Midwifery

Program Overview

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Midwifery

Overview

Join our NMC-validated Midwifery degree course and take the first step towards a career as a midwife. Modern midwives do much more than assist with birth. They work closely with other healthcare professionals to support women and birthing people throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

What is a Midwifery degree?

We’ll help you develop into a competent midwife who’s able to work as a team member or leader. Your time will be divided equally between classroom study and supervised placements.

You’ll learn to assess individual women and birthing people and to plan, implement and evaluate care that meets the needs of mother, baby and family. You’ll recognise and respond to factors that affect the physical, emotional and social well-being of mothers and babies, too. And you’ll build essential problem-solving skills while learning to work with professionals from a range of disciplines.

Immerse yourself in placements that will help you build practice-based midwifery skills and knowledge. Study in Cambridge, Chelmsford or Peterborough, in our cutting-edge, true-to-life skill laboratories and become a part of our supportive midwifery community. When you graduate, you’ll be ready to start your career as a registered midwife.

A career in midwifery brings with it unique rewards. This degree will open up a world of opportunities for you to make a difference and support families during some of the most important moments of their lives.

Why should I join a Midwifery degree?

We’re dedicated to the continual improvement of every aspect of healthcare, and to delivering the values set out in the NHS Constitution.

You’ll be linked to one of our NHS healthcare trust partners for your placements. If you study in Cambridge, you’ll do your placement at Cambridge, King’s Lynn or Harlow, in Peterborough you'll do your placement at Huntingdon, Peterborough or Kings Lynn, and in Chelmsford, you’ll do your placement at Chelmsford, Southend, Basildon, Harlow or Colchester.

On campus, you’ll attend lectures Monday-Friday. On placement, you’ll work shifts (including nights, weekends and bank holidays). You’ll have seven weeks’ non-negotiable annual holiday – two weeks over Christmas and New Year, two weeks in spring, and three weeks in summer. This course will give you the chance to develop all of the skills you need to graduate from ARU ready for a career as a midwife.

Course Options

• 3 years full-time
• Start dates: September
• Locations: Chelmsford, ARU Peterborough, Cambridge

Key Facts

• Study options: 3 years
• Start dates: September
• Location: Chelmsford
• Entry: UCAS code: B720
• Fees:
  • £9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)
  • £20,200 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

Teaching and Assessment

Year 1

In the first year of your BSc (Hons) Midwifery degree, you’ll begin your journey to midwifery practice and begin to build the foundation of knowledge and skills upon which the next three years will be built. You’ll gain an overview of maternity care, exploring models of care as you go and being introduced to the roles and responsibilities of the midwife.

Alongside this broad overview, you’ll also begin to learn the basic midwifery skills on placement.

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location.

• Foundations of Midwifery Practice
• Midwifery Life Sciences
• Infant Nutrition and the Healthy Neonate
• Public Health and Supporting Diverse Populations
• Universal Midwifery Skills and Practice
• Into ARU

Year 2

The second year of your BSc (Hons) Midwifery degree will see you hone your knowledge even further as you learn all about the complexities that can arise during childbirth. Not only that, you’ll explore the role of the midwife and their importance in providing care for more complex needs.

Alongside this, you’ll continue to develop your midwifery skills with a heightened focus on equipping you with the knowledge and experience to work in emergency or high-risk situations.

By the end of your second year, you’ll be familiar with providing midwifery care for a number of complex needs while maintaining and facilitating a sense of normality for mother, baby and family.

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location.

• Medical Complexities
• Obstetric and Neonatal Complexities
• Emergency Midwifery Care
• Developing Professional Practice
• Ruskin Module (15 credits)

Year 3

Year 3 is all about getting you ready for life as a midwife, further developing your understanding and honing your skills ready for life as a professional medical practitioner.

You’ll also complete a major project which will enable you to raise and address significant questions relating to the field of midwifery. This module requires independent study and is your chance to demonstrate everything you have learned before you graduate from ARU.

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location.

• Undergraduate Major Project: Maternity Service Improvement Project
• Safe and Effective Neonatal Care Incorporating NIPE
• The Midwife as Teacher
• Preparing for Professional Practice

Facilities

As a midwifery student at ARU, you'll benefit from purpose-built midwifery skills labs offering the very best in experiential learning. You’ll use sophisticated equipment to simulate many aspects of a working hospital ward.

You’ll also learn from registered, practising tutors and lecturers who’ll make sure you’re being taught the latest techniques and give you the support you need to succeed.

Careers

What can you do with a Midwifery degree?

At ARU, we work with employers to make sure you graduate with the knowledge, skills and abilities you’ll need to take on this exciting career. They help us review what we teach and how we teach it – and they offer hands-on, practical opportunities to learn through work-based projects or placements. All of our student midwives have secured jobs in Year 3 of their of their training.

Our course meets the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2019) Standards of Proficiency for Midwives. This means that when you graduate, you can apply to register with the NMC and start your new career as a midwife.

Midwifery brings unique rewards. You’re present at one of the most important moments in people’s lives, helping to safely begin the life of their child. This degree opens up a world of opportunities, including career progression or specialism.

Entry Requirements

Standard entry requirements

• 120 UCAS Tariff points. We accept A Levels, T Levels, BTECs, OCR, Access to HE and most other qualifications within the UCAS Tariff.
• 2 GCSEs at grade C/4 or above in English and Maths or equivalent level 2 qualification, gained prior to the start of the course.
• To receive an offer of a place on this course you must be successful at interview.
• If English is not your first language you will be expected to demonstrate a certificated level of proficiency of at least IELTS 7.0 ( Academic level with a minimum of 7 in each component) or equivalent English Language qualification, as recognised by Anglia Ruskin University. Please note that the English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) is not accepted for this course due to Professional Body Restrictions.
• An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) disclosure will also be required.
• A satisfactory Occupational Health clearance will also be required.

Alternatives

• OU Credits will be accepted in lieu of A levels (120 credits will be expected in health or science subjects).

Exclusions

• Qualifications in aromatherapy, massage and reflexology are not accepted for entry to this course.

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

Other equivalent qualifications may be accepted for entry to this course; please email for further information. Applicants to undergraduate courses can also check our information about undergraduate entry qualifications.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

We don't accept AS level qualifications on their own for entry to our undergraduate degree courses. However for some degree courses a small number of tariff points from AS levels are accepted as long as they're combined with tariff points from A levels or other equivalent level 3 qualifications in other subjects.

Occupational health

You must have a satisfactory occupational health clearance in order to be allowed out on placement. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust/IDC (Industrial Diagnostics Company) will undertake the vaccinations on behalf of ARU. However, if this is undertaken by a third party (your own GP), ARU is unable to reimburse the cost.

If you can produce acceptable evidence of already having the vaccinations you won’t need to have them again. However if you have not previously had the vaccinations you can expect to have the following.

• Measles immunity blood test
• Rubella immunity blood test
• Varicella (chicken pox) immunity blood test
• Hepatitis B immunity blood test
• IGRA blood test (TB screening)
• Hep B surface antigen blood test (Hep B surface antigen screening)
• Hep C blood test (Hep C screening)
• HIV blood test (HIV screening)
• Three or four Hep B vaccinations
• Two MMR vaccinations
• Two varicella (chicken pox) vaccinations
• One BCG (TB) vaccination

You’ll be contacted by the occupational health provider after you have firmly accepted your offer (minimum of six months before your course starts), who’ll first ask you to complete a medical questionnaire and arrange a meeting with the nurse.

Covid and flu vaccine

As your course has placements in care homes and/or NHS environments to fulfil Professional Statutory Regulatory Body (PSRB) requirements, we continue to strongly recommend Covid and flu vaccination. This is to protect both yourself and the vulnerable people that you’ll come into contact with throughout your placements.

Please also be aware that if you were to catch either Covid or flu during your course, it may result in significant disruption to your studies. If you are unsure about vaccines, we suggest you seek evidenced-based information on vaccines from reputable sources.

Fees and Paying for University

Tuition fees and student loans for UK students (2025/26)

• £9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

Tuition fees for international students (2025/26)

• £20,200 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

Living costs

Living at university

We understand that affordability is an important issue when you’re thinking about studying at university.

The overall cost of university can vary depending on where you’re studying and which course you’re taking. However, some of the main costs you’ll want to think about include:

• accommodation
• bills
• internet, mobile phone and calls
• travel
• food and drink
• socialising and going out
• study materials.

As a very general guide , living costs at university can range from around £7,000–£9,000 per year. They may be lower if you're living at home. Our Money Advice Service is on hand if you’d like to chat about living costs, budgets and managing your money.

Most full-time UK students can apply for a Maintenance Loan to help cover living costs.

Funding information

Training grants

Eligible nursing, midwifery, operating department practitioner (ODP) and paramedic science students can receive funding of at least £5,000 a year to help with living costs. Some students may be eligible for more, and this money does not have to be repaid.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

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Midwifery Course BSc (Hons)

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Objectives:

• Prepare students for a career as a registered midwife.
• Develop competent midwives who can work independently or as team leaders.
• Provide a comprehensive understanding of maternity care throughout the birth continuum.
• Equip students with the skills to assess individual women and plan, implement, and evaluate care that meets the needs of mother, baby, and family.
• Foster problem-solving abilities and collaboration with professionals from various disciplines.

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Program Description:

• Full-time, NMC-validated Midwifery degree course.
• Equal emphasis on classroom study and supervised placements.
• Immersive placements in Cambridge, Chelmsford, or Peterborough.
• Cutting-edge, true-to-life skill laboratories.
• Supportive midwifery community.
• Graduates are eligible to register with the NMC and start their careers as midwives.

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Outline:

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Year 1:

• Overview of maternity care
• Basic midwifery skills
• Communication skills
• Assessment of well-being of woman and fetus

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Year 2:

• Complexities of childbirth
• Role of midwife in providing care for complex needs
• Development of midwifery skills for emergency or high-risk situations

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Year 3:

• Preparation for life as a midwife
• Development of clinical skills
• Major project addressing significant questions in midwifery
• Autonomous midwifery practice

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Assessment:

• Essays
• Presentations
• Exams
• Case studies
• Project work
• Assessment of practice proficiencies in clinical settings

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Teaching:

• Lectures Monday-Friday on campus.
• Shifts (including nights, weekends, and bank holidays) during placements.
• Seven weeks of non-negotiable annual holiday.
• Clear guidance and feedback from lecturers and practice assessors.

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Careers:

• Midwifery offers unique rewards and opportunities to make a difference in people's lives.
• Graduates are eligible for non-repayable training grants worth at least £5,000 per year.
• Career progression and specialization options are available.

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Tuition Fees and Payment Information:

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UK students starting 2023/24 (full-time, per year)

£9,250

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UK students starting 2024/25 (full-time, per year)

£9,250

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Living costs

As a very general guide, living costs at university can range from around £7,000–£9,000 per year. They may be lower if you're living at home.

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Funding information

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Training grants

From September 2020, nursing, midwifery, operating department practitioner (ODP) and paramedic science students will receive funding of at least £5,000 a year to help with living costs. Some students may be eligible for more, and this money does not have to be repaid.