100% online MSc Nursing Studies
Equip yourself for transformational leadership in senior nursing roles with a great university.
- 180 Credits •
- Complete within 12 months •
- £7,416 total fees
Why Sunderland?
- 100% online MSc – complete within 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time
- 5 star rating for teaching, inclusiveness, employability and facilities*
- Top 40 UK University**
- 70% of university research rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’***
- 8th in the UK for social inclusion****
- £7,416 total fees, option to pay £618 per module
**Guardian University Guide 2025
***Research Excellence Framework 2021
****The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
A flexible online master's designed for a global audience of leaders and aspiring leaders in Nursing and healthcare
In its career progression tips, the Royal College of Nursing emphasises the value of Nursing MSc degrees and the importance of building your professional network.
The 100% online MSc Nursing Studies from the University of Sunderland has been designed to equip registered nurses in the UK and across the world with the knowledge, skills and network to succeed in senior nursing, midwifery and healthcare roles and to advance to higher pay bands, or develop greater depth and understanding within their current roles and scope of practice.
This is a master’s degree that builds on your current experience to further develop your knowledge, skills and capacity in the four pillars of advanced practice (as defined by NHS Education) – education, research, clinical practice and leadership – through a combination of studying key theories, approaches and the available evidence base, using case-based analysis and critical appraisal skills.
The content of the course is aligned to the four pillars of advanced practice outlined by NHS Education and the multi- professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England.
Learn from skilled professionals recognised for excellence in teaching and research
Whilst studying the MSc Nursing Studies at the University of Sunderland, everything that you learn will be directly related to the needs of the NHS and other healthcare employers.
You’ll be taught by a team of experienced and highly-skilled professionals who each have at least one specialist area of both clinical and teaching expertise. The team are experts in patient-centred care and have a unique relationship with our Patient, Carer and Public Involvement (PCPI) group who take part in a variety of activities to support learning.
Our firm belief is that it is precisely this specialist teaching and research excellence that has led to the University of Sunderland to be ranked internationally as a leading university, receiving five stars for teaching, inclusiveness, employability and facilities in the QS World University Rankings 2023, the highest rating that can be awarded to a university. A special recognition of our practical focus on developing the skills that enable career progression for our students.
What will you study?
Studying for the MSc Nursing Studies, you will learn how to critically evaluate current research and advance scholarship that is specifically related to nursing practice and healthcare, including teaching and learning, leadership and service or practice development and improvement.
This master’s course allows you to specialise in a field of interest and develops your skills of self-direction, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making and originality in complex and unpredictable situations. You will learn how to autonomously plan and implement tasks and continue to advance your knowledge and understanding of advanced nursing and innovation in healthcare, developing new skills to a high level.
Key knowledge and skills taught on this course:
- Leadership and management in a healthcare context
- Quality improvement, innovation and change management
- Health inequalities and determinants of health
- Digital literacy in healthcare
- Supporting diversity
- Strategic approaches in global health and care policy
- Workforce development and maximising workforce potential
- Patient carer and public involvement concepts and policies
- Innovation in healthcare
A flexible online master's course designed to fit around the busy lives of healthcare practitioners around the world
The reason that the online MSc Nursing Studies is so ideally suited to ambitious individuals in healthcare is because the bespoke flexible design of the programme enables you to access academic content on demand, at whenever is convenient for you. It can be studied around work and family commitments and has been designed to fit around the challenging schedules of healthcare professionals.
If you opt to study this online nursing degree part-time, you will be able to continue to work full-time in your current role and apply the knowledge and skills that you develop in real time. If you choose to study full-time, you will graduate within 12 months which will allow you to work on progressing your career sooner.
Within a carefully tailored and collaborative online learning environment you will join a vibrant community of nursing and healthcare leaders and aspiring leaders from across the world. This provides you with a highly effective route to making key contacts and expanding your global professional network, potentially a key contributor to unlocking career progression. You will interact with PCPI members and fellow students via discussion boards, forums and group learning activities, representing opportunities to learn from the experiences of nurses from diverse backgrounds.
From the moment you enrol to the moment you graduate, you will be supported by a dedicated Student Success Coordinator, who will be tasked with the sole aim of helping you to succeed in your studies.
A university with a global outlook and a culture of collaborative learning and diversity of thought
There is a high percentage of international students at University of Sunderland, and we have students studying by distance learning around the world. Sunderland is also one of the UK’s leading widening participation Universities and 7th in the UK for social inclusion (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).
Our diversity credentials and global outlook are underlined by the fact that we have nearly 6,000 international students studying with the University of Sunderland. We’re immensely proud of our campuses in Hong Kong, Sunderland and London, as well as our many global partnerships including in the Caribbean, Greece, Kenya, Malaysia, Lanka, Oman, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tashkent and Vietnam. Our teaching and learning philosophy is based on encouraging diverse learner cohorts of professionals to collaborate within a bespoke learning environment, benefiting from different cultures and perspectives. It is clear to us that this provides students with a broader set of insights and leads to a richer and more meaningful learning experience.
Admission requirements
- Registered with NMC or equivalent
- At least a UK 2.2 undergraduate honours degree or UK master’s degree in nursing or a health-related discipline (or international equivalent)
- A third-class or UK ordinary degree with 18 months of relevant work experience
This programme does not lead to NMC qualification or to qualification as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner.
English language requirements- NMC registration is accepted as proof of English language ability.
Fees
- Total course fees
- £7,416
- Per 15-credit module fee
- £618
If you are based in the UK, you may be eligible for a government-backed postgraduate loan to cover the full costs of the course.
In addition, if you have successfully completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Sunderland, you are eligible for a 10% tuition fees reduction on our postgraduate programmes.
You pay tuition fees for each module taken, either module-by-module or in full at the start of your course.
If you pay module-by-module, you will pay in instalments of £618.