What is SAM? (Australian Matriculation series)

SAM is an internationally-recognised Australian pre-university matriculation programme which is set and administered by the Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (SSABSA). SAM has been offered to students outside of Australia since 1984 and is accepted by many renowned universities in Australia, the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, India, and private universities in Malaysia as an admission criterion into their undergraduate programmes.SAM is a 10-month matriculation programme with a unique assessment pattern - 50% of the final mark is derived from the final public examination (usually in the month of October/November) while the remaining 50% is awarded internally through continuous assessment of coursework and tests. It offers students the flexibility to complete the programme over an extended period although the normal duration of study is one year.Students taking the SAM programme must complete five subjects, including one subject from List 1 and at least one subject from List 2. In addition, students must achieve a satisfactory score (10/20 or better) in either English as Second Language Studies, or English Studies. Students can also repeat subjects without a penalty.The SAM programme gives students an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR, which is a percentile ranking that is utilised as a selection criterion of students for bachelor’s degree courses by universities in Australia and different parts of the world. Students will be awarded the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE).