Postgraduate Nursing Courses

Students must seek permission from the Head of Course to be enrolled in full-time study. Part-time study does not require approval.

It is strongly recommended that students have computer literacy skills and can write in English at an academic level. Prior experience of online learning will be of benefit to students enrolled in this course.

Students are expected to commit to 12.5 hours per week, per unit, therefore, students who have multiple time commitments are strongly encouraged to study part-time.

The Pro Vice Chancellor-Research, on the advice of the Dean of the School, determines admission to the Doctor of Nursing Award.

Applicants to the doctoral program are expected to satisfy the following criteria:

• Possession of a research Masters degree by thesis or dissertation appropriate to the professional field of the applicant; or
• Possession of a Masters degree by coursework appropriate to the professional field of the applicant completed at a superior standard; or
• Possession of a Bachelor's degree with Honours (typically 1st Class or Class 2A Honours level or equivalent); or
• Possession of a Master of Philosophy; or
• In exceptional circumstances, an equivalent academic or professional background that is considered by the Dean of the School to be an appropriate preparation for independent study and research work at doctoral level.

An applicant may be required to satisfy the Dean of the School of the ability to understand and communicate in both written and spoken English at a level adequate for the purpose of pursuing the program of study. In addition to the academic criteria listed above, applicants are normally expected to satisfy the following:

• have a minimum of 3 years of relevant professional practice;
• have the support of an industry or professional mentor.

The following entry requirements apply to this program:

• Current license to practice as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia or provisional registration, whichever is applicable at the time of commencement
• Nursing of other appropriate degree or the equivalent
• Minimum of one year relevant post registration nursing experience.

The program is open to you if you are a Registered Nurse with a previous degree or if you have no degree but have accumulated a wealth of experience in nursing.

English Language Requirements

You must be able to demonstrate two years of full-time secondary, vocational or tertiary level of study in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or the United States of America. If you do not meet these requirements you will need to sit the Academic IELTS exam and achieve a score of at least 7.0 overall and 7.0 in each sub-section (reading, writing, listening and speaking) to qualify for entry into the Master of Nursing (Perioperative). This applies to Permanent Residents and Australian citizens whose first language is not English and have not completed two years full-time academic study in Australia. IELTS results will need to be verified by the Admissions Office before an offer of a place can be made. The Admissions Office reserves the right to ask for IELTS results from any applicant. For more information, please visit www.ielts.org

The following entry requirements apply to this Program:

• Current license to practice as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia or provisional registration; whichever is applicable at the time of commencement.
• Nursing or other appropriate degree or the equivalent
• Candidates must be employed in a graduate position with a participating health service provider and have their hospital's support to undertake the program.

Please note:

• Interviews for the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Nursing will be at the discretion of the health service and conducted on site.
• Please be aware that the standard course costs do not apply for this program. Course costs are reduced due to the unique nature of this hospital-based, university-supported learning program.

Admission requirements you'll need to meet for this course.

• The following course-specific admission requirements are mandatory and must be satisfied by all applicants. These requirements are in addition to or supersede the minimum requirements outlined within the Academic admission requirements band section below.

  All applicants are required to have a bachelor's degree or master's degree, with a course weighted average mark of at least 60%, or equivalent as recognised by the University. A health science-based degree is desirable; all applicants are required to have a tertiary level unit in human biology (students who do not meet this requirement will be required to undertake a Health Science Preparation program at ECU).
  Prospective applicants are required to submit a curriculum vitae and a personal statement as part of their application. This is a competitive entry program and applications are assessed on academic merit.

  Academic admission requirements (Band 6) may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

  • Bachelor degree; or
  • Equivalent prior learning including at least five years relevant professional experience.

• In addition to satisfying ECU minimum English standard requirements for this course, all applicants must also demonstrate English language proficiency as specified in the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's (NMBA) English language skills registration standard. (https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Registration-Standards/English-language-skills.aspx)

  These requirements are as follows:

  • IELTS Academic with a minimum overall score of 7.0 and a minimum score of 7.0 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking), or
  • Occupational English Test (OET) with a minimum score of B in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking), or
  • Pearson English Test (PTE) Academic with a minimum overall score of 65 and a minimum score of 65 in each of the four communicative skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking), or
  • TOEFL iBT with a minimum total score of 94 and the following minimum score in each section of the test:
    * 24 for listening
    * 24 for reading,
    * 27 for writing, and
    * 23 for speaking, or

  • Completion of at least six years of primary and secondary education taught and assessed solely in English in a recognised country as defined by the NMBA (including at least 2 years between years 7 and 12) with a supporting written declaration to confirm that your primary language is English, or
  • Completion of at least 5 years full-time equivalent continuous combined secondary and/or tertiary and/or vocational education taught and assessed in a recognised country as defined by the NMBA, with a supporting written declaration to confirm whether your primary language is English. Note: The 5 years does not include the proposed ECU study.

  Note: English tests must be completed within 2 years of the proposed course commencement date and additional requirements may apply in relation to acceptable number of test sittings and combined scores across test sittings.

  ECU's minimum English standard requirements for this course may be satisfied with one of the following:

  • Bachelor degree from an approved country;
  • Successfully completed 0.375 EFTSL of study at postgraduate level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent); or
  • Where accepted, equivalent prior learning, including at least five years relevant professional experience.