Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the campus.

In 2023, we welcomed 313 new students to our North Sydney Campus, 232 students to our Blacktown Campus, 370 to Brisbane, 126 to Canberra, 605 to Melbourne and 133 to Ballarat.

Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) are available for domestic students. This means the Australian Government subsidises the cost of your course ¬- you just pay the remainder.

For our Victorian students, VicHealth offered scholarships to students commencing study in nursing or midwifery in 2023 and 2024 equating to approximately 35 - 40 per cent of the CSP fees. Whether or not financial assistance will be available for study from 2025 is yet to be confirmed.

Our nursing degrees have intakes in February. Some of our campuses and some nursing double degrees may also have second intakes in July. Always check the course browser for current information.

Your lectures will be a series of short online recordings to help you manage your time and learn at your own pace. The online recordings allow you to review concepts multiple times, so that you can master the knowledge and link theoretical concepts with practical skills.

All practical classes and some tutorials have mandatory on-campus attendance.

Tutorial classes concentrate on theoretical concepts that develop critical thinking and clinical reasoning and, for these, one academic facilitates the learning of between 26 and 30 students.

The practical classes conducted in the simulation wards are an important part of your learning and the environment is designed to closely simulate real-world environments so you can develop the practical skills of administering care. Practical classes in simulation wards have a ratio of one to 15, with an academic registered nurse teaching and guiding your learning.

You can apply to transfer; however, conditions apply and there are no guarantees. Some courses including the Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Paramedicine are highly competitive and places are limited.

No. However, all students are required to undertake the university's Core Curriculum units which include two coursework units, drawn from either the Catholic social thought (UNCC) or philosophy (PHCC) streams. A community engagement unit is also included and is specific to each program, which draws the Core Curriculum experience together and offers students an opportunity to experience the Core Curriculum in action.

In your first year, you can expect to have about 10 contact hours each week. However, this varies each year, so please refer to the course map on our website for more information.

Not at ACU. We offer a two-year Bachelor of Midwifery (Graduate Entry) for bachelor-qualified, registered nurses and registered paramedics who are currently practising.

The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine has partnered with most major metropolitan and regional hospitals. We also have clinical schools with the Mater and the Prince Charles Hospitals in Brisbane, St Vincent's Public Hospital in North Sydney, St Vincent's Public Hospital in Melbourne, and St John of God Hospital in Ballarat.

You will get to undertake a two-week placement in your first year, a three-week placement in your second year and a six-week placement in your final year.

Immediate support is provided by ACU as well as the hospital facilitator or preceptor, including debriefing and counselling. You will also have follow-up meetings with the placement experience coordinator or lecturer in charge, to ensure you are ok and to refer you to other services if needed.

ACU has a placement services team who work with the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine to match students to their placement requirements and postcode. Rural placement opportunities are also offered. If you are assigned a placement by the placement service team, you will be notified in advance and given all the relevant details, such as the start time, location, how to get there, parking options and who to meet on your first day.

No - we do not offer placements with the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Your postcode is considered when assigning placements, but it's not always possible to place students close to home - especially in regional areas. If your placement is going to cause a significant hardship, there are processes within the school to address this.

This is always possible and the Australian Universities Accord recommends this. However, there is no salary for placements at present.

Please note, many students do get employed in the industry either as an AIN (Assistant in Nursing) or RUSON (Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing). However, these hours will not count towards placement hours. You can find out more information regarding the RUSON role.

Yes, you can. We have placement availability across the whole year. This is why we advise students not to book holidays until their placement is confirmed - because you could be allocated a placement in the winter and summer breaks.

No, but it is possible that you may be allocated a rural placement within your course.

We do offer subsidised overseas study experiences to add a global perspective to your degree. Visit our Short-term International Study Experience (STISE) page for further information.

Clinical experience, professional placement or community engagement activity undertaken overseas may count towards your degree in the same way as those activities undertaken domestically. You will need to check carefully with your international study tour as to what may be counted as either theory or clinical placement.

Yes, accommodation and travel are organised by ACU as part of any overseas placement. The cost, however, is paid for by the student. There are some international study programs for which a subsidy is available.

Because of our partnerships with hospitals, we offer a wide range of placement experiences. Our curriculum requires all students to undertake a range of placements, typically in the areas of acute care, medical, aged care, rehabilitation and mental health.

There is limited opportunity for very specialised placements, such as paediatrics. These areas are generally for postgraduate students.

You would usually start specialising in these fields in the first year after you complete your degree, if a specialised job is offered by your employer, or if you return for postgraduate studies once you've graduated with your bachelor's degree.

You will be assessed through online quizzes, essays, case studies, exams, debates, presentations and practical assessments. Refer to our additional course information to find out more.