Program Overview

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Learning Disabilities Nursing BSc (Hons)

Course Overview

This degree combines theory with practice-based learning to lead you to professional registration and a rewarding career as a learning disabilities nurse.

What You'll Study

You will study various cross-field modules as well as modules specific to your nursing field. Throughout the course you will study:

• Clinical skills
• Pharmacology
• Communications
• Nursing models and theory
• Nursing assessments and interventions
• Interprofessional working
• Research

Year One

• Becoming a Professional Practitioner – 20 credits
• Evidence: Your Profession in a Global Context – 20 credits
• Nursing Assessment and Care Delivery – 20 credits
• Understanding Influences on Health and Care – 20 credits
• Placement 1: Introduction to Nursing Care – 20 credits
• Placement 2: Delivering Nursing Care – 20 credits

Year Two

• Therapeutic Interventions and Innovations in Learning Disabilities Nursing – 20 credits
• Complex Decision-Making with the Learning Disabilities Nursing Environments – 20 credits
• Exploring Knowledge Through Curiosity – 20 credits
• Enhanced Approaches in Delivering Holistic Care – 20 credits
• Placement 3: Delivering Enhanced Nursing Care – 20 credits
• Placement 4: Delivering Complex Holistic Nursing Care – 20 credits

Year Three

• Complex Care Coordination in Learning Disabilities Nursing – 20 credits
• Leading for the Future as a Health and Care Professional – 20 credits
• The Evidence-based Practitioner: Professional Project – 20 credits
• Preparing for your Career in Nursing – 20 credits
• Placement 5: Coordinating Nursing Care – 20 credits
• Placement 6: Practising Autonomously – 20 credits

How You'll Learn

We understand that everyone learns differently, so this course will consist of structured teaching sessions which can include:

• On-campus lectures, seminars and workshops
• Group work
• Self-directed learning
• Practice placement
• Simulation
• Role play

Teaching Contact Hours

As a full-time undergraduate student, you will study modules totalling 120 credits each academic year. A typical 20 credit module requires a total of 200 hours study. This is made up of teaching contact hours, guided and independent study.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods may include:

• Coursework
• Practice placement
• Formal examinations
• Objective Structured Clinical Examinations
• Presentations
• Assessed discussions

Entry Requirements

Typical entry requirements:

• UK: 104 UCAS points, A level BCC excludes General Studies, GCSE maths and English at grade 4 / C or Functional Skills Level 2, or other equivalent Level 2 awards
• BTEC: DMM in a Health, Sport or Science-based subject
• IB Diploma: 27 points with 14 at Higher level
• Access to HE: The Access to HE Diploma to include 15 Level 3 credits at Distinction in Health units. Plus GCSE English and Mathematics at grade 4 / C or above

Fees and Funding

Student | Full-time | Part-time ---|---|--- UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | 2026/27 fees TBC, 2025/26 fees: £9,535 per year | Not available

A non-repayable grant of £5,000 and extra payments worth up to £3,000 may be available to eligible students for each year of study.

Facilities

Our campus building is designed with your needs in mind. As nursing students, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Make use of our simulation facilities - from basic life support manikins to high-tech simulation manikins, which emulate patient responses and test resuscitation skills
• Use equipment found in the real world of practice, such as medical devices
• Assist with all elements of care, including medication administration

Careers and Opportunities

There are currently over 3,000 learning disabilities nurses within the NHS and demand for these specialist nurses is high. Typically, past final year students have been offered a range of posts within the NHS and the private sector prior to qualifying.

As a learning disability nurse, you will have opportunities to support people of all ages with learning disabilities in a range of settings, which may include:

• Hospital wards such as epilepsy and palliative care
• Mental health trusts
• Adult education
• Residential and community centres
• Patients' homes
• Workplaces
• Schools

Career options for successful graduates may include working in specialist areas such as education, sensory disability or service management or moving into areas such as management, teaching or clinical research.