| Duration | 1.5 years full-time, 3 years part-time |
| Location | Online |
| Next start term | Hyperflexible Annual Term, 2025 |
| Study mode | Online |
| Course code | CL24 |
| First-year fee | $16,836 (Indicative) (FFP) |
Overview
Study CQUniversity's Master of Mental Health Nursing and equip yourself with advanced knowledge and skills in mental health nursing. Benefit from a flexible course structure where you can develop your nursing credentials to practise as a specialist mental health nurse and enhance your research skills relating to your practice.
If you would like to gain the knowledge and skills to practise as a mental health nurse and develop your research skills, our Master of Mental Health Nursing is the ideal course for you. Offering opportunities to enhance your research capabilities and complete a small research project, the Masters prepares you to become a leader in advancing the discipline through scientific inquiry.
Developed with industry and lived experience academics, our mental health nursing courses are evidence-based and clinically relevant. Offered as part of a suite, the Master of Mental Health Nursing has a nested Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma. The first four units of the Masters make up the Graduate Certificate and allow you to build your skills and knowledge in undertaking mental health assessments, diagnostic formulations and risk assessments, along with psychotropic medication, and recovery. The next set of four units completes the Graduate Diploma and extends on the first four units with a focus on the provision of safe, person-centred, recovery-orientated mental health care. Particular attention is given to exploring a range of therapeutic interventions that you can use to enhance your practice. The last four units of the Masters, prepare you to practise and research within the specialist field of mental health nursing. You’ll extend on your learning of therapeutic interventions that you can use, while you develop your research skills to undertake a research project that addresses an issue in mental health nursing practice. The assessments that you complete as you progress into the Graduate Diploma and Masters need you to be working in mental health so that you can employ your mental health nursing skills and apply your learnings to your own clinical practice.
You will study via our ultra-flexible Be Different learning platform giving you the freedom to structure your study in a way that suits you. Benefit from the flexibility to access course content on any device with internet access and have no assessment or unit deadline constraints, making it ideal for busy, self-motivated learners. The flexible nature of our Be Different courses also means that you have plenty of time to complete your studies. You have up to five years to complete the Masters.
Career Opportunities
The Master of Mental Health Nursing provides Registered Nurses with a mental health nursing specific high level post-graduate qualification. This qualification has the potential to create many exciting and rewarding opportunities for graduates including increased financial remuneration from some employers. Graduates will attain competency and confidence to be able to undertake the many nurse mental health nursing leadership positions available within the health care industry; Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Consultant and Nurse Unit Manager roles. This qualification will also provide registered nurses with the competitive edge in order to apply for promotion.The research component of the course will allow graduates to move into research roles and even lead applied clinical research.
Structure & Availability
Course Structure
The Master of Mental Health Nursing is comprised of 12 core units. The first eight units make up the Graduate Diploma, with the final four units being research-based.
The units within the Master are six credit points. Each unit is designed to require a time commitment of a total of 144 hours. If you study at a typical university term full-time rate of four units over a six-month duration, you will complete the course within 18 months. However, you will have up to five years from enrolment to complete the Master of Mental Health Nursing.
After enrolling, you’ll have access to the first four units, and you can work through these in any order. After you complete these, you will have access to the next four units. We offer these units in this way to ensure you gain the foundation knowledge that later units draw from.
The final four units of the Masters will become available once you have completed the first eight units.
Assessments
Assessment in the mental health nursing courses ranges from portfolios, online quizzes, case studies, videoed presentations, reports and essays, with all being based around your mental health nursing practice – the difference is there are no deadlines or due dates. Additional activities are available for those who wish to explore topics further; however, they are not mandatory.
The final four units within the Masters of Mental Health Nursing are heavily research-based and involve literature reviews, reports, practical assessments, a research proposal and a research project.
Unit Information
To view the units that sit within the Master of Mental Health Nursing, visit our Student Handbook, and select the Course Structure tab.
Online Availability
| Intake | Locations |
|---|---|
| Hyperflexible Annual Term, 2023 | Available Online |
| Hyperflexible Annual Term, 2024 | Available Online |
| Hyperflexible Annual Term, 2025 | Available Online |
When you study via our flexible online Be Different learning platform, not only will you study high-quality course content delivered by supportive mental health nursing educators, but you also get to set the pace. This means that you choose when you submit your assessments and complete the unit requirements, you are not required to follow our traditional term dates, such as Term 1 (March) or Term 2 (July).
The course is open for applications all year round so you can start your studies anytime.
Once enrolled, you will have up to five years to complete this course.
Majors and minors are not applicable to this course.
This course has no residential schools.
Professional Practice - Australian College of Mental Health Nurses
Core
The ACMHN offers accreditation to education providers who provide postgraduate mental health nursing programs that align with the National Framework for Postgraduate Mental Health Nursing Education. This accreditation is consistent with the Australian Standards for Professional Processes (2008) and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Quality Framework for the Accreditation function.
Requirements
To be eligible
For your application to be considered, you must meet the following entry requirements.
During your study
While not needed to apply, you'll need to meet the following requirements throughout your studies.
Fees & Scholarships
Indicative First-Year Fee
The Indicative First-Year Fee for a Full Fee Paying (FFP) Place is the approximate cost of enrolling in this course for one full-time academic year (this is usually eight units studied over two terms). Your actual fees may vary depending on the units you select to study and your study load. Fees are reviewed each year and are subject to change. Understanding your fees.
You may be eligible for FEE-HELP, an Australian Government loan scheme that helps eligible students pay their tuition fees. Provided you meet the FEE-HELP eligibility criteria, you can choose to use FEE-HELP to cover all or part of your tuition fees.
Learn more about paying for university or view the FEE-HELP information booklet on the Australian Government’s Study Assist website.
There may be additional costs as part of your studies, such as technology expenses. Learn more about other study costs.
How to apply
How to apply
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Extra admission information
Learn about the assessment of applications and everything you need to know about receiving and accepting an offer to study with CQU.
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