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Nursing (Mental Health) at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

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2025 - 2026
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University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Course summary

Overview Empathy, compassion, commitment – become a Mental Health Nurse with our BN (Hons) Nursing (Mental Health) degree and make a positive difference to people’s lives every day. On this course developed and delivered with local NHS partners, you’ll benefit from extensive time spent working with patients in real healthcare settings, building key skills in mental health assessment and care.

  • Explore mental health nursing scenarios in our Centre for Simulation in Health and Care, one of the country’s leading teaching healthcare environments
  • Observe, assess and engage with patients in professional and local community environments
  • Study a course approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and be eligible to register with the NMC as a mental health nurse on graduation
NHS Learning Support Fund – at least £5,000 a year Students on this course may be eligible for additional funding through the NHS Learning Support Fund bursary of at least £5,000 a year. Approved by: This course has been approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), meaning the course meets the standards of education, training, conduct and performance required for nurses in the UK. For pre-registration nursing, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018, Part 1: Standards Framework for nursing and midwifery education, 5.12, page 12) state that there is no compensation between theory and practice learning. This course will prepare graduates to be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It is your responsibility to seek registration with the NMC, on completion of your course. This registration must be sought within 5 years of successful completion of your course. Careers and opportunities On this Mental Health Nursing degree, you'll develop the skills, confidence and understanding to support people in need, learning how to make difficult decisions based on evidence and building the fundamental skills needed for personal nursing care. When you graduate, you'll be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which allows you to work as a Registered Nurse in the UK. You’ll be ready to start a challenging yet hugely rewarding career as a mental health nurse, and you can choose to work with people from certain age and vulnerability groups, such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), or Older People’s Mental Health (OPMH). With experience, you could work in GP liaison, nurse education, or leadership and management. As an NHS nurse in 2021, you could expect a starting salary of £25,655 moving up to £31,534 (Band 5). With more experience as a senior mental health nurse, you could earn from £32,306 to £39,027 (Band 6) and with a role in management or consultancy, you could make up to £90,387 (Band 8d). What jobs can you do with a Nursing (Mental Health) degree? Once you graduate, you'll be ready to take on a mental health nurse role within a variety of settings, including:
  • Adult Mental Health (AMH)
  • Older People's Mental Health (OPMH)
  • Community Mental Health
  • Crisis Mental Health
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
  • Assessment and Recovery
Clinical placements You'll spend a large amount of time on this course in clinical practice placements. These give you practical experience in caring for people with acute and long-term physical and mental health conditions of all kinds, in many settings. Together with our partner trusts, we'll develop you into a confident, independent, adaptable and professional Mental Health Nurse. Our placement partners include Solent NHS Trust, Southern Health, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, Inclusion (Sub-Misuse), and Liaison and Diversion (Custody).

Modules

Year 1: Core modules in this year include:

  • Foundation of Evidence Based Practice (20 credits)
  • Foundations of Nursing Professional Practice (40 credits)
  • Personalising Nursing Care (20 credits)
  • Science Informing Practice (40 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2: Core modules in this year include:
  • Applied Nursing Professional Practice (40 credits)
  • Engaging with Service Improvement (20 credits)
  • Essentials of Mental Health Assessment (20 credits)
  • Evidence Based Decision Making (20 credits)
  • Person Centred Recovery (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 3: Core modules in this year include:
  • Collaboration for Mental Health (20 credits)
  • Enhancing Professional Nursing Practice (60 credits)
  • Leading Safe and Effective Care (20 credits)
  • Service Improvement Project (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through academic work including essays, reports, case studies and reflective accounts; performance-based clinical practice assessments including objective structured clinical examinations and activity in simulation; in-class tests and examinations; presentations and scientific posters; work-based projects; and online learning activities You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select.

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
B760
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

International applicants

This course is available to UK applicants only.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Additional entry requirements

Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)

Applicants must pass Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before starting the course.

Health checks

Applicants must pass Occupational Health check before starting the course.

Interview

All shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview in support of their application. If successful, applicants will be required to declare if they have been subject to any disciplinary procedures of fitness to practice by any other regulator, professional body, employer or educational establishment.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6.5English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.
PTE Academic65An overall score of 65 with a minimum of 62 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)9191 with a minimum of 20 in Reading, 19 in Listening, 21 in Speaking and 20 in Writing.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 176 with no component score less than 169.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 176 with no component score less than 169.
Trinity ISETrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
75%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
85%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17900 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2025/26): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,430 EU – £1,430 International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Please check the course page on our website for the most up to date fee information. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Nursing (Mental Health) at University of Portsmouth - UCAS