Nursing (Adult) BSc(Hons)

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Personal statement 

Tips for writing a good personal statement

• Identify why you are interested in the course.
• Only apply for one field of nursing (adult, mental health or child).
• Provide insight into your personal experiences, work or voluntary work.
• Do not discuss Florence Nightingale or quote words of wisdom as an opening statement.
• Consider how your referee may describe you and reflect this in your statement.
• Our nursing degree is theory and practice so discuss your ability to cope with the demands of the whole course.

Our applying to Brighton section provides more information on writing a personal statement.

Application timeline

June

• Receive email regarding occupational health and DBS – start completing these forms
• Receive email regarding accommodation

July

• Complete your occupational health and DBS forms

August 

• From mid-August – enrolment – you will receive an email with instructions.

September

• Early September – receive your one-week induction timetable.
• Mid-September – deadline for completing your occupational health and DBS forms

You must be enrolled for your course before the start date.

Additional information for international applicants

• DBS clearance checks for international applicants can take longer to process.
• You cannot use an overseas residence as the main address on an application, so you will need to start the application process as soon as you have a UK address and provide your identification documents as soon as you can after you arrive in the UK.

Occupational health check

Your offer is subject to occupational health and DBS clearance.

All applicants must complete a University of Brighton occupational health clearance check. If you are working within an NHS/healthcare organisation you will still require a University of Brighton health clearance check.

Once you receive your health questionnaire you must fill this in immediately and return your completed and signed form to the occupational health department by the deadline provided (usually a couple of weeks before your start date), failure to do this will affect your ability to attend your first placement.

Send your form by email or registered post, see the form for contact details. Please note that the questionnaire will need your GP's signature which your GP may charge for, this will need to be paid for by you. We suggest that you use your current GP to complete this form rather than a university-based GP who will not have immediate access to your medical records.

The University of Brighton will pay for your occupational health clearance throughout your course. However you will personally have to pay for any travel to occupational health appointments at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

We will send you your occupational health questionnaire by email in June. 

DBS check

All applicants must complete a University of Brighton DBS clearance check. 

If you are currently working within an NHS/healthcare organisation you will still require a University of Brighton DBS check. Failure to complete a University of Brighton DBS will affect your ability to attend your first placement. 

• We will send you an email regarding filling in your DBS form in June. 
• The deadline for completing your DBS form will be provided but it is usually required at the beginning of the month in which you start your course.

DBS clearance checks for international applicants can take longer.

You cannot use an overseas residence as the main address on an application, so you will need to start the application process as soon as you have a UK address and provide your identification documents as soon as you can after you arrive in the UK.

Course structure

You’ll share some modules with students on our other nursing courses, allowing you to benefit from interprofessional collaboration, sharing knowledge and expertise. You will also benefit from patients contributing to your learning through shared stories.

In each year of the degree you engage with both theory and practice learning. The course alternates between academic terms and blocks of practice. Theory sessions in academic terms take place at the university. You will attend Monday to Friday with independent study days. Practice placement are in blocks and are 37.5 hours per week. 

As a student on this course you’ll also get to participate in Schwartz Rounds - hour-long sessions where students come together to listen to stories and share reflections in a supportive and confidential environment. The sessions offer the opportunity to reflect on the emotional aspects of clinical practice and are designed to support students and recent graduates working in complex settings.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through Student View.

Year 1

You are introduced to the profession of nursing and begin your development of the required knowledge and skills. You will develop an understanding of the structure and function of the human body. 

Modules

• Nursing Assessment in Partnership with People

  This module will enable you to undertake a holistic nursing assessment of a person in terms of their mental, physical, social and spiritual needs. You’ll learn the importance of completing an assessment in partnership with the person, taking into account their circumstances, characteristics and preferences.

  You will also gain an understanding of the role of the nurse in assessing the person’s needs as a member of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).

• Planning Nursing Care in Partnership with People

  This module will enable you to plan nursing care based on the information gained from a holistic nursing assessment. You’ll learn the importance of identifying priorities in the mental, physical, social and spiritual needs of the person and formulating a plan of care in partnership with the person and the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).

• Human Biology for Nursing

  This module will enable you to explore human biology in relation to the health, well-being and illness of a person across the lifespan. You’ll develop an understanding of how human biology and altered physiology underpins your developing nursing practice.

• Practice Learning for Nursing Year 1

  This practice assessment of the course is divided into three parts. This module comprises part one, which will enable you to begin developing the knowledge, skills and values required for nursing practice.

  You will integrate learning from your placement and at university in order to meet the Future Nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses (Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC] 2018).

You may also get the opportunity to take part in the Alzheimer's Society's award-winning Time for Dementia programme, following a family's dementia journey over a 12-month period. Students have described this as an ‘inspirational’ element of the course.

Year 2 

You continue to build your skills and knowledge in professional practice. You will start to develop the principles of adult nursing and gain an insight into the clinical settings in which nurses work such as public health, acute services, community and research.

Modules

• Quality Improvement Using Evidence-Based Nursing Practice
• Nursing to Promote Health and Prevent Illness
• Approaches to Nursing Adults with Long-term Conditions
• Nursing Assessment and Management of Clinical Deterioration in an Adult
• Practice Learning for Adult Nursing Year 2.

Final year

You will complete an extended project and develop your professional practice further in the areas of leadership, physical assessment and complex care needs.

Modules

• Contemporary and Future Nursing Practice
• Palliative and End of Life Care Using an Integrative Nursing Approach
• Leading and Managing Nursing Care and Effective Teams
• Enhanced Nursing Assessment and Clinical Decision Making
• Practice Learning for Adult Nursing Year 3.

Facilities

Placements and practice learning 

Our flexible approach to practice-based learning and excellent links with local healthcare trusts enable us to offer clinical practice in hospital and community settings, working alongside multi-professional teams.

You will complete 2,300 hours of practice-related activities over the course of your degree which includes approximately 20 weeks each year in practice placements across Surrey, Sussex and Kent.

Practice placements are 37.5 hours per week and you will be supported by a practice supervisor. A day on placement can be between 07:00 and 22:00, some weekends and some nights.

Community placements offer experience in schools, doctors surgeries, with health visitors and community staff.

It is currently possible for eligible students to claim back excess travel costs, this is reviewed each year by the NHS. If you're not a UK citizen, you are unlikely to get help with travel costs unless you have permission to live permanently in the UK. 

Supporting you 

You will receive lots of support throughout your nursing degree. During your degree you'll have access to: 

• academic assessor
• personal tutor
• practice liaison lecturers
• practice assessor in clinical practice
• practice supervisor in clinical practice
• student support and guidance
• welfare.

Nursing Society
Our student-run Nursing Society provides support for all nursing students at every stage of their degree.

The society facilitates group learning and extracurricular lectures from speakers across the multidisciplinary team.

Study abroad

Course fees

Additional funding support

UK students studying nursing, midwifery and some allied health professions subjects receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each academic year. Find out more on the NHS website.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2024–25.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Brighton Boost – cost of living help for our new undergrad students. Find out about how we can help with your study, accommodation or travel costs and more...
• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• Read our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf) for more on University of Brighton tuition fees.

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