The first 15 students accepted into the course in 2019 graduated with a bachelor of biomedicine (medical).

The students are set to continue their pathway to becoming doctors by studying a doctorate of medicine (rural) at the University of Melbourne in Shepparton.

La Trobe University vice chancellor Professor John Dewar said it was a significant moment.

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"We are so pleased for the students," he said.

"Talking to them and their parents today, it is clear what a life-changing course this is.

"This is a significant cohort. They're the first group of La Trobe students to go on to study at the University of Melbourne in Shepparton.

"(The students) are all highly motivated, extremely smart young people determined to make careers in regional Australia."

One of those students, Archana Christopher, said she was excited to graduate alongside her colleagues as part of the course's historic first class.

"It was an exciting and beautiful moment to graduate and spend the day talking with academics," she said.

"My parents are overjoyed and got to join me at the ceremony.

"I was glad I got to experience it with them."

Ms Christopher said she had been considering a course in Melbourne before the La Trobe course was launched.

"I started the first year this course came up," she said.

"I wanted to go to Monash but I found this new course where I could stay at home and study medicine.

"It is a course I would recommend to anyone from regional areas who want to study and work regionally. I truly believe this course gives more one-on-ones with tutors and lets you experience life as a regional doctor.

"I will definitely be staying in the region once I graduate (as a doctor). Now I have seen a bit more of Shepparton and Numurkah (while studying) I am open to more regions but Bendigo is somewhere I want to come back to."

Professor Dewar said there was a growing demand for regional students wanting to study medicine away from metropolitan areas.

He said La Trobe University received 650 applications for the 15 places available in the 2022 biomedical (medical) course.

"That gives us an idea of how many well-qualified, regional students there are and how popular a rural-based pathway is," Professor Dewar said.

"Six years ago I was told we would never attract enough well-qualified students to a program like this. I am pleased to have proven the doubters wrong.

"There is a huge demand from bright regional kids to study medicine in a regional setting."

The La Trobe biomedicine medical course can currently only enrol 15 students each year, but Professor Dewar is optimistic about its expansion.

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"The federal government regulates medical places very tightly indeed," he said.

"We have been making the case in view of the runaway success of this program that more places should be allocated.

"The federal government, in its budget earlier this year, allocated another 80 places for regional medical places. We are applying to that pool of new places for additional places for 2023 and beyond.

"We want to expand the program and will continue to advocate its expansion to whoever forms the next government. We hope the success we have seen is recognised and backed."

Professor Dewar said the university began campaigning to the federal government for a regionally-based medical course in 2012, citing a need to address a future doctor shortage in rural areas.

"There was a looming shortage of doctors available to work in rural areas and existing medical training would not address the shortage adequately because it was primarily based in metropolitan centres," he said.

"We set about making a case to create a cohort of medical graduates keen to work in regional areas. It was designed to recruit regional students, train them regionally and graduate them in the regions.

"The evidence from all over world is if you do that, you greatly increase the likelihood those graduates will stay and work in regional areas."

Ms Christopher said she had already began studying in Shepparton for her doctorate in rural medicine.

She said her placements had continued to demonstrate the need for more regional doctors and healthcare workers.

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