Intro

Midwives provide essential care, advice and support for women and their families during pregnancy, labour and early post-natal stages.

As a professional midwife you will enjoy a career with unique challenges and rewards; you will share people’s most personal experiences. You will provide essential care, advice and support for women and their family during pregnancy, labour and the post-natal period.

To thrive in this role you need to be adaptable, compassionate and dependable, with a sound knowledge of everyday midwifery issues and potential complications. This course enables you to develop core midwifery competencies, equips you to confidently apply theory to practice and leads to eligibility for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a midwife.

To ensure you can confidently apply theory to practice, you will spend 50% of the year on placements in varied health settings. The rest of the course is spent in theoretical learning which includes synchronous and asynchronous learning, lectures, collaborative learning, self-directed study, group work, presentations, assessments and simulated care. Our simulation suite includes a replica hospital room and home birthing room.

When you choose to study midwifery with us, you'll also have the opportunity to gain a global perspective on an overseas placement.

The recognition that patients come first in everything the NHS does, and the values of the NHS constitution – respect, dignity, compassion and working together for patients – are embedded in our curriculum.

Our midwifery programme has recently been validated and is underpinned by the Nursing and Midwifery Council Standards of Proficiency for Midwives (2019). It includes the newly approved Newborn Infant Physical Examination qualification as part of the year 3 modules.

We also hold Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) full accreditation.

Key facts

Location Eastbourne

UCAS code B720

Full-time 3 years

This course meets NMC standards and course graduates are eligible for registration.

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Closed for 2021

This course is closed for applications for 2021 entry. UCAS will open for 2022 applications in May 2021.

Course content

How this course is delivered

Students have a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that keeps everyone safe, connected and involved in university life. Lots of opportunities are provided to interact and engage with lecturers and other students. The balance between online and on-campus learning varies by module, and in response to the external environment.

Course structure

You will be based at the Eastbourne campus, with clinical placements taking place at locations in Surrey and across Sussex including Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton, Haywards Heath, Redhill and Worthing.

You'll develop core midwifery competencies in areas including human biology and relationships, midwifery practice and its professional framework. As you progress through the course, you will learn about more complex medical or obstetric needs and referral of mother or baby.

You will follow Unicef UK Baby Friendly accreditation standards throughout your learning ensuring you are equipped with the knowledge and skills to support infant feeding and relationship building effectively.

You’ll share learning with other health specialisms, allowing you to benefit from interprofessional collaboration, sharing knowledge and expertise.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through Student View.

Year 1

There are five modules in year 1 that follow the journey of the woman and her family through all stages of pregnancy, labour and postnatal care. In each module you will journey with families through their pregnancy, gaining knowledge and understanding through a holistic approach.

Alongside these modules you will undertake clinical placements, where you'll be able to use your theoretical knowledge in providing supervised care for women, babies and their families, whilst being supported and assessed the course team.

Modules

Pregnancy Beginnings

This module introduces the role and responsibilities of the midwife during preconception and early pregnancy. You'll develop a fundamental understanding of midwifery, and the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to support women and their families for pregnancy. Your studies will be supported by relevant anatomy and physiology topics.
Pregnancy

This module builds on the Pregnancy Beginnings module, and will continue to develop your insight to the role of the midwife. You'll develop your knowledge, skills and behaviours for antenatal care, enabling you to be responsive to the individual needs of women and their families.
Birth

This module introduces the role and responsibility of the midwife during birth, exploring the main themes and concepts in the provision of contemporary midwifery care. This will be supported by using labour and birth scenarios to explore biological adaptation in the mother, the experiences of women and families, and the assessment and planning of care. You will also develop your skills in presenting information and evidence.
Beyond Birth

This module introduces midwifery care during the period following birth. You'll explore the midwife’s role in optimising the newborn adaptation to life outside the womb, and the mother and their family’s transition to parenthood.
Clinical Assessment of Practice

This module enables you to be assessed and credited for your clinical practice. It aims to help you to build upon your theoretical knowledge from year 1 modules and to develop your clinical practice, leading to the provision of safe and effective midwifery care.
Course Hours Requirements for Midwifery

This module captures clinical hours you have completed in midwifery practice, enabling you to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements for professional registration and to meet the European Directive requirement for midwifery registration.

Trainee midwifery students and student patient

Year 2

In year 2 the journey of pregnancy will become more complex and you will continue to develop a holistic approach to the leading and delivering of care when there are additional needs.

Clinical placements during year 2 include non-midwifery areas of practice to further enhance your skills and knowledge of care provision.

Modules

Complexities and Childbearing
Contemporary Midwifery and Research
Managing Midwifery Emergencies
Clinical Assessment of Practice 2
Course Hours Requirement of Midwifery 2

Midwifery students using the simulation suite

Final year

The final year provides you with further opportunities to develop your midwifery skills, working closely with other healthcare professionals, and to become a leader of care provision.

You'll further develop your clinical skills through the Newborn Infant Physical Examination module, and your understanding of midwifery practice in a variety of clinical settings.

Modules

Contemporary Midwifery Project
Newborn Infant Physical Examination
Future Midwife
Clinical Assessment of Practice 3
Course Hours Requirement of Midwifery 3

Facilities

Flexible Learning Environment

The Flexible Learning Environment is an adapted home environment in a residential location where you'll be able to practise skills and learn from other students while taking part in realistic training scenarios.

Every room is fitted with cameras and microphones, so that students can be directed and monitored from the control room while the observation room provides the opportunity to review, playback and debrief.

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Clinical Skills and Simulation Rooms

As a midwifery student you'll benefit from practising skills in an environment that simulates midwives' real-life professional experiences. Learning by simulation means you will be confident in your ability to apply your knowledge and skills in your day-to-day professional life.

You'll have access to two birthing simulation rooms – a hospital and home environment – both with recording equipment and monitors which can feed through to a high fidelity data projector in the classroom so your lecturers and fellow students can give feedback on your progress.

The hospital room includes a replica hospital bed, inflatable birthing pool, baby cot, birthing couch, sling and birthing ball. The home environment room is a replica lounge.

Click on image to view a virtual tour of some of our midwifery facilities

Study abroad

Within the School of Health Sciences we are committed to providing a global perspective to nursing and midwifery education.

As such we offer a range of international English-speaking exchange placements to Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice students. All of our international placements are fully supported.

International placements are only with partners with which we have an agreement – this ensures a good quality learning opportunity and safe experience.

We provide guidance with sourcing accommodation, visas, occupational health checks and insurance. You will be connected with a key personal contact for each partner and have access to online support from the university whilst you are abroad.

All students who take part in a study abroad experience identify its immense value, whether through hosting visiting students or participating in an exchange. We share all students' experiences through our newsletters and through the student ambassador project.

If you wish to learn more about these opportunities you are welcome to discuss this at interview.

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Our latest news

A history of childbirth in the UK

Principal Lecturer in Midwifery, Tania McIntosh, has written an article for The Conversation.

We’re top for careers!

The Guardian University Guide 2021 has recently been published and it’s good news for students on our health courses: health professions courses at Brighton are joint 1st in the UK for career prospects our nursing and midwifery courses are also joint 1st in the UK for career prospects In the overall rankings health professions courses.

Our online summer schools are open for bookings

Our online summer schools are free, open to sixth form and college students, and offer the opportunity to get a real feel for what it’s like to study a subject you love at university.

Gender equality award

The School of Health Sciences, School of Art and School of Media have achieved Bronze awards from Advance HE’s Athena SWAN Charter in recognition of their commitment to gender equality.

Careers

Our nursing and midwifery courses are joint 1st in the UK for career prospects, Guardian University Guide 2021.

The Midwifery BSc(Hons) will provide you with an excellent foundation for work in a range of contexts providing midwifery care and for further professional development in clinical practice, education and research.

This course is offered in conjunction with local NHS trusts. Many of our graduates find that they leave university with a firm offer of employment from the NHS trust which provided their practice placements.

The course also prepares you for further academic study at masters and doctoral level.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course and should be used as a general guide. For courses that require interview or portfolio review, this may also be considered in the level of any conditional offer we may make, if your application is successful.

A-levels
BBB. Must include a science, psychology or sociology at grade B.

BTEC
DDM in a health or science subject.

International Baccalaureate
27 overall with three subjects at Higher level.

Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 60 credits overall. Health studies, nursing or science. At least 45 credits at level 3, with 30 credits at distinction.

GCSE (minimum grade C or grade 4)
At least five GCSEs including maths, English and science. Students with an Access diploma require maths and English.

English language requirement
IELTS 7.0 overall, with 7.0 in writing – NMC requirement.

Other qualifications
We accept a range of other qualifications but they must be equivalent to Level 3 and contain the appropriate amount of science content. The CACHE Diploma, for example, is not accepted as it does not fulfil the subject-specific science requirements.

For this course which leads to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a midwife, you must demonstrate the following:

completion of 10 years' general education
evidence of study within the last five years
evidence of commitment to the profession
provision of a personal statement which demonstrates the ability and desire to become a midwife
an academic reference indicating potential to study at degree level and indicating the applicant is of good character
a character reference, which may come from an employer if appropriate, or other appropriate person, indicating good communication skills, caring qualities and a positive attitude
passing of occupational health and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
ability to meet travel requirements to attend placements
ability to follow a shift pattern that could cover any part of a 24-hour seven-day cycle.

Successful applicants will be invited to an interview.

Deferred applications
We are not able to accept applications for deferred entry onto this course. If you wish to apply for a later year of entry, we recommend waiting until the admissions cycle for that year opens – this is usually in October of each year.

Men are under-represented in many nursing and allied health professions in the UK. We are committed to helping address the balance and particularly welcome applications from male applicants.

Fees

Course fees

UK (full-time) 9,250 GBP

New funding from 2020
The government has announced that from September 2020 new and continuing students studying nursing, midwifery and some allied health subjects will receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000. Find out more on the NHS website.

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in your fees, while studying a course in the School of Health Sciences are listed here.

Where your course includes a placement, travel costs which are over and above your daily journey to university and dual accommodation costs may be reimbursed by the NHS learning support fund. Paramedic Science students and overseas students are not covered by the NHS scheme and travel costs for this course will be your responsibility. Find out more about the NHS learning support fund.
Specialist clothing and uniforms, where required, are included in the course fees.
DBS checks, where required, are included in the fees.
Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £100 if buying your own copies.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2021–22.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Location

Local area

Easy-going Eastbourne

The South Downs National Park, the bustling town centre and the beach with the pier, prom and bandstand are all within a 15-minute walk of our Eastbourne campus. Officially the sunniest place in the UK, Eastbourne has loads on offer: a year-round calendar of sporting events, the independent shops and cafes of Little Chelsea, music and arts festivals, theatres, galleries, great restaurants and high street shopping.

Every June, leading tennis players descend on Eastbourne for one of the main warm-up tournaments for Wimbledon. One of the UK's biggest free extreme sports festivals, Beach Life, takes place on the seafront in July, bringing hi-octane action on land and sea. The international airshow Airbourne is another summer highlight.

Every autumn our students and staff participate in and support the Beachy Head Marathon, one of the UK's largest off-road marathons with challenging climbs and descents along the Seven Sisters.

The beach and the South Downs provide sports opportunities including horse riding, mountain biking, paragliding, sailing, canoeing, body boarding, kayaking, windsurfing and kite surfing.

The Towner Art Gallery has world-class exhibitions of modern and contemporary art and entry is free. Eastbourne also has four theatres, two cinemas and hosts a varied programme of arts and music events throughout the year.

It's only 90 minutes by train from Eastbourne to central London and less than 40 minutes to Brighton. There are also daily direct trains to Ashford International and Gatwick Airport.

Map showing distance to London from Brighton

Campus where this course is taught

Eastbourne campus

Our campus is within 15 minutes' walk of the beach, South Downs National Park and the Eastbourne's busy town centre. There are excellent sport and exercise facilities, social sites and on-site halls of residence.

Sport and exercise, nursing, midwifery, physical education, physiotherapy and podiatry students are all based here.

Specialist learning facilities include accredited exercise physiology laboratories, a newsroom, clinical simulation suites, culinary arts studio, and the Leaf Hospital podiatric clinic and occupational health studios. Campus learning facilities include the Queenwood library, computer rooms, a media centre and a learning and technology suite.

Sports facilities include a 25-metre swimming pool, sports hall and gym, artificial outdoor pitch, dance studio and climbing wall.

Eastbourne Student Centre provides services including careers, volunteering, counselling and wellbeing, student advice, disability and dyslexia support and chaplaincy.

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Accommodation

Eastbourne

We guarantee an offer of a place in halls of residence to all eligible students.

Welkin halls
Located in the Meads area of Eastbourne, right next to the Students' Union and Student Services, Welkin halls are a short walk or bike ride to other areas of the campus.

Ensuite halls with a choice of room and flat sizes.
All rooms are self-catered with access to shared, fully equipped kitchen facilities.
Rent includes all utilities, 24/7 security and support, contents insurance and cleaning of communal areas.

Private renting
Eastbourne offers good choice when it comes to student accommodation.

There’s a good supply of affordable, high quality private rented accommodation and plenty of support and advice from us if you choose this option. Your first stop should be our studenthomes database. This lists accommodation offered by landlords who have signed up to our code of standards.

Every summer we provide online events and resources, as well as other advice services, for students looking for a place to live and people to share with.

Student accommodation in Eastbourne

Student bedroom in Welkin halls

Modern kitchen in Welkin Halls

Maps

Eastbourne campus map

Meet our students

Imogen Bobbett

"I chose midwifery as it was a long-held ambition, born out of a fascination with pregnancy and childbirth.

"I applied to five universities and was offered a place at all of them – I chose Brighton as it was the most welcoming and the friendliest. The lecturers are knowledgeable and engaging and visiting speakers add a valuable dimension.

"For my placements I have worked in a community setting, both within a core team and a low risk, case-loading team. This latter experience is one of Brighton’s strongest selling points. It not only gives an excellent insight into the continuity of carer model which fits in with the targets set in response to the Better Births report, it also gives invaluable experience of working in a team, home births and case loading.

"I have also worked within an obstetric unit, antenatal day unit, antenatal ward, delivery suite and the post-natal ward, enabling me to capture the whole neonatal experience with both low and high-risk pregnancies. Working at the Eastbourne midwifery-led unit also gave a different perspective on low risk deliveries away from the obstetric influence. I also had experience on the gynae ward, special care baby unit and theatres.

"I chose to go on an international elective to the Philippines, which was a life-changing experience, and also spent time with paramedics, the BPAS clinic, together with time alongside the safeguarding and screening midwives.

"This is an amazing course and Brighton has been a brilliant place to do it. The lecturers really care and are so supportive but it is really hard work. You can’t go into this half-hearted, but if you stick with it, it is the most fantastic career."

Amber Bathurst

"After being at the birth of my nephew, I was in awe of midwives and their role which drove me to start my midwifery journey.

"After going to the open day at the University of Brighton, I felt very welcome and knew it was the university I wanted to attend. The lecturers at the open day were very friendly and answered any questions I had.

"The most enjoyable thing I have experienced on this course is being able to assist mothers and their partners to deliver their beautiful babies into this world! This coincides with caring for them in general in all aspects of midwifery and being able to make (if only a small) difference to the care they receive.

"I also case-loaded a lady during my second year at university who was pregnant with her second baby – a special moment because I also delivered her first baby in my first year! It was lovely caring for her throughout her pregnancy where I also managed to 'catch' her second baby too and see her postnatally.

"I have been on placement at Worthing hospital where I spend most of my time on the labour ward or on the antenatal/postnatal ward. We are also able to practice in the community where we undertake clinics for women’s antenatal appointments and then see them at home with their babies for their postnatal visits. Alongside this, we have been able to work in the Special Care Baby Unit, Theatres and Gynaecology as part of our non-midwifery placements which were very interesting.

"The teaching staff have all been amazing. There are all very supportive; especially a few who I know I am able to contact if I have any concerns or questions about placement, studies, or life in general.

"My cohort is lovely – there is a mixture of characters, ages and personalities which makes classes fun and I feel able to engage in lessons and participate because they are all very supportive. I have made some lifelong friends who I will make sure I stay in contact with for as long as I can."

Danni Page

"I’ve always wanted to have a career in healthcare and midwifery was really appealing, as I was really interested in developmental science and being able to practically apply my knowledge to work.

"At the university we have a home birth and hospital simulation room. There is a dummy who can give birth and lots of pelvis that we use to visualise birth and emergencies, such as shoulder dystocia and breech birth. We get to practice with all of these before putting them into practice on placement.

"I have most enjoyed the practical placements, because you get to put your knowledge into perspective, and I love getting to work with the women and their families. There’s something so special about case-loading a lady from her first booking appointment to her delivery.

"At the start you are mainly observatory, and you are given some roles like doing the woman’s obs and then as you progress through the course, you’re given more responsibility. Placements have been great; you learn so much in a short space of time and they are brilliant for boosting your confidence.

"You get to attend home births as well and these are very special moments to be involved in. You do get a lot of experience really quickly, the more involved you want to be the more involved they will let you be. I remember I delivered the second baby I saw being birthed, it was an amazing experience and so surreal

"I’ve also been out with the ambulance service, to a substance misuse clinic, mental health clinic and to BPAS. We get to have a week on the gynae ward, special care baby unit and theatres. I was also really lucky and managed to do a placement abroad in Zambia. All these opportunities have been eye-opening and helped widen my perspective of midwifery. Most of these opportunities I had to organise myself, but they were so worthwhile. It’s a great way to look at other specialities and to see where midwifery can lead onto.

"The teaching staff have been very supportive throughout the course. I did a degree before and the contrast in the support given has been starkly different. All the staff are happy to help, and you constantly feel like you can get guidance either for a practical problem or for issues with essays.

"There are lots of different characters in our cohort and we’ve all come from different backgrounds. The age range in the course is really different, with some people coming straight from school and others starting midwifery in their 50s. We all have different outlooks and reasons for being on the course and it can be so refreshing speaking to different people and finding out how they are getting on."

Danni, kneeling at the front, with the colleagues she met on placement in Zambia

Jacqui Morris

"I wanted to study midwifery due to my own positive and negative experiences of maternity care when I had my own children.

"I chose the University of Brighton, partly due to location, but partly due to the positive experience I had when I visited on one of the open days. The staff and students that I met on the open day were very friendly and very helpful and answered all of my questions. It was my first-choice university when I applied to UCAS.

"During my training, I have spent time working with community midwives and am lucky to have delivered babies within the home setting. I have also worked on a postnatal ward and labour ward. In year two, I had experience of working on the gynae ward, in general theatres and on the special care baby unit. You have to put yourself out there to experience as much as you can during your training and its really beneficial to learning when you do that.

"The course facilities are good and the staff are very approachable and very friendly. We learn in classrooms rather than lecture theatres and have access to skills rooms and learning materials when we need them. The library is well stocked and you can pick up library books from any campus.

"It will test all your emotions over the three years, both on placement and at uni. It’s the hardest but the most rewarding thing you shall ever do."

Stay in touch

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If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

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Statistics

These charts give an indication of how much time you will spend on different activities at each level of the course, and an indication of the balance of assessment by coursework, and written and practical exams. For courses with option modules, actual proportions will depend on the modules you choose.

Find out more about how the academic year and degree courses are organised, and about learning and assessment activities you might get to grips with at Brighton. More specific information about this course is detailed in the programme specification (linked above). You can find out also about the range of support we offer to help you adjust to university life.

Overall workload

Assessments

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Programme specification

The programme specification is the approved description of each course. They are updated following course changes, and give a detailed breakdown of the content and structure of the course.

Programme specification

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Midwifery BSc(Hons)