NURS4009
15 credits
As a nursing student, this module will help to prepare you for academic and professional learning. You will develop the skills for academic writing, including...

Accredited by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
Explore mental health nursing and develop the knowledge and practical skills to support people in care.
Anxiety and depressive disorders. Obsessive-compulsive conditions. Substance-related problems. Mental health issues are soaring, with 1 in 4 people experiencing difficulties. Study Mental Health Nursing at Oxford Brookes to fuel your passion for improving lives. You can make a real difference – advocating for patients, helping them to overcome barriers and live their lives well.
Taught by a team of highly qualified and enthusiastic professionals, with experience ranging from research to clinical leadership, you’ll develop skills for a wide range of nursing careers. And build the confidence to meet a diverse range of mental health needs. You’ll also receive invaluable support from your course academic adviser.
No 2 days will be the same. With 50% of your time in university and 50% out on placements, you’ll put your knowledge into action in a variety of mental health settings. You'll hear from guest lecturers and those with lived experiences, and role play clinical situations in simulation-based learning. By the end, you’ll be ready to make a difference in your community and beyond.
Develop your skills with one or two mental health placements a year in a variety of settings, from children and young people to older adults, crisis intervention to rehabilitation.
Taught by highly experienced and enthusiastic research-active nurse academics, with a variety of mental health specialisms, your course will be informed by the latest developments in the field.
You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Brookes. Most exchanges take place in the second year. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.
Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
| Qualification | Typical offer |
|---|---|
| UCAS tariff points | 112 |
| Contextual offer tariff points | 88 |
| A-level | BBC |
| BTEC Extended Diploma | DMM |
| International Baccalaureate | 27 |
| GCSE English Language | Grade 4 (C) |
| GCSE Maths | Grade 4 (C) |
Including one A Level or a comparable Level 3 qualification in a science subject (e.g. Physical Education, Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Psychology).
Relevant experience (e.g. in a hospital) or a suitable indication of your interest in, and understanding of, the relevant healthcare profession.
For post-experience BSc:
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.
Prospective students will be interviewed by representatives from both the University and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. In addition, service users may also be in attendance.
| Fee types | 2026/27 | 2027/28 |
|---|---|---|
| Home full-time | £9,790 | £10,050 |
| Home part-time | £1,220 per single module | £1,255 per single module |
| International full-time | £17,250 | £19,300 |
Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.
For further information please see our tuition fees FAQs.
Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.
The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
With a strong practical focus, this course allows you to practise the hands-on tasks you'll perform in your career. You’ll apply theory to practice with half your time spent on placements in a variety of mental health settings with our established partners.
You'll also have the opportunity to learn from people with lived experience of mental health challenges. With regular access to outstanding facilities including our state-of-the-art simulation suite, you'll be able to develop your clinical expertise in a safe environment.
Focusing on communities, health and wellbeing in Year 1, nursing interventions in Year 2, and complex care in Year 3, you’ll increase your specialist knowledge as the course progresses. Your dissertation will also give you the chance to explore an area that interests you, whether that’s therapeutic relationships, promoting mental health, or caring for people with complex mental health needs.
You’ll be supported by passionate, highly qualified practitioners, available for advice whether you’re studying or out on placement.
Your learning will include:
Simulation Based Education (SBE) takes place in a safe learning environment. These look like a real clinic or hospital and allow you to role play in clinical situations.
Placements can include:
| Contact hours | Total workload | Timetabled |
|---|---|---|
| about 7 hrs a week | 1,200 hrs a year | Mon–Fri, 09:00–18:00 |
As with all pre-registration nursing courses, the BSc Nursing (Mental Health) course is made up of 50% theory and 50% practice. Assessments usually require integration of theory and practice learning.
All modules have an assessment component. We ask you to show how what you are learning enhances patient care.
Assessments can include:
You will be assessed for your practice learning during the Education in Nursing Practice modules. You must pass to fulfil the professional requirements to be eligible for registration as a Nurse.
Your work during placements will be assessed by a mentor with the necessary qualifications to function as a practice assessor (NMC Pre-registration Standards (2010)
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When you register as a mental health nurse, you’ll be well prepared to work as a band 5 staff nurse in a range of settings.
Perhaps you’re interested in working in NHS hospital wards such as psychiatric and specialist units. Or community settings such as GP surgeries, schools and prisons. Maybe you fancy a different path working for a mental health charity or as a mental health nurse in the armed forces. With more demand for mental health nurses than ever before, you’ll find your options are varied.
And with an excellent track record of employability, you could soon be looking for postgraduate qualifications. You could take your career even further with advanced clinical practice, research, nurse education or management.
If you're applying for this course, please note that there are specific accommodation arrangements for some students. Find out more about accommodation options for this course.
Our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, so module availability and course structures may vary from what is listed here. On rare occasions, we may also need to make updates to our course programmes after publication; for full details, please visit our changes to programmes page (opens in a new tab)