Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry)
The Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program is a two-year degree for students with previous tertiary qualifications who wish to become a registered nurse.
It is also available for students who have completed a degree in nursing overseas, and are registered overseas but are unable to gain registration as a nurse in Australia.
It is not a further qualification for registered nurses who wish to pursue a post-registration master's degree.
Graduates can select from a wide and growing range of practice areas in both the public and private sectors including acute care hospitals, trauma and emergency, paediatrics, mental health, community nursing, palliative care, aged care and rural and remote settings. Nurses can also work in the pharmaceutical industry and other health related fields.
Those students who complete the course successfully will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nurses and Midwives Board, NSW. The Nurses Act of NSW specifies certain conditions that applicants for registration as a nurse are required to meet. For further information please contact the Nurses and Midwives Board, NSW.
The Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) course requires students to undertake 900+ hours of clinical placements in health care facilities monitored or operated by the NSW Department of Health.
Read the Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) Brochure
Admission requirements
The Master of Nursing (Graduate entry) program is for applicants who hold a previous tertiary qualification in an area other than nursing and who are looking to become a Registered Nurse. If your degree is (or is equivalent to) an Australian level bachelor's degree that is not older than 10 years you are eligible to apply for the degree. Applicants whose degree is older than 10 years may apply if they can demonstrate further education.
English requirements
Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to complete an IELTS academic exam. A score of 7.0 in each band and an overall score of 7.0 must be achieved. you need to complete your ILETS exam no more than 2 years prior to the application.
Applicants who can provide evidence of satisfactory achievement in previous tertiary studies in which the language of the institution and of instruction, examination and assessment was English, may not be required to provide further evidence of English proficiency. We require a letter from the Registrar’s office of the university stating that the language of the institution (instruction, examination and assessment) was English.
For a degree of 3 years or more the tertiary study must have been undertaken no more than 5 years prior to admission. For a degree less than 3 years the tertiary study must have been undertaken not less than 3 years prior to admission.
Fees
The Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program is a Commonwealth supported course.
Local Australian citizens can obtain a HECS-HELP loan from the Commonwealth or choose to pay their contributions upfront with a 20% discount. This is calculated twice a year before each semester.
A HECS-HELP loan is repaid through the tax system once the student is working and their income reaches a threshold (currently $41,595).
Local permanent residents or New Zealand citizens are required to pay the fees upfront and undiscounted each semester.
2010 Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) units of study
Human Biology
Previously, Human Biology was a prerequisite to gain entry into the Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program. The curriculum has been revised for 2010 and the Human Biology is now included within the first semester. Students will undertake a unit of study similar to the Human Biology units offered by the Faculty of Science. This unit of study (NURS5083 Human Bioscience in Health) will give students a good foundation in Human Biology which will underpin their following units in nursing.
Students who have already undertaken significant recent study in Human Biology (including BIOL1003 at the University of Sydney) will have an opportunity to select a replacement unit. This will need to be discussed with the Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) Academic Adviser.
Study patterns for 2010
Full-time study
The study pattern below represent the full-time study load for the new curriculum* of the Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program for 2010
*Subject to NMB approvalYear 1
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Introduction to Nursing Practice
|
Nursing the Acutely Ill Person |
||
|
Human Bioscience in Health
|
Mental Health Nursing Practice |
||
|
Developing Nursing Practice |
Drug Therapy, Disease and Nursing Practice |
||
|
Social Contexts of Health
|
Illness Experience and Nursing Care |
||
Year 2
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Inquiry and Research in Nursing
|
Community Health Nursing |
||
|
High Acuity Nursing
|
Professional Practice of Nursing |
||
|
Care and Chronic Conditions
|
Global Health and Nursing |
||
|
Nursing and the Politics of Health Care |
Nursing Practice (Options) Select one of the following: |
||
|
Mental Health Paediatric High Acuity Clinical Nursing |
|||
Part-time study
The study pattern below represent the part-time study load for the new curriculum* of the Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program for 2010
*Subject to NMB approvalYear 1
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Introduction to Nursing Practice
|
Drug Therapy, Disease and Nursing Practice |
||
|
Human Bioscience in Health
|
Illness Experience and Nursing Care |
||
Year 2
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Developing Nursing Practice |
Mental Health Nursing Practice |
||
|
Social Contexts of Health
|
Nursing the Acutely Ill Person |
||
Year 3
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Inquiry and Research in Nursing
|
Professional Practice of Nursing |
||
|
Care and Chronic Conditions
|
Global Health and Nursing |
||
Year 4
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
High Acuity Nursing
|
Community Health Nursing |
||
|
Nursing and the Politics of Health Care |
Nursing Practice (Options) Select one of the following: |
||
|
Mental Health Paediatric High Acuity Clinical Nursing |
|||
2010 Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) clinical placements
A significant component of the Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program involves participation in off-campus clinical placements. At the completion of the degree, students will have completed more than 900 clinical hours.
Before each clinical placement students practise their skills in the Faculty’s clinical labs and high fidelity simulation wards.
The majority of clinical placements occur within the Sydney metropolitan area. Clinical placement sites include private and public hospitals, mental health services, community health centres and schools.
Students may also elect to undertake some clinical placements in rural NSW or interstate. NSW Health offers rural placement grants to assist nursing students with travel and accommodation costs associated with rural placements.
Students should be available to undertake shift work and clinical placements throughout university holiday periods.
Please be aware that you must complete all clinical placements before continuing into the second year of Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program.
All students are required to wear a University of Sydney uniform on clinical placements. These are available from the online store.
Nursing practice clinical options
From 2010, there are four new clinical placement options for final year Master of Nursing students.
Students may select from:
- Paediatric
- Mental Health
- High Acuity
- Clinical Nursing
For these options they will undertake 4 weeks of clinical placement in their chosen area. It is envisaged that they will select an option in which they may wish to practise when they graduate.
Full-time and part-time clinical placement hours in 2010
|
Summary of clinical hours for 2010 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Year 1
|
Semester 1 |
3 weeks full-time; 4 weeks part-time |
|
Semester 2 |
6 weeks |
|
|
Year 2
|
Semester 1 |
12 weeks |
|
Semester 2 |
6 weeks |
|
As part of the degree, students complete both theory and clinical components. The list of units below contain off campus clinical placements.
Units of study which include clinical placements
- NURS5081 Introduction to Nursing Practice
- NURS5082 Developing Nursing Practice
- NURS5084 Nursing the Acutely Ill Person
- NURS5085 Mental Health Nursing Practice
- NURS5006 Illness experience and Nursing Care
- NURS6019 High Acuity Nursing
- NURS6018 Care and Chronic Conditions
- NURS6022 Community Health Nursing
- NURS6023 Professional Practice of Nursing
- NURS6025 Mental Health Option
- NURS6026 Paediatric Option
- NURS6027 High Acuity Option
- NURS6028 Clinical Nursing Option
The tables below indicate the units of study which have off campus clinical placements, along with the number of hours needed to complete.
Clinical placement hours for full-time study
Total clinical hours: 904
Year 1
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Introduction to Nursing Practice
|
Clinical practice 40 hours over 1 week |
Illness Experience and Nursing Care
|
Primary health care clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
|
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
|
|
|
Surgical clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
Mental Health Nursing Practice
|
Mental health clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks
|
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
Nursing the Acutely Ill Person
|
Acute care clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks
|
|
Year 2
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
High acuity clinical practice 88 hours over 4 weeks
|
Community clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks
|
||
|
Medical/surgical clinical practice 88 hours over 4 weeks (22 hours p/w) In addition: Mental health clinical practice 88 hours over 4 weeks (22 hours p/w) Chronic illness practicum: focus on family with a person with a chronic illness 40 hours across the semester |
Nursing Practice (Options)
|
Elective area clinical practice 160 hours over 4 weeks
|
|
|
Inquiry and Research in Nursing
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
|
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
||
Clinical placement hours for part-time study
Total clinical hours: 944
Year 1
|
Semester 1 |
|
Semester 2 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
NURS5006 |
Primary health care clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
|
|
Human Bioscience in Health
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
Year 2
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Surgical clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
Mental health clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
||
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
Acute care clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
Year 3
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
||
|
Medical/surgical clinical practice 88 hours over 4 weeks (22 hours p/w) In addition: Mental health clinical practice 88 hours over 4 weeks (22 hours p/w) Chronic illness practicum: focus on family with a person with a chronic illness 40 hours across the semester |
|
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
Year 4
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
High Acuity Nursing
|
High acuity clinical practice 88 hours over 4 weeks |
Community Health Nursing
|
Community clinical practice 80 hours over 2 weeks |
| NURS6004 |
NO CLINICAL PLACEMENT REQUIRED |
Nursing Practice (Options) |
Elective area clinical practice 160 hours over 4 weeks |