Course summary

The foundation year will prepare you to study nursing by building on your health care, science, and research knowledge. Successful completion of the foundation year will guarantee your progression to our three-year Mental Health Nursing degree. Your first year will build up your knowledge of the fundamentals of human anatomy and the core principles of care, where you will learn and collaborate with students of other healthcare professions. With a focus on key study skills and techniques, the integrated foundation year will ease the transition of studying at degree-level, whether you’re joining us from school, college, or employment. You’ll learn the theory and put it into practice with hands-on skills and simulation days in the final three years of the course. These sessions take place in our simulation suites which replicate the clinical environment you’ll be working in when you graduate. By working through simulated case studies and clinical scenarios, you’ll have an authentic insight into the role of a mental health nurse and improve your confidence. To fully prepare you for a career as a mental health nurse, you’ll learn about mental health conditions and how to care for patients of all ages. Learn the best techniques to form relationships and build trust with your patients to help them overcome their challenges and make a difference in their lives. Your lecturers will get to know you personally. Through tailored support and reflections, they will get to know your strengths and where you can develop. When you start, you’ll be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor, usually this is one of the lecturers teaching your course and they typically remain with you throughout your studies Placements There are no placements during the foundation year. Placement hours are built into the final three years of the course, where your time will be split between learning on campus and developing your skills on placements across the Midlands. Your placements will run in blocks across the year, normally with experiences in at least two different placement settings each year. These settings could include:

• Nursing homes

• Psychosis services

• Prison services

• Dementia services

• Child and adolescent mental health services

• Psychiatric intensive care

• University of the Year finalist in the Times Higher Education Awards 2025.

• First in the UK for sustained employment, further study or both, from any multidisciplinary university – Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) 2017 to 2025.

• First in the UK for quality education – Joint 1st in the Times Higher Education’s University Impact Rankings 2025.