Course summary

Our new MSc Midwifery offers currently registered adult nurses the ability to undertake a shortened two-year route into practising midwifery. Current workforce data shows that the NHS needs another 2000 midwives to ensure a safe, personalised maternity service and to achieve ambitions set out in the Better Births (2016) publication. The University of Birmingham has responded to support this area of workforce shortage in the NHS by launching this new programme. We are now welcoming applications for September 2022 entry following recommendation for approval by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. There will be funding available for up to 300 students per year in England to include salary support and tuition fee contributions up to £9,250 per year as announced by Health Education England. Details of our eligibility for this funding will be confirmed shortly, so do register your interest and we will notify you once this is confirmed. This programme, which has been developed in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 2019 Standards for Midwifery, is the ideal opportunity for current registered adult nurses to expand on their existing skills and knowledge, moving into the maternal care sector. Being a midwife is highly rewarding but brings responsibility for ensuring that childbirth occurs in a safe and positive environment. At the University of Birmingham, we will provide you with the best possible training opportunities and you will benefit from interprofessional learning opportunities both within the School of Nursing and Midwifery and across the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. You will also access maternal health providers during your studies with placement providers including Birmingham Women's Hospital (BWC) (one of only two trusts in the UK specialising in women's health care), University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust. Both BWC and UHB’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital are located right next to the University’s Medical School building where your teaching will take place. Our Masters uses a blended learning model with enhanced and interactive digital media to develop knowledge. Off campus, learning includes scheduled webinars, video lectures and podcasts and a wide range of digital resources and directed activity. Integration of theory to practice is achieved through small group seminars along with problem-centred and simulated learning delivered during scheduled on campus teaching. Our maternal and neonatal simulation space allows you to develop clinical skills before bringing them to placement practice. A unique aspect of the Birmingham MSc Midwifery will be your allocated virtual case load to assist you in developing skills in providing relationship-based, holistic care, creative and flexible planning, accurate clinical assessment and high-quality decision-making. At Birmingham, we enjoy working with a vibrant community partnership group who help us ensure that the MSc Midwifery programme takes a woman and family centred focus. Our links with placement partners allows us to offer a range of specialist placements tailored to your needs. Together, these features will ensure you develop clinical midwifery and research, leadership and management skills which will facilitate your future career journey as a midwife.