Advance your career
Our teaching approach ensures you develop skills in critical thinking, high-quality patient care delivery, teamwork and communication – all attributes highly valued in intensive and critical care units.
Get work-ready
Study our postgraduate critical care nursing courses and have the flexibility to maintain a work, life and study balance while advancing your knowledge and skills to grow in your career. Become a change agent to continuously improve the quality, safety and execution of care to critically ill patients. You’ll be immersed in a critical care role while you study, preparing you to succeed no matter where you choose to practice in the world.
Postgraduate
Postgraduate (further study)
A postgraduate qualification can be undertaken by students who have already completed an undergraduate degree or possess significant, demonstrable work experience. Postgraduate courses include graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, masters and PhDs, as well as specialist programs for industry professionals.
Career opportunities
With job growth of 13.9% projected for registered nurses and 23.1% for nurse managers by 2026,* there is an industry demand for nurses with sophisticated specialty skills. Our postgraduate critical care nursing courses allow you to meet that demand in a variety of roles across advanced practice, leadership, management and education in regional, rural or metropolitan hospitals including:
- ICU nurse
- associate or unit manager
- clinical nurse specialist
- clinical nurse educator.
Deakin’s course has provided me with a great foundation on which to grow my career. 'Knowledge is power', and I think the lecturers and course content have really empowered me as a clinician.
Felicity Hoodless
Postgraduate critical care nursing graduate
Choosing the right course
Deakin’s critical care speciality courses are offered at a postgraduate level. You can study at either the graduate certificate or graduate diploma level; or choose to specialise in critical care as part of the Master of Advanced Clinical Nursing.
Are you new to this area of study?
If you haven't previously worked or studied in this area, you'll need to complete an undergraduate course in nursing before moving on to our specialised postgraduate program.
Browse the undergraduate offerings in some of our other nursing disciplines.
Research with us
Research at the school is conducted through our Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research (QPS) and in partnership with several major healthcare providers. Our school is ranked 20th in the world,^ and the school’s cutting-edge research is recognised as well above world standard.#
Who we work with
The school works in partnership with many Australian metropolitan, rural and regional hospitals to deliver our specialist postgraduate programs.
Students undertaking our postgraduate courses are normally employed by a hospital partner and work a minimum of 24 hours a week for the duration of the course while undertaking the theoretical learning through Deakin.
Browse other disciplines within nursing and midwifery
Choose an area that you're interested in and learn how Deakin's extensive range of study options and experiences can help turn your dreams into reality.
Footnotes
*2021 Employment Outlook - for the five years to November 2026, Australian Government National Skills Commission.
^2022 ShanghaiRankings Ranking of Academic Subjects.
#Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) 2018.