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Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: £9,535 per year
International/EU: £19,155 per year -
How long will I study?
4 Years
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Where will I study?
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What are the entry requirements?
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What is the UCAS code?
BB23
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When do I start?
September 2025
Course summary
- Gain the skills to join the rewarding and in-demand field of mental health nursing.
- Develop professional skills for leadership roles in clinical or academic settings.
- Broaden your knowledge alongside other health and social care professionals.
- Learn from enthusiastic experts with a variety of clinical experience.
- Benefit from real-world experience with placements and hands-on practicals.
This unique course offers you an exciting opportunity to become a fully qualified nurse, providing compassionate nursing care in mental health. You’ll consider the changing nature of health, illness and recovery – as well as the relationship between healthcare professionals and service users. You’ll graduate as a reflective, competent and employable professional.
The Foundation Year course is designed for anyone who feels they would benefit from extra preparation before undertaking degree-level study or who does not meet the entry requirements for the BSc (Hons) course (due to lower predicted grades or lower performance at a selection event). The academic staff leading selection event processes are well placed to advice on the benefits of additional study or wider preparation in advance of joining a degree course.
Come to an open day
Visit us to learn more about our gold-rated teaching and why we were awarded the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
How you learn
On this course you’ll learn from academic staff who have a variety of clinical expertise and experience. You’ll apply your theoretical study directly to your practice setting, using the knowledge, skills and attributes you’ve gained. The course is a blend of theory and hands-on practical work, giving you the opportunity to practise what you learn in both simulated and real-world settings.
Nurses are an integral part of a multidisciplinary team. You’ll have the chance to learn and collaborate with students from other health and social care courses, helping you to deliver person-centred care, with an understanding of how other professionals contribute to the person's journey through health and social care services.
You learn through:
- Exams
- Poster presentation
- Reflective writing
- Assessment of proficiency in practice
- Extended project
- Group and individual presentations
- Written assessment
Key Themes
You’ll learn how nurses who specialise in mental health help people. They assist with various challenges – from depression, anxiety and dementia to bulimia nervosa, post-natal depression, and other conditions that may trigger unconstructive thoughts and beliefs. You’ll then learn theoretical underpinnings, such as recovery-based practice, DSM-V criteria and psycho-social interventions.
You’ll explore the various settings mental health nurses work in – from acute inpatients to accident & emergency to community treatment teams. You’ll also discover the areas of practice that mental health nurses often specialise in, such as child and adolescent mental health.
Course Support
We’ll support you to thrive as a skilled, adaptable and proficient mental health nurse. We’ll nurture your creativity, encouraging you to ask compelling questions and providing you with the tools to answer them.
With our high ratio of staff to students, you’ll always be able to receive the support you need on your learning journey towards highly-skilled, graduate-level employment. This includes:
- Access to specialist support services to help with your personal, academic and career development.
- Access to our Skills Centre for support with one-to-ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments and assessment preparation.
Course leaders and tutors
Applied learning
Live Projects
Applied learning takes place in our specialist labs, practice facilities, simulation environments and workshops – as well externally through field trips, educational visits, digital technologies, and even by loan access to specialist equipment so you can work on or off-campus. These activities are directed or supported by lecturers or technical experts, providing you with opportunities to practise and apply your learning.
Practice learning takes place in a range of settings where nurses care for adults, children, and young people. You’ll participate in activities that contribute to your training and demonstrate the responsibilities involved.
Work Placements
You’ll apply your learning through real-world placements, projects, internships and voluntary activities. These take place in work settings, through online interfaces and within the university.
There’s also an optional placement – where you can arrange an experience nationally or internationally to meet your personal professional development needs and support your employability.
You’ll be supervised and supported by practice supervisors, practice assessors, link lecturers and academic assessors – enabling you to learn and safely achieve proficiency and autonomy in your professional role.
Future careers
This course prepares you for a career in clinical nursing within a range of health and social care settings, including:
- Primary and community care
- Secondary care
- Private and voluntary organisations
- Advanced practice roles
- Management positions in clinical nursingResearch nursing
- Lecturing
- Further study, such as health visiting, masters and doctoral education
Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work in:
- Hospital and community nursing environments
- Health centres
- GP surgeries
- The armed forces
- Education
Where will I study?
You study at Collegiate Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
Collegiate campus
Collegiate Campus can be found just off Ecclesall Road, a bustling student district.
Collegiate Campus map | Campus facilities
Collegiate library
Collegiate Library can be found just off Ecclesall Road. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEquipment and facilities
On this course you work with:
- A range of clinical nursing placement environments
- Our purpose-built clinical simulation suites
- Mock wards and community spaces
- Technology-enhanced learning
- Clinical skills laboratories
- 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students
Media Gallery
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Nurse and patient -
Nurse and paramedic -
Mental health nurses -
Nurse evaluation -
Reviewing assessments
Entry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 64
This must include at least 24 (Grade D) from one A level or equivalent BTEC National qualifications. For example:
- DDE at A Level.
- MPP in BTEC Extended Diploma
- Pass overall from a T level qualification with D or E from core
- A combination of qualifications, which may include AS levels and EPQ.
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
GCSE
- Science at grade C or 4 or equivalents*
- Maths at grade C or 4 or equivalents**
- English Language or Literature at grade C or 4 or equivalents***
*GCSE Science equivalents
- OCR Science level 2
- Science units gained on a level 3 BTEC or OCR National Diploma or Extended Diploma qualification
- Science credits gained on Access to Higher Education Diplomas (at least 12 credits at level 2 or 6 credits gained at level 3)
- Science equivalency test from www.equivalencytesting.co.uk
**GCSE Maths equivalents
- Level 2 Key Skills/ Application of Number/ Level 2 Maths credits from an Access course
- Maths equivalency test from www.equivalencytesting.co.uk
***GCSE English equivalents
- Level 2 Literacy
- Level 2 Key Skills
• Access - an Access to HE Diploma from a QAA recognised Access to HE course in a science based subject. Normally we require 15 credits at level 2 and 45 at level 3.
If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 7.0 or above, with a minimum score of 6.5 in each skill.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Developing The Fundamentals Of A Healthcare Professional
Promotion Of Contemporary Issues In Healthcare
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Collaboration For Individual And Community Wellbeing
Fundamentals Of Nursing Practice
Part 1 Placement
Personal And Professional Development
Sciences For Nursing Practice
Year 3
Compulsory modules
Applied Sciences For Nursing Practice
Assessing And Addressing Complexity In Practice
Developing Nursing Practice
Evidence And Enquiry For Practice
Part 2 Placement
Final year
Compulsory modules
Complexity & Leadership In Professional Practice
Consolidating Sciences For Nursing Practice
One Credit Module – Bsc (Hons) Nursing
Part 3 Placement
The Advancing Professional
Transition To Registration In Mental Health Nursing Practice
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students on full-time undergraduate degree courses in 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
We are currently reviewing our tuition fees for the foundation year stage of this course following the Government announcement of fee changes for some foundation year courses and will confirm fees as soon as possible.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £19,155, which includes an annual placement supplement of £2,000.
Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Health and Social Care (PDF, 165.7KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
