School of Nursing and Midwifery

BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing with Foundation Year

BSc (Hons) Full-time 4 years

Start your nursing career with the BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing with Foundation Year at the University of Wolverhampton. This four-year, full-time course begins with a foundation year that eases your transition into full-time study, before building the knowledge, skills and confidence you need to provide safe, effective, person-centred care. On successful completion, you'll be eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a qualified adult nurse, ready to work across a range of diverse health and social care settings.

Start your nursing career with the BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing with Foundation Year at the University of Wolverhampton. This four-year, full-time course begins with a foundation year that eases your transition into full-time study, before building the knowledge, skills and confidence you need to provide safe, effective, person-centred care. On successful completion, you'll be eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a qualified adult nurse, ready to work across a range of diverse health and social care settings.

Award
BSc (Hons)
Start date(s)
5 April 2027, 13 September 2027
UCAS Code
B742
Course specifications
Course length
Full-time (4 years)
Campus location
University: City Campus,University: Walsall Campus
UCAS points calculator

Why choose this course?

A Clear Route into Nursing: Designed specifically for applicants returning to education or those who don't meet standard entry requirements, the foundation year builds your confidence, academic writing, and basic clinical skills before you progress to degree-level study.

100% Professional Accreditation: Successfully completing this degree leads directly to registration as an Adult Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)—the essential qualification to practice in the UK.

Learn in World-Class Simulation Facilities: Train in our state-of-the-art simulation suites, including mock hospital wards, emergency scenarios, and immersive suites that replicate real-world healthcare environments.

Financial Support Available: As an adult nursing student, you may be eligible for the NHS Learning Support Fund, providing a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 per year to help cover living and travel costs.

 

What's unique about this course?

  • Direct progression on to the BSc Adult Nursing programme on successful completion of the Health Programme Foundation year.
  • Following a course revalidation a new and exciting programme has been designed for future nursing students including the enhancement of field identity. 
  • Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse
  • State of the art, hi-tech simulated learning facilities designed to build your skills and confidence in a safe and nurturing environment
  • Excellent partnerships with placement providers in local NHS trusts within Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell, Burton and Shropshire
  • Opportunity to undertake an elective placement (subject to availability)

What happens on the course?

The Health Professions Foundation Year consists of 4 modules which introduce key concepts around health care. You will study a range of topics in the classroom, online and via self-directed study.

You will not be required to attend work experience placements during the Health Professions Foundation Year however there may be opportunities to volunteer in relevant settings.

The Health Professions Foundation Year gives you the opportunity to work with students from other professions and fields of nursing whilst developing your academic skills and learning fundamental knowledge to underpin your future career.

Following the Health Professions Foundation Year, you will progress to the 3-year NMC approved BSc in Adult Nursing programme.

Our new BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing degree will provide you with the expertise you will need to become a registered nurse.

The 3-year programme is 50% theory and 50% practice.

Theory

We use a blended approach to deliver theory-based content where you will have the opportunity to learn in a variety of different environments. We use classroom based, online teaching and gamification to explore opportunities to learn and grow. There are a wide variety of assessment methods giving students with diverse learning styles an opportunity to shine. The lived experience of people in our community is incorporated into our curriculum to support your understanding and awareness of real-world scenarios.

Practice

We offer a range of learning activities and clinical skills training within our state-of-the-art skills labs, at either Wolverhampton or Walsall Campus, to prepare you for your clinical placements. We offer opportunities to explore hospital and community nursing, in a wider range of settings, from NHS, voluntary and private sectors across a wide geographical area. During your third year you will have the opportunity for an elective placement of your choice (subject to availability).

Placements on the course

BSc (Hons) Adults Nursing placements

Placements include providing nursing care to some of society’s most vulnerable people including the elderly and those who are physically ill or have a physical or learning disability. In order to ensure all the people you care for are protected and kept safe, you will be expected to abide by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) guidance for student nurses.

As a student nurse, you are required to work shifts, including nights, weekends and bank holidays this will ensure that you gain experience of the different types of care patients receive at different times of day. We understand that the demands of placement can be overwhelming and there is a variety of support available within placement and at the university from practice staff, academic staff and the wider university welfare infrastructure Click here for more details.

During your placements, you will gain an appreciation for the entire patient journey across all health and social care settings. This will enable you to evaluate and interpret person centre care by experiencing the surrounding circumstances, environment or background of the population that we serve transforming theory from an isolated idea into real world knowledge.

Strengthening Communities Through Partnership

At the University of Wolverhampton, we're proud to maintain strong collaborative relationships with our practice partners across Burton, Dudley, Sandwell, Shropshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton. These partnerships ensure our nursing students receive exceptional clinical experience and professional development opportunities while contributing to the healthcare needs of local communities.

When you apply to the University of Wolverhampton, we provide you with a list of all of our placement providers. You then get to select a first and second choice of geographical area as to where you would like to spend your time in practice. Students always evaluate this well as it means you get to know a local Trust – the Trust gets to grow expand their own workforce, and you as the student have a greater chance of earning securing employment a job at the end of your course. You will gain hands-on experiences in a variety of hospital, community and excellent nursing/residential homes, where you work alongside a range of healthcare professionals. You will experience opportunities for inter-disciplinary learning across all nursing pathways and with midwifery, social work and social care. with a range of healthcare professionals.

Placements will be undertaken in and around one of these six NHS Trusts:

Burton Hospital

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust

The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

The Royal Wolverhampton Trust

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

Placements may be undertaken in private, voluntary and independent health or social care setting within these geographical areas.

Find out more information on nursing placements and locations.

All placements are with an approved provider, monitored in accordance with the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council ensuring you gain the hands-on professional experience required for Registration.

Employability on the course

Direct NHS & Independent Sector Careers: Graduates enter high-demand roles as Registered Adult Nurses across NHS Trusts, private hospitals, community health teams, hospices, and general practice surgeries.

High Graduate Success: Adult nursing remains one of the UK’s top disciplines for immediate post-graduation employment.

Career Progression Pathways: This degree opens doors to specialized roles over time, including Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), District Nurse, Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP), ward manager, or clinical researcher.

 

 

 

Course Modules

Potential Career Paths

Once you have gained your BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing then this will open up the prospect of many jobs in clinical practice, hospital or community settings, research, teaching or managerial roles. Registered Nurses (RN) continue to study after they have qualified, often in a specialist area, as they develop their career path. Adult Nurses often comment that this qualification has ‘opened doors’ to exciting career opportunities in healthcare.

With experience, as an RN you can take additional qualifications enabling you to work in the community or district nursing, health visiting or school nursing. Adult trained RNs often work in GP practices and hospice settings. In hospitals, adult RNs may work in wards, outpatient clinics or specialist areas such as Accident and Emergency or Intensive Care Units.

See similar course: Undergraduate Credit Delivering Palliative and End of Life Care

 

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

From your very first placement to the day you register as a qualified nurse, we're with you every step of the way.

  • Train where it feels real. Our skills labs at City and Walsall campuses are built to put you in the room before you're in the room. At City Campus, our immersive simulation suite can be transformed in minutes — recreating a road traffic collision, an acute mental health crisis, or an intensive care ward — so you build confidence handling pressure long before your first shift. At Walsall, our expanded clinical skills facilities include mock hospital wards, a mock bedsit and terraced house for community-style care, and an anatomage table for hands-on anatomy learning, all filmed and played back through Panopto so you can review and reflect on your technique.
  • Learn from people who've been there. Our teaching team brings real experience from A&E, critical care, community nursing, cancer care, and ward leadership — so what you're taught comes from the wards, not just the textbooks.
  • Get placements that set you up for a job. You'll train across six NHS Trusts — Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell, Burton, and Shrewsbury — plus private healthcare settings, giving you the breadth of experience employers look for and a real shot at being hired by the Trust you train with.
  • Be supported financially. As a nursing student, you're eligible for an NHS Training Grant of at least £5,000 a year, on top of your tuition fee loan, with extra funding available for childcare and travel to placements.
  • Join a course shaped by patients. Our curriculum is developed with input from people with real care needs, so you're learning what matters most to the people you'll one day care for.

Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), our BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing degree gives you everything you need to register as a qualified adult nurse and start making a difference from day one.

Who will teach you on this course?

All of the staff that teach you on this course are Registered Nurses. You will benefit from the team’s expertise, which draws on a wealth of different experiences including: A&E, critical care, community care, specialist cancer care, and experience as Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Ward Managers.

Want to find out more...why not attend one of our Open Days, where you will have the opportunity to talk to staff and students who are currently studying and find out more about the course and our facilities.  Open Day - University of Wolverhampton (wlv.ac.uk) 

You will gain subject knowledge and understanding surrounding the professional and ethical conduct of a nurse, to deliver a high standard of appropriate nursing care and leadership and supervision of others, as well as being able to reflect on your personal and professional development.

You will explore health and social care policy trends and develop skills of enquiry to underpin your own practice with current credible evidence and evaluate the delivery of healthcare services.

You will learn decision-making and problem-solving techniques in order to provide quality care to patients and support their families.

By the end of the programme you will meet the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and will be able to register as a Registered Nurse.

Location Mode Foundation Year Fee Sep intake Fee Year
Home Full-time £9790 £9790 per year 2026-27
International Full-time £17600 £17600 per year 2026-27

The University is committed to a transparent fee structure, with no hidden costs, to help you make an informed decision. This includes information on what is included in the fee and how fees are calculated and reviewed.


If a tuition fee is not showing, we may not offer this intake for this course. Please check the start date information on the course finder for start dates.

Prepare for foundation pathway: 

Applicants who wish to access this course will be required to attend and pass a compulsory one day Prepare for foundation programme. This programme is where you will be able to showcase your keen interest or recent experience in the subject. As well as come to visit the university and meet the staff involved in the programme.

This compulsory programme is designed to introduce you to studying a health professional course, answer your questions, meet staff and fellow students. You will take part in a variety of exciting subject related activities that will prepare you to kick start your academic experience with us, should you secure an offer. 

Before attending the Prepare for foundation programme, we wish to make you aware that you will be asked to complete an assessment task which will be used as part of the event. Further information on the requirements of this task will be provided to applicants who have been shortlisted for this course.

Interview: 

If you are successful in passing this programme, you will be required to attend an interview with faculty staff.

GCSE requirements:

You are required to hold GCSE English language and maths grades 9-4/A*-C or equivalent. Equivalent qualifications include the following at Level 2: Functional Skills, Key Skills, Learn direct.

Equivalency Test:

If you have not achieved your Level 2 qualifications, you are eligible to take our University equivalency course. The course for this programme are free of charge and can be taken completely online. Our Admissions team will confirm in your offer if you are required to take one of these assessments.

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Further Information

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Please note that although you will apply for your preferred start date due to placement capacity you are not guaranteed the date you select. We would place successful applicants on the earliest start date we have available at that time. Applicants have the opportunity to be placed on a waiting list to be pulled forward as places become available.

Free Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Occupational Health Check:

Due to the professional nature of some of our courses you may also be required to complete a Declaration of Health and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.  We will coordinate both of these non-academic conditions with you should your course require this and you receive an offer from us

There will be no cost for the DBS this is free to applicants who have secured an offer and have chosen to study at the University of Wolverhampton.

Student Visa Requirements:

Applicants who require a student visa to enter the UK are not eligible to be considered for this course. 

Skilled Worker Visa Requirements:

Applicants who are in the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa or are a dependent of a Skilled worker are not eligible to be considered for this course. 

Other Requirements: Applicants must be 18 years old or above at the start of the course.

‘I'm a mature student nurse, my only regret is that I didn't do this sooner. I love being a student nurse. Just know that no matter what your age is, it's never too late. The sense of pride you feel when putting on your uniform is absolutely priceless’

Kelly Clamp, BNurs (Hons) Adult Nursing

 

 

 

 

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse (adult).

Tuition Fees Loan (Home Fee Status):

By studying an undergraduate or postgraduate pre-registration programme you are eligible for a Tuition Fee loan. of up to £9,790. The loan will support your studies and enable you to start a rewarding career in healthcare.


Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as Overseas (International) students for fee purposes. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) .


NHS Learning Support Fund

All eligible nursing , midwifery and most allied health professionals' students on pre-registration courses will also receive a Training Grant of at least £5,000 per year that is not means-tested and will not have to be repaid.

An additional payment of up to £3,000 per academic year will be available to eligible students;

• £2,000 for students with children towards childcare costs

• £1,000 Special Subject Payment on certain shortage specialism courses

Among others, the shortage specialisms have been confirmed to include:

• Mental health nursing

• Learning disability nursing

• Podiatry

Please note that this additional NHS funding is not available for students on the Foundation Year of a 4-year degree


Additional funding:

The Learning Support Fund also offers students additional support while studying for their degree. This includes:

• Additional travel and accommodation costs to clinical placements over their normal daily travel costs

• An exceptional hardship fund of up to £3,000 per student per academic year


You can find more information on the NHS Business Services pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

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Find out how our course is rated on Discover Uni, the official website for comparing UK higher education courses.

Full-time Course