV worth 50 1. OHNS pays 1 for a research-and-thesis masters and 0.5 for coursework, and excludes clinically-based ones entirely 2. Orthopaedics pays 2 points, restricted to Australian and New Zealand postgraduate degrees, with a named exclusion list — physiotherapy, public health, health science, reproductive medicine and health management "will not be eligible for points" — and the whole CV is a hurdle worth 0% of the rank anyway 3. RANZCOG is blunter: "MD/Masters not eligible" 4. RANZCO pays 2 of a 29-point CV and scores an incomplete masters at zero 5. Queensland's adult BPT guide has no higher-degree criterion at all 6.
Research beats coursework on every axis that is measured. It scores more at vascular, urology and OHNS 127, and from the 2027 selection round it is one of only two routes through the plastics eligibility gate, which accepts an awarded MSurg (research), MPhil or PhD and states "No coursework degrees and no majority online degrees" 8. An MPhil under a Research Training Program offset costs a domestic student roughly nothing; a coursework Master of Surgery is priced around forty thousand dollars.
The one place it is compulsory is public health medicine, where the RACP faculty requires an MPH or equivalent plus a mapping exercise before you can enter training 9.
The counter-argument, from someone who scores applications: the points exist and have to be awarded, but a degree that fits a coherent story about your career reads far better than a generic points-harvesting one 10. The sub's verdict on coursework masters bought for points is not subtle 10.
r/ausjdocs — community view, not policy; verbatim, cautionary beside positive where both exist, every quote linked to the comment.
online diploma mills - like USyd - are purveyors of RMO+ level courses masquerading as specialist teachings... Largely a complete waste of time/money if you're doing it for points/specialist knowledge.
It got me a few extra points on my CV, which can make the difference in ultra competitive specialties
However when scoring applications, do have to give some points to those who have done these masters.
Hell no for anaesthetics
I would think investing in a masters just for some CV points is a bit short-sighted
Asked 87 times on r/ausjdocs (title-regex count) · encoded by hand from the numbered sources, retrieved 12 Sept 2026; no AI wrote any of it. how the count was made
asked_count = posts in r_ausjdocs_posts.jsonl (19,145 posts, 2022-09-13 to 2026-09-12) whose title matches /master.?s|\bMPH\b|\bMBA\b|postgrad(uate)? (degree|qualification|course)|\bMS\b degree/i. Quotes are the highest-scoring comments in the masters threads, deliberately pairing the scheme director who has to award the points with the people who regret paying for them.