School of Nursing

MSc Adult Critical Care

MSc Part-time 2 years

This high-quality Adult Critical Care course will increase your knowledge, skills and career development within this specialised environment, providing an opportunity to gain experience of a full Master of Science qualification.

 

This high-quality Adult Critical Care course will increase your knowledge, skills and career development within this specialised environment, providing an opportunity to gain experience of a full Master of Science qualification.

 

Award
MSc
Start date(s)
8 September 2025
UCAS Code
Course specifications
Course length
Part-time (2 years)
Campus location
University: Walsall Campus
UCAS points calculator

Why choose this course?

 

What happens on the course?

This course aims to facilitate the registered healthcare professional to continue to develop their theoretical knowledge and practical skills to provide a patient-centred approach to the care of the critically ill adult.  The course will provide learners with the ability to apply up to date and research-based learning into the clinical setting enabling health care professionals to deliver high quality patient care safely.

 Students will be able to demonstrate leadership skills to enable them to educate and train their peers, disseminating their newly acquired knowledge.  The course will provide a deeper understanding of the structures and processes which underpin the critical care environment.  Students will have a conceptional knowledge of the requirements and skills required within senior roles within critical care.

Course Modules

Potential Career Paths

Successful completion of the course provides the student with a nationally recognised and transferable award in Adult Critical Care, which is a requirement for professional progression and promotion within the speciality.

The curriculum and course content are based on the practices and underpinning theory required to work in critical care. As you progress through the course, you will work towards completing Steps Two and Three of the CC3N national standards and competences, a requirement of the post-registration academic programme in critical care. This will also give you the potential to progress to Step Four (Leadership) competencies as part of your ongoing professional development.

Completion of the MSc Adult Critical Care will provide the platform to move into management roles within the National Health Service.

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

The course is attended by staff working in critical care units across the Midlands region, which provides students with the opportunity to gain further knowledge and understanding of different specialities and practice techniques. Allowing students to network within the community of practice and learn from one another. 

Students work in a variety of critical care units, from speciality critical care units to general critical care.  This allows the opportunity for placements, where possible. These are arranged by the local critical care staff and not monitored by the University of Wolverhampton.   The core academic team have a varied and expert knowledge and experience providing care to the critically ill and specialist environments.

The level 6 and level 7 Critical Care courses are taught together in the same classroom, maximising this opportunity and ensuring inclusivity of teaching and education for all students. Level 7 students will be provided with some additional sessions relating to the additional requirements of this level. 

Students completing the MSc in Adult Critical Care will be able to work independently to provide clinical care and demonstrate leadership within the critical care environment.  The completion of the MSc Adult Critical Care will prepare students for career progression and management within the critical care environment.

The adult critical care course meets the National Standards for Critical Care Nurse Education published by the Critical Care Network National Nurse leads (CC3N, 2023) and incorporates the relevant steps of the National Competency Framework for Adult Critical Care Nurses (CC3N, 2015). This ensures the adult critical care course meets the recommendations for Critical Care nurse education set out in the Guidelines for the Provision of Intensive Care Services (GPICS) published by the UK Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Intensive Care Society (FICM & ICS 2022). The course curriculum is aligned to meet the national standards, ensuring that the award achieved remains one which is professionally recognised and transferable and will be adapted as required to continue to maintain these.

The course continues to build and maintain close working relationships between the university and the critical care units within the local region and beyond. This is maintained through yearly review meetings with the course team and unit practice development nurses (PDNs), PDN input to course developments and regular contact by the course leader with the practice areas. This relationship ensures that the content of the course remains responsive to the reality of practice in the clinical environment.

The Adult Critical Care course will provide learners with broad theoretical knowledge and skills to enhance their clinical practice and become experts in their field and lead the future of critical care standards.  The course will work alongside national clinical competences, the course is designed around the Critical Care National Network Nurse Leads (CC3N) Framework, which is recognised throughout England and beyond.  This is a recognisable and transferable qualification.

The Master of Science will lead the way for research within the critical care environment and shape future clinical practice.

Location Mode Fee Year
Home Part-time £4408 per year 2024-25
Home Part-time £4544 per year 2025-26

These fees relate to new entrants only for the academic year indicated for entry onto the course, any subsequent years study may be subject to an annual increase, usually in line with inflation.

 Entry Requirements:

    • You must hold 12-months experience within critical care and working in a critical care department for the duration of the course.
  • You must have completed Step 1 of the National Competency Framework for Critical Care Nursing (CC3N, 2023), by the start of the course.
  • You must have previously completed a degree in nursing or related topic. This may be an honours or non-honours degree.
  • You must be able to demonstrates the ability to study at level 7 to be determined on an individual basis by the course team.
  • “Succinct explanation of shock and sepsis and the involvement of other specialists like midwife/ paediatric ACP.”

    It gave me the challenge of having a wider reading about the things we do in the ITU and understand why we do that.

    I enjoyed coming to lectures, but also have the flexibility to review material on Canva.”

    Thank you so much! Really enjoyed doing the course, and you have all been amazing teachers and made it enjoyable.

    Postgraduate Loyalty Discount:

    You can get 20% discount on a taught postgraduate course if you’re a University of Wolverhampton Graduate.

    The University offers a generous 20% Loyalty Discount to students progressing from an undergraduate programme to a taught postgraduate on-site programme, where both courses are University of Wolverhampton Awards.

    There is no time limit on how long ago you completed your degree as long as this is your first Masters level qualification.

    The discount applies to the first year of enrolment only. Students who receive a loyalty discount are not entitled to any further tuition discount or bursary. For full terms and conditions click here.


    Self-funded:

    If you are paying for the fees yourself then the fees can be paid in 3 instalments: November, January and April. More information can be found by clicking here.


    Sponsored - Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

    Your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

    We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.


    Financial Hardship:

    Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.


    Charitable Funding:

    You might also want to explore the possibility of funding from charitable trusts. Please contact Association of Charitable Foundations, Directory of Social Change or Family Aid. Most charities and trust funds offer limited bursaries targeted to specific groups of students so you will need to research whether any of them are relevant to your situation.

    You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

    Telephone

    01902 32 22 22

    Email

    enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

    Online

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