Graduate Diploma of Nursing
Postgraduate | UND-NUR-GDI | 2024
Upgrade your nursing skills with advanced theory
A postgrad health qualification for registered nurses and students with practical nursing skills. Fill your knowledge gaps as you strive for quality patient care. This course provides a pathway to nursing leadership or further studies at Masters level.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Applications close
- 7 July 2024
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 1 year full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 8
- Price from
- $23,909
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
Graduate Diploma of Nursing
About this degree
On completion of this program students should be able to achieve the following learning outcomes:
- Synthesise advanced theoretical knowledge and skills required of the Registered Nurse to undertake increasingly complex nursing activities.
- Critique the effectiveness of national and international models of nursing practice and policy to continually improve outcomes for patients in the hospital and community.
- Employ critical thinking and clinical reasoning to solve ethical and legal dilemmas in the culturally and socially diverse healthcare environment.
- Communicate and negotiate with influence to achieve optimum patient care outcomes.
- Collaborate with a range of professionals to achieve the common goals of best possible healthcare outcomes for individuals and communities.
- Reflect on practice to facilitate awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition and abilities, establishing a mechanism for lifelong learning.
- Actively contribute to the professional development of a range of members of the healthcare team.
- Conduct national and international research retrieval and enquiry to inform contemporary nursing practice.
Nursing is a practice profession that requires all nurses to maintain competency and participate in activities that contribute to professional and practice development. This program will be attractive to nurses wanting to advance their understanding and application of nursing knowledge and skill in a variety of clinical practice areas. This program will provide opportunities for students to participate in activities that contribute to career progression using theoretical frameworks to inform processes and multiple approaches to facilitate quality patient care. The program identifies knowledge gaps and builds on quality processes through the systematic appraisal and synthesis of evidence-based practice in the context of the students’ clinical experience. The program provides a pathway for students to progress further in their studies at Masters level.
Recommended study pattern
Three (3) postgraduate nursing courses, Three (3) postgraduate elective courses, One (1) postgraduate research elective and One (1) core curriculum course
Award requirements
To be eligible for the award of Graduate Diploma of Nursing students must complete a minimum of 200 Units of Credit chosen from the subjects comprising:
- 75 Units of Credit from two (3) Postgraduate Elective Courses
- 75 Units of Credit from three (3) Postgraduate Nursing Courses
- 25 Units of Credit from one (1) Core Curriculum Course
- 25 Units of Credit from one (1) Postgraduate Research Elective Course
Exit points
Graduate Certificate in Nursing
Degrees are usually made up of core subjects and electives. Some degrees include a choice of majors, so you can focus your studies on a specialisation.
This list is a general overview. Download the full Degree Guide for more information.
The University of Notre Dame Australia is committed to delivering an excellent student experience, alongside a high standard of teaching, research, and training. As a leader in ethical education, Notre Dame aims to develop students’ critical reasoning and their ability to make ethical decisions—crucial skills to progressing their careers and leading purposeful lives. At Notre Dame, students navigate their future with an ethical education online.
Learn more about UNDA.
Explore UNDA courses.
- QS Ranking 2024:
- 37
Entry requirements
To be eligible for admission to the Graduate Diploma of Nursing applicants must hold a recognised Bachelor of Nursing degree or equivalent, current licence to practice as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia or provisional registration and have a minimum of one year relevant post registration nursing experience.
Defined as the successful completion of secondary education or a Bachelor’s degree in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada or the Republic of Ireland.
Students who have English as an Additional language and are admitted on the basis of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assessment, or an equivalent English language proficiency assessment, are only admitted if they have attained n overall IELTS (or equivalent) score of 7.0, with no individual band score below 7.0.
All English language tests are valid for two years from the date of completion
Applications for Advanced Standing and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) will be considered and reviewed on a case by case basis by UNDA's Student Administration.
Career opportunities
If you are a Registered Nurse, our Graduate Diploma of Nursing offers you the chance to upgrade your qualifications over a two-year period. The part-time program is open to you if you have a degree, or if you do not have a degree, you can demonstrate practical nursing skills. Contact time has been limited so that you can combine your work with this postgraduate program. Covering areas such as mental health, governance, management and leadership, education, acute care, evidence based practice and research and professional development, our postgraduate nursing program offers the ideal vehicle for you if you are a Registered Nurse and want to develop your nursing expertise and function at an advanced level in your profession.
Professional recognition
Graduate Diploma of Nursing is not ANMAC accredited. University of Notre Dame PG Graduates are industry recognised through specific salary structures.
Career outlook
- Nurse Educators and Researchers:
- $93K to $120K
- Nurse Managers:
- Over $120K
- Registered Nurses:
- $93K to $120K
Degree FAQs
That's up to you! Because we let you choose when to study online, you can actually pick up and pause study when it suits you. Many universities have a set time you need to complete your degree within. For some this is up to 10 years, and for others there is no limit.
There are some degrees that are stricter about when you can take breaks, and about how many years you can take to complete your degree. Please always check with your uni what the limits are.
As a general guide, Commonwealth supported place students have 10 years to finish their undergraduate degree through OUA, However, if you're studying with Griffith University, there's a limit of 8 years to complete your studies. If you want to take a break that lasts more than two study terms, you'll need to apply for a leave of absence. You can apply for a leave of absence for up to 12 months, as long as you complete your studies within the maximum time allowed for your degree.
If you're studying with Macquarie University, with the exception of certain degrees, there's no limit to how long you can take. But, please check with Macquarie Student Administration to be sure.
If you're studying with the University of Adelaide, you have up to 9 years to complete your undergraduate degree and graduate.
If you're studying with La Trobe University and want to take a break of minimum 1 study term, you must apply for leave of absence to avoid being inadvertently withdrawn from your degree.
Through OUA, you can study all year round, so it's possible to fast-track and finish up sooner than studying at a traditional uni would allow. That said, you need to spend around 12 hours a week on each undergraduate subject you do, so taking on extra work to finish ahead of time can be challenging.
You may be eligible for a HELP loan from the Australian government, depending on your citizenship status and where you'll be living during your studies. You can also pay upfront with your credit card.
Payment options are explained in Fees, and you can contact a student advisor for more information.
You might find learning through OUA a little different to how you've studied in the past. It can take time to develop the skills you need for independent online study.
We connect you with subjects and degrees that are taught by leading Australian universities. You can complete single subjects, or follow a degree structure to work towards a specific qualification. Subjects are offered in several study terms throughout the year, so you can choose to study part-time or full-time, continuously or with breaks.
We help you find the subjects or degree that's right for you, and we handle your enrolment in uni and some administration. Your uni sends you your study materials and deals with all academic matters. They're also in charge of your assessment and graduation. If you go on to complete a degree, you'll graduate from the uni offering your degree, for example, RMIT University or Griffith University.
Before starting an enrolment, it's important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you're eligible to apply. If you don't quite meet the requirements, we can help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study. Chat with us to find out more.
Our close of enrolment times vary. You can check the cut-off dates for upcoming study terms by visiting Key dates.
There are a lot of reasons to study your course online through us.
You can enrol without entry requirements
We have a unique open-door policy that makes it possible for everyone to enrol in university study, no matter their academic history. If you don't meet the entry requirements for a degree, we'll help you get in through single undergraduate subjects and transition into a qualification from there.
You have total control over how you study
Upskill without committing to a whole degree upfront. Or enrol in a full degree, but take it a subject at a time. We'll introduce you to flexible study options you didn't even know about, so you can fit uni around what matters to you.
You'll graduate with the same qualification as an on-campus student
Once you enrol through us, you'll study online with the university that provides your degree. This means that when you complete your qualification, you'll graduate with the same degree as on-campus students.
We'll help you navigate the university world
Our friendly student advisors will be your guide every step of the enrolment journey. They'll help you compare universities, choose a course, provide documentation and understand your finance options.
Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.
When you've made your choice, click 'Apply now' on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We'll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.
Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.
If you get stuck at any time, reach out to us and we'll talk you through it.
You can also take a look at our online self-service enrolling instructions.