MSc in Children's Nursing
Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 19,900 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* there is no application deadline for postgraduate courses
** international year 1 | £9,535/year: home full-time. Additional fees may apply
Key Summary
Change lives for the better
Deepen your expertise and open doors to a rewarding career with life-enhancing impact.
Our Children's Nursing MSc is ideal for careers in frontline and specialist nursing, as well as a range of leadership opportunities. You will study the foundations of nursing and healthcare, as well as the context of nursing within a range of client groups in your specific field.
You’ll learn first-hand from experts in children's nursing, mental health and learning disabilities nursing. Our experienced academic team has a wide range of clinical experience including children’s acute healthcare, children’s complex and palliative care, cancer care, care of children and young people in critical care settings such as children’s / neonatal intensive care and A&E as well as community healthcare, sexual health and mental health.
Through intra-professional learning with experts in a range of fields, you will enhance your care skills and understand the complexities of nursing at individual and organisational levels.
You’ll even receive a £5,000 per year, non-repayable NHS Training Grant to support your studies.
Why choose this course
While you study, you’ll benefit from high-quality teaching at Kingston University. Not only are we ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, we are also top in London for Nursing and Midwifery (The Complete University Guide 2026).
We even won Teaching Innovation of the Year for our public health elective placement at the 2023 Student Nursing Times Awards and have been nominated for other teaching and learning innovations such as the Peer-enhanced Hospice E-Learning Placement.
A portion of your learning will take place within our award-winning simulation suite, which creates authentic environments to help you develop skills in clinical, community and practice health settings in a safe space.
You’ll take part in innovative simulations, where role players and full-body manikins will offer unique opportunities to build the knowledge and behaviours needed for safe and effective patient care.
At the end of your first year, you’ll have the opportunity to take a national or international elective placement of your choice.
Many of our staff are active in research, often in partnership with NHS trusts. That means they bring the latest thinking and best practice to your studies, with recent themes including integrated working, genomics, children's critical care, children's complex and palliative care and more.
Accreditation
This degree confers both an academic award and a professional qualification in nursing. On successful completion of the programme, you will be recommended to the Nursing and Midwifery Council for professional registration.
After you graduate
Recent Kingston postgraduates have gone on to a variety of nursing careers in a range of acute, complex and community children’s settings within the NHS and independent sector. Options include roles in specialist children’s hospitals, district general hospital wards, community settings, children’s hospices and critical care settings such as neonatal and children’s ICU and specialist settings such as children’s cancer care.
Links with the health sector
We have a range of strong links with the health sector, which means big opportunities for you during and after your studies.
Our clinical partners include:
- Great Ormond Street Hospital
- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
- Epsom Hospital
- Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
- Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare Trust
- Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Parkside Hospital, Wimbledon
- Shooting Star Children's Hospice
- The Royal Marsden Hospital, regional children's specialist hospital
- Evelina Children's Hospital
- St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- St Helier Hospital
- Your Healthcare
The first year is divided into two parts. In part one, you will undertake a bridging module introducing you to the foundations of nursing and healthcare. In part two you will look at the context of nursing within a variety of client groups within your specific field of nursing.
In your second year (part three), you will learn about the analysis and application of research and evidence-based healthcare and the complexities of nursing at individual and organisational levels, as well as preparing for your transition from student to newly-registered nurse.
Year 1 modules (parts one and two)
Year 1 introduces the foundations of nursing and healthcare, and their various client groups.
Core modules
- Applied life sciences for nursing practice
- The fundamental elements of nursing practice
- Caring for children and young people with acute healthcare needs
- Practice assessment module part 1
- Essential skills for nursing practice
- Public Health
Year 2 modules (part three)
Year 2 examines the analysis and application of research and evidence, and the complexities of nursing at individual and organisational levels.
Core modules
- Contemporary public health and community nursing for children and young people
- Practice assessment module part 2
- Practice Assessment Module Part 3
- Complex care for children's nursing
- Leading care for children's nursing
- Becoming a registrant
Teaching and assessment
Scheduled learning and teaching on this course includes timetabled activities including lectures, seminars and small group tutorials.
It may also include placements, project work, practical sessions, workshops, conferences and field trips.
Guided independent study (self-managed time)
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking and preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS – the online virtual learning platform.
Support for postgraduate students
As a student at Kingston University, we will make sure you have access to appropriate advice regarding your academic development. You will also be able to use the University's support services.
Your workload
A course is made up of modules, and each module is worth a number of credits. You must pass a given number of credits in order to achieve the award you registered on, for example 360 credits for a typical undergraduate course or 180 credits for a typical postgraduate course. The number of credits you need for your award is detailed in the programme specification which you can access from the link at the bottom of this page.
One credit equates to 10 hours of study. Therefore 180 credits across a year (typical for a postgraduate course) would equate to 1,800 notional hours. These hours are split into scheduled and guided. On this course, the percentage of that time that will be scheduled learning and teaching activities is shown below. The remainder is made up of guided independent study.
- 20% scheduled learning and teaching
The exact balance between scheduled learning and teaching and guided independent study will be informed by the modules you take.
Your course will primarily be delivered in person. It may include delivery of some activities online, either in real time or recorded.
How you will be assessed
Assessment methods include: essays, exams, presentations and reports and clinical skills assessed in our simulation suites and by practice supervisors and practice assessors in practice placements.
The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows:
- Year 1: 58% coursework; 42% exams
- Year 2: 67% coursework; 33% exams
Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. If your course includes optional modules, this breakdown may change to reflect the modules chosen.
Feedback summary
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Interested in studying a masters in Children's Nursing at Kingston? The following funding support is available:
- Student Loans
- NHS Training Grant
- The Learning Support Fund
- Discounts for Kingston University alumni
- International students
NHS Training Grant
Nursing students on pre-registration courses will receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year which doesn’t need to be paid back, subject to eligibility criteria. For more information, please visit the NHS Business Service Authority.
No.1 in London
Kingston University is top in London for Nursing and Midwifery (The Complete University Guide 2026).
The Complete University Guide 2026
No.1 in London
Top University in London for Children’s Nursing, The Guardian University Guide 2026.
The Guardian University Guide 2026