Course summary

The foundation year will prepare you to study nursing by building on your health care, science, and research knowledge. During the foundation year you will study with students preparing for a range of professional courses, including paramedicine, physiotherapy and diagnostic radiography. Successful completion of the foundation year guarantees your progression on to our three-year Adult Nursing degree. Your studies will involve a mix of academic and practical work that will familiarise you with the facts, concepts and principles of care, such as the fundamentals of the human body. With a focus on key study skills and techniques, the foundation year will ease the transition of studying at degree level, whether you’re joining us from school, college, or employment. Lecturers will get to know your strengths and where you can develop, offering personalised support and feedback throughout your course. Alongside seminars, lectures and one-to-one tutorials you’ll also have many skills sessions to prepare you for your placements in the final three years of the course. These hands-on sessions take place in our simulation suites, which replicate the hospital and community facilities you’ll be working in when you graduate. You’ll practice different techniques and decision-making scenarios with a range of simulation manikins and learn about person-centred care from experienced nurses and real service users. 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 region. Your placements run in blocks across the year, normally with experiences in at least two different placement settings each year. We aim to arrange placements and visits to a diverse range of settings so you’ll have experience caring for a range of people in many different environments. We have excellent links with NHS Trusts and healthcare providers in the region, including:

• Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

• Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health & Care Trust

• University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

• The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

• Wye Valley NHS Trust

• Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust

• Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

• 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.