Higher Diploma in Health Sciences

This Higher Diploma prepares nurses for more advanced health-related careers, building a pathway that can continue on to bachelor's and later master's-level study. Students build knowledge, skills and competences for working with people experiencing health issues and for operating inside multidisciplinary healthcare teams. Course content spans the developmental, physical, psychological, spiritual and mental dimensions of human health, alongside tools for responding to illness and challenging behaviour. Maltese healthcare legislation is a specific focus, and the course is framed around the professional-conduct code that Malta's Council for Nurses and Midwives sets for the sector. A substantial clinical work-placement component, spanning settings such as community care and mother-and-child care, lets candidate nurses apply what they learn alongside qualified staff. At 120 ECTS and MQF Level 5, it runs full-time over about fifteen months or part-time over twenty-five. Entry is open to second-level nurses holding a Level 4 Nursing Certificate, or to holders of a science-leaning MQF Level 4 qualification backed by the right secondary science passes.