The Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health's postgraduate programs aim to ensure that opportunities are provided for nurses to study at the graduate level, whether they were educated in hospitals or the higher education sector. Enrolment in a postgraduate program provides an opportunity to study within a challenging and stimulating environment. Postgraduate nursing programs provide the scope for nurses to strengthen and expand their knowledge in the nursing discipline while also encouraging study and research in specialised areas of nursing.

Two categories of postgraduate courses are offered – those by coursework and those by research.

Postgraduate coursework degrees

Key coursework contacts

Student Advisers

Provide information and advice to students on administrative and related matters:

Student Officer (Postgraduate)

Provides advice to students experiencing more complex difficulties with their program. The Faculty Student Office refers students, if necessary, to:

Team Leader, Student and Course Support

Manages the Student and Course Support team. Major concerns or problems regarding administrative and academic services should be referred to:

Directors of Studies, Course Coordinators and Advisers

Provide academic advice to students on their program, or other assistance such as helping students experiencing difficulties to cope with their academic work.

Director of Studies, Clinical

Director of Studies, Health

Director of Studies, Professional

Anaesthetics and Recovery Room / Perioperative (Northern Sydney Health)

Anaesthetics and Recovery Room / Perioperative (Ramsay Health)

Clinical Nursing

Critical Care

Diabetes Education and Management

Health Services Management

Mental Health / Transcultural Mental Health

Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Midwifery (Graduate Diploma)

Midwifery (Master)

Neonatal / Paediatric

Nursing Management / Spinal / Neuroscience / Professional Studies

Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning

Responsible for the overseeing and quality of academic activities and all coursework programs:

Admission requirements

Where large numbers of applicants are eligible for admission to any of the Faculty's courses and places are limited, preference is given on the basis of:

• general educational qualifications
• previous academic grades, and
• professional experience and activities, e.g. post-registration certificates and scholarly activities such as research and publications.

Recognition of prior learning

Exemptions are granted on the basis of the successful completion of equivalent subjects from recent postgraduate studies. Students should lodge an Application for Subject Exemption form and include a formal transcript verifying academic results and a description of the subject for which they are claiming equivalence.

The Faculty may also grant credit by substitution. This involves students being able to substitute a prescribed subject where they can demonstrate they have undertaken an equivalent subject at either postgraduate or, in exceptional circumstances, at undergraduate level.

The maximum number of exemptions under the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Policy are:

• Graduate Certificates
  Maximum of two exemptions (12 credit points)
• Graduate Diplomas
  Maximum of four exemptions (24 credit points)
• Master's
  Maximum of eight exemptions (48 credit points)
• Master's conversions
  No exemptions available – students must complete four subjects

Course structures

All postgraduate subjects are classified as either 400 level (graduate) or 500 level (advanced). The requirements for completion of awards are:

• Graduate Certificate
  four 400-level subjects
• Graduate Diploma
  seven 400-level subjects, and one 500-level subject
• Master's¹
  nine 400-level subjects, and three 500-level subjects.

Subject categories

Clinical practice subjects

92868 Advanced Assessment in Nursing Practice (500 level) 6cp
92894 Advanced Clinical Practice (500 level) 6cp
92928 Clinical Practice 1 6cp
92929 Clinical Practice 2 6cp
92873 Midwifery Practice 1 6cp
92893 Midwifery Practice 2 6cp
92869 Specialty Clinical Practice 6cp

Clinical studies subjects

92900 Advanced Nursing: Cardio-respiratory and Renal Disruption 6cp
92901 Advanced Nursing: Immune Response and Haematological Disruptions (500 level) 6cp
92773 Advanced Nursing: Metabolic and Neuroendocrine Disruptions 6cp
92958 Advances in Critical Care Nursing 6cp
92781 An Introduction to Midwifery Practice 6cp
92878 Care of the Child in Illness and Disability 6cp
92902 Care of the Acutely Ill Child 6cp
92999 Complex Cancer Nursing 6cp
92919 Complex Critical Care 6cp
92957 Complex Spinal Nursing 6cp
92998 Contemporary Cancer Nursing 6cp
92906 Contexts of Recovery Room Nursing 6cp
92923 Continuity of Midwifery Care 6cp
92910 Counselling and Group Skills 6cp
92905 Dimensions of Anaesthesia Nursing 6cp
92881 Foundations of Perioperative Nursing 6cp
92956 Foundations of Spinal Nursing 6cp
92875 Frameworks for Mental Health Nursing 6cp
92918 Fundamentals of Critical Care Nursing 6cp
92713 Health Breakdown 6cp
92895 Issues in Neonatal Care 6cp
92964 Mental Health Problems and Disorders of Children and Adolescents 6cp
92785 Midwifery in Complex Situations 6cp
92921 Neuroscience: Degenerative and Oncological 6cp
92920 Neuroscience: Trauma and Cerebrovascular 6cp
92871 Perinatal Development 6cp
92877 Personal and Professional Development in Mental Health Nursing (500 level) 6cp
92963 Psychosocial Dimensions of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care 6cp
92882 Techniques in Perioperative Nursing 6cp
92922 The Meaning of Birth: Mothers, Babies and Midwives 6cp
92876 Therapeutic Interventions in Mental Health Care 6cp

Health subjects

92937 Understanding Health 6cp

Health services management subjects

(These subjects are offered by the Faculty of Business.)

21720 Human Resource Management 6cp
21739 Health Funding Policy and Resource Management 6cp
21724 Strategic Human Resource Management 6cp
21822 International Health Management 6cp
21728 Public Sector Management 6cp
21758 Strategic Governance and the Business of Government (500 level) 6cp

Midwifery subjects

92781 An Introduction to Midwifery Practice 6cp
92924 Becoming a Reflective Practitioner (500 level) 6cp
92923 Continuity of Midwifery Care 6cp
92927 Evidence-Based Practice (Midwifery) 6cp
92785 Midwifery in Complex Situations 6cp
92873 Midwifery Practice 1 6cp
92893 Midwifery Practice 2 6cp
92938 Midwifery Practice Development (500 level) 6cp
92925 Models of Midwifery Care 6cp
92922 The Meaning of Birth: Mothers, Babies and Midwives 6cp

Professional studies subjects

92924 Becoming a Reflective Practitioner (500 level) 6cp
92848 Clinical Teaching in the Health Care Setting 6cp
92933 Health Care Regulation and Policy (500 level) 6cp
92721 Health Promotion and Health Education (500 level) 6cp
92926 Information Management Application (500 level) 6cp
92879 Issues in Mental Health Care 6cp
92885 Leadership and Change in Health Care (500 level) 6cp
92932 Management for Clinicians 6cp
92786 Negotiating Nursing 6cp
92887 Organisational Management in Health Care 6cp
92847 Planning and Evaluating Health Services (500 level) 6cp
92794 Power and Politics in Health Care 6cp
92917 Using Health Care Data for Decision Making 6cp

Research subjects

92790 Evidence-Based Practice¹ 6cp
92927 Evidence-Based Practice (Midwifery) 6cp
92935 Public Health and Epidemiology (500 level) 6cp
92972 Health Care Research Methodology 6cp
92973 Developing Health Care Theory 6cp
92974 Investigating Health Care Change 6cp

Transcultural mental health subjects

92939 Advanced Clinical Practice in Transcultural Mental Health (500 level) 6cp
92940 Ethnicity, Culture and Migration 6cp
92941 Issues in Transcultural Mental Health 6cp
92942 Models of Transcultural Mental Health Practice 6cp
92943 Transcultural Mental Health Assessment and Treatment 6cp

Dissertation and project subjects

92812 Project² (two x 500 level) (one semester; 12 credit points) 12cp
92946 Project (Part A) 6cp
92947 Project (Part B) 6cp

Other subjects

92934 Clinical Management of Diabetes 6cp
92886 Graduate Writing Skills 6cp
77940 Health Care Law (Law subject) 6cp
92914 Introduction to Homoeopathy 6cp
92845 Primary Health Care 6cp
92808 Resource Allocation (Ethics subject) 6cp
92861 Technology and Ethics (Ethics subject) 6cp
92805 The Ethics of Professional Client Relations (Ethics subject) 6cp

Subject lists are also available in the Study Package Directory section of this handbook.

Rules and regulations

All students should refer to the Rules section of the UTS: Calendar. The Rules of the University are also available online at:

http://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/rules

Progression rules

A student will have their registration discontinued, in accordance with Rule 3.2.6.2 and 3.3.7.2, if they gain any two failures in a course, or fail to meet any concurrent experience or other requirement prescribed by the course over a two-year period.

The accelerated course allows students to complete the Bachelor of Nursing in two full-time calendar years, and includes Summer session for both types of accelerated students and a pre-semester February school at the beginning of the course for graduate entry students. Graduate entry students may also be eligible to receive up to 12 credit points further credit for specific subjects deemed equivalent to those completed in their previous degree.

For students who have gained their registration overseas and who are not eligible for registation in Australia, an individual program is developed that allows recognition of prior learning and experience.

Postgraduate research degrees

Key research contacts

Any inquiries of a non-administrative nature should, in the first instance, be directed through the candidate's supervisor(s). If this is not possible, or is inappropriate, inquiries should be directed either to the relevant course coordinator or the Director of Research.

Director of Research and Responsible Academic Officer

Responsible for the overall administration and quality of the research programs and Chair of the Faculty Research Committee:

Doctoral Courses Coordinator

Responsible for the administration and quality of the doctoral research programs:

Masters and Honours Courses Coordinator

Responsible for the administration and quality of the masters and honours research programs:

Student Officer: Research and Graduation

Provides administrative support to all Faculty research students, including application, enrolment, progression and examination processes:

University Graduate School (UGS)

Responsible for the overall administration and management of research degree candidates:

Overview of research degrees

The Faculty offers research degrees at both the Masters and Doctoral levels:

C03041 Master of Nursing (Honours)¹
C03042 Master of Midwifery (Honours)¹
C03043 Master of Health Services (Honours)¹
C02025 Doctor of Nursing (Professional Doctorate)
C02026 Doctor of Midwifery (Professional Doctorate)
C02024 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing

All research degrees require the independent preparation of a thesis that makes an original contribution to knowledge. The Master's (Honours) and Professional Doctorate degrees include required coursework in addition to the preparation of a thesis.

University rules and procedures for Master's students (Rule 3.4) and Doctoral students (Rule 3.5) apply to all research students in the Faculty.

Applications for research degrees

Application forms for research degrees are obtained from the Student Officer: Research and Graduation or the University Graduate School. All requirements for documentation must be met when submitting the application. The Faculty uses the University's scoring system to assess applications. Applicants are assessed on the basis of a range of categories, such as academic qualifications, research publications and professional achievement. The minimum educational requirements must be met by each applicant as specified in the entry requirements for each degree.

International applicants are required to first contact the University's International Office at:

Selection of supervisors

Research for a degree at the Doctoral and Master's level must lead to a distinct contribution to the knowledge of a subject by original investigation. This involves a considerable intellectual challenge and a substantial commitment over time and will necessarily depend on the relationship between a candidate and their supervisor(s). For this reason careful thought should be given by the candidate and the proposed supervisor to the questions of personal compatibility and areas of common academic and professional interests. It is essential that the project be of direct interest to the supervisor and candidate and lie within the supervisor's area of expertise.

For Doctoral and Master's candidates there must be a principal supervisor and a panel of supervisors (which can be composed of the co-supervisor alone). The principal supervisor must be a member of the academic staff of the Faculty, be a registered supervisor with the University and be eligible to supervise a candidate at that level. A panel member (or co-supervisor) may either be a member of the academic staff of the Faculty or University or a person employed outside the University of recognised standing in the field of the candidates research. Supervisory panel members must be registered as a supervisor with the University. Supervisors of Doctoral and Master's candidates are appointed by the University Graduate School Board on the recommendation of the Director of Research.

The rules regarding the appointment of supervisors and the code of conduct for supervisors can be found on the University Graduate School website.

Regulations and responsibilities in regards to supervision

While the student–supervisor relationship is a flexible one, the University requires supervisors to ensure by their advice, guidance and expertise that a particular candidate maintains satisfactory progress within the prescribed term of the candidature, that the candidate receives adequate advice both on the substance of the thesis and on the form its presentation will ultimately take and that the work being done on the thesis is reviewed critically on a continuing basis. The way in which this is done is to be negotiated between the candidate and the supervisor(s).

The University acknowledges that research students have a right to effective supervision and research training. However, students have responsibilities as well in adhering to the University rules, in maintaining progress and in communicating with their supervisor(s).

The University Graduate School Board has produced a Code of Conduct for Suprevisors, Advisors and Research Degree Candidates, available from the University Graduate School website.

Faculty Research Weeks

Faculty Research Weeks are held in July and December. These weeks are designed to facilitate a number of important requirements for the Faculty's research students and provide an opportunity for research students, supervisors, staff and invited guests to interact in formal and informal settings. The Faculty Research Weeks incorporate subject sessions for the Professional Doctorates, the Graduate workshops, Doctoral and Master's assessments and plenary sessions from invited guests.