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Midwifery

BSc (Hons)

UCAS code: B720

Start dates: September 2023 / September 2024

Full time: 3 years

Location: Headington (Marston Road site)

Department(s): Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery

Overview
Course details
Careers
Entry requirements
How to apply
Tuition fees

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Overview

Looking for a rewarding career path where you’ll make a meaningful impact? Working in midwifery, a field of healthcare that has been around for thousands of years, midwives make a real difference every day to women’s health.

As a midwife, you’ll be the lead professional for providing care to pregnant women, new mothers and their babies. On this course, you will explore answers to questions like: What does universal midwifery care look like? How does care differ for women with additional complexity? And what does autonomous midwifery practice look like today?

Outside the classroom, you’ll thrive and grow quickly through putting theory into practice soon after starting the course. You will experience community midwifery and home and midwife-led units. And you’ll be part of a multidisciplinary team caring for the most complex cases in hospitals.

With the recent influx of funding for the midwifery profession and your fresh enthusiasm and desire to make a positive impact, imagine how you’ll play a part in the future of the midwifery profession. Be a part of the exciting change. 

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Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Small year group sizes

    Benefit from more personalised support from teaching staff and experience a stronger sense of community and collaboration among students.

  • Unbeatable partnerships

    By participating in community midwifery and midwife-led units, to multidisciplinary teams caring for complex cases, you will gain a high-quality learning experience.

  • Influential teaching team

    Our lecturing team is engaged in research, international project work or work in clinical practice, taking your education to the next level.

  • Tailor a module

    Research an area of midwifery you’re passionate about. Practice abroad, provide prison maternity care, or help in mental health mother and baby units – the choice is yours!

  • Diverse classrooms

    Flourish in our classrooms where much of the BSc, MSc and short course programme teaching is shared, giving you a breadth and depth of differing experiences.

  • Free language courses

    Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

  • Accreditation(s)

    Approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

    • Nursing and Midwifery Council

Course details

Course structure

Year 1 starts with an introduction to the world of core universal midwifery care. You’ll dive into anatomy and physiology, learning about the changes and adaptations that occur during pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal. You’ll also explore the role of the midwife and its impact on the pregnant women and birthing people you’ll be supporting.

Practical experience starts early in the skills labs. You’ll put this into practice in clinical placements alongside registered midwives within 6 weeks of starting the course.

In Year 2, you’ll discover how to support women with additional complex needs, from medical conditions to mental health issues and social vulnerabilities. You'll also get the chance to choose an elective module placement in an area of midwifery that you’re passionate about, or to develop your research skills.

In Year 3, you’ll have the opportunity to provide caseloading midwifery care to a small group of women in supervised student groups. Alongside this, you’ll explore your personal midwifery philosophy, and investigate a topic of your choice through your dissertation.

Midwifery

Learning and teaching

Experience in the clinical setting is a key part of the course. We support this with teaching methods such as;

  • lectures
  • seminars
  • workshops
  • skills suite work
  • discussion
  • debate
  • exploration of case studies
  • group and individual tutorial sessions. 

In health and social care no professional group works in isolation so you will share your learning with other health care students from Oxford Brookes. This is vital to developing your teamwork skills and your understanding of the other roles you will encounter in practice.

We offer a very friendly and supportive environment in which to learn.

IT plays an increasingly important role in health care courses. You will have access to an extensive range of learning resources through Moodle, our electronic learning platform. 

Our courses adopt a student-centred approach to teaching and learning. And we consistently receive very high satisfaction ratings for the quality of our teaching and for student support in student surveys.

Assessment

We use a wide range of assessments including;

  • case studies
  • reflection in and on practice
  • observed structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) held in our skills labs
  • a variety of written assessments, including some examinations.
  • poster presentations.

These assessments ensure that you are competent at both;

  • academic writing
  • practical and emergency skills.

Grading of practice is a central feature of practice assessment. It accounts for approximately twenty-five per cent of the overall degree classification.

Study modules

Year 1

Compulsory modules

  • Midwifery Practice 1: Core Skills

    You will focus on the fundamental knowledge, skills and attributes required for midwives when providing care for a childbearing woman and her family. On this module you will develop your core knowledge and build your midwifery skills necessary for antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care. Also you will be familiarised with the Nursing Midwifery Council Code of Conduct. 

    As a Midwifery student you will be exposed to community settings which will be complemented by simulated learning and reflective discussion to promote and consolidate your evidence-based learning.
     

  • Public Health in Midwifery 1

    This module is your introduction to current public health issues and policy drivers which impact on midwifery practice. You will explore the role of the midwife in relation to health promotion and focus on prevention and healthy living. Also you will investigate and evaluate best practice in respect to particular public health concerns. 

    You will build your knowledge and skills in communication and screening tools to help you provide optimal physical and mental health during pregnancy and beyond.    

  • Midwifery Practice 2: The Continuum of Care

    On this module you’ll broaden your focus from Midwifery Practice 1 to consider care with particular reference to psychosocial aspects, transition to parenthood, and the impact of policy on care provision. You will study different models of care in theory and practice, and be asked to explore and consider any barriers to implementing these in practice. 

    You will have the opportunity to follow women and families as they receive care over the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period, and you’ll reflect on the effects of the care observed on the woman and her family.
     

  • Anatomy and Physiology for Midwives

    This module will help equip you with knowledge and understanding of anatomy and physiology (A and P) in childbearing. You will study details of adult, foetal and neonatal A and P, and the relationships and interplay between these will be addressed. You will also focus on changes that occur throughout the puerperium: building a sound basis for understanding the rationale for maternity care.  

    You will develop your knowledge and understanding to address how physiological processes for childbearing women and their babies can be supported and enhanced.
     

  • Introduction to Research and Evidence

    Build your enquiring mind, and explore the underpinning evidence base for your practice experiences. You will study the importance of scholarly activity in midwifery, and you’ll develop the knowledge and skills to find and interrogate relevant evidence for yourself.

Year 2

Compulsory modules

  • Public Health in Midwifery 2: Human Rights and Contexts of Care

  • Midwifery Practice 3: Childbirth Emergencies

  • Women and Babies with Complex Needs

  • Midwifery Practice 4: the Midwife as Clinician

  • Midwifery Elective: Investigating and Engaging in Communities (alternative compulsory)

  • Midwifery Research Proposal (alternative compulsory)

Year 3

Compulsory modules

  • Philosophy for Midwifery Practice

  • Midwifery Practice 5: Implementing Caseloading

  • Midwifery Practice 6: Towards Autonomy

  • Dissertation

Work placements

Compulsory modules

  • Work placements

    Placements cover the whole of Oxfordshire and enable students to practise midwifery in a variety of settings. All students will work in the Women's Centre based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, part of the Oxford University Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust. Half of your placements will be in the community, which may include a placement in one of three free-standing midwifery-led units. Please note that you will have to organise your own travel arrangements to clinical placements. You might be working in: hospital maternity wards and/or a delivery suites within the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford; integrated midwifery-led units within the John Radcliffe Hospital and The Horton General Hospital, Banbury; health centres; free-standing midwifery-led units at Chipping Norton, Wantage and Wallingford; women's homes; children's centres.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Careers

Studying midwifery at Oxford Brookes will prepare you for rewarding opportunities beyond university. You’ll become an expert in analytical thinking, effective communication, and problem solving. All skills that are essential for a rewarding role in midwifery care.

Once you’ve graduated, you will be entered onto the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a registered midwife. This means you’ll be ready to apply for band 5 midwifery positions and begin your preceptorship year.

On successful completion of the course, you will be offered optional employment with our local practice partner after a short professional discussion with them.

Further specialisms include:

  • consultant midwifery
  • international midwifery
  • specialisms such as infant feeding, bereavement, public health
  • clinical educator
  • delivery suite coordinator.

Or perhaps you fancy deepening your knowledge and career further? At Oxford Brookes, we offer the option to complete a professional doctorate in midwifery as a progression route, allowing you to enjoy a career in clinical academic research or extend your area of specialism further.

Entry requirements

Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.

Standard offer

UCAS Tariff Points: 120

A Level: BBB

IB Points: 31

BTEC: DDM

Contextual offer

What is a contextual offer?

UCAS Tariff Points: 96

A Level: CCC

IB Points: 28

BTEC: MMM

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process


Full time Home (UK) applicants
Apply through UCAS


International applicants
Apply direct to the University

Full time international applicants can also apply through UCAS

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£9,250
International full time
£15,900
Home (UK) full time
£9,250
International full time
£16,700

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2023 / 24
Home (UK) full time
£9,250
International full time
£15,900
2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£9,250
International full time
£16,700

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.

Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students. 

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Financial support and scholarships

All eligible midwifery students on courses from September 2020 (new and continuing) will receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year which they will not need to pay back. For more information please visit NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF)

For general sources of financial support, see our Fees and funding pages.

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Placement costs

These are costs that need to be paid for by midwifery students when travelling to and from clinical practice placements throughout Oxfordshire. As an example, a random sample of first year students spent approximately £30 - £700 travelling to placements during the first year of their programme. For students eligible for tuition fee and maintenance support from the Student Loans Company, these costs are recoverable through the Learning Support Fund. Midwifery students spend 50% of their programme in clinical placement. 

Other costs:

  • Books and other learning resources: £50 - £300
  • Shoes for practice to be worn with clinical uniform: £30 - £60
  • Equipment (for example stethoscope and watch) and suitable non clinical clothing for community placements; £60 - £250

Information from Discover Uni

Full-time study

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.