Master of Midwifery,MG-MIDW

Overview

The WA Department of Health offers Nursing and Midwifery scholarships to help cover the cost of course fees. To learn more about eligibility criteria and the scholarships available, please visit the WA Department of Health website.

Our Master of Midwifery is the only postgraduate midwifery course in Australia that does not require you to have a nursing qualification to enter. It also offers Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) to domestic applicants, which means part of your course fees are subsidised by the Australian Government.

Midwives are registered health professionals trained to support and care for women during pregnancy, labour and birth. They work in clinics, hospitals, community practices, birthing centres or in the home.

The Master of Midwifery can be studied over two years full-time or four-years part-time. Course content blends evidence-based theory with more than 800 hours of supervised clinical practice and covers physical, biological, psychological and social sciences.

You’ll learn to work as a professional midwife in real settings, using your midwifery skills over the whole childbirth continuum. As part of your learning, you will recruit and follow 10 women; you will conduct their antenatal appointments, advise and educate these women and their support person, and be on call to help them through their labour and birth, and provide postnatal support.

You will also complete:

• 2–4 weeks full-time clinical placements in maternity settings per semester
• 2–3 weeks full-time face-to-face workshops at Curtin Perth per semester.

In your theory learning, you’ll critically analyse scientific literature and health standards, and evaluate clinical and diagnostic data. This gives you a broad understanding of midwifery practice and helps you to make informed decisions, recognise risks associated with pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, and provide safe and effective care.

Throughout the course you’ll develop your cultural awareness and your communication and leadership skills, giving you the confidence to work in interprofessional healthcare teams, establish relationships with women and their families, and gain an understanding of the midwifery profession.

You’ll become knowledgeable on topics such as reproductive health and nutrition, mental health and breastfeeding, and will be able to provide families with the evidence they need to make informed choices.

When you graduate, you’ll be eligible to apply for registration as a midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

This can be a physically and mentally challenging course. Please familiarise yourself with the inherent requirements before applying.

What you'll learn

• actively support culturally safe, values-led care for all women and babies through the development of personal and professional skills for cultural competence
• appraise reflectively, critically and with initiative to apply midwifery knowledge and skills within dynamic and complex midwifery contexts
• distinguish the importance of skilled professional midwifery care for women and babies in an international context
• critically analyse scientific literature and health standards; synthesise and integrate into woman centred-care; engage with health and scientific information when seeking, evaluating and using data related to midwifery care and clinical decision-making
• demonstrate proficiency and make informed decisions on therapeutic interventions by utilising current technology to inform midwifery practice for the delivery of safe and effective care
• communicate effectively, to meet the woman’s needs, establish collegial relationships with interprofessional teams and promote midwifery within the community in the broader contexts of primary healthcare and public health policy
• analyse and practice the values intrinsic to midwifery practice; demonstrate critical reflection and the ability to enhance the development of self and others; demonstrate leadership skills
• examine current midwifery health legislation; work in an autonomous accountability framework within the scope of ethical and legal midwifery practice as a member of interprofessional teams
• appraise and access opportunities for lifelong learning and enhance personal knowledge and skills to further contribute to the midwifery profession

Entry requirements

English requirements

Curtin requires all applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English. Specific English requirements for this course are outlined in the IELTS table below.

Please refer to English language requirements for Nursing and Midwifery courses for detailed information on how to meet English proficiency for this course.

Have your supporting documents to hand, and ensure they meet our guidelines. The documents may include certified copies of your qualifications, English language proficiency documents and supplementary forms for certain courses.

If your documents are not issued in English, an official translation from a recognised translation service must be provided.

Recognised translation services

• National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) accredited translator in Australia
• The Awarding institution
• A Notary Public Office
• The official Government body
• An official and accredited translator*

*Official translations are subject to review.

If you have undertaken previous study or work that matches the content of some of your Curtin course units, you may be able to obtain credit for recognised learning, which exempts you from studying those units.

You can apply direct online through our Applicant Portal. You can access the Applicant Portal by:

1. Navigating to the relevant course page
2. Click ‘Apply now’
3. When the pop-up window appears, select “Apply directly to Curtin University”.

If you want to package your course with a Curtin English course, you can submit your application with your course application documents to streamline the process.

If your application is successful, you will receive an offer that you will need to accept or reject.

If you accept your offer, you will receive a Confirmation of Enrolment ­– a document from Curtin that details your course, how long you will be studying the course, and the tuition fees. This document can be used for acquiring a student visa.

Apply to the Australian government for your student visa. Gaining a student visa will allow you to participate in full-time study in Australia and work up to 40 hours in a fortnight. If you’re under 18 years of age, you must have approved accommodation and welfare arrangements in place before a visa can be issued.

See our pre-departure resources for helpful information regarding your move to Perth.