Study Nursing, Social Work and Health with the online education expert

There are now many ‘johnny-come-lately’ universities in online education. UNE has been delivering distance education since 1955 – that’s longer than any other Australian university. Perhaps that’s why our students continue to rate us so highly for student satisfaction and teaching quality. 

Study across three study periods with 24/7 online tutor support. If you don’t have entry qualifications, our free Pathways Enabling Course gives you entry and credit to most of UNE’s undergraduate degrees.

If you prefer to study on-campus, UNE has a campus in Armidale.

If you’re not ready to commit to a whole degree right now, we also have our revolutionary new Bespoke Courses where you can design a short course of just 2, 3 or 4 units. Because they’re real degree units you may get credit towards a full degree later.

Nursing

UNE is at the forefront of nurse education and was the first tertiary education provider in Australia to offer distance education for nurses. We have a reputation for producing excellent nurses, who are in-demand because of their practical experience and knowledge of Australian health care systems.

UNE has three compact teaching periods (trimesters) each year. The Bachelor of Nursing is offered on-campus for the first two teaching periods, to ensure you have a solid foundation, after which you can choose to study on-campus or via blended learning for the remaining four teaching periods.

Postgraduate Nursing

UNE's postgraduate nursing courses offer a range of options to help you progress your career - from becoming a specialist in a particular healthcare area, to developing skills to take on leadership roles.

We offer units in acute care, clinical management, clinical practice, learning and teaching in healthcare, mental health, perioperative nursing, rural health, safety and quality in healthcare, and trauma and critical care nursing. You can also choose to undertake individual units to meet your current professional development needs, without having to undertake the entire course.

Social Work

Social Work at UNE is uniquely designed to prepare students for work in diverse settings, particularly within rural and remote areas and communities. You will be exposed to a variety of situations throughout the course, to enable a better understand of how individuals, groups and communities experience issues such as social marginalization, isolation and disempowerment.

Social Work is taught using a "Case Based Learning Model" as this assists you to develop the skills and capacity to understand multiple and potentially competing interests, psycho and social dimensions and systemic issues. You will be taught using the latest online technologies which will prepare you for contemporary social work practice within multiple service provision contexts.

Counselling and Mental Health

UNE's counselling and mental health courses provide professional training in counselling specialisations to enable graduates to work in a range of counselling contexts. Emphasis is given to producing counsellors who are self-reflective and committed to lifelong learning in the areas of human development and counselling processes.

Students will be introduced to the mental health care system in Australia and will learn practical counselling skills to enable them to work effectively in the mental health field.

Course

Trimester 3 
Start October 2017

Trimester 1 
Start February 2018*

Please see course details for individual course rules and admissions criteria. Note some degrees have mandatory intensive schools which require attendance on campus.

*Course list is subject to change.
**The first two units of the Master of Nursing Practice are offered on-campus only in Trimester 3.

Flexibility is the key to our online learning programs. Whatever your commitments you can study at any time or place around the world - at home, travelling or at work. Your study can be balanced with the competing interests of work, family and social commitments.
UNE has been providing flexible education for over 60 years, so we know what the challenges are, and have a wide range of support services in place to help students overcome them. Our online teaching is designed to be inclusive, and to create a learning community for all students to engage with each other as well as academic staff. This is one of the reasons why we’ve been rated the best online university by Online Study Australia in its national list of top ten online universities.

How does online study work?

Instead of turning up to a lecture on campus at a designated time, the course content is provided online for you to access when it suits you each week. It might be a podcast (recorded lecture), a set of readings, questions posed in a discussion board, an online quiz or a video. Your lecturer will guide you through the unit with a weekly plan of study.

Intensive Schools

Some online units have intensive schools, which are usually held in the term breaks at our Armidale campus. Intensive schools are a valuable and enjoyable experience that enrich the learning process and help build your networks. Check the Course and Unit Catalogue to see if any units in your degree have intensive schools.
Please note: International students who wish to study wholly online are only permitted to do so if they are studying online from overseas or are studying in Australia on a visa other than a student visa.
The Pathways Enabling Course prepares you for admission to an undergraduate course at UNE. It is free from course fees and available online. The course awards you with the minimum entry requirements and can provide credit towards your UNE degree.

Why study the Pathways Enabling Course?

  • Prepare for university without paying course fees
  • Gain admission to university
  • Flexible online study
  • Develop valuable skills and knowledge
  • Complete study that can count towards your degree
  • Start in any three teaching periods
More information about the 
Pathways Enabling Course.

Getting Started

Prior to applying we suggest you:
1. Check out our 
Course and Unit Catalogue
, to see all the degrees UNE has to offer. You can search by course or for specific subjects. If you find yourself thinking 'that might be good', then have a look at which degree program is linked to those subjects.
2. Check if you need to add any 
entry requirement documentation
 to your application.
3. 
Check the closing dates for applications.
 Some courses have earlier closing dates and requirements.
4. You may also be eligible for credit for study you've previously undertaken successfully, find out about 
Advanced Standing
.

Ready to apply?

Applications are now open for Trimester 3, 2017
APPLY NOW
Please note: International students who wish to study wholly online are only permitted to do so if they are studying online from overseas or are studying in Australia on a visa other than a student visa.

Need some more information?

Use the form below to email our Future Student Team and they'll be able to help you with details about the application process, degree questions, studying at UNE and more.
Privacy Policy

Got a question?

1800 818 865

Request the 'Flexible Study at UNE' Guide

Got a question?

1800 818 865