Program Overview

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BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing

Overview

Study a Mental Health Nursing degree at the University of Suffolk and positively impact people's wellbeing as a registered Mental Health Nurse. Gain the skills, knowledge, and values needed to build relationships to promote mental health and wellbeing by studying a nursing course ranked 8th in the UK for Graduate Prospects in Nursing and Midwifery (Complete University Guide 2025).

Personal insight and emotional maturity stand as essential attributes of a qualified mental health nurse. This course aims to cultivate both these qualities, recognising them as vital to effective practice.

Our course team are expert registered practitioners with excellent links with the NHS and local hospitals, committed to teaching and motivating you to become a mental health nurse who makes a difference. Our £15m Health and Wellbeing building located at our Ipswich campus boasts state-of-the-art facilities delivering clinical simulation, immersive and VR environments equipping nursing students to learn and thrive within clinical practice.

As a mental health nursing student, you will develop skills in independent learning, critical analysis, leadership, management, and decision-making. You will acquire the knowledge, values, understanding, and skills necessary to care for individuals to enhance their recovery from mental illness and promote mental health and wellbeing.

With learning split 50/50 between theory and practice each semester, as a mental health nursing student you will complete clinical placements across Suffolk throughout your course to develop the essential clinical skills and gain experience in a variety of practice settings.

Mental health nursing entails working closely with individuals to help them achieve self-care and independence within a professional context. This developmental process for the individual being cared for, demands the nurse to possess the highest levels of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills.

The BSc Mental Health Nursing degree will provide you with an opportunity to focus on the distinct health needs of service users and their families/carers. Nursing inherently involves collaboration with diverse individuals accessing healthcare services, encompassing a wide spectrum of ages and circumstances, including short or longer-term mental health experiences, along with the associated complexities of physical, social, and emotional needs.

Funding

When studying the BSc Mental Health Nursing degree, you could be in receipt of a training grant of up to £5,000 per academic year depending on your circumstances through the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF).

Interviews

As part of your application to study this course, you will be invited to attend an interview. Attending your interview is an opportunity for us to get to know each other, and for you to find out more about your chosen course whilst exploring our campus and facilities.

Professional Registration

Upon completion of your degree, graduates gain first level entry to the NMC Professional Register. Further information about the university's relationship with the NMC is available in the PSRB register.

Course Modules

Our undergraduate programmes are delivered as 'block and blend', more information can be found on Why Suffolk? You can also watch our Block and Blend video.

Each semester consists of 50% practice and 50% theory. The focus is to develop core skills and knowledge on meeting the needs of service users and their family/carer(s) as well as promoting health and wellbeing.

Emphasis will be placed on keeping the service user at the centre of care delivery by supporting them to make informed choices and promoting individual recovery and wellbeing. A range of interventions and approaches, that address a wide range of short, acute and longer-term health conditions and that are used by both nurses and other members of the wider health and social care professional team, will be considered.

Downloadable information regarding all University of Suffolk courses, including Key Facts, Course Aims, Course Structure and Assessment, is available in the Definitive Course Records.

Select course year Year 1, Year 2, Year 3

Year 1

• Introduction to Professional Values for Mental Health Nurses
• Early Intervention to Optimise Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Creative Interventions in Mental Health to Support Person Centred Care
• Fundamental Biosciences and Physical Health Care for Mental Health Nurses
• Mental Health Nursing Practice: Part 1

Year 2

• Service User Led Assessment, Care Planning and Recover
• Research for Mental Health Nurses
• Medication Management for Mental Health Nurses
• Core Psychological approaches and Counselling Skills for Mental Health Nurses
• Mental Health Nursing Practice: Part 2

Year 3

• Leading and Managing Care in an interprofessional context
• Politics and Contemporary Nursing Practice
• Dissertation
• Delivering Complex Care
• Mental Health Nursing Practice: Part 3

Entry Requirements

UK Academic Requirements

• 96 UCAS Points (or above)
  • CCC (A-Level)
  • MMM (BTEC)
  • Pass A*-C (T Level)
  • Access to HE Diploma 30 Level 3 credits at Merit grade or above

Non-Academic Requirements

• Successful interview
• Satisfactory Health check
• Satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check - fee applicable
• Two satisfactory references

International Requirements

• IELTS 7.0 is required where English is not the students' first language.

Transferring Credit

• If you have previously studied at higher education level before you may be able to transfer credits to a related course at the University of Suffolk and reduce the period of study time necessary to achieve your degree.

Career Opportunities

Mental Health Nursing students are highly employable and acquire diverse skills during their degree. Graduates can enter various careers, including community, hospital, education, and research settings. Abundant options for ongoing professional development and advancement to higher degree study exist.

Your Course Team

• Emma Pell - Head of Apprenticeships and Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing
• Ann Teemal - Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing
• Clair Piper - Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing
• Justin Hunter - Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing
• Heather Rugg - Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing

Fees and Funding

2025/26

• UK Full-time Tuition Fee: £9,535 per year
• International Full-time Tuition Fee: £18,380 per year and including placement fee

2026/27

• UK Full-time Tuition Fee: £9,535* per year
• International Full-time Tuition Fee: £18,380 per year and including placement fee

*Maximum tuition fees chargeable to Home-fee students are set by the UK Government normally in the autumn or early winter in the year prior to the year of entry (e.g. autumn 2025 for entry in 2026/27). The University of Suffolk reserves the right to increase tuition fees for 2026/27 if the UK Government increases the maximum annual fee.

Facilities and Resources

The Health and Wellbeing building provides students with a variety of state-of-the-art clinical simulation facilities, including two simulated hospital wards, a midwifery birthing unit, physiotherapy teaching spaces, a sports and exercise facility and a working radiography imaging suite. The building also hosts the Institute of Health and Wellbeing Research and the Integrated Care Academy.