Bachelor of Nursing
at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia.
An ANMAC-accredited nursing degree leading to registration as an enrolled or registered nurse with AHPRA. Includes more than 800 hours of supervised clinical placement across hospital and community settings.
ATAR cutoff history
Published cutoff data for the Edith Cowan University Bachelor of Nursing. We never invent figures; entries marked "not published" mean the university or admissions centre has not released a verified cutoff for that intake.
| Intake year | ATAR cutoff | Admissions centre |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ATAR cutoff not published | TISC |
| 2023 | ATAR cutoff not published | TISC |
| 2022 | ATAR cutoff not published | TISC |
No verified cutoffs are available. Confirm the latest figure on the official TISC cutoff release.
Prerequisite Year 12 subjects
Brush up on each prerequisite with our state-syllabus explainers and dot points.
What you will study
First year at ECU, which has a long-standing reputation for nursing education, lays the foundation: anatomy and physiology, professional nursing practice, health assessment, communication, ethics and introductory pharmacology. You spend time in ECU's clinical simulation labs learning hand hygiene, patient observations, medication safety and patient handling before your first placement, often in an aged-care or community setting. Second year deepens medical-surgical nursing, mental-health nursing, child and family health and the care of people with chronic and complex conditions. Pharmacology becomes more demanding, you learn to interpret pathology and medication charts, and placements move into acute hospital wards across Perth metropolitan and regional WA health services. Third year features advanced clinical units, a transition-to-practice capstone and a final consolidation placement in an acute setting. Total supervised placement across the degree is at least 800 hours as required by ANMAC. On graduation you apply to AHPRA for registration as a Registered Nurse and apply for hospital graduate transition programmes.
Example first-year subjects
- Foundations of Nursing Practice
- Anatomy and Physiology for Nurses
- Health Assessment
- Introduction to Pharmacology
- Professional Practice and Ethics
- Communication in Nursing
How you will be assessed
- Supervised clinical placement competency assessments
- Objective Structured Clinical Examinations in simulation
- Written exams in anatomy, physiology and pharmacology
- Case studies and care-plan documentation
- Reflective practice journals from placement
- Medication-calculation tests
Career outcomes
- Graduates work as registered nurses in hospital, community and aged-care settings after registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
- Common destinations include public hospital graduate transition programmes, mental-health services and rural and remote nursing positions.
- Many alumni progress into specialty practice (intensive care, paediatrics, midwifery), nurse-practitioner study or clinical education roles.
Professional accreditation
- ANMAC accredited
- AHPRA registration eligible
Typical first jobs
- Graduate registered nurse in a WA public hospital transition programme
- Graduate nurse in a private hospital network
- Rural and remote nurse in WA health services
- Aged-care registered nurse
- Mental-health nurse graduate role
- Community-health or district-nursing position
- Paediatric, oncology or critical-care entry role
Graduate starting salary
$65,000 - $72,000 per year
Source: https://www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/graduate-outcomes-survey-(gos). Last reviewed 2026-05-24.
After graduation
Most graduates apply for a Graduate Nurse Transition Programme at WA public health services or private hospitals. Early-career nurses can move into specialty areas such as intensive care, emergency, paediatrics or mental health. Postgraduate options include the Master of Nursing Practice with specialty streams, midwifery, mental-health nursing, nurse-practitioner pathways and clinical education. Rural and remote nursing offers strong opportunities across Western Australia.
Is this the right degree for you?
You probably thrive here if
- People who like working with others in moments of vulnerability
- Calm communicators who think on their feet
- Patient learners who can absorb anatomy, physiology and pharmacology
- Those comfortable with shift work and physically demanding placement
- Team players who handle clinical hierarchies well
It is probably not for you if
- Students who dislike personal-care tasks or are needle-averse
- Those uncomfortable with shift work, weekends or night placement
- People wanting a research-only or office-bound role
- Students unable to meet AHPRA fitness and immunisation requirements
Related courses at ECU
Sources
Course details are summarised by ExamExplained, not copied from the university. Confirm course content and ATAR cutoffs on the Edith Cowan University handbook and on TISC before applying. Page generated at https://examexplained.com.au/uni/ecu/bachelor-of-nursing.