The BSc (Hons) Specialist Nursing (with pathways) prepares Nurses for Leadership roles in Specialist Nursing.
The University regularly ‘refreshes’ courses to make sure they are as up-to-date as possible.
In addition it undertakes formal periodic review of courses in a process called 'revalidation’ to ensure that they continue to meet standards and are current and relevant.
This course will be revalidated in the near future and it is possible that there will be some changes to the course as described in this prospectus.
The BSc Hons Specialist Nursing (with pathways) is aimed at preparing Nurses for Leadership roles in a field of Nursing of their choice. There are a range of Pathways to suit all Nurses including District Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Learning Disability Nursing, and Community Children’s Nursing. The full range of Adult Nursing Specialisms are offered, including Nurse Practitioner, Palliative Care, Stroke Care, Diabetes Care and Emergency Care.
The programme leads to more than one qualification. You will obtain a degree from Ulster University and a professional qualification from the United Kingdom Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Students of District Nursing obtain a further professional qualification in Nurse Prescribing.
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
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The term, ‘Specialist Nursing’ refers to, the exercising of higher levels of judgment and decision making in relation to the nursing care of individuals, families and communities. As a future Leader you must display this higher level of decision making across four areas; clinical practice, care and programme management, clinical practice development and clinical practice leadership. At Ulster we focus on developing you as a Leader and help you achieve academic and professional competence in all these areas.
This programme is a 50-50 programme, meaning that 50% of the programme is university-based and 50% based in the practice learning setting. In the Practice Learning setting you will be allocated to a Sign-Off Mentor. This Sign-Off Mentor who is an established Specialist Nurse and Leader in Clinical Care will supervise you throughout the Programme. He/she will assess you and sign off your competencies prior to recording the professional qualification with the NMC. You will also be allocated to a Pathway Leader who will supervise your academic development and provide support throughout.
The academic component of the programme consists of a four 30-credit modules.
District Nursing students have an additional 20 credits to complete in order to evidence outcomes related to Nurse Prescribing.
See Overall Course Structure: http://bit.ly/1Xt1b7W
The BSc(Hons) Specialist Nursing (with Pathways) is a recognised academic and professional qualification across Europe. The quality of the education is high as is the academic expectation on you as a student. You will receive the latest ideas on academic writing, research and critical analysis. The quality of learning resources at Ulster University are very high and the support of students is also good.
All of the Specialist Nursing Teaching Team at the University are established authors and researchers and provide consultancy to numerous organisations in the UK and Ireland. At the end of the programme you will be able to apply for Masters Degrees in any University across Europe. Ideally we would like you to apply to Ulster where you will have automatic entry to our MSc Nursing.
Full-time studentsare expected to attend the University for at least 2 days per week, with the remaining time allocated to Practice Learning. Full-time students are normally time-tabled for Mondays and Fridays.
Part-time students attend the University for 1 day per week during Term-Time. In Semester One this is normally a Monday and in Semester Two a Wednesday. Some Pathways have additional days ( i.e Emergency Care) but you will be informed of this at Induction. Practice Learning is organised on days that suit you and your Sign-off Mentor.
All students are expected to attend all classes associated with the programme and be punctual and regular in attendance. Attendance will be monitored both at the University and in the Practice Learning setting and Employers are informed of all absences.
Teaching methods on the programmes are innovative and intearctive. Clinical experts and Users of the Health Service or Independent Sector, are invited to teach students about current practice, developments in the field and personal experiences of specialist nursing services.
Seminars enable students to take responsibility for leading discussions on practice based issues and reviewing the current literature in their field. Tutorial sessions enable small group work to be carried out that facilitates a specific focus for particular specialisms. Skills classes, role plays, use of table-top scenario simulation (including computerised manikin) and video play back are used where appropriate to develop skills in a range of professional interventions.
All of the above methods encourage active student participation and empower individual students to recognise that as an experienced nurse you have a wealth of experience that can be utilised to illustrate the points being made in classes.
Assessment is seen as crucial part of the learning process. A range of assessment methods including OSCEs, Reflective and Academic Esasys, Case studies and Portfolio are used. Patients and families are involved in the assessment process.
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.
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The Belfast campus is situated in the artistic and cultural centre of the city, the Cathedral Quarter.
We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.
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The A Level requirement for this course is not specified.
English language requirements for international applicants
The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 7.0.
Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.
Applicants must:
District Nursing Students Require a NI Access prior to Entry
All Self-Funded students will be have an interview with the Course Director and/or the Pathway Leader. They must have NI Accessand Uptodate Professional Indeminty Insurance. In addition Honorary Contracts with HSCTs in Northern Ireland may be required for Practice Learning.
Acreditation for Prior Learning (APL)
Students entering the degree programme will get acreditation for Level 5 Modules. Please note when you are checking the Modular structure for this programme, you will only be studying the Level 6 Modules. Some modules are listed at Level 5. Ignore these as it is assumed that you have covered this material in your Diploma and have received APL.
Due to the professional requirements of this programme, normally no exemptions are permitted at Level 6. In saying this, District Nursing students who have recently completed the V100 Nurse Prescribingand are active prescribers are permitted to apply for exemption from the Nurse Prescribing Module.
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Graduates from this course are now working for:
With this degree you could become:
Graduates of this programme will be able to apply for Specialist Nursing posts in hospital and community settings. Most become Team Leaders in Specialist Nursing. There is 100% Employabilityfrom this programme.
All students must complete 75 days Practice Learning in an approved Practice Learning Setting.This should occur in a setting where you have direct interaction with your client group.
Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of recording as Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ) (adult)
Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse (mental health).
Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse (learning disabilities).
Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse (child).
The price of your overall programme will be determined by the number of credit points that you initiate in the relevant academic year.
For modules commenced in the academic year 2023/24, the following fees apply:
| Credit Points | NI/ROI Cost | GB Cost | International Cost* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | £4,710 | £9,249.60 | £15,840 |
| 60 | £2,355 | £4,624.80 | £7,920 |
| 30 | £1,177.50 | £2,312.40 | £3,960 |
| 20 | £785 | £1,541.60 | £2,640 |
NB: A standard full-time undergraduate degree is equivalent to 120 credit points per year.
*Please note our on campus part-time postgraduate courses are not open to international (non-EU) students.
Philip Goodeve -Docker Award for District Nursing
Maragret Devlin Award for Diabetes Nursing
Access NI (enhanced disclosure) is an additional cost for Self-Funded students.
It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.
Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.
There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.
See the tuition fees on our student guide for most up to date costs.
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
"I have been a registered nurse for 18yrs and have worked in district nursing for almost 9 yrs. I wanted to undertake this course to enable to progress up the career ladder. I feel this course will help develop my knowledge in relation to district nursing and also help develop both management and leadership skills. I work for NHSCT. Initially to progress as district nursing sister which is band 6 and then hopefully to a band 7 senior practitioner post/continuing care nurse"
Bridie Logue
Northern Health and Social care Trust
"I have been a registered nurse for 7 years and have worked in District Nursing for 4 years. In order to further my career I wanted take this Specialist Nursing course in District Nursing. I find the research module and the leadership module are both very challenging. Its difficult to get into the way of academic writing when you havent been studying for a while and I feel that it has taken me until week 9 to figure out exactly what is expected and even at that am not 100% sure that am on the right track. Maybe thats just me!"
Many thanks
Donna McCarrison
Staff Nurse in Community
South Eastern Trust
"I have been a registered nurse for 27yrs, moving only in the last 2yrs to the children’s' community setting. I wanted to gain more knowledge in this specialist area of Children’s' Community Nursing. I find the degree in Specialist Nursing helps me with continued development in leadership and decision making skills in order to work and help the children and families availing of the services within the community setting. In turn ,enabling me to deliver the most up to date evidence based practice to provide high quality specialist care".
Euphrasie Mc Laughlin
Western Health and Social Care Trust.
