School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences

We deliver courses on-campus, online, and via mixed mode. A number of our postgraduate courses are delivered hyper-flexibility, which offers lean and affordable course options for self-motivated learners. These flexible online courses allow you to gain a postgraduate qualification via our Be Different platform, which are accessible anytime, self-paced and include no assessment or unit deadline constraints.

The School encompasses two Colleges:

• College of Nursing and Midwifery
• College of Social Work and Community Services

The School leads the way for Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Social Work students. Our educators have a strong focus on student learning and place an ever-growing emphasis on research, actively engaging in research projects that inform their teaching practices.

Many of our courses include Work Integrated Learning (WIL). The WIL Team is committed to ensuring the quality and consistency of work-related learning in all disciplines. Placements are organised by the this Team and occur in health care organisations throughout Australia. The WIL team source and assess the quality of placements, liaising with students in regard to fitness for placement and advising on the pre-WIL compulsory conditions.

There are opportunities for cultural experiences for our students. These School-led programs are short-term study tours involving a group of students, arranged by the School and students are accompanied by our academics. Students can access Student Mobility Funding under the New Columbo Plan which helps support students with travel costs. The School has been conducting International Outward-Bound programs since 2008. These have been to a multitude of locations including Nepal, India, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Singapore. There have been many interdisciplinary study tours to Nepal, previous tours have included Nursing, Midwifery and Social work students.

School philosophy

The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences delivers high quality education and research within a broad Australian context. The design and delivery of our education and higher-degree research courses provides access to education especially for individuals living in regional, rural and remote settings. Through innovative and supportive teaching practices we deliver engaging education to students within their own communities via mixed-mode and hyperflexible delivery. Students access the required professional experience placements within the communities they reside in or are close to. This contributes to local workforce development in regional, rural and remote health environments and enhances the skills and expertise within those communities. 

We welcome and supports non-traditional student groups with an aim to increase capacity for those who are first in family, from low socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups to obtain a high-quality education to change their lives and those around them. Our courses are designed to engage with communities to support their ongoing development. The School actively engages with, develops, and refines innovations in teaching and learning excellence to provide transformative education experiences for our students, partnering with local stakeholders to achieve excellent outcomes, and providing comprehensive educational pathways from vocational education and training (VET) certificates to higher level tertiary qualifications including PhDs.

The School’s research strengths improve quality and safety in healthcare, the health workforce, safe communities, and psychosocial wellbeing. Our researchers develop industry-education and collaboration. The School’s research leaders mentor and support developing academics that fosters excellence in research and establishes wider networks within and external to the university.

We look forward to welcoming you to the School.

Professor Moira Williamson, Dean, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences