Course summary
- Gain the knowledge, skills and values to provide competent nursing care.
- Develop a strong professional identity to prepare for future leadership roles.
- Broaden your knowledge alongside other health and social care professionals.
- Learn from enthusiastic academic staff who have a variety of clinical expertise.
- Benefit from real-world experience with placements and hands-on practicals.
This unique course offers you an exciting opportunity to become a fully qualified nurse, transforming the lives of individuals and communities. You’ll gain a wide range of skills and experience while considering the relationship between healthcare professionals and service users. You’ll graduate as a reflective and highly employable professional.
The Foundation Year course is designed for anyone who feels they would benefit from extra preparation before undertaking degree-level study or who does not meet the entry requirements for the BSc (Hons) course (due to lower predicted grades or lower performance at a selection event). The academic staff leading selection event processes are well placed to advice on the benefits of additional study or wider preparation in advance of joining a degree course.
How you learn
On this course you’ll learn from academic staff who have a variety of clinical expertise and experience. You’ll apply your theoretical study directly to your practice setting, using the knowledge, skills and attributes you’ve gained. The course is a blend of theory and hands-on practical work, giving you the opportunity to practise what you learn in both simulated and real-world settings.
Nurses are an integral part of a multidisciplinary team. You’ll have the chance to learn and collaborate with students from other health and social care courses, helping you deliver person-centred care, with an understanding of how other professionals contribute to the person's journey through health and social care services.
You learn through:
- Exams
- Poster presentation
- Reflective writing
- Assessment of proficiency in practice
- An extended project
- Group and individual presentations
- Written assessment
Key themes
In the first year you’ll establish the fundamentals of nursing in your chosen field, further developing your knowledge, skills and attitudes through a variety of placement learning experiences.
In your second year you’ll build on these fundamental skills by exploring the complexity of care provided to adults and children who use services, as well as their carers.
In your final year you’ll consolidate your knowledge, attitudes and skills by leading nursing care in diverse settings.
Course support
We’ll nurture your creativity, encouraging you to ask compelling questions and providing you with the tools to answer them.
With our high ratio of staff to students, you’ll always get the support you need on your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate-level employment. This includes:
- Access to our student support triangle to help with your personal, academic and career development.
- Access to our Skills Centre for support with one-to-ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments and assessment preparation.

Sheffield Hallam University