Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Do I need a science A-Level to study Mental Health Nursing at uni?

Hi, I'm currently a Year 12 studying Psychology, Sociology and History A-Levels. I was hoping to find out whether I need a biology/chemistry A-Level, since I know they're preffered for other areas of nursing.

Reply 1

Emily_B

It completely depends on the university and I suggest you check on university websites.
Chemistry is definitely not required or preferred for any branch of nursing.
Biology is preferred by some universities for all branches of nursing - University of Liverpool is one of these.
Some universities have list of preferred subjects, including biology but there are subjects accepted as alternatives - University of Manchester lists biology, chemistry, psychology and sociology on their preferred subjects for all branches and you only need one of these.
There are also universities which have no subject requirements for any branch of nursing including Chester, Liverpool John Moore's, Edge Hill, MMU, Salford, Bangor, Wrexham...
I didn't do A level biology or chemistry, neither did either my husband or my brother-in-law and all 3 of us are successful registered nurses :colondollar:

Reply 2

Tracey_W

Original post by imalwaysconfused

As Emily said in her post #2 on this not all universities requires chemistry but do your research with any of your chosen universities to see what there entry requirements are for the course.

Entry requirements (mental health nursing)

University course
Academic entry requirements for mental health nursing degrees are set by individual universities . Typically you will usually need a minimum of five GCSEs at grade 4/C or above (typically English language or literature and a science subject), plus at least two (and ideally three) A-levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications for an undergraduate degree. If you already have a degree, you might be able to study for a postgraduate qualification through an accelerated programme.

You should check with each university or employer directly before applying to see if your qualifications meet their entry standard.

Alternatives to A-levels
If you’re applying for a university course, be aware that each university sets its own entry requirements. It is vital to check the individual entry requirements of the universities you plan to apply to as they can vary.

You should check with each university directly before applying to see if your qualifications meet their entry standard.

You can use our Course finder to find out which universities run approved clinical courses. The university websites provide detailed entry requirements, and you can always phone admissions departments for more information.

Various qualifications may be accepted as alternative qualifications to A-levels. These include:

Scottish Highers/Advanced Highers
Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma qualifications
OCR Cambridge Technicals
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Access courses, eg Access to Nursing
You may be asked to achieve a certain level in these alternative qualifications, for example a merit or distinction in the case of BTEC. In some cases it is possible to combine academic qualifications with vocational qualifications. For example, you might have an A-level and a BTEC qualification and this combination may be accepted by universities, depending on the subjects and grades.

Other alternative academic and vocational qualifications may also be acceptable – in all cases contact your chosen universities for more advice.

Before starting an Access course, always check with universities to ensure that the qualification is an acceptable entry requirement.

Reply 3

University of Salford

Official Rep

Original post by imalwaysconfused

Hi @imalwaysconfused,

It's great that you're thinking about what subjects you might need, you sound really prepared :smile:

Like everyone else has said, the entry requirements differ from University to University as so much of applying for a Nursing programme is about those soft skills, experiences and motivations that you're also bringing. For our course, for example, we don't specify which A Levels you need - just the amount of UCAS points - and this will be the same for some other Universities too!

I'd recommend taking a look at which Universities offer Mental Health Nursing on the UCAS course finder here: https://digital.ucas.com/search and thinking about which Universities you're interested in - you can then take a look at their websites and see what pre-requisites they have and think about what this means for you and your subject choices next year.

I hope this helps - good luck with your A-Levels and with your future University applications :smile:

Rowan
- University of Salford Rep

Reply 4

EdgeHillStudents

Official Rep

Original post by imalwaysconfused

Hi @imalwaysconfused

It is great to hear you are looking to study mental health nursing.

The entry criteria for a degree does vary at each university. Therefore, I would encourage you to contact each university directly to enquire on your suitability for their course.

Here at Edge Hill University we currently don't look for any specific subjects at A level as part of the entry criteria. Therefore, for 2022 entry we can consider students who don't have any science A Levels.

Further information about this degree, including the full entry criteria can be found here: www.edgehill.ac.uk/courses/nursing-mental-health/tab/entry-criteria/.

I hope this helps,

Good luck with your future studies!

Pippa

Course Enquiries Team

Reply 5

Manchester Metropolitan University

Official Rep

Original post by imalwaysconfused

Hi @imalwaysconfused

All universities will have different entry requirements. As other people have said on the thread it is best to check directly with the universities you may be interested in to check if they have a subject requirement for entry onto their course! However, its great you are thinking about this now!

If you haven't done so already you can search for courses on UCAS here: https://digital.ucas.com/search and it will show the entry requirements on each course page!

For example we offer both BSc(Hons) Adult Nursing and BSc(Hons) Mental Health Nursing and we do not require any specific A Levels to meet our entry requirements. For BSc(Hons) Adult Nursing we require a minimum of 104 UCAS points and for BSc(Hons) Mental Health Nursing we require a minimum of 112 UCAS points. We also require a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade C/4 or above to include English Language, Mathematics and science and evidence of IT skills.

You can find our courses here: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/bsc-mental-health-nursing#overview and here: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/bsc-adult-nursing

If you are wanting to learn a bit more about universities you may wish to take part in some of their Open days! It can be a great way to learn more about the universities and clear up any questions you might have regarding the course or entry requirements.

Our next open day will be June 2022! In the mean time you can view our new virtual experience here: https://virtualexperience.mmu.ac.uk

I hope this helps!

Carly :smile: