Graduate Certificate in Nursing
PostgraduateUND-NUR-GCE2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Progress your nursing career with confidence
A fast-tracked formal nursing qualification for registered nurses seeking new skills and a promotion. Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Prepare to provide evidenced-based care in a range of contexts. Open the door to further study.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Applications close
- 2 Feb 2025,
- 6 July 2025
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 6 months full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 4
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
Graduate Certificate in Nursing
About this degree
On completion of this program students should be able to achieve the following learning outcomes:
- Develop leadership qualities to support staff development and professional competence
- Critically reflect on practice and own learning and develop skills for lifelong learning
- Examine the role of the multidisciplinary team to provide coordinated clinical care patients with varied health conditions
- Examine clinical governance frameworks related to quality nursing management and practice
- Use current evidence and research to inform patient assessment, clinical decisions and best practice
The Graduate Certificate in Nursing provides registered nurses with the opportunity to further develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and leadership capability so they are prepared to provide evidenced-based care in a range of contexts. There are a broad range of elective courses, enabling participants to match their learning to their areas of interest or workplace needs.
Recommended study pattern
To be eligible for the award of Graduate Certificate in Nursing students must complete a minimum of 100 Units of Credit. This involves:
- 1 Core subject
- NURS50003 Evidence Based Practice
- 2 Core Elective subjects; AND
- NURS4000 Advanced Health Assessment
- NURS4037 Clinical Governance
- NURS5006 Professional Role Development
- NURS5021 Management
- 1 Additional Elective subject.
- NURS4037 Clinical Governance
- NURS5000 Deteriorating Patient
- MEDI5110 Contemporary Issues in Health Professional Education and Leadership
- MEDI5124 Coaching and Supervision in Health
- NURS6007 Introduction to Perinatal and Infant Mental Health
- NURS4000 Advanced Health Assessment
- NURS5006 Professional Role Development
- MEDI5121 Learning and Facilitation in Health Professional Education
- MEDI5123 Reasoning and Clinical Innovation
- NURS5021 Management
- NURS5017 Emotional Intelligence
Award requirements
To be eligible for the award of Graduate Certificate in Nursing students must complete a minimum of 100 Units of Credit. This involves 1 core course, 2 core elective courses and 1 additional elective course.
- 1 Core subject
Degrees are usually made up of core subjects and electives. Some degrees include a choice of majors, so you can focus your studies on a specialisation.
This list is a general overview. Download the full Degree Guide for more information.
Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.
Indicative total fee $11,955
The amount shown here is indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.
Fees may vary depending on:
- the subjects you choose
- credit from previous work experience
- your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.
To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.
The University of Notre Dame Australia is committed to delivering an excellent student experience, alongside a high standard of teaching, research, and training. As a leader in ethical education, Notre Dame aims to develop students’ critical reasoning and their ability to make ethical decisions—crucial skills to progressing their careers and leading purposeful lives. At Notre Dame, students navigate their future with an ethical education online.
Learn more about UNDA.
Explore UNDA courses.
- QS Ranking 2024:
- 37
Entry requirements
To be eligible for admission to the Graduate Certificate in Nursing applicants must hold a recognised Bachelor of Nursing degree or equivalent and current licence to practice as a Registered Nurse (Division 1) with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia or provisional registration whichever is applicable at the time of the student's program commencement.
Defined as the successful completion of secondary education or a Bachelor’s degree in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada or the Republic of Ireland.
Students who have English as an Additional language and are admitted on the basis of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assessment, or an equivalent English language proficiency assessment, are only admitted if they have attained n overall IELTS (or equivalent) score of 7.0, with no individual band score below 7.0.
All English language tests are valid for two years from the date of completion
Applications for Advanced Standing and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) will be considered and reviewed on a case by case basis by UNDA's Student Administration.
Career opportunities
Graduate Certificate qualifications usually allow RNs to apply for promotion (e.g. Clinical Nurse Specialist roles). Graduate Certificate also allow RNs to build their confidence in University education (as many have not studied for some time) and to build towards higher qualifications to support career development progression into areas of research, management and leadership (e.g. Clinical Nurse Educator, Clinical Nurse Consultant).
Australian job snapshots
Data sourced from Australian Jobs 2023.
Role | Earnings | Employment change |
|---|---|---|
Nurse Educators and Researchers | $93K to $120K | Up 10.8% |
Nurse Managers | Over $120K | Up 19.9% |
Registered Nurses | $93K to $120K | Up 16.3% |
Degree FAQs
How long does it take to finish an online degree?
That's up to you! Because we let you choose when to study online, you can actually pick up and pause study when it suits you. Many universities have a set time you need to complete your degree within. For some this is up to 10 years, and for others there is no limit.
There are some degrees that are stricter about when you can take breaks, and about how many years you can take to complete your degree. Please always check with your uni what the limits are.
As a general guide, Commonwealth supported place students have 10 years to finish their undergraduate degree through OUA, However, if you're studying with Griffith University, there's a limit of 8 years to complete your studies. If you want to take a break that lasts more than two study terms, you'll need to apply for a leave of absence. You can apply for a leave of absence for up to 12 months, as long as you complete your studies within the maximum time allowed for your degree.
If you're studying with Macquarie University, with the exception of certain degrees, there's no limit to how long you can take. But, please check with Macquarie Student Administration to be sure.
If you're studying with the University of Adelaide, you have up to 9 years to complete your undergraduate degree and graduate.
If you're studying with La Trobe University and want to take a break of minimum 1 study term, you must apply for leave of absence to avoid being inadvertently withdrawn from your degree.
Through OUA, you can study all year round, so it's possible to fast-track and finish up sooner than studying at a traditional uni would allow. That said, you need to spend around 12 hours a week on each undergraduate subject you do, so taking on extra work to finish ahead of time can be challenging.
How can I pay for my studies?
You may be eligible for a HELP loan from the Australian government, depending on your citizenship status and where you'll be living during your studies. You can also pay upfront with your credit card.
Payment options are explained in Fees, and you can contact a student advisor for more information.
How does studying through Open Universities Australia work?
You might find learning through OUA a little different to how you've studied in the past. It can take time to develop the skills you need for independent online study.
We connect you with subjects and degrees that are taught by leading Australian universities. You can complete single subjects, or follow a degree structure to work towards a specific qualification. Subjects are offered in several study terms throughout the year, so you can choose to study part-time or full-time, continuously or with breaks.
We help you find the subjects or degree that's right for you, and we handle your enrolment in uni and some administration. Your uni sends you your study materials and deals with all academic matters. They're also in charge of your assessment and graduation. If you go on to complete a degree, you'll graduate from the uni offering your degree, for example, RMIT University or Griffith University.
How do I know if I‘m eligible to apply for a course?
Before starting an enrolment, it's important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you're eligible to apply. If you don't quite meet the requirements, we can help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study. Contact us to find out more.
When is my cut-off date for enrolment?
Our close of enrolment times vary. You can check the cut-off dates for upcoming study terms by visiting Key dates.
Why should I study online through Open Universities Australia?
There are a lot of reasons to study your course online through us.
You can enrol without entry requirements
We have a unique open-door policy that makes it possible for everyone to enrol in university study, no matter their academic history. If you don't meet the entry requirements for a degree, we'll help you get in through single undergraduate subjects and transition into a qualification from there.
You have total control over how you study
Upskill without committing to a whole degree upfront. Or enrol in a full degree, but take it a subject at a time. We'll introduce you to flexible study options you didn't even know about, so you can fit uni around what matters to you.You'll graduate with the same qualification as an on-campus student
Once you enrol through us, you'll study online with the university that provides your degree. This means that when you complete your qualification, you'll graduate with the same degree as on-campus students.We'll help you navigate the university world
Our friendly student advisors will be your guide every step of the enrolment journey. They'll help you compare universities, choose a course, provide documentation and understand your finance options.
How do I enrol?
Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.
When you've made your choice, click 'Apply now' on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We'll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.
Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.
If you get stuck at any time, reach out to a student advisor and we'll talk you through it.
You can also take a look at our online self-service enrolling instructions.