Enhance your nursing practice and prepare for clinical leadership.
The Master of Nursing (Clinical Leadership) is designed for degree qualified Nurses who are eligible to register (Division 1) to enable you to shape the development and delivery of health care services. It prepares you for clinical leadership, research and advanced practice roles and provides opportunity for continuing professional development. Choose a specialisation in acute and emergency care, community and primary health care, clinical practice education and paediatric and child health. The program is delivered in blended mode using a combination of online and on-campus learning.
- Only a full-time option is available to international students on a Student visa. Online programs are not available to Student visa holders.
- * Estimated tuition fees are based on 2025 rates. Refer to international fees for more information.
- Not all majors/minors and elective options are available at every campus. You should refer to the What Can I Study tab, and the proposed study sequence for your chosen campus and intake for further information.
The Master of Nursing (Clinical Leadership) is designed for degree qualified Nurses who are eligible to register (Division 1) to enable you to shape the development and delivery of health care services. It prepares you for clinical leadership, research and advanced practice roles and provides opportunity for continuing professional development. Choose a specialisation in acute and emergency care, community and primary health care, clinical practice education and paediatric and child health. The program is delivered in blended mode using a combination of online and on-campus learning.
Students may choose to exit the masters program after completing four courses, and may be awarded a Graduate Certificate in Nursing. Students must have completed all the requirements of the Graduate Certificate to be awarded this program. Please note that there is no direct entry into the Graduate Certificate.
Admission requirements
Applicants are required to have successfully completed a Bachelor qualification (AQF level 7) in nursing from a recognised tertiary education provider. Applicants who are Registered Nurses registered in Australia with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) who do not have a Bachelor qualification may be considered for admission based on extensive industry experience and will require approval by the Program Leader.
The Master of Nursing (Clinical Leadership) offers a limited number of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) as well as domestic fee paying places. Offers for both CSP and fee paying places will be made after the application due date for the program.
CSP will be allocated on the basis of your Grade Point Average in the degree used to meet admission requirements and/or your industry experience. Applicants falling below the demand-driven cut-off for a CSP may be offered a domestic fee paying place subject to capacity limitations.
Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and permanent visa holders enrolled in a fee paying place will have the option of applying for a CSP in subsequent semesters if one becomes available. In these cases, the student’s current GPA in the Master of Nursing (Clinical Leadership) will be used to assess eligibility for a CSP place using the same entry cut-off applied for new CPS entrants during that admission period.
International students on a Student visa must demonstrate English language skills at an IELTS level of 7 with no subtest less than 7 or equivalent. Refer to the University's English language requirements.
Career opportunities
Graduates will extend their career pathways in clinical leadership in administration, education, research and practice roles. These roles are enacted in a range of private and public, primary, secondary and tertiary, health care services, in institutional and community settings. In addition, graduates will potentially have increased opportunities in higher education career pathways.
Professional recognition
Graduates may apply for membership with eligible clinical nursing organisations.
Program structure
Program Structure
Advanced courses (12):
Select 3 required courses:
NUR704 Epidemiology and Biostatistics
NUR708 Politics and the Media
NUR721 Public Health Practicum
PLUS choose 1 course from the following:
HLT701 Understanding and Managing Organisational Behaviour
PUB708 Project Management Principles
PLUS complete 48 units from one of the following options:
Option 1
HLT703 Evidenced Based Decision Making
HLT704 Finance and Accounting for Managers
Option 2
NUR731A Innovation Management and Professional Development
NUR731B Leading and Managing Organisations
NUR731C Strategy, Governance and Ethics
NUR731F Marketing in a Global Environment
PLUS complete 4 required courses from one of the following options:
Option 1
Select 4 courses from the following list:
HLT702 Ageing in Australia
NUR703 Indigenous Wellbeing Foundations
NUR705 Leading and Managing Organisations
NUR706 Understanding and Managing Organisational Behaviour
NUR707 Understanding and Preventing Suicide
NUR709 Community and Primary Healthcare
NUR713 Learning and Teaching in the Practice Environment
NUR720 Independent Study
NUR722 Research in Health Care
NUR551 Advanced Health Assessment
NUR552 Leadership in Clinical Practice
NUR751 Issues in Health Sector Management
1 x postgraduate level (700 coded) course (12 units) may be chosen from either Faculty (Arts, Business and Law or Science, Health, Education and Engineering).
Option 2
OR select 1 of the following Specialisations (4 courses)
- Emergency and Acute Care
- Community and Primary Health Care
- Clinical Education Practice
- Paediatric and Child Health
Emergency and Acute Care specialisation (48 units)
Required course (1)
NUR751 Leading and Managing Organisations
Choose three (3) courses from the following:
NUR713 Understanding and Managing Organisational Behaviour
NUR709 Understanding and Preventing Suicide
NUR705 Independent Study
NUR706 Research in Health Care
NUR707 Assessment in Mental Health
NUR722 Public Health Foundations
HLT702 Communication and Thought
Community and Primary Health Care specialisation (48 units)
Required course (1)
NUR551 Exploring Business Research
Choose three (3) courses from the following:
NUR751 Accounting for Business
NUR713 Information Systems in Organisations
NUR709 Economics for Business
NUR552 Discovering Management
NUR703 Marketing Essentials
NUR722 Business Law
HLT702 Business, Governance and Society
NUR720 Communication and Thought
PUB702 Abnormal Psychology
PUB705 Communication and Thought
Clinical Education Practice specialisation (48 units)
Required course (1)
HLT702 Business Analytics
Choose three (3) courses from the following:
NUR751 Accounting for Business
NUR713 Introduction to Informatics
NUR709 Introduction to Economics
NUR551 Introduction to Management
NUR552 Introduction to Marketing
NUR722 Business Law and Ethics
NUR720 Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
1 x postgraduate level (700 coded) course (12 units) may be chosen from either Faculty (Arts, Business and Law or Science, Health, Education and Engineering).
Paediatric and Child Health specialisation (48 units)
Required courses (3)
NUR703 Economics for Business
NUR740 Discovering Management
NUR751 Marketing Essentials
Choose one (1) course from the following:
NUR709 Accounting Principles
NUR713 Exploring Business Research
Note: Not all USC courses are available on every USC campus
Total units: 144
Recommended study sequences
Program requirements and notes
Program requirements and notes
- Students are required to complete 144 units as listed below
- Only a full-time study option is available to international students on a Student visa
- International students on a Student Visa please note, you may enrol in no more than 3 courses (36 units) via online mode (25 percent of your program). NUR713 is only offered via online mode. You must also ensure that you are enrolled in at least one on-campus course in each semester
- Some courses in this program require project work and/or independent study and therefore have limited on-campus contact. Please refer to individual course descriptions
- Refer to the University’s English language requirements
- When enrolling, please refer to the Study Plan