The BSc Nursing (Adult) is a three-year professional degree that prepares you to care for adults of all ages across a wide range of healthcare settings. The course combines on-campus learning with practical clinical placements, helping you develop the confidence, communication skills and clinical expertise needed to deliver safe, compassionate and person-centred care. It’s the first step toward becoming a registered adult nurse and building a career where you make a real difference every day.
Nurses play an essential role across all areas of health and social care, including hospitals, GP surgeries, community teams, care homes and patients' homes. Adult Nursing is a career where your skills, compassion and commitment make a real and lasting difference to the people you care for.
At Essex, you will study a fresh and modern curriculum shaped with input from service users, carers and healthcare partners. This ensures your learning reflects current practice and prepares you for a profession built on empathy, confidence and high-quality person-centred care. We provide support throughout all aspects of your journey, including dedicated support in literacy and numeracy.
There are four main types of pre-registration nursing degree – child, learning disabilities, adult and mental health. At Essex we specialise in adult and mental health nursing courses, as well as offering apprenticeships for those already in employment in a healthcare setting and CPD courses for those who already have professional registration. For a full list of our undergraduate and research nursing courses, take a look at our subject pages.
The cost of the required uniform will be fully covered by the school.
What you’ll learn
You will learn how to provide safe, evidence-based and person-centred care across a wide range of healthcare settings. This includes developing skills to:
assess, plan, deliver and evaluate nursing care
build trusting relationships with patients and families
communicate with confidence and clarity
apply critical thinking in complex situations
promote dignity, advocacy and patient choice
You will also learn directly from members of our Service User Reference Group (SURG), who share their lived experiences to help you understand the real impact of healthcare on individuals and families.
All teaching, learning and clinical skills sessions take place on site, and your placements will be based throughout Essex. Colchester offers a vibrant and supportive learning environment, with access to our specialist facilities, simulation spaces, library, and a wide range of student services.
Throughout your studies, you’ll be supported by experienced academic staff and practice partners who will help you develop the knowledge and skills needed for a rewarding nursing career.
Your learning experience
Your degree combines classroom learning, clinical skills training and hands-on placements. At Essex, you will:
study a modern, practice-focused programme
learn alongside other healthcare students for a rich and collaborative experience
take part in simulation activities that mirror real clinical scenarios
receive dedicated literacy and numeracy support
work with local healthcare partners to gain high quality placement experience
learn from SURG members who shape teaching, interview processes and curriculum design
All required uniform costs are fully covered by the School.
Placement opportunities
Half of your studies will be spent working in clinical settings – for example, in a ward, a health centre or in client's homes. You will be working alongside nurses as you practice and perfect your skills.
Placements are based in NHS, private and voluntary settings throughout Essex. You will work shift patterns whilst in placement equivalent to approximately a 37.5 hour week. This includes early shifts, late shifts, night shifts, weekend and bank holiday working.
Careers and employers
Adult Nursing can lead to many rewarding roles in a wide range of health and social care settings. Qualified nurses are needed in:
acute hospital wards
community nursing teams
GP surgeries
specialist services
care homes
private healthcare organisations
voluntary and charity sector services
This course gives you a strong foundation for a meaningful and people focused career, with the chance to progress and develop as you gain experience.
Graduates from this course go on to work with a variety of employers, including:
NHS Trusts across Essex and the wider region
community health and social care providers
private hospitals and clinics
voluntary and charity organisations
primary care settings such as GP practices
Making your application
Before you make your application, take a look at our frequently asked questions section at the bottom of our undergraduate department pages. Here you will find hints and tips on what we are looking for, as well as useful resources to help you prepare for interviews.
DBS and Occupational Health Checks
This course requires a satisfactory Occupational Health Check and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check (including child and adult barred list check) - both of these are organised by the University. Please contact our DBS team or Occupational Health team if you have any questions in relation to these checks.
A satisfactory Overseas Criminal Record Check/Local Police Certificate is also required, in addition to a DBS Check, where you have lived outside of the UK in the last 5 years for 6 months or more. Further information about how to obtain an Overseas Criminal Record check can be found on the Gov.uk website.
Vaccinations
We continue to recommend Covid and flu vaccination. This is to protect both yourself and the vulnerable people that you may meet throughout your placement.
Professional accreditation
Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse (adult).
Why we're great.
You’ll learn in purpose-built simulation environments, including realistic clinical suites and immersive scenario training that prepare you for the demands of modern nursing practice.
Our focus is on producing nurses with empathy as well as technical skill.
Much of your study is spent in clinical settings, working alongside nurses and other professionals.
Our expert staff
A unique feature of our School is that many of our staff work with local NHS Trusts and other local agencies, which enhances our grasp of the contemporary links between academic research, the major issues of the day and practice.
We specialise in applied, multidisciplinary research that addresses issues of national and international concern to health and social care policy and practice and related fields. We also host the NIHR Research Design Service for the East of England.
Specialist facilities
The School of Health and Social Care is based in the Kimmy Eldridge building at our Colchester Campus.
We have purpose-built nursing skills labs at Colchester designed to support your learning and reflect real clinical environments. View our image gallery and find out more about our nursing facilities.
Our dedicated support tutor will help you develop your academic literacy and clinical numeracy skills, enabling you to confidently apply these essential areas of study to real-life practice.
Your future
Successful completion of our BSc Nursing (Adult) leads to eligibility to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on the Professional Register as a “Registered Adult Nurse” allowing you to practise as a nurse in the UK.
Rae is a current third year student on our BSc Nursing (Adult) course and has been nominated for Student Nurse or Midwife of the Year: Clinical Research Award at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2024.
Rae's passion for clinical research has been developed by her course. She said: "I particularly enjoyed the freedom and independence that allowed me to explore my interest in clinical research nursing. I was proactive in seeking out opportunities and also created some of my own. Highlights would be volunteering as a Research Ambassador with Healthwatch Essex and attending the Royal College of Nursing International Research conference in Manchester."
She added: "As part of my current placement, I have been working with the community stroke team to assist in facilitating Early Supported Discharge (ESD). This experience has further emphasised the significance of person-centred care and how patients can benefit greatly when provided with the necessary support in the comfort of their own homes. I have also visited the local Research and Development team to find out about current research being carried out with stroke patients including the OPTIMAS Trial and TICH-3. I am excited to learn more and hopefully inspire more nurses to get involved in clinical research."
Entry requirements
UK entry requirements
Our published entry requirements are a guide and we welcome applications from those who have achieved one of the below qualifications with lower grades but meet our GCSE Mathematics and English (or equivalent) requirement.
GCSEs: Mathematics and English Language C/4. Acceptable alternatives are listed further down this page
Plus one of the level 3 qualifications below:
A-levels: BBB - BBC or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 full A-levels.
BTEC: DDM - DMM or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels.
Other UCAS tariff qualifications, and combined qualifications: 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 full A levels or equivalent. Tariff point offers may be made if you are taking a qualification, or mixture of qualifications, from the list on our undergraduate application information page.
IB: 30 - 29 points in the IB Diploma or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of 2 Higher Level subjects.
IB Career-related Programme: We consider combinations of IB Diploma Programme courses with BTECs or other qualifications.
QAA-approved Access to HE Diploma: 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points.
T-levels: 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points. We consider T-levels on a case-by-case basis, depending on subject studied. Depending on the course applied for there may be additional requirements, which may include a specific grade in the Core.
We also consider vocational level 3 qualifications for entry. If you are taking or have achieved any qualifications that are not listed here, email Undergraduate Admissions.
GCSE/level 2 requirements
All applicants must have, or be working towards, acceptable level 2 Mathematics, and English qualifications such as GCSE grade C/4 or equivalent.
We accept OFQUAL regulated level 2 maths qualifications, including Functional Skills level 2, Key Skills level 2 or numeracy units taken as part of an Access to HE Diploma.
If you don't need a Student visa and are either a first language English speaker or have a lived in the UK for over three years, we can accept OFQUAL regulated level 2 English qualifications, including Functional Skills level 2, Key Skills level 2 or literacy units taken as part of an Access to HE Diploma.
Additional requirements
This course has additional requirements including pass of an interview, a satisfactory reference, Occupational Health Check and Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check. For more information see the Health and Social Care Undergraduate page
Contextual Offers:
We are committed to ensuring that all students with the merit and potential to benefit from an Essex education are supported to do so. We make Contextual Offers, of up to two A-level grades (or equivalent) below our standard conditional offer, to applicants from underrepresented groups residing in the UK. Our Contextual Offers policy outlines the full eligibility criteria.
For further information about what a Contextual Offer may look like for your specific qualification profile, email ugquery@essex.ac.uk.
If you haven't got the grades you hoped for, have a non-traditional academic background, are a mature student, or have any questions about eligibility for your course, more information can be found on our undergraduate application information page or get in touch with our Undergraduate Admissions Team at ugquery@essex.ac.uk.
International & EU entry requirements
We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
Sorry, the entry requirements for the country that you have selected are not available here. Please contact our Undergraduate Admissions team at ugquery@essex.ac.uk to request the entry requirements for this country.
English language requirements
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in writing and 7.0 in all other components, or specified score in another equivalent test that we accept.
Details of English language requirements, including component scores, and the tests we accept can be found here
If we accept the English component of an international qualification it will be included in the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.
English language shelf-life
Most English language qualifications have a validity period of 5 years. The validity period of Pearson Test of English, TOEFL and CBSE or CISCE English is 2 years.
If you require a Student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
Pre-sessional English courses
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Pending English language qualifications
You don’t need to achieve the required level before making your application, but it will be one of the conditions of your offer.
If you cannot find the qualification that you have achieved or are pending, then please email ugquery@essex.ac.uk.
Additional Notes
If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College
Structure
Course structure
Our Nursing programmes consist of three terms per year. This structure adopts a developmental approach to the mastering of nursing skills and development of knowledge and understanding. It has a 50:50 split between theory and practice which means that for 50% of your programme, you undertake clinical practice by working with nurses in a variety of settings (primary and secondary care, public and private sectors, adult and the elderly, acute care and specialist services). Service user-centred care planning emphasises the holistic nature of health and illness. Alongside this experience, you are given the opportunity to rehearse practical skills in a controlled environment further preparing you for working in the practice environment.
As you undertake a significant part of your programme in placement areas we work in partnership with the NHS and the independent health and social care sector across Essex where you will spend your placement hours so that you gain the best clinical learning experiences. Whilst on placement you will have a mentor allocated to you and contact with a member of the academic team linked to that placement. You will work shift patterns whilst in placement equivalent to a 37.5 hour week. This includes early shifts, late shifts, night shifts, weekend and bank holiday working.
Attendance at all parts of this programme is compulsory (as are the modules you study) and must be evidenced in order to register as a nurse.
These carefully selected modules will give you the chance to explore, question, and create powerful ideas. Picked to give you an extensive and in-depth education, they'll equip you with the specialist knowledge, vital transferrable skills, and the confidence to make a genuine difference to the world around you.
We're reactive, we're pioneering, we never stand still, so modules might change from year to year in response to new developments and innovation. Those listed below show how a typical course might look, but more detail on course structure, including details of all optional modules, is available on our Programme Specification.
We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.
Components and modules explained
Components
Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose.
Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.
Status
What this means
Core
You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory
You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.
Modules
Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits.
In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available.
Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code. For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:
HR
100
4
FY
The department or school the module will be taught by.
In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.
Applying knowledge of behavioural sciences provides the foundations for understanding people’s lived experiences of mental and emotional wellbeing and distress, enables nurses to deliver person-centred nursing care, and supports practices that encourage environmental and behavioural changes. This module prepares students in the fundamentals of behavioural sciences as applied to nursing. It recognises the interaction of environmental and individual circumstances that shape and influence behaviours and ‘choices’.
The module introduces and applies best practice approaches to managing situations where students observe mental and emotional distress, neglect, abuse, aggression, self-harm and suicidal ideation in a range of contexts and settings.
Applying knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology provides the foundations for understanding people's lived experiences of physical health, physical deterioration and distress. This knowledge also enables nurses to deliver person-centred care and initiate interventions that reduce distress and restore homeostasis. This module prepares students in the fundamentals of life sciences as applied to nursing. It recognises the interaction of the external and internal environments that shape and influence people's experiences of physical health. The module introduces and applies best practice approaches to managing situations where students observe physical ill health, distress, and deterioration in a range of contexts and settings.
This module prepares students for practice-based learning and to assess, plan and deliver person-centred care. Students will develop confidence and competence in the range of fundamental nursing knowledge, proficiencies and procedures and develop an understanding of their professional accountability as a registered nurse. Students will also be introduced to fundamental research capabilities so that they can locate, identify and incorporate evidence from a range of sources with their emergent practice.
Recognising the political, social and environmental determinants of health and wellbeing are fundamental in allowing nurses to challenge health inequalities and discrimination. This module prepares students in the fundamentals of health promotion and protection, within the context of these determinants. It takes a critical public health perspective to identify how political and social structures have consequences for the health and wellbeing of people and populations. The module applies this emergent understanding to the role of nurses in health promotion and health screening to improve and maintain the health, wellbeing and welfare of the people, communities and populations they work with.
This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
Advocacy is a central tenet of the philosophies and practices of healthcare provisioning and central to the critical study and engagement with global public health.
Drawing on the principles of social justice, this module encourages you to critically consider what it means to be an advocate for the right to health of people who are seeking to access and use health services, and to explore strategies to constructively and actively resist those practices and policies that have detrimental consequences for groups of people.
You will be able to choose between this module and HS958 - Public Mental Health
This module prepares students to participate in practice-based learning, reasoning and decision-making to deliver person-centred care. Students will develop confidence and competence in the range of enhanced nursing proficiencies and nursing procedures.
Students will develop and demonstrate emergent leadership, collaborating with service users and other professions to make decisions about how person-centred care is provided to an individual or small group of people.
Relationship-based practice is central to the provision of safe and compassionate person-centred care. This module comprehensively prepares students in relationship-based practices that provide the foundations for person-centred nursing care. Students will develop proficiency in approaches to skilled communication and relationship management (Annexe A Section 2), NMC standards, and approaches for providing evidence-based therapeutic interventions (Annexe A, Section 3)
Students will consider how these approaches apply in different situations and fields of practice.
This module allows students to review and appraise the resources, interventions and therapies at the disposal of registered nurses and to select appropriately from these to provide safe and effective care in the complex situations that nursing can operate within. The delivery of any intervention or therapy requires careful consideration in terms of both the evidence base for that intervention and safeguarding people's autonomy in the decision-making process. The module will draw upon experiences of working with people with a range of physical and mental health co-morbidities.
Monitoring and evaluating the quality of care practices and services, and making subsequent service changes are fundamental for improving the safety and quality of care. Improvements in care and treatment that enhance the outcomes that people experience can be transformative when the people whose experiences matter most are involved in the design of the service.
This module offers students the opportunity to work closely with people with lived experience, citizens and service users to consult on, develop, co-design and lead participatory quality improvement initiatives. Students will select questions and issues that are important to people, and co-design a proposal to address these issues in partnership with people with lived experience, quality and education leads in partner organisations, and the support of an academic supervisor.
This module prepares students to lead, manage and coordinate care during practice-based learning experiences. Students will develop independence in the range of enhanced adult nursing proficiencies and procedures.
Students will demonstrate critical, reflective and person-centred leadership when working with others, and demonstrate proficiency in managing the complexities and ambiguities of challenging and conflicting episodes in adult nursing care.
Preparation in the principles of supervision and feedback ensures that students are ready to act as practice supervisors and are ready to learn to become practice assessors at the point of registration. Students will consider approaches to clinical and practice supervision and how these contribute to the development of peers and learners. Students will have the opportunity to supervise and coach less experienced students in both practice and university-based/simulated settings (e.g. in Person-Centred Care 1 and selected other modules.)
Students will enhance and develop an awareness of cultural competence, processes of constructive feedback, reflective appraisal, and formative and summative assessment. They will be encouraged to develop approaches to coaching and supervision whilst considering how to challenge circumstances that impact upon the quality of a learning environment.
This module consolidates learning around compassionate, clinical leadership in adult nursing. Students will consider the accountabilities and human consequences associated with their own and others' leadership decisions at the point of care.
They will be supported to explore the complexities and uncertainties of clinical situations. Students will critically examine how the 'quality' of care is defined, measured and audited, and the impact of these measurements on the lived experiences of people. They will reflect upon their own professional development needs and proactively plan their own development.
Nursing students undertake 50% of the programme on placement in clinical practice and 50% undertaking campus-based study. On a typical week when on campus , nursing students will undertake 37.5 hours of study, this is usually made up of 30 hours of on-campus teaching and 7.5 hours of self-directed study. On placement in clinical practice, nursing students will work a shift pattern equivalent to approximately 37.5 hours per week, including early shifts, late shifts, night shifts, weekend and bank holiday working. Nursing students are required to gain experience of the range of hours that nurses work and will be expected to follow the shift patterns worked in a range of clinical departments.
Lectures inform you of the most important topics, with classes allowing you to consolidate your learning through discussion
We work closely in partnership with the NHS and the independent health sector to provide placement opportunities
Modules have their own accompanying webpages on Moodle where you can download relevant readings, power-points, podcasts and YouTube clips, and contribute to online discussions
Assessment
You will be assessed through presentations, coursework and assessments of practical settings
You will also undertake two written exams, one in year one and the other in year two
Fees and funding
Home/UK fee
£9,790 per year
International fee
£24,360 per year
Fees will increase for each academic year of study.
If your course has the option to include a placement year or study abroad, and you choose to do so, you will pay the following:
Our events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex. We run a number of Open Days throughout the year which enable you to discover what our campus has to offer.
You have the chance to:
tour our campus and accommodation
find out answers to your questions about our courses, student finance, graduate employability, student support and more
meet our students and staff
Check out our Visit Us pages to find out more information about booking onto one of our events. And if the dates aren’t suitable for you, feel free to book a campus tour here.
Our UK students, and some of our EU and international students, who are still at school or college, can apply through their school. Your school will be able to check and then submit your completed application to UCAS. Our other international applicants (EU or worldwide) or independent applicants in the UK can also apply online through UCAS Apply.
The UCAS code for our University of Essex is ESSEX E70. The individual campus codes for our Loughton and Southend Campuses are ‘L' and ‘S' respectively.
You can find further information on how to apply, including information on transferring from another university, applying if you are not currently at a school or college, and applying for readmission on our How to apply and entry requirements page.
If you receive an undergraduate offer to study with us in October 2026 and live in the UK, you will receive an email invitation to book onto one of our Open Days. These events provide the opportunity to meet your department, join interesting taster sessions, tour our campus and accommodation, and chat to current students. You can visit our Open Days event page for more information, including terms and conditions.
Offer Holder Days
If you are an undergraduate student residing in the UK who has received an offer to study with us in October 2024, you will receive an email invitation soon to book onto one of our Offer Holder Days. Our Colchester Campus Offer Holder Days run from February to May 2024 on various Wednesdays and Saturdays, and our Southend Campus Offer Holder Days run in April and May 2024 on various Wednesdays and Saturdays. Offer Holder Days provide the opportunity to meet your department, tour our campus and accommodation, and chat to current students. We appreciate that travelling to university events can be expensive, so we are offering an Offer Holder Day Travel Bursary, allowing you to claim up to £150 as reimbursement for travel expenses. For further information about Offer Holder Days, including terms and conditions and eligibility criteria for our Travel Bursary, please visit our Offer Holder Days webpage. Please note, if you have already claimed a travel bursary to attend your interview in person, then you will not be able to claim a second travel bursary to attend an Offer Holder Day.
If you are an overseas offer-holder, you will be invited to attend one of our virtual events. However, you are more than welcome to join us at one of our in-person Offer Holder Days if you are able to - we will let you know in your invite email how you can do this.
Interview
Undergraduate students who apply for our health-related courses are required to pass a compulsory interview before an offer can be made. If you are shortlisted for interview based on your application, you will be invited to interview with us via Microsoft Teams. We use the interview as an opportunity to get to know you, to find out about your ambitions, and assess how prepared you are for the course. It's important for us to be sure that you know what you're signing up for, so we'd expect you've done some research about the course and the associated careers it may lead to. We have some more information about how to demonstrate you have what it takes at the bottom of our undergraduate page
Visit Colchester Campus
Set within 200 acres of award-winning parkland - Wivenhoe Park and located two miles from the historic city centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded development. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.
If you live too far away to come to Essex (or have a busy lifestyle), no problem. Our 360-degree virtual tour allows you to explore our University from the comfort of your home. Check out our Colchester virtual tour to see accommodation options, facilities and social spaces.
At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.
The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications. The University would inform and engage with you if your course was to be discontinued, and would provide you with options, where appropriate, in line with our Compensation and Refund Policy.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and
Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.
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