The Bachelor of Midwifery Honours program is a 36 unit course offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Admission requirements

A student who has completed all the requirements of the Bachelor of Midwifery, or another qualification which the Faculty Board agrees is equivalent, may be accepted as a candidate for the honours degree providing they have achieved a Credit average or better in fulfilling the requirements for the bachelors degree. 

Course aims

The Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) and Bachelor of Midwifery (Honours) aim to:

  • provide an opportunity for nurses and midwives to develop an understanding of research and the skills necessary to conduct a study in an area of the student's interest, with the assistance of one or more supervisors
  • prepare successful graduates for higher degree research studies and/or research in the clinical setting (Admission to a higher degree research program is usually restricted to applicants with an Honours Class 1 or 2A degree or equivalent).

 Learning outcomes

Graduates of this course are expected to be able to:

  • Be able to pose and refine worthwhile research questions (in an appropriate timeframe)
  • Perform literature searches
  • Critically review the relevant literature
  • Develop a logical research proposal
  • Discern and understand the ethical considerations in research
  • Apply ethical principles to the conduct of research
  • Acquire an appreciation and awareness of a range of methodologies and methods used in research
  • Know how to select/exclude methodologies or methods and be able to provide a rationale for their choice
  • Develop an understanding of one methodology for the thesis
  • Collect and analyse the data, present the findings and defend the conclusions
  • Construct a thesis.

 Program of study

To qualify for the honours degree, a student must complete satisfactorily 36 units of study within one year full-time or two years part-time.

Core - Year 1 topics


 MIDW7000  Honours Thesis  (18 units)
 NURS7110  Research Ethics  (4.5 units)
 NURS9217  Thesis Preparation  (9 units)
 NURS9218  Approaches to Research Designs  (4.5 units)