Mental Health Nursing

Our open days and information sessions are a great way to see what it’s like to study at UWS, and explore the options available if you’re considering student accommodation.

We hold open days and information sessions throughout the year aimed at students considering an undergraduate, postgraduate or postgraduate research degree at UWS.

Find out more about Open Days, Campus Tours and more

An you can find full information on how to study at UWS in 2024 here.

Find your place at UWS in 2024

• Scottish Highers*:
  • Standard Entry Requirements: BBBC (102 UCAS Tarrif points), plus SQA National 5 Maths and English (Grade C, or equivalent) or BBC (75 UCAS Tarrif points), plus UWS's First Steps to Nursing module, plus SQA National 5 English and Maths (Grade C, or equivalent)
  • Minimum Entry Requirements: BBCC (96 UCAS Tarrif points), plus SQA National 5 Maths and English (Grade C, or equivalent) or BC (48 UCAS Tarrif points), plus UWS's First Steps to Nursing module, plus National 5 English and Maths (Grade C, or equivalent)
• A levels*:
  Standard Entry Requirements
  BCC (104 UCAS Tariff points) including Biology or Human Biology, plus GCSE English Language or English Literature and Maths (Grade C/5, or above)
• Irish Leaving Certificate: H3 H3 H3 H4, plus OL English and Maths (Grade O5, or above)
• International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: 24 points with 3 @ H4, must include English and Maths at least at SL
• SQA HNC / BTEC Level 4 HNC: Health or Social Care or Care & Administrative Practice or Healthcare Practice are preferred HNCs, although any discipline will be considered, plus SQA National 5 (Grade C, or above) / Intermediate 2 (Grade C, or above) / Standard Grade (Credit) / GCSE (Grade C / Grade 4 or 5), or equivalent, in Maths* ^)
• SQA HND / BTEC Level 5 HND: Health, or Social Care, or Care & Administrative Practice or Healthcare Practice are preferred HNDs, although any discipline will be considered, plus SQA National 5 (Grade C, or above) / Intermediate 2 (Grade C, or above) / Standard Grade (Credit) / GCSE (Grade C / Grade 4 or 5), or equivalent, in Maths* ^)
• Scottish Vocational Qualification 3: will considered on a case-by-case basis alongside other qualifications; as a guide, every 24 credits at SCQF Level 6 is equivalent to one SQA Higher (Grade C)
• Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP): Access to Nursing or Access to Medical Studies or Access to Integrated Health and Social Care or Access to Paramedic Sciences (BBB). All must be completed no later than two years before you intend to start your studies
• Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC): Completed and pass Level 5, plus GCSE English Language or English Literature and Maths (Grade C, or above)

All applicants must satisfy the entry requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council including evidence of literacy and numeracy for entry to pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes (NMC Circular 03/2008, revised 2010 Standards). All applicants will need to demonstrate this with acceptable qualification awards in both English and Maths.

* for Scottish applicants, Life Skill Mathematics / Application of Mathematics are acceptable alternatives to SQA National 5 Maths, if they have been awarded at National 5 level. For all applicants, the Open University module, MU123 Discovering Maths, is also accepted. Functional Skills Level 2 English and Maths is equivalent to GCSE Grade C/4.

^ If applicant has completed SQA HNC module HF2434 or module FN2734 Essential Skills for Care Practice/ Clinical Skills for Care Practitioners in HNC/D, then this satisfies the Maths requirement and there is no need for additional Maths requirements.

IMPORTANT NOTE

For applicants not meeting Maths requirements, a UWS Maths Test will be provided. Passing this test will satisfy the Maths entry requirements.

An offer to study is also dependent on the outcome of the selection process and background checks:

• personal interview
• health Screening
• membership of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme

* for more information on standard and minimum entry requirements, see our Undergraduate Entry Requirements webpage

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR MOST COURSES

For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.

General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

• overall score 6.0
• no sub-test less than 5.5

Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).

SOCIAL WORK DEGREES

For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

• overall score of 7.0
• no sub-test less than 7.0

COMMON EQUIVALENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE QUALIFICATIONS

All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:

• CAE (Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English): 176 overall; no sub-test less than 169
• CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English): 176 overall; no sub-test less than 169
• Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English: ISEII with the minimum of a Pass in all sub-tests
• PTE Pearson Academic English: An overall score of 59 to 64 with no element below 59 (for programmes that require IELTS 6.0 with no element below 5.5). An overall score 65 to 75 with no element below 65 (for programmes that require IELTS 6.5 with no element below 6.0)

IELTS SCORE EXCEPTIONS (RESEARCH DEGREES, BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE DEGREES, NURSING & MIDWIFERY DEGREES WITH NMC REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, ETC.)

RESEARCH DEGREES

For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

• overall score of 6.5
• no sub-test less than 6.0

HEALTH & MIDWIFERY AWARDS

For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.

For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:

• overall score of 7.0
• score of at least 7.0 in reading, listening and speaking and no less than 6.5 in writing

* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).

BIOMEDICAL DEGREES

For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

• overall score of 7.0
• no sub-test less than 6.5

CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

• overall score of 5.0
• no sub-test less than 4.5

TOEFL IBT

TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:

• Reading: 17;
• Listening: 17;
• Speaking: 17;
• Writing: 17

* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.

WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (WASSCE)

West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*

• C6 or above in English

*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.

PRE-SESSIONAL COURSES

Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:

• 10 week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.0 with no element below 4.5.
• 5 week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.5 with no element below 5.5.
• English Language for University Study - entry criteria UKVI IELTS with score of 4.0 in all elements (10 month course), or 4.5 with no score below 4.0 (7 month course).

Find out more about our English language Courses.

This intellectually stimulating programme will prepare you for a successful career in a wide range of mental health settings, including:

• Older Adult and Dementia Care
• Adult Mental Health
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Community Mental Health
• Forensic Mental Health
• Drugs and Alcohol Services

UWS offers opportunities to develop further skills in mental health practice through its MSc Mental Health Practice and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy programmes, Forensic Mental Health, Leading People-centred Integrated Care, Gerontology (with Dementia Care), Nursing, Advanced Clinical Practice, Drugs and Alcohol Studies and/or mental health research degrees.

For more information on undertaking a career in Mental Health Nursing click here.