Undergraduate study - 2025 entry
Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

Subject area: Nursing Studies

Why choose Nursing Studies at the University of Edinburgh?

  • We are ranked in the UK's top 5 and the world's top 30 universities for nursing in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023.

  • We offer you the opportunity to customise your learning by studying a course from a University-wide range of options in Year 1. Then, in Years 3 and 4, you can choose honours options to develop your specialist interests within nursing.

  • Nursing is a global profession. On this programme you can choose to arrange an elective placement overseas or have the opportunity apply for a semester-long exchange to Australia in Year 3 with LaTrobe University.

  • You will have opportunity to take part in inter-professional learning throughout the programme, learning some skills alongside medical students and collaborating with other professional groups. You will also have opportunity to take part in high and low fidelity simulation to explore learning in an innovative way.

  • You will work with research active staff who are engaged with cutting edge research and international healthcare policy development.

Study abroad

The perfect mixture of clinical teaching and lectures allows me to put my knowledge into practice. On placements I flourish by growing my knowledge in that area of nursing, continuously developing my clinical skills, human anatomy, multidisciplinary communication, and teamwork. The variety of placements from A&E to Borders Eye Centre gives you an idea of where you will or won't want to work. My teachers are so patient and intelligent. They know us so well which makes tutorials and lectures easier to contribute to. I wouldn't have wanted to study this degree anywhere else!!

Amy McDougall 3rd year, BN (Hons) Nursing Studies
Amy McDougall 3rd year, BN (Hons) Nursing Studies

Introducing Nursing Studies

We have been providing nursing education at the University of Edinburgh for more than 60 years. Our Bachelor of Nursing (BN) with honours programme prepares you for a rewarding and varied career in healthcare. On graduation, you will be eligible for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as an adult nurse.

We offer clinically-based learning and practical skills, balanced with theoretical and research-based knowledge, ensuring our graduates are highly effective practitioners by the end of our four-year programme.

We welcome applicants with a strong interest in human relationships; well-developed social and communication skills and a high degree of empathy.

Our programme’s combination of academic study and clinical practice will help you develop:

  • skills and attributes required of an adult nurse
  • leadership skills
  • the critical and analytical skills required to provide excellent nursing care
  • research literacy to equip you for evidence based healthcare
  • an appreciation of the varied landscape of clinical practice today

You will learn about:

  • clinical and professional issues in nursing
  • the diverse social and cultural influences on health
  • research methods and real world research projects
  • the psychological perspectives on the experience of illness and care
  • the ways you can contribute to the profession in the future

Personalise your learning

The BN (Hons) degree offers opportunities to personalise your learning.

In Year 1 you take one course each semester from across the wider University. This allows you to try something new, follow up an existing interest and broaden your understanding of the world.

In the honours years, you can choose 2 option courses each year which allows you to deepen your understanding in specialist clinical areas such as critical care, older people or cancer care. Other options include policy issues such as drug policy, homelessness, mental health and person-centred care.

These options to personalise the programme allow you to play to your strengths, enhancing your knowledge of topics which are of interest to you.

Year 3 placement

There is an opportunity to arrange an elective placement in the summer of Year 3. This is an opportunity to experience healthcare in another country or in a different service within the UK.

The elective allows students to explore different cultures and experience a variety of clinical work settings.

In the past, students have enjoyed electives in Malawi, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Australia to name only a few. Others have stayed more locally and have tried remote and rural healthcare, prison nursing, homeless projects, recovery services and a range of NHS services across the UK.

Accreditation

This programme is validated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Achievement of the required clinical and academic outcomes leads to eligibility for registration with the NMC as an adult nurse.

  • [BN]: Bachelor of Nursing
  • [NMC]: Nursing and Midwifery Council

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