Why choose the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Education
Our mental health nursing course ranks UK 1st in its subject field overall (Guardian, 2026).
It is in the UK top 15 in its subject field for graduate prospects (Guardian, 2026).
96% of our mental health nursing students were satisfied with the learning opportunities their course offered and how well it developed knowledge and skills for the future (NSS, 2025).
About the course
The relationship between a person with a mental illness and their nurse is central to helping them back to mental health. On this course, you learn safe, effective nursing care that meets the needs of those with a mental health problem. It also teaches you to adapt your skills to individual situations, keeping the service user and their family at the centre of your care. Your learning is practice based, with 50% of your time in settings such as hospitals, prisons, residential centres and service users’ homes.
Find out if you are eligible for a £5,000 NHS training grant to help with living costs.
Course accreditation
All our Nursing courses are regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). On successful completion of your course, you can register with the NMC as a mental health nurse.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Access to the latest medical/health equipment and facilities at regional hospitals and community health settings during placements
- At our Luton campus, a new, fully immersive simulation floor situated in our modern STEM building, taking you from mock home and hospital for hands-on experience of a range of settings
- Simulation wards with a range of medical-grade, high-fidelity training mannequins to tackle real-life scenarios in a safe and supported environment
- For students based with Oxford Health Foundation Trust in Aylesbury, we have a three-storey building with simulation ward; classrooms; library; social learning spaces; and computer study facilities
Industry links
To ensure your learning meets the benchmark set for care providers, our healthcare courses have been developed in collaboration with regional healthcare providers and health authorities.
Student experience
Our Aylesbury campus is situated at Stoke Mandeville Hospital so you can fully immerse yourself in the hospital environment.
Our lecturers are all experienced registered nurses and have published widely in their field.
We deliver predominantly face-to-face teaching so your tutors are on site to support you while you get to meet and exchange ideas with other healthcare students.
Clinical specialists from our partnership trusts come to campus to support your learning so your studies are underpinned by the latest research and practice.
Our strong links with regional healthcare providers mean you can secure a local practice placement anywhere where our Trust partners have services in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Mental Health Nursing, Adult Nursing and Midwifery students gain a wider range of expertise through general units taught by tutors from all three courses.
On placement, you undertake a mix of early, late, long-day and night shifts to ensure you experience typical shift patterns for a healthcare professional.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Course Leader - Marlon Bridgeman
Prior to joining the University Of Bedfordshire in June 2013, I worked at the forefront of mental health service delivery, with an Assertive Outreach Team.
As a qualified Mental Health Nurse for over 15 years, I have worked in a variety of settings within teams.
I have been a mentor and sign-off mentor to students for many years in various clinical settings and have had the privilege of working with students from other disciplines.
Studying our Mental Health Nursing BSc (Hons) course will equip you with the in-depth knowledge and skills to support and meet the needs of people struggling with mental illness and to nurse them back to health. To build on your foundations, you will be given an introduction to the historical and contemporary context of mental health care in our Care Across the Lifespan in Mental Health Nursing unit. Here, you will develop your understanding of mental health, mental illness and your role as a nurse to support people’s mental wellbeing with the opportunity to engage in mental health nursing in practice learning environments. To add to this, you will study areas of life sciences, psychology and sociology in our Understanding Health unit to develop your knowledge of the structure and function of a healthy body and mind. This knowledge will be relevant to our Introduction to Public Health unit where you will explore how health is viewed, its concepts and ethical practice in public health.
To support you in practice, you will be given an Introduction to Nursing Interventions, and this unit will equip you with the basic nursing skills and interventions as well as develop your confidence to perform them using evidence-based and best practice approaches. You will develop these skills further in our Assessment and Interventions in Mental Health Nursing Practice unit where you will learn and apply a range of assessment strategies and intervention techniques when working with people who access mental health services to support their recovery. Bringing the knowledge from these two units together, you will learn to play a critical role in the planning and delivery of care according to current policies while adopting an empowering and person-centered approach to support people on their journey to recovery in our unit in Planning, Delivering and Coordinating Care Across Agencies for People with Mental Health Problems.
In addition, you will learn to safely administer medicines according to professional standards and legislation while also considering safeguarding, consent and the law which is discussed in our Law & Decision Making in Medicines Management unit. In more advanced areas, our Leading Complex Care in a Mental Health Nursing unit will expose you to the principles of leadership risk management and how to apply this to complex care in a mental health setting. Your work as a nurse is also increasingly informed evidence-based practice, and this is where our unit in Exploring Evidence will equip you with the knowledge and skills to understand the importance of evidence-based nursing practice. You will also make sure to support people to become active participants in their own care by providing them with the skills to self-manage their condition in our Supporting Learning unit. This will equip you with the teaching and supervising skills to support learning in clinical environments while preparing for your role as a practice supervisor.
Another crucial aspect of your work is safeguarding, and this is where our unit in Advocacy, Empowerment and Protection will enhance your awareness of the role of a nurse in safeguarding people through advocacy, empowerment and care. With a critical approach, you will analyse service delivery and propose ideas for change in our Transforming Care unit. You will also develop your understanding of the health service provision in your locality and discover how this is shaped by policy and health needs of the local population in our Exploring Health and Primary Care Services in the Community unit. This will also enable you to pursue a topic of your own interest that is relevant to your field of practice while also supporting you to plan, carry out and report your own project.
The assessment strategy for this course is closely aligned to the teaching and learning strategy which is designed to have: immediate professional relevance to ensure safe and effective practice; foster active learning be leaner-centred in approach and draw on expertise-by-experience. The choice of assessments is determined by their fitness for purpose i.e. to evidence achievement of unit learning outcomes at undergraduate level (Level 6). You will be assessed across a range of practice settings and learning environments throughout the course.
To enhance your understanding and experiences of assessment practices you will encounter a wide range of formative and summative assessment methods including those that enable you to undertake practice-focussed tasks that have the potential to influence care delivery. Many of the assessment tasks are designed so that you can tailor them to your professional interests experience and development needs. They are also designed so that you can rehearse ways of thinking and acting that are professionally relevant. Examples include: written assignments ranging from reflective pieces to case studies and academic essays as well as assessed practice within your placements. Assessments are also designed to support you integrating learning in theory and practice and in demonstrating that integration. You will be assessed in practice through the use of a Practice Assessment Document which outlines the skills and competencies required as a registered nurse.
These assessments are recorded and confirmed by a Practice Assessor alongside your own self-reflections on your progress. Service users and carers also contribute to your assessments. During each of your placement allocations you will have a nominated Practice Assessor in accordance with the NMC Part 2: Standards for student supervision and assessment (NMC 2018). They conduct assessment to confirm that you have achieved the NMC proficiencies and course outcomes for practice learning. You will also have a nominated Academic Assessor who is responsible for confirming your achievement of the NMC proficiencies and course outcomes in the academic environment for each part of the course. Together the Practice Assessor and Academic Assessor evaluate and recommend a student for progression for each part (year) of the course in line with course standards and local and national policies.
Careers
As a registered mental health nurse, you can go on to develop a rewarding career in the UK and overseas in acute in-patient mental healthcare; community-based mental healthcare; residential care settings; or specialisms (such as secure care, outreach, and drug and alcohol services).
In mental health nursing, we offer postgraduate study at Master's and Doctoral level.
Entry Requirements
- 112 UCAS tariff points including 96 from at least 3 A-levels or equivalent
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 English
- Safeguarding checks, including an Enhanced DBS, and Occupational Health check are required
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
- Safeguarding checks, including an Enhanced DBS, and Occupational Health check are required
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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