Nursing Careers UK

Course finder

Nursing courses in the UK

Every pre-registration course this site holds: 14 programmes at 11 universities across 5 nursing fields and roles. Pick a profession to compare providers, awards, entry requirements and location side by side.

14 Approved courses Pre-registration, all four nations
11 Universities Providers with at least one course listed
5 Professions with courses
2 years Shortest programme Longest is 3 years

What is in this catalogue, and what counts as a course

Every entry here is a pre-registration programme — one that takes you from no qualification in the profession to being eligible to apply for registration with the regulator, which is the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for every field of nursing practice and role on this site. Post-qualifying master's degrees, top-up courses and CPD modules are deliberately not in scope: they will not get you on the register, so putting them in the same list as a course that will is actively misleading.

The catalogue currently splits across 2 training routes — undergraduate degree (12) and diploma (2) . That mix is the single most useful thing on this page. An undergraduate degree and a pre-registration master's lead to exactly the same registration and the same first job, but they suit different starting points: the master's assumes you already hold a relevant degree, and it is shorter and much more intensive.

Courses in this catalogue sit in England (11), Northern Ireland (2) and Scotland (1). Which nation you study in matters more than most applicants expect. Registration is UK-wide, so a degree approved in Cardiff lets you work in Newcastle — but tuition fees, the student finance body you deal with and the bursary or learning support you can claim are all set nation by nation, and some schemes ask for a commitment to work in that nation afterwards. Check funding before you decide that a course in another nation is simply a longer commute.

3 of the 14 courses listed carry a UCAS code, which is the ones you apply to through the central UCAS system. Where a course has no UCAS code, you normally apply direct to the university — that is usual for pre-registration master's programmes and near-universal for apprenticeships, where the vacancy is advertised by the employer rather than the university. Entry requirements are shown where the provider publishes them in a form this site can cite; where they are absent the course page says so rather than guessing.

Courses by profession

Sorted by the number of approved courses. Follow a profession through to compare every provider offering it.

Approved pre-registration courses by profession
Profession Courses Universities Routes Nations
Adult Nurse 3 3 BSc England
Children's Nurse 3 3 BSc England and Northern Ireland
Learning Disability Nurse 3 3 BSc England
Mental Health Nurse 3 3 BSc Scotland, England and Northern Ireland
Nursing Associate 2 2 Diploma England
BSc

Adult Nurse courses

Adults of all ages with acute and long-term conditions, and their families, across hospital, outpatient, home and community settings.

3 courses3 universitiesEngland
BSc

Children's Nurse courses

Babies, children and young people from birth to adolescence, and their parents or guardians.

3 courses3 universities2 nations
BSc

Learning Disability Nurse courses

People with learning disabilities and their families, across the lifespan and across health, social care and education settings.

3 courses3 universitiesEngland
BSc

Mental Health Nurse courses

People experiencing a wide range of mental health conditions, across inpatient, specialist and community settings.

3 courses3 universities3 nations
Diploma

Nursing Associate courses

Patients across all four nursing fields, working alongside healthcare support workers and registered nurses.

2 courses2 universitiesEngland

Where the courses are

Course counts by region across every profession. Placement travel is the practical constraint most applicants underestimate — a course in a region with several NHS trusts within reach is a materially different experience from one where placements are two hours away.

Courses by region
Region Nation Courses
London England 3
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 2
South East England 2
West Midlands England 2
East of England England 1
North East England 1
North West England 1
Scotland Scotland 1
Yorkshire and The Humber England 1

Related

Where this page’s data comes from

Course approval, award and provider details are compiled from the sources below. Each course page carries the individual references used for that programme.