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Mental Health Nursing

Entry requirements


A level

C,D,D

Including Biology/Human Biology, plus GCSE English Language/English Literature and Maths at Grade C/5 or above

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

including Maths and English and with 3 subjects at H4 or above

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H4,H4,H4

plus Maths and English at Grade O5 or above

Scottish HNC

Pass

A pass in a HNC in one of the following subjects, plus National 5 Maths at C (or equivalent): Health; Social Care; Care and Administrative Practice; Healthcare Practice These are preferred HNC subjects, but any will be considered.

Scottish HND

Pass

A pass in a HND in one of the following subjects, plus National 5 Maths at C (or equivalent): Health; Social Care; Care and Administrative Practice; Healthcare Practice These are preferred HND subjects, but any will be considered.

Scottish Higher

B,B,C

plus National 5 Maths and English Grade C or equivalent OR BBC plus First Steps to Nursing module plus National 5 English and Maths at Grade C or equivalent

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

75

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Mental health nursing

**OVERVIEW**
With our BSc Mental Health Nursing you'll get your career as a mental health nurse off to a flying start.

You’ll gain the knowledge, skills, practical experience and confidence to treat complex health and mental health needs, with a recovery-focused approach.

This degree consists of 50% theory and 50% work-based learning; allowing you to put the theory you learn into practice in real life clinical environments. Theory is delivered in a hybrid model, blending online and campus-based delivery to support your application of theory to clinical practice. Work-based learning takes place through placements with one of our partners (see below).

There is also the option of undertaking an additional, Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) accredited, BSc Honours year.

**PRACTICAL FOCUS**
Work-based learning makes up 50% of the BSc Mental Health Nursing and you will spend time on placement with our local healthcare partners:

// NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
// NHS Highland
// NHS Lanarkshire
// NHS Dumfries
// NHS Ayrshire & Arran
// NHS The State Hospital

Placement experience is usually gained relatively close to the teaching base although there may be a requirement to travel within a wider geographical area.

In addition, you will be trained in state-of-the-art clinical / care teaching facilities across our campus settings.

**PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION**
Graduates are eligible to register with the UK's Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Registered Nurse in Mental Health.

**CAREER PROSPECTS**
This degree will prepare you for a successful career as a Registered Mental health Nurse within a hospital or community setting.

**Jobs**
This intellectually stimulating degree will prepare you for a successful career in a wide range of mental health settings, including:

// Older Adult and Dementia Care // Adult Mental Health // Child and Adolescent Mental Health // Community Mental Health // Forensic Mental Health // Drugs and Alcohol Services

**Further Study**
Many of our graduates return to complete further study to enhance their career opportunities or improve their practice through postgraduate-level degrees MSc, MRes, and even DProf and PhD in mental health practice, behavioural therapies, gerontology, dementia care, drug and alcohol studies, psychology.

Modules

In Year 1 you will receive a broad introduction to mental health nursing, understanding the inter-relation of physical and mental health and the importance of treating the person, not just the illness. You will develop knowledge and clinical practice through modules in health and human development, values in practice and academic & professional development. In addition you will complete modules which help you explore mental health and understanding self and society. You will undertake practice through clinical and care placements.

In Year 2 you will complete modules on health & human development, promoting mental health, partnerships in mental health, and building healthy communities. You will also spend time enhancing your clinical skills on placement. 

In Year 3 you will develop your knowledge, decision-making and practical skills as you develop the professional standards required for registration as a Registered Nurse in mental health. You will study modules in management in mental health, leadership in mental health and carry out an evidence led enquiry. You can also elect a placement in an area of personal interest such as:

// dementia // forensic services // child and adolescent mental health // addictions // community or hospital based services

As well as spending time on placement, you will also undertake an individual research project on a related topic of your choice.

Assessment methods

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, practical workshops and guided laboratory work. 

There will also be group work, literature reports and research projects in order to ensure our degrees provide a strong set of additional skills, such as presentational and communicative skills. 

Our nursing degree uses a variety of assessment methods. The below list provides a guide to the types of assessment methods you can expect: 

// Written examinations // Written reports // Coursework // Patchwork assessment

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

International
£18,000
per year

Extra funding

Two new scholarships are available for application for eligible students on this degree.

// The Men into Nursing Bursary will see one male nursing student being awarded £5,000 annually to support the student experience in the first the first two years of undergraduate study on our BSc Adult Nursing, BSc Mental Health Nursing or BSc Midwifery degrees.

// The Myra McMurdo Nursing Bursary will see £750 being awarded to seven students, who have received a conditional place on our BSc Adult Nursing, BSc Mental Health Nursing or BSc Midwifery degrees. These will be delivered on an annual basis and will support them through their nursing placements. Visit UWS course entry for more informaiton on both bursaries.

The Uni


Course locations:

Ayr Campus

Paisley Campus

Lanarkshire Campus

Dumfries Campus

Department:

Health and Life Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

71%
Mental health nursing

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Mental health nursing

Teaching and learning

75%
Staff make the subject interesting
79%
Staff are good at explaining things
73%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
85%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

74%
Library resources
78%
IT resources
77%
Course specific equipment and facilities
43%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

100%
UK students
0%
International students
13%
Male students
87%
Female students
0%
2:1 or above
7%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
D
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Mental health nursing

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£22,000
med
Average annual salary
100%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

96%
Nursing and midwifery professionals
2%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
1%
Caring personal services

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Mental health nursing

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£29k

£29k

£30k

£30k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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