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Nursing (Mental Health) - Pre-Registration

MSc

Key facts

Start dates

September 2023 / September 2024

Course length

Full time: 3 years

Accreditation(s)

Nursing and Midwifery Council

  • Nursing and Midwifery Council

Overview

Our master’s degree allows you to undertake a Mental Health Nursing course which leads to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). 

As a mental health nurse you need to be able to show competence in nursing care across people's lifespan. With a particular focus on meeting the needs of people with mental health needs and their families and carers.

The context of healthcare delivery is changing, so it's essential that you can work:

  • flexibly
  • inter-professionally
  • and collaboratively.

We teach you the skills for evidence-based practice, encouraging you to develop a problem-solving approach to clinical practise.

In line with the new Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Future Nurse Standards (2018), our Mental Health Nursing Master's curriculum has recently been re-developed. At our recent approval event (March 2020) we were commended by the NMC for our excellent partnership working with placement organisations and for the inclusion of a strong public health theme throughout the curriculum. 

Mental health nurse with a patient

How to apply

Entry requirements

Specific entry requirements

3- year MSc 

Honours degree 2.2 or above (or equivalent), preferably in a health/science related subject. Non-health related degrees will be considered.

  • GCSE Maths, Science and English at Grade C or above, or equivalent
  • One recent academic reference
  • Successful performance in the selection process (including an individual interview)

Please also see the University's general entry requirements.

Screening

All applicants will be screened for fitness to practise and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be made.

Selection process

All Oxford Brookes University Health and Social Care Programmes conduct Value Based Recruitment (VBR). We recognise that values and attitudes have the greatest impact on the quality of people's care and their experiences.

VBR is a way of helping our Programme recruitment teams to assess the values, motives and attitudes of those who wish to work with people in health and social care settings. When we refer to values we mean, for example, the values included in the NHS constitution.

VBR focuses on 'how' and 'why' an applicant makes choices in how they act and seeks to explore reasons for their behaviour. Further details about the VBR framework can be found here.

English language requirements

For applicants whose first language is not English, an Academic IELTS score of 6.5 (with 6.5 in Reading and Writing, and 6.0 in Listening and Speaking) is required.

Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.

International qualifications and equivalences

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English requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

Pathways courses for international and EU students

We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.

Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.

If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.

Terms and Conditions of Enrolment

When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Application process

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£9,250 (Masters); £4,625 (Certificate)

International full time
£15,200

Home (UK) full time
Masters £9,250; Certificate £4,625

International full time
£16,300

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

Tuition fees

2022 / 23
Home (UK) full time
£9,250 (Masters); £4,625 (Certificate)

International full time
£15,200

2023 / 24
Home (UK) full time
Masters £9,250; Certificate £4,625

International full time
£16,300

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 483088

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

Financial support and scholarships

All eligible nursing students on courses from September 2020 (new and continuing) will receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year which they will not need to pay back.  For more information please visit https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund

 

For general sources of financial support, see our Fees and funding pages.

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Learning and assessment

You will study a nursing curriculum which has been developed in partnership with:

  • students
  • clinical partners
  • mentors
  • service users
  • carers.

Your learning follows a 'spiral' design and is structured incrementally from one year to the next, with a specific focus for each year.

In each year of the programme, you will have placements in your field of practice, with some taught content specific to your nursing field. 

Mental health professionals in a meeting

Study modules

MSc

Compulsory modules

Preparation for Academic and Professional Learning

Foundations of Nursing Practice

Bioscience for Nursing practice

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Clinical Practice Experience 1 (Mental Health)

Advanced Research Design

This module equips you with the skills to find, appraise and utilise research, as well as plan and design a piece of research work. It prepares you to define a suitable research question and to use this as a basis for identifying appropriate research methodologies for a small-scale research project or dissertation.

Enhacing Therapeutic Relationships

Assessing and Planning Mental Health Nursing Care

Promoting Health in Mental Health Nursing Practice

Clinical practice Experience 2 (Mental Health)

This module gives you the opportunity to build upon and acquire new knowledge and skills for clinical practice that will further explore ethical concepts and professional standards to support the care and self/family management of people within varied clinical settings.

Nursing Care of People with Complex Mental Health Needs

Consolidation of Mental Health Nursing Practice

Clinical Practice Experince 3 (Mental Health)

Dissertation

This module draws together and enhances your ability to utilise the knowledge, understanding and skills developed previously across the whole programme, in a piece of investigative or literature-based research or a service improvement project.

Placement

Compulsory modules

Placement

The Nursing and Midwifery Council mandates that all pre-registration nursing programmes must consist of at least 4,600 hours of student effort split 50/50 between theory and practice. This means that all students will be required to complete two unpaid practice placements per year amounting to approximately 770 hours of practice per year and must achieve 2,300 hours of practice (including some simulation based education) over the three years of the programme.

Each year, you will have 'hub' placements in hospital or community settings as well as shorter related 'spoke' placements. On your 'hub' placements, you will become part of the clinical team and gain valuable insights into the functioning of practice areas and nursing career opportunities. Our students highly rate this placement approach, as it helps them feel more confident and competent as the year progresses.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Learning and teaching

You will learn through the following methods:

  • experiential learning
  • mentoring, coaching and supervising
  • active learning
  • student-centred learning
  • blended and online learning
  • use of technology and informatics
  • collaborative learning with other disciplines, interprofessional learning, cultures and agencies
  • problem-based/solution-focused learning
  • simulation Based Education (SBE)
  • tutorials
  • online discussion
  • collaborative learning sets.

And you will have access to an extensive range of learning resources through Moodle, an online repository of:

  • lectures
  • handouts
  • information and learning exercises. 

Assessment

Assessment methods used on this course

We will assess you with a variety of methods, such as:

  • reflective essays
  • presentations
  • clinical examinations
  • multi-choice examinations
  • neighbourhood study
  • case studies. 

All modules have an assessment component which requires you to explicitly demonstrate an understanding of how the module theory informs and enhances patient care.  

You will receive feedback on your assessments which will  shape and develop your learning. 

Assessment of your practice learning occurs within the credit-rated Education in Nursing Practice modules. This must be passed to fulfil the professional requirements for the programme and ensure that you are eligible for registration as a nurse. 

Your practice will be assessed by a practice supervisor or assessor selected on the basis of having the necessary qualifications to function as a practice assessor, as per the NMC Pre-registration Standards (2010). 

Research

The new Oxford Institute for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Research (OxINMAHR) is an Oxford Brookes University-led partnership of key stakeholders which leads and participates in world class research and evidence-based practice. 

We have researchers with a range of experience, working in established areas including:

  • cancer care
  • children and families
  • drugs and alcohol
  • physical rehabilitation and enablement
  • interprofessional education and collaborative practice. 
Researcher using laptop in quiet space

After you graduate

Career prospects

Graduates from this course contribute significantly to high quality client care, the continued development of patient-centred care therapy, and theory-practice integration.

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.