MSc Child Nursing with Registered Nurse Status

Fees and funding

There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students

Fees

The fees quoted at the top of this page cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:

• library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
• access to programme-appropriate software
• library and student IT support
• free on-campus wifi via eduroam

Additional costs

Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:

• accommodation and living expenditure
• books (should you wish to have your own copies)
• printing, photocopying and stationery
• PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
• mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
• field trips (travel and activity costs)
• placements (travel expenses and living costs)
• student visas (international students only)
• study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
• academic conferences (travel costs)
• professional-body membership
• graduation (gown hire etc)

Funding

There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.

Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.

Funding

The funding you can apply for if you decide to study on an MSc Nursing programme at LJMU depends on where in the UK you normally live and your fee status.

If you normally live in England, you can apply for undergraduate funding for the MSc nursing course. This means you will receive a tuition fee to cover your fees in full and also a loan for your living costs. See our undergraduate funding web pages for more information. Be sure to apply for undergraduate funding when you apply.

If your permanent home is in Wales, Northern Ireland, or Scotland then you will need to apply for postgraduate funding for this course. See our postgraduate funding web pages for more information.

If you need help with your fees or funding then please get in touch with one of our Money Advisers Moneyadvice@ljmu.ac.uk

NHS Learning Fund (LSF)

The NHS LSF offers support for:

• a Training Grant for all eligible students of £5,000 per academic year
• Parental Support of £2,000 for students with at least one dependent child under 15 years, or under 17 years if registered with special educational needs (this used to be called Child Dependants Allowance)
• reimbursement of excess costs incurred on practice placement for travel and temporary accommodation costs (Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses)
• students experiencing financial hardship (Exceptional Support Fund)

You can find a guide to the grants on the LSF website, along with information about eligibility criteria.

Other costs

Travel costs to placements and parking if using a car whilst on placement. However, you may be able to claim reimbursement of travel costs through the Learner Support Fund provided by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

Students who would like to buy extra uniform items, further to their standard uniform, which is included in the course fees, have the option to do so. International experiences may incur costs.

Employability

Further your career prospects

LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.

95% of our Child Nursing graduates go on to find employment or further study within 15 months of graduating (discoveruni.gov.uk)

After graduating MSc Child Nursing, you will enjoy exciting career opportunities and professional development pathways.

There are a growing number of nurse specialist posts in some clinical areas too. Some graduates prefer to continue their studies with a postgraduate research programme, such as a PhD and pursue careers in teaching, research or management.

Successful completion of the degree allows you to apply for registration on the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register. This can lead to careers in the health sector at home or abroad and in the private and voluntary sectors.

Teaching

An insight into teaching on your course

Study hours

As a nursing student, you are required to complete 4,600 hours to meet the NMC requirements; 50% of this is theory and 50% is clinical practice.

Your Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) accounts for 770 hours of theory and 770 practice hours. This represents a third of the required hours. You will complete the remaining hours during the two years of your MSc Nursing programme.

Teaching methods

You will be taught by clinically credible staff and those who are research active, along with experienced nurses and health care professionals, who will help you to develop both clinically and intellectually during the programme.

As soon as you enrol at LJMU, you will be assigned your own personal tutor, and will meet with them regularly throughout each year. Your personal tutor will give you feedback on how well you are progressing with your studies and encourage you to plan for your educational and career development.

You will complete a lot of your learning in our newly refurbished and extended Faculty of Health flagship building, Tithebarn Building. Tithebarn is home to our hospital-standard clinical practice suites, modern seminar rooms, lecture theatres and skills labs.

You may also have lectures in Marybone, which is just across the street from Tithebarn.

Blocks of academic study can be up to six weeks depending on what point in the programme you are at.

You'll participate in seminars, tutorials and lectures, undertaking both group work and individual assignments.

Applied learning

Clinical practice is a vital element of this degree and accounts for half of your study time at LJMU.

During your clinical practice placements, you will work 30 hours a week and will have a weekly study day of 7.5 hours.

During your clinical placements you will work alongside experienced nurses and registered healthcare professionals and be supervised by practice assessors and supervisors, as well as having the support of academic link lecturers.

Additional support is always available within the Faculty or from student support workers if you need it. All new students coming in to the faculty will have a student mentor allocated to them.

Student Mentors are second and third year students who have been selected and trained to mentor new students in all aspects of university life. The student mentor service offers an exciting opportunity for personal and professional development.

Underpinning all aspects of the training offered is a commitment to ethical and anti-oppressive values, values and principles of the NHS Constitution and Professional Body requirements.

Children's nurses provide essential physical, emotional, and psychological care to children, young people and their families. They play a crucial role in helping to improve and extend the health and life choices for children and young people via education, health promotion, support, advice or advocacy and sometimes protection.

Children's nurses need to understand how a healthy child develops towards adulthood and how to minimise the impact of illness or hospital admission on the child. Excellent communication and observation skills are crucial as children are less able to communicate their symptoms than adults and it is vital that their development does not suffer additionally due to the stress of being ill or in hospital.

Child Nursing is not all about the child, as you also need to consider the care and support needed by the wider-family, including parents or those who look after the child at home. A child nurse ensures that the child (and their family or carers) are at the centre of all care decisions. Child nurses appreciate the diversity of health needs and will develop the required professional skills to support the empowerment of children and young people, families, carers, groups and communities.

If you are excited by the idea of seeing how health care delivery works in other countries, there may be opportunities to study in other countries.

Assessment

How learning is monitored on your programme

To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.

You will be offered feedback at various points during the course and support will always be readily available from your individual module tutors should you need advice or guidance at any time. We believe that constructive feedback is vital in helping you identify your strengths as well as the areas where you may need to put in more work. Assessment is through a combination of practice placements, exams, essays and assignments and presentations.
There will also be clinical assessment, which will be undertaken whilst in clinical practice where you will be assessed by practice supervisors and assessors. 

Entry requirements

You will need:

Qualification requirements

Show all sections

Undergraduate degree

• A first honours degree (normally 2:2 or above) in any subject - it does not need to be related to allied health
• Any overseas qualifications should be equivalent to UK qualifications which meet our entry requirements. If you have completed your degree outside the UK, we will require a clear copy of your degree documentation to ensure UK ENIC comparability. Please note that all applicants who are invited to interview will be required to present their original degree documentation

GCSEs and equivalents

• English and Maths GCSE at grade A* - C / 4-9 (please contact our Admissions team if you have equivalent qualifications)

Additional requirements

• Relevant work experience
  • Applicants must be able to demonstrate a minimum of 700 hours healthcare experience (approximately six months full-time work) in their chosen field within the past 5 years.  This can be through either paid or voluntary work, but must be verifiable by a supervisor or line manager. We advise that applicants supply their employer's verification of these hours with their application. 
  • We are looking for evidence of voluntary, paid or life experiences of caring for children and young people and their families and carers. Experience of caring for children and young people of various ages as well as those children and young people who have a range of physical and intellectual ability is an advantage for those candidates applying for the child nursing programme.

International requirements

• IELTS
  • If English is not your first language, IELTS (Academic) with an overall score of 7.0, including at least 6.5 in the writing section and at least 7.0 in the reading, listening and speaking sections. The university may be able to accept alternative English Language qualifications from applicants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) on a case by case basis in line with the appropriate Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) guidelines

Further information

• Extra Requirements
  • Please be advised that Maths, English (including IELTS if required) and 700 hours of experience is required at the point of application, we will require a reference from your employer to verify these hours, preferably at the point of application. 
  • International applicants who require a student visa are not eligible to apply for the course. 

  Occupational English Test (OET)

  We’ll accept an OET examination certificate that confirms you achieved

  • at least a grade C+ in the writing section
  • at least a grade B in the reading, listening and speaking sections

   

Application and selection

Securing your place at LJMU

UCAS is the application route for this full-time programme. Further information on the UCAS application process can be found here https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate-students/how-to-apply.

Applications are made via UCAS.com - visit the MSc Child Nursing UCAS course page and click the Apply button. 

The UCAS course code is PCN1 and the LJMU institution code is L51.

You will need to register for a UCAS account and pay the applicable UCAS application fee.

RPL to the MSc Nursing programme is 770 hours practice and 770 hours theory, equalling 1,540 hours in total.

You must meet the NMC's 'health and character' requirements.

Satisfactory Medical Clearance/Examination. We will contact you directly to undertake this. Satisfactory Enhanced DBS check (Disclosure and Barring Service - formerly CRB). We will contact you directly to undertake this and further information can be found at www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check

In addition, applicants will have to follow Faculty procedures for declaring any convictions after interview.

LJMU is required to transfer data to third party professional organisations as required to complete a professional award.