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BSc Midwifery

Start date
September 2025
Duration
3 years, full-time
UCAS code
B170
Course Type
Taught, Undergraduate
Fees
Annual tuition fees for 2025/26 are:

£9,250 (UK)

More details on fees and funding

Thrive in an in-demand industry whilst learning in Birmingham’s award-winning Medical School. 

From ensuring childbirth happens in a safe and positive environment to caring for the mother pre and post birth, our maternal and neonatal simulation facilities will allow you to develop your clinical skills in a safe environment before using them in practice

Our programme, which has been developed in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 2019 Standards for Midwifery, is the ideal opportunity for you to develop your clinical, research and interpersonal skills and knowledge, and join the midwifery profession as a well rounded modern member of the healthcare workforce. 

Being a midwife is highly rewarding but brings responsibility for ensuring that childbirth occurs in a safe and positive environment. At the University of Birmingham, we will provide you with the best possible training opportunities and you will benefit from interprofessional learning opportunities both within the School of Nursing and Midwifery and across the College of Medicine and Health. 

Baby resuscitation

Our Midwifery Degree adopts a blended learning model, meaning you will have some of your teaching on campus, and some online, accessed remotely. Both are supported with enhanced and interactive digital media to develop your knowledge.  On campus teaching will be at the University of Birmingham Medical School and includes case-based simulated learning and teaching. Our maternal and neonatal simulation facilities will allow you to develop your clinical skills in a safe environment before using them in practice.

At Birmingham our close links with placement partners ensures you will be supported and exposed to a range of specialist placements tailored to your needs. Together, these features will ensure you develop clinical midwifery and research, leadership and management skills which will facilitate your future career journey as a midwife.

Midwifery in practise

Why Midwifery?

The UK needs more midwives, the demand is increasing more and more each year. The healthcare sector is increasingly expanding, creating more opportunities for career progression. Being a midwife has changed over the years and now they are helping the community in more ways than one. 

Our course has been developed in partnership with practice partners, service users and advocacy groups in response to these workforce shortages identified in the NHS. The NHS needs highly skilled midwives to deliver a safe and compassionate service that meets women’s needs, so this is a fantastic opportunity to join this rewarding profession with lots of job opportunities regionally and nationally.

Midwifery Teaching

Why Birmingham?

Birmingham offers many opportunities for those wanting to pursue a career in midwifery. Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe, with 40% of the population 25 or under and projections for birth rates are rising. Located in a city of great diversity, and with a wealth of healthcare providers in the region, you can be certain of access to a large variety of learning and development opportunities. Your time at the University of Birmingham will also allow you to access a broad range of activities and student societies to ensure that you maximise your time studying with us.

The University is uniquely placed in the West Midlands to offer high quality, effective placements that will help translate learning into practice. The University is a founding member of Birmingham Health Partners, a strategic alliance of five organisations who collaborate to bring healthcare innovations through to clinical application.  

Drawing on theory, research, and practice, our Midwifery Degree  offers an innovative experience that develops the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours for safe and effective midwifery care as part of a transformative experience. You will be supported to develop the attributes necessary to manage uncertainty and ambiguity in clinical practice; to appreciate the limits to knowledge, subtleties, grey areas, and multiple perspectives when employing clinical reasoning and judgement to inform decision-making.

The degree provides rich opportunities for you to understand midwifery as a global profession and how your contribution is vital in improving maternal and newborn health outcomes and access to safe and respectful maternity care. Throughout the programme we support you to achieve the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for contemporary, autonomous midwifery practice, effective leadership and for high functioning membership of multi-disciplinary teams across a range of settings, models of care, and contexts.

You will emerge as a confident, competent midwife who upholds the human rights of women and newborn infants and understands own professional accountability and responsibility to the communities you serve working inclusively and in partnership with women and their families, to offer personalised, safe and enriching care.

A unique feature of our programme includes engagement with your allocated Virtual Midwifery Caseload. This will assist you in developing your skills in providing relationship-based, holistic care, creative and flexible planning, accurate clinical assessment, and high-quality decision-making.

Why study this course?

Our Midwifery Degree adopts a blended learning model, meaning you will have some of your teaching on campus, and some online, accessed remotely. Both are supported with enhanced and interactive digital media to develop your knowledge.  On campus teaching will be at the University of Birmingham Medical School and includes case-based simulated learning and teaching. Our maternal and neonatal simulation facilities will allow you to develop your clinical skills in a safe environment before using them in practice.

At Birmingham, we work with a vibrant public engagement in midwifery group who have helped us ensure that the Midwifery programme takes a woman and family centred focus. Our close links with NHS employer partners ensures you will be supported and exposed to a range of specialist placements tailored to your needs. Together, these features ensure you develop clinical midwifery skills, knowledge and research, leadership and management skills aimed to enhance future career opportunities as a midwife.

  • Study in our School of Nursing and Midwifery and work alongside senior, experienced academics, researchers, clinical midwives, and experts in their fields exploring relevant issues to women, their families and newborns.
  • Location within a research-intensive university and academic health system delivering world leading research in maternal and neonatal health and the opportunity to develop research and leadership skills at BSc (Hons) level to enhance future career prospects and to ensure the delivery of high-quality care.

  • Location within the multi-professional College of Medical and Dental Sciences with planned inter-professional learning opportunities.

  • The use of enquiry-based learning as the primary pedagogical approach to develop critical thinking and lifelong learning skills. Provision of a virtual midwifery caseload, weaved throughout the programme, to develop the personal, theoretical, and professional skills required to provide relationship based, holistic continuity of care centred on the public voices of those who have directly experienced maternity services 

Modules

Year one

  • Introducing Professional Midwifery Practice (20 credits)
  • Anatomy and Physiology for Midwives (20 credits)
  • Introducing Universal midwifery care (40 credits)
  • Safe and effective midwifery care 1 (20 credits)
  • The midwife as an Emerging Practitioner (practice) 

Year two

  • The midwife as an advocate (20 credits)
  • Exploring additional health needs (40 credits)
  • Safe and effective midwifery care 2 (20 credits)
  • Care of the newborn infant (20 credits)
  • The midwife scholar (20 credits)
  • The midwife as a developing practitioner (Practice)

Year Three

  • Specialist Midwifery (20 credits)
  • Leading and managing midwifery care in complex cases (40 credits)
  • Leading and managing a caseload (20 credits)
  • Promoting excellence in midwifery practice (40 credits)
  • The midwife as a skilled practitioner (Practice)

How To Apply

  • The University of Birmingham's UCAS code number is B32. You must enter this clearly on your application to ensure that it reaches us for consideration.
  • Applications will close on Wednesday 29th January 2025. Further key dates regarding applying to undergraduate courses can be found on the UCAS website.
  • If you need any further help with your Birmingham application or personal statement please visit our applying to Birmingham webpage. 

Apply now via UCAS 

Standard offer


Typical offer:
ABB

Tariff points:128

Required Subjects:

Grade B or above in a Science, Health or relevant Social Science subject.

Subjects that meet the Science/Social Science requirement for this course: Biology, Applied Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Applied Science, and Sociology.

Access to Higher Education (Health) qualification: 60 credits overall with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 including 36 at Distinction + 9 at Merit. Access qualifications are only valid for 2 years after completion.

Applicants must still meet the standard GCSE requirements unless out of education for a considerable amount of time (5 years) and have at least 2 years’ experience in a full-time, ‘hands on’ health care role (part-time not accepted).

Baccalaureate IB: Minimum Grade 6 in a Higher-Level Science, Health or Social Science subject.

Overall score of 32 with 6,5,5 at HL. Subject requirements as per A level.

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma: D*DD with required subject Health & Social Care or Applied Science. 

BTEC Level 3 National Diploma: DD with required subject Health & Social Care or Applied Science offered in combination with one A level or another 6-unit BTEC. 

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate: D when offered in combination with either two A levels or with a Double Award BTEC in either Health & Social Care OR Applied Science.

Irish Highers: H1 in a Science or Social Science subject, H1 H2

T Levels: Health or Science. Distinction overall with minimum grade B in the Core

GCSE: Grade C/4 or above in English Language or Literature, Mathematics or equivalent and 1 science (Biology / Chemistry / Physics or a Double/Triple award) 

Applicants starting September 2024 entry must be 18 or over by 1st October 2025, if they are not then they can be rejected.

Alternative offers through our Pathways to Birmingham programmes and our Contextual Offer scheme

Students who are eligible and successfully complete a Pathways to Birmingham programme will receive special consideration from admissions tutors and an alternative offer (typically two grades below the standard offer). In addition, our Contextual Offer Scheme recognises the potential of students whose personal circumstances may have restricted achievement in school or college. If you are eligible to benefit from the contextual offer scheme, you will receive an offer which is one grade lower than the standard offer.

International Students

Depending on your chosen course of study, you may also be interested in one of our foundation pathways, which offer specially structured programmes for international students whose qualifications are not accepted for direct entry to UK universities. Further details can be found on Birmingham International Academy web pages.

Our Degree gives you the opportunity to learn on the job, whilst getting the degree to move forward into a valued career.

We use learning strategies that place women’s lives, needs, values and preferences, and the needs of their newborn infants and families, at the centre of learning. You will study on a blended programme that combines online learning with on campus and clinical learning. You will engage with Enquiry Based Learning and a Virtual Midwifery Caseload to consider and apply research evidence, policy, and practice, and reflect on your impact on women’s experiences and effective team working to offer creative, safe practice solutions. 

This programme has been designed in close collaboration with women and pregnant people who use the service, as well as representatives from groups who support and advocate for women and their families and practice partners. The central philosophy of this programme is to prepare midwives to offer a safe, personalised care experience, who work effectively as a member of the multidisciplinary team and who advocate for women’s needs when this is required. Our graduates will be confident practitioners and future leaders, who understand and use research and evidence to inform their practice.

Online learning

Your online learning will include synchronous activities such as live lectures and seminars, interactive workshops, small group tutorials and whole class activities. You will also have access to pre-recorded sessions and activities to support a flexible approach to study. Experts in their field will contribute to your learning experience and to your development as a midwife who not only has insight into different aspects of practice but who also feels confident to be a member of the multidisciplinary team.

To prepare you for registered, autonomous and safe practice as midwives, you will study mostly in small groups using enquiry-based learning to enable you to develop as independent learners and proactive, critical thinkers and decision makers. We will offer you structured support to learn in this way.

Our programme has a strong emphasis on ensuring that you are able to work safely and effectively in continuity of care teams when you qualify, so you will carry a small virtual caseload which you will be expected to manage. The virtual midwifery caseload has been developed in partnership with women and their families to give you an authentic experience.

Practice based learning

You will complete a newborn and infant health assessment module which will enable you to practice as a NIPE practitioner once qualified. You will also study modules that focus on the universal care that all women and newborn’s need, but also the additional care that some women, their newborns and families require. You will be prepared to work with women experiencing complications in their pregnancy, birth and postnatal period as a member of the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure your practice is safe and effective.

There is an emphasis on developing our learners to be future researchers. You will have access to our maternal health research team to enable you to see research in action and will also have weekly research tutorials to support you to develop skills in critical appraisal of research to support your practice as an evidenced based midwife.

Skills and Simulation Days

Our skills and simulation days will usually precede placement blocks. They will focus on cases from the virtual midwifery caseload and will be organised around following the journey of women and newborn’s through maternity services. You will have the opportunity to learn about and practise key midwifery skills as well as having the opportunity to undertake simulations of practice with colleagues from our interactive studies unit  and to work with our gynaecological teaching associates learning about how to undertake pelvic examinations.

Academic assessors, practice supervisors, practice assessors and practice placement managers will support your practice learning and confirm your achievements. Whilst on placement, you will spend time in each of the clinical areas that support maternity services. You will engage in caseloading activity and will carry a small caseload. During this experience, you will follow the women you are working with to their appointments and, when possible, you will be present at their birth. You will undertake a specialist placement block where you will select an area of focus and will work with specialist midwives, practitioners, agencies, charities, as well as researchers, midwifery leaders and managers.

To ensure you feel part of a community of practice, you will have regular opportunities to connect with other learners on your course and those from other professions, as well as researchers and members of our public engagement in midwifery group. Members of this national group are service users and representatives from advocacy groups. You will also be offered regular opportunities to collaborate with the teaching team to enhance the programme and will be supported in your studies by your allocated personal academic tutor and dedicated services designed to support your academic study and your wellbeing.

Assessment Methods

Modules will be assessed through essays, assignments, exams, oral presentations and computer based problem-solving.

 

All Midwifery Graduates who successfully complete the programme receive a BSc (Hons) Midwifery degree, and are eligible to register as a Midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.