Nursing (Mental Health) with Foundation Year

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

While out on placement you’ll learn from experienced nurses and have the support of your tutors. These practical experiences, in combination with your time on campus, prepare you to be a skilled, compassionate, and confident mental health nurse.

Accreditation

The final three years of this course are accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Once you graduate with Mental Health Nursing (BSc), you’ll be eligible to register as a nurse with the NMC, the professional regulatory body for nurses.

Why the University of Worcester?

The University of Worcester is a campus university, meaning everything you need is on site. We’re based in a vibrant cathedral city just 40 mins south of Birmingham and an hour north of Bristol, and our beautiful green campuses have plenty of parking and quality on-site accommodation.

At Worcester, small class sizes, supportive tutors, and professionally focused courses mean you’ll be prepared for your dream career. These are just some of the reasons why we’re first in the UK for both graduate employment and quality education.

• 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.

Join us at one of our regular Open Days to see if the University is a good fit for you: www.worcester.ac.uk/opendays

For a breakdown of the modules you'll study each year visit our course page. You can do this by scrolling to the bottom of this page and selecting 'Visit our course page'.

For detailed information about assessment, feedback, teaching and contact time visit our course page. You can do this by scrolling to the bottom of this page and selecting 'Visit our course page'.