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MSc Nursing (Adult)

Convert your undergraduate degree into a career in care with an accelerated pre-registration route into adult nursing.

Year of entry: 2026 (January)

Length

2 years full-time

Start date

January 2026 (semester dates)

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Deliver compassionate, evidence-based care across diverse healthcare settings and make a real impact on patient lives. Through practical experience, theoretical study, and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, you’ll graduate ready to register with the NMC.

This Masters course draws on our leading research to create a unique nursing curriculum. You'll learn in an environment which values scholarship, social awareness and research.

Through theoretical study, practical experience and reflective discussion, you'll hone your skills in adult nursing. We'll encourage you to develop an intellectual curiosity that will support your development throughout your career.

As a student in the adult field of practice, you'll develop the knowledge and skills necessary to care for people in a wide variety of practice settings. These range from primary care and nursing in the community, to working within a hospital setting in acute and critical care placements, rehabilitation and ongoing care. You will work closely with a multidisciplinary team delivering holistic, person-centred care.

You'll graduate ready to register as a highly-skilled nurse, able to provide excellent care to adult patients. You'll be confident undertaking research and using evidence to develop nursing practice.

Accreditation

After completing this degree you'll be eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the professional regulatory body for nurses and midwives in the UK.

Expert speakers

Expert speakers are a great feature of the course. We use them to bring in specialist knowledge to enhance your knowledge base and understanding.

Course content

The course runs over two years and consists of eight modules, totalling 200 credits.

In your first year, you'll get your first taste of practice, as well as studying modules covering different health-related disciplines as they apply to nursing.

In your second year, you'll continue to practice, alongside taught classes which will help you to approach patient care with collaboration, consideration and compassion. Your main focus of the year will be an independent research project.

Modules

Year 1

Year 2

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2025/26

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (2 years)
This is the year 1 fee. Fees for future years are subject to confirmation.
£9,250£31,100

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

For courses which are longer than one year, the tuition fees quoted are for the first year of study.

  • UK (home) fees may increase in subsequent years (up to a maximum of 2%).
  • International fees may increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).

Fees information

UK or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK or international student.

Additional costs

Uniform provision, Occupational Health Screening, and Disclosure and Barring Service checks are included in your fees.

You'll have to meet the costs of uniform replacement or missed occupational health appointments. You'll also have to pay for Professional Association Fees (Indemnity) which is covered in the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) or Unison Student Membership (approximately £10 per year).

Depending on what you choose to do, you may also have to meet costs related to your placements.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs. 

Please ensure you have thoroughly checked the eligibility criteria for any potential sources of funding, to be sure they cover courses beginning in January.

NHS Learning Support Fund

Nursing and midwifery students eligible for tuition fee and living cost support from the UK government can receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year (nhs.uk) to support their academic studies. This is on top of the standard government support and doesn't need to be paid back.

UK (home) students

International students

Scholarship for International Nursing & Midwifery Students

The Department of Health Sciences will provide eligible ‘International’ Midwifery & Nursing students with a £1,000 annual scholarship to help with associated travel costs as they are not eligible for assistance through the NHS Learning Support Fund. As this is a non-competitive scholarship (i.e. do not need to apply), eligible students will be notified during the new semester of their award.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

You will be learning with and from experts in the field using a combination of lectures, skills sessions, and directed and independent study, all designed to support you in developing your clinical capability and competence. Working in practice for a minimum of one day a week with your clinical mentor, you will combine the theory with clinical practice.

Facilities

You will benefit from our state-of-the-art Clinical Simulation Unit, which replicates a number of areas of healthcare in which you may work.

Teaching location

You will be based in the Department of Health Sciences, which is on Campus West. The majority of your teaching will take place in Alcuin, or at other locations across Campus West.

Students will work in their own area of clinical practice throughout the programme. Students may be able to negotiate practice experience in other healthcare settings provided that:

  • These are within our agreed placement circuit
  • They will provide opportunities to achieve the required proficiencies for the stage (NMC 2018)

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

You will be assessed in both theory and practice with formative assessments to support you in identifying areas for development.

Careers and skills

Most of our students start their careers as Band 5 staff nurses in the NHS. Others go into employment in social care and independent sector organisations.

Career opportunities

  • Staff nurse
  • Clinical team leader
  • Trainee public health specialist nurse
  • Nursing consultant
  • Critical care nurse
  • Research nurse

Transferable skills

Alongside gaining the essential practical skills and knowledge you need to be an effective nurse, you'll gain a huge range of skills that will help you to succeed no matter what career path you follow:

  • teamwork
  • independent learning
  • facilitating change
  • service improvement
  • self-reflection
  • leadership

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:2 or equivalent in a relevant subject.
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

Additional requirements

  • You should also hold GCSE English Language, Maths and Science at Grade 4 (C) or above, or an equivalent qualification. If you are unsure whether you meet this requirement, please get in touch and we will be able to discuss this with you.
    • DBS and Health Assessment checks required.
      • Applicants are required to have at least 780 hours of relevant work experience upon starting the course. Contact the programme lead for a discussion about whether your experience is ‘relevant’ but, briefly, we look for experience working with members of the public in a helping capacity. This may be as a support worker, a social worker or a teacher, an advice worker or a nursery worker. This is not a definitive list. The 780 hours may comprise a range of experiences and may include both paid and unpaid work.

      English language

      If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

      Minimum requirement
      IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 7.0, minimum of 7.0 in all components
      GCSE/IGCSE/O level English Language (as a first or second language) Grade C

      For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

      If you have not met our English language requirements

      You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

      The length of course you need to take depends on your current IELTS scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

      After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

      Applying

      You can apply and send all your documentation electronically through our online system. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

      Please ensure you have thoroughly checked the eligibility criteria for any potential sources of funding, to be sure they cover courses beginning in January.

      Apply for this course

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