Master of Advanced Clinical Nursing (Critical Care)

What you will study

To earn the Master of Advanced Clinical Nursing (Critical Care), you must successfully complete units totalling 12 credit points, as detailed below. Unless otherwise noted, each course is worth 1 credit point.

You must complete the 4-credit-point Critical Care specialisation and choose either the Coursework Stream or the Thesis Stream.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

To be eligible for this course, applicants must meet all of the following requirements:

• Hold current registration as a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, with no conditions or restrictions.
• Have at least 24 months of clinical experience in critical care nursing practice in Australia, or part-time equivalent.
• Provide evidence of current employment in critical care or an equivalent specialty practice area.
• Have independently secured ongoing employment for at least 24 hours per week in critical care at a collaborating hospital in Australia.
• Have access to a suitable workplace that can support the required learning, clinical skills development and assessment activities.

Selection also considers academic merit, work experience, likelihood of success, availability of places, participation and regulatory requirements and individual circumstances. Meeting the minimum academic and English language requirements does not guarantee admission.

Supporting documents

Applicants must provide evidence of:

• Current registration as a registered nurse.
• At least 24 months of clinical experience in critical care nursing practice in Australia, or part-time equivalent.
• Current employment for at least 24 hours per week in critical care at a collaborating hospital in Australia.
• Access to a suitable workplace that can support the course’s learning and assessment requirements.

Additional documents may be requested during the application process.

English language requirements

Applicants must provide evidence of at least one of the following:

• A bachelor’s degree completed in a recognised English-speaking country.
• An IELTS overall score of 6.5, with no individual band score below 6.0, or an accepted equivalent.
• Other accepted evidence of English language proficiency.

Contact the university for further information.

Recognition of Prior Learning

You may be eligible for recognition of prior learning if you have previously studied or have relevant work experience. This will help reduce the number of units you need to study to finish your course. Contact the university for more information.

Outcomes

Learning outcomes

• Demonstrate expert specialty clinical practice informed by nursing theory, evidence-based practice and person-centred care.
• Apply expert communication skills to support the delivery of safe, high-quality nursing care in specialty practice settings.
• Use digital technologies to evaluate and communicate complex specialty-care information to patients and multidisciplinary teams.
• Analyse and evaluate complex data from multiple sources to inform clinical decision-making in specialty practice.
• Apply expert nursing knowledge to complex clinical problems and support improved patient outcomes.
• Demonstrate professionalism, accountability, reflection and professional autonomy as an expert specialist nurse.
• Establish and lead inclusive, collaborative relationships across multidisciplinary teams.
• Apply ethical principles and expert professional judgement across diverse social, cultural and environmental contexts.

Career outcomes

The Master of Advanced Clinical Nursing with a Critical Care specialisation prepares graduates to pursue advanced clinical, education, management and research opportunities within critical care and other complex healthcare environments.

Depending on the units completed and their professional experience, graduates may pursue roles such as:

• Critical care nurse
• Clinical nurse specialist
• Clinical nurse educator
• Associate or unit manager
• Research roles

Fees and CSP

Indicative annual fee in 2027: $4,908 (Commonwealth Supported Place)

Indicative annual fee in 2027: $29,400 (Full-fee paying place)

Indicative annual fees are based on your first year of study.

A student’s annual fee may vary by:

• The number of units studied.
• 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 the course you're enrolled in.
• Dependent on the study areas they relate to.
• Reviewed and adjusted each year.

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

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.