UCAS - Nursing

Nursing courses

Applications

You apply for nursing courses, whether at diploma or degree level, through UCAS.

You can choose up to five courses and can select a combination of degrees and diplomas. Use Course Search to find available courses.

Check the when to apply page to make sure that you apply by the relevant deadline. Some courses have earlier start dates than others, for example, some diploma courses can start as early as January. If you want to apply for a course that starts before September, you must check with the universities and colleges if you need to apply before the 15 January deadline.

Students applying for NHS London funded adult nursing (BSc, PG Dip) and physiotherapy (BSc, MSc) courses for entry in September 2012

NHS London (the organisation that funds adult nursing and physiotherapy courses for London) has now reached the latest stage of the process, which began in June 2011, to confirm which education providers will be offering adult nursing and physiotherapy courses for students from Sept 2012. NHS London is undertaking this exercise to ensure that you receive the highest quality education and you are well prepared to enter the NHS workforce once qualified. These courses were advertised on the UCAS website as normal.

The majority of student applications will be unaffected by this process. If you have selected a course that will not be running in September 2012 you will now be notified of this by the relevant higher education institution and given the opportunity to substitute to an alternative course choice. If you were offered a deferred place for September 2012 which is affected you will also be notified as above and offered the opportunity to substitute to an alternative choice. You will have until the 27 January 2012 to exercise this choice.

These applications will be given equal consideration as those received by the 15 January deadline. The application process will then continue in line with the UCAS cycle.

If you would like to know more information about this process please go to www.london.nhs.uk

Courses

Nursing courses vary between universities and colleges, but all higher education courses help to prepare candidates for admission to a relevant part of the NMC Professional Register. The degree courses, whilst covering the standard nursing practice and education, also incorporate areas of academic discipline such as psychology, sociology, biology and physiology not included in the diploma curriculum. Contact individual universities and colleges for further details.

New entrants to the nursing profession from September 2013 will have to study a degree. However, diploma courses will be phased out between September 2011 and early 2013. For example, some universities will only offer the new degree programme from September 2011, where others will continue to offer the diploma and current degree programmes throughout 2011 and 2012. By September 2013, all nursing programmes will be degree-only.

Find out more about degrees and diplomas on the NHS Careers website.

Click here if you are an international applicant applying for a nursing or midwifery diploma. (This will take you to the choices section of this website.)

Guide to health and social care courses

Our Progression to Health and Social Care publication can help you apply for health and social care courses and there are also general guides to completing your application, writing your personal statement and preparing for admissions tests and interviews in our online bookstore.