Master of Midwifery

The Master of Midwifery is designed to meet the growing needs of registered nurses, practicing midwives and midwives returning to practice who wish to develop their knowledge and expertise. The program follows on from the graduate diploma and encompasses the latest theory and practice relevant to contemporary midwifery and maternity care services, and will strengthen and develop specialist skills for successful and effective midwifery and leadership positions within the field. The masters program is predominantly research focused, allowing you to apply the theoretical knowledge and work experience gained in the field to contemporary issues in midwifery.

Our midwifery programs are unique in their curriculum design and include innovative teaching strategies developed to international, national and state standards. Work-integrated learning in the form of clinical hours is incorporated into the program to provide students with the opportunity to put theory learned into practice. The aim of the programs is to produce skilled, caring, knowledgeable and effective midwives who are competent and capable of working in any setting.

CQUniversity offers one of the most flexible programs available in this field, with study by distance education available. Students undertaking the masters will receive an interim award upon completion of the graduate diploma and are also able to exit at this stage if desired.

What am I studying?

Midwifery involves the care and support for women throughout pregnancy, labour and childbirth and includes postnatal care for women and their babies. Midwives typically work as part of a multi-disciplinary team with other health professionals. They provide care for women and their babies by providing physical and technical midwifery support, observing, monitoring, assessing and reporting on care and treatments, preparing women for birth, giving advice on health matters for both the mother and the baby as well as providing information to women and their families about treatment and care. Furthermore, midwives may also be involved with detecting complications and implementing emergency measures during childbirth.

Why Study at CQUniversity

CQUniversity's health and medical sciences programs have been developed to meet the ever increasing needs of our communities both here in Australia and for the wider global audience.

CQUniversity programs are constantly being reviewed and updated in consultation with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that they are relevant and up to date. In fact, our suite of new offerings have been built as a direct response to industry needs for people with specialised industry experience.

Another key feature in the large majority of CQUniversity's health and medical sciences programs is the work-integrated learning, or learning on the job. You are required to complete course undertakings in real-life workplaces, allowing you to put learning directly in practice. This hands-on, project-based learning is a key reason as to why CQUniversity graduates are in such high demand by employers.

Quality on-campus facilities ensure learning is delivered in context, taught in a similar setting to that of a real-world situation. Nursing students have access to fully equipped labs that replicate a real-life hospital ward, while medical imaging and medical sonography are taught from new purpose built multi-million dollar labs. The new Allied Health Clinic at CQUniversity Rockhampton will also provide clinical learning experiences to allied health students.

CQUniversity's health and medical sciences academic staff are at the forefront of their respective fields, often still contributing to the community and working within industry. Lecturers have a strong teaching and learning ethos and are committed to delivering quality learning experiences. CQUniversity's Dr Kerry Reid-Searl has pioneered a world-first teaching technique called 'Mask-Ed', which involves masks worn by lecturers to help simulate real-life clinical scenarios in nursing-related practical sessions.

Entry Requirements

You must meet one or more of the following requirements.

• Completion of the CQUniversity Graduate Diploma of Midwifery.
• Completion of a Graduate Diploma of Midwifery from another university.
• Completion of a Bachelor of Midwifery (Applicants must submit to the University their current CV and work experience for assessment for equivalency at graduate diploma level).
• Completion of Hospital Based Certificate in Midwifery and have gained recognition of prior learning into the program. (Applicants must submit to the University their current CV and work experience for assessment for equivalency at graduate diploma level).

• *This program is expected to be available in 2015 subject to final approval. Please contact us for the latest information.

Career Opportunities

A Graduate Diploma of Midwifery will prepare you for a successful career in a number of roles in the women’s health industry, including those of midwife, midwife educator, independent practitioner, midwife unit manager, midwife researcher, community midwife, midwife breastfeeding consultant and midwife leader and consultant. The Master of Midwifery enables students to advance midwifery careers as a clinician, manager, leader, consultant or researcher in the areas of women’s health and midwifery.

Work Intergrated Learning

A specified amount of clinical midwifery practice is required. Clinical practice experiences will be undertaken at a primary clinical site, with other specified midwifery experiences arranged as required.

Program Structure

The graduate diploma requires completion of six courses and the masters requires completion of an additional three courses. You should expect to commit approximately 40 hours per week to midwifery studies; 20-24 hours of which will be for clinical practice placement.

Course Information

For example courses you could study as part of the Master of Midwifery program please click here.

As CQUniversity is committed to providing quality, up-to-date and relevant education, please note courses are refreshed regularly and may not be an exact indication of course availability for your study. Please call 13CQUni 13 27 86 if you have specific questions regarding course information regarding your specific application.

Residential School and Study Requirements

There are compulsory residential schools for distance students.

Professional Recognition

On successful completion of the program, students will be eligible to apply for registration as a midwife in Australia.

*This program is expected to be available in 2015 subject to final approval. Please contact us for the latest information.

To register your interest in this program, click here.