Master of Nursing Practice

What you will study

To complete the Master of Nursing Practice, you must complete 400 credit points.

Year 1

• Behavioural Responses to Illness
• Nursing Bioscience for Acute Conditions
• Nursing Professional Practice 2
• Inquiry for Ethical and Legal Contexts in Health
• Nursing Bioscience for Chronic Conditions
• Nursing Professional Practice 1
• Research and Evaluation in Health
• Indigenous Perspectives for Clinical Practice

Year 2

• Leadership for the Clinical Context
• Nursing Professional Practice Capstone (50 credit points)
• Practice Improvement Research Project
• Behavioural Perspectives of Mental Health
• Mental Health Nursing Professional Practice
• Nursing Bioscience for Complex Care
• Nursing Professional Practice 3

Entry requirements

Applicants for a Master's Degree (Coursework) must meet the University's academic and English language entry standards; details are provided at http://study.curtin.edu.au/. Subject to the duration of the course, applicants usually require a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent (and may require relevant work experience), a Bachelor's Honours Degree, a Graduate Certificate or a Graduate Diploma. Any specific course entry and completion requirements must also be met. All Curtin courses have compulsory and other core capabilities essential for achieving course learning outcomes and graduation. Students who cannot meet or demonstrate those requirements, now or in later stages during their studies, may seek reasonable adjustments by the University, wherever possible, to facilitate alternative ways of achieving those requirements. If reasonable adjustments cannot be accommodated, Curtin will discuss study options to find an alternative course of study or an exit degree. Any specific course entry and completion requirements must also be met.

All applicants must hold a recognised Bachelor’s degree or graduate degree. Entry to this course is competitive and a substantial academic achievement is required. Applicants must have completed a human biology-related unit with an anatomy and physiology focus at the tertiary level. Domestic students who have not completed a tertiary unit in the mentioned area can study this unit through the Health Sciences Graduate Entry Foundation course. Aboriginal students are encouraged to apply. Curtin University requires all students to demonstrate competency in English. International students are required to demonstrate an IELTS of 7.0. Please refer to the following for further information:

http://futurestudents.curtin.edu.au/postgraduates/how-to-get-in/.

It is a condition of enrolment that applicants are screened for and immunised against contracting several infectious illnesses before the commencement of the clinical program. Further information on Health Screening for students in the Faculty of Health Sciences can be obtained by visiting

http://healthsciences.curtin.edu.au/current_students/immunisation/. Screening and vaccination costs are the responsibility of the student.

Mandatory requirements for clinical practice include a Department of Health Criminal Record Screening, a National Police Screen, a Working with Children Check, a Basic Life Support certificate and a manual handling certificate. The student is expected to maintain the currency of these requirements for the duration of the course. Certificates and screening costs are the responsibility of the student. Students must be available to undertake clinical practice in healthcare facilities during and/or outside the semester. Clinical practice blocks can be several weeks long and students must be available for rotational shifts. More detailed information related to the required certificates and applicants usually requires a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent (and may require relevant work experience), a Bachelor's Honours Degree, a Graduate Certificate or a Doctorate. Health and legal checks can be located on the Health Sciences' website.

Mandatory requirements for clinical practice include a Department of Health Criminal Record Screening, a National Police Screen, a Working with Children Check, a Basic Life Support certificate and a manual handling certificate. The student is expected to maintain the currency of these requirements for the duration of the course. Certificates and screening costs are the responsibility of the student. Students must be available to undertake clinical practice in healthcare facilities during and/or outside the semester. Clinical practice blocks can be several weeks long and students need to be available for rotational shifts. More detailed information on the required certificates and health and legal checks can be found on the Health Sciences' website.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Applications for credit towards a course are assessed on an individual basis. Credit reduces the amount of learning required to complete the course and may be granted for formal education qualifications, non-formal learning from non-award programs of study and informal learning through work experiences. Further information can be found at http://futurestudents.curtin.edu.au/non-school-leavers/rpl.cfm.

Outcomes

Career outcomes

Nurses remain in high demand globally and graduates find work throughout Australia and overseas. Students can work as beginning practitioners in various healthcare contexts upon graduation. The course has been designed to meet the standards of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) to enable initial registration as a nurse. Students must complete this course within five years to be eligible for registration with the NMBA as a registered nurse.

Fees and CSP

Estimated fee in 2025: $8,400 (Commonwealth Supported Place)

Student fees may vary in accordance with:

• The number of units studied per term.
• The choice of major or specialisation.
• Choice of units.
• Credit from previous study or work experience.
• Eligibility for government-funded loans.

Student fees shown are subject to change. Contact the university directly to confirm.

Commonwealth Supported Places

The Australian Government allocates a certain number of CSPs to the universities each year, which are then distributed to students based on merit.

If you're a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS), you'll only need to pay a portion of your tuition fees. This is known as the student contribution amount – the balance once the government subsidy is applied. This means your costs are much lower. 

Limited CSP spaces are offered to students enrolled in selected postgraduate courses.

Your student contribution amount is:

• Calculated per unit you're enrolled in.
• Depending on the study areas they relate to.
• Reviewed and adjusted each year.

HECS-HELP loans are available to CSP students to pay the student contribution amount.

FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee-paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.