Mental Health Nursing BSc (Hons)
Study level: Undergraduate
The Mental Health Nursing BSc (Hons) course is designed to prepare you for a rewarding career where you can support people with their mental health.
Year of entry
Location
CU Scarborough (Scarborough)
Study mode
Full-time
Duration
3 years full-time
Course code
B760
Start date
September 2023
Course overview
The course aims to help equip you with the hands-on clinical and care skills to prepare you to practise autonomously and compassionately, providing person-centred and compassionate care and support for service users to be physically safe and emotionally secure.
- You’ll spend up to 50% of your time on clinical practice placements5 in a range of healthcare environments such as within the NHS in hospitals and community placements, at private hospitals and independent care providers.
- Study and develop specialist skills in communication, comprehensive health assessment, equality and issues related to professional practice.
- All eligible students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the Government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs6.
Why you should study this course
Mental health nursing is a values-based and very rewarding profession working with children, young people and adults of all ages with a variety of mental health problems and from numerous cultures and backgrounds. These specialist nurses are usually based in hospitals or work in the community, for example, in community services, in-patient facilities, specialist forensic mental health services, residential care and patients’ own homes.
This course aims to develop your knowledge of mental health, various disorders and innovative nursing care approaches. It is designed to equip you with the knowledge and competence to understand the experiences of people with mental health problems and to assist and facilitate their journey to recovery.
You will gain hands-on experience with real service users under supervision from qualified practitioners, spending 50% of your time on clinical practice placements5. These will take place in a range of healthcare environments within the NHS in hospitals and community placements, at private hospitals and independent care providers.
Placing equal value on practice and theory, undertaking 800 hours of both per year, you should study a wide range of subjects, including anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, psychology, sociology and research methods. You’ll become immersed in learning about the needs of populations, individuals, related health and nursing services with an emphasis on using research to enhance and improve services.
The course focuses on integrated care for people with mental health needs in a variety of settings. You should develop skills in communication, health assessment, professional practice, evidence-based practice, knowledge of public health and policy, and legal and ethical issues.
The collaborative curriculum, which you’ll study alongside students from our other health-related courses, has been developed in response to the need to produce professionals who are effective communicators, caring and compassionate, with good relationship-building skills. It recognises the importance of inter-professional working within the health and social care workforce.
Coventry University ranked 1st for Mental Health Nursing
Guardian University Guide 2023
Accreditation and professional recognition
This course is accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:

Nursing and Midwifery Council
The course is currently fully accredited by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for 2023/24 and, providing you also meet the NMC requirements, on successful completion you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (additional costs may apply).
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Every CU Scarborough nursing graduate secures local work
Each and every nursing student who graduated from CU Scarborough last year has now found work within local NHS services.
Find out more about this achievement

What you'll study
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
This course uses a wide variety of stimulating approaches to teaching and learning to suit individual learning styles. All modules are mandatory to enable you to demonstrate the knowledge, values and skills to be able to work within integrated care settings and enhance the delivery of care for service users, their families and carers after successfully completing the course.
Gaining experience using simulation across a range of care settings is aimed at building your confidence and knowledge about how to act in these situations. You can practise and develop your clinical and interpersonal skills in a safe but realistic environment. We may also use actors to enhance these experiences in scenarios such as breaking bad news, demonstrating emotional resilience, conflict, management of actual or potential aggression, teaching and child protection conferences.
Teaching methods include interactive lectures with associated seminars, skills lab activities and practical placements.
Teaching contact hours
As 50% of the course is practice-based, this requires 40 hours per week when you are on placement5. Over the duration of the course, you will have around 20 contact teaching hours per week, however this can vary. This will consist of lectures, seminars, workshops, practical skills training and online classes and tutorials. In addition, you will be expected to undertake approximately 20 hours of private study each week, which could include group learning and online activities.
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2023/2024 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Assessment
Assessment methods vary and may include:
- Coursework
- Practical placement
- OSCE (observed structured clinical exams)
- Presentations
- Assessed discussions
- Formal examinations
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
Entry requirements
Haven't met the entry requirements or don’t have the right qualifications? You may still be able to progress onto a degree you’d love by studying a foundation course.
View our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.
Typical offer for 2023/24 entry.
Fees and funding
2023/24 tuition fees.
Student | Full-time | Part-time |
---|---|---|
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £9,250 per year | Not available |
EU | £9,250 per year with EU support bursary** £19,850 per year without EU support bursary** |
Not available |
International | £19,850 per year | Not available |
All eligible home students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the Government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs6.
The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home students), if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.
For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.
For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see the University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
- Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
- Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).
*Irish student fees
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
**EU support bursary
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in-line with that of UK students. Students studying a Degree with a Foundation Year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
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How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the government's Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.
If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.
Facilities
You’ll be able to make use of our simulation facilities4. You will use equipment found in the real world of practice, such as medical devices to assist with all elements of care including medication administration, to help build confidence before you go on placement.
Mock hospital ward
Gaining experience using simulation across a range of care settings is aimed at building your confidence and knowledge about how to act in these situations. You can practise and develop your clinical and interpersonal skills in a safe but realistic environment.
Realistic scenarios
We may use actors to enhance your experience, giving you the opportunity to replicate real-life situations including breaking bad news, demonstrating emotional resilience, conflict and aggression.
Careers and opportunities
During your three years on the programme you will undertake six mandatory placements (two in each year) in a range of service settings, working with and alongside qualified mental health nurses, and therefore potential local and regional employers. These are sourced by the university5.
After successfully graduating from this course, you can apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (additional costs apply), which enables you to practise immediately if successful.
As well as helping you to find suitable work placements and give you advice on how to get the most out of them, the university can support you when you are ready to begin your professional career for the time you are registered as a Coventry University student.
Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market.
Where our graduates work
Some of our graduates find employment as qualified nurses in the NHS with a growing emphasis on community settings, in acute hospitals, military nursing or within the private and independent healthcare sector, in private hospitals, nursing or care homes. As your career progresses, a number of options are open to you as a lecturer or specialist practitioner, advanced nurse practitioner, consultant nurse or manager. You could specialise as a primary mental health worker and work with children, adolescents or women, for example.
Recent graduates have gone on to work in such settings as child and adolescent mental health services, regional forensic units, early intervention psychosis, older adult care and acute in-patient care.
How to apply
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UK students
Full-time UK undergraduate students apply through UCAS. Otherwise, you will need to apply to CU directly. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.
If you'd like further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form
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International students
International codes:
HLSU198BInternational students should apply directly to CU directly. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.
How to applyFor further support for international applicants applying for an undergraduate degree view our International pages or Coventry University Group's International hub.
If you'd like further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form
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Disclaimers
Coventry University together with Coventry University London Campus, CU Coventry, CU London, CU Scarborough and Coventry University Online come together to form part of the Coventry University Group (the “University”) with all degrees awarded by Coventry University.
1Accreditations
The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.
2UK and international opportunities
Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or International opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel COVID and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the visa requirements, please contact the International Office.
3Tuition fees
The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For Home Students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.
For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.
4Facilities
Due to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
5Placements
Satisfactory health clearance and enhanced criminal record disclosure is also required. As part of the health clearance checks you will be required to provide information about your immunity and vaccination status. You will also be required to provide information about your COVID-19 vaccination status. We therefore recommend that you are fully vaccinated including the COVID-19 vaccine. The information you provide will be used to determine your eligibility to go on placement(s). Placements are provided at the placement provider’s discretion. The University is therefore unable to guarantee the provision of placements or the location and type of placement offered.
6NHS payment
The rules may be subject to review by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in the future and as a result may change. Please therefore check the NHSBSA website for up-to-date information before applying.
Student Contract
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2023/24 contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
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