Nursing (Mental Health)

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

Other equivalent qualifications may be accepted for entry to this course; please email [email protected] for further information. Applicants to undergraduate courses can also check our information about undergraduate entry qualifications.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

We don't accept AS level qualifications on their own for entry to our undergraduate degree courses. However for some degree courses a small number of tariff points from AS levels are accepted as long as they're combined with tariff points from A levels or other equivalent level 3 qualifications in other subjects.

If you don’t meet our advertised entry requirements you could consider Public Health with Foundation Year, which’ll give you the Level 3 qualification needed to apply for this degree. In your first year you'll make an application to apply for interview and if successful you'll be offered a place on the condition you complete the Year 1 (Public Health with Foundation Year) and meet the conditions of your offer.

Occupational health

You must have a satisfactory occupational health clearance in order to be allowed out on placement. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust/IDC (Industrial Diagnostics Company) will undertake the vaccinations on behalf of ARU. However, if this is undertaken by a third party (your own GP), ARU is unable to reimburse the cost.

If you can produce acceptable evidence of already having the vaccinations you won’t need to have them again. However if you have not previously had the vaccinations you can expect to have the following.

• Measles immunity blood test
• Rubella immunity blood test
• Varicella (chicken pox) immunity blood test
• Hepatitis B immunity blood test

• IGRA blood test (TB screening)
• Hep B surface antigen blood test (Hep B surface antigen screening)
• Hep C blood test (Hep C screening)
• HIV blood test (HIV screening)

• Three or four Hep B vaccinations
• Two MMR vaccinations
• Two varicella (chicken pox) vaccinations
• One BCG (TB) vaccination

You’ll be contacted by the occupational health provider after you have firmly accepted your offer (minimum of six months before your course starts), who’ll first ask you to complete a medical questionnaire and arrange a meeting with the nurse.

Covid and flu vaccine

As your course has placements in care homes and/or NHS environments to fulfil Professional Statutory Regulatory Body (PSRB) requirements, we continue to strongly recommend Covid and flu vaccination. This is to protect both yourself and the vulnerable people that you’ll come into contact with throughout your placements.

Please also be aware that if you were to catch either Covid or flu during your course, it may result in significant disruption to your studies. If you are unsure about vaccines, we suggest you seek evidenced-based information on vaccines from reputable sources.

Applying

All applications must go via UCAS. We accept applications between September and January for the following intake year. Late applications will be considered if places are available.

Interviews

If your application is shortlisted we'll invite you to attend an interview: find out more about how you can prepare.

We'll ask you to present some ID for verification checks. This can be a passport, driving licence, or ID badge from your current employer or college.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

An enhanced level Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) disclosure is a check with police forces and local authorities in the UK to ascertain whether or not you are suitable to work with certain groups of vulnerable people. These checks are required to be carried out on all prospective students to ensure the safety of our client group. As a student, you will be required to undergo DBS screening each year.

Further information on DBS disclosure will be sent at a later date if you are successful and firmly accept your place at ARU.

Meeting the entry requirements

If you don’t meet our advertised entry requirements you could consider joining our BSc (Hons) Public Health with Foundation Year, which will give you the Level 3 qualification needed to apply for this degree. In your first year you'll make an application to apply for interview and if successful you'll be offered a place on the condition you complete Year 1 (Foundation Year) of Public Health and meet the conditions of your offer.

From the above information we will calculate requirements for Scottish/Irish Highers, International, European and Welsh Baccalaureate equivalents so that they are all equitable. We will also accept tariff points from other qualifications on the UCAS tariff such as the Cambridge Pre-U (subject requirements will be assumed to be the same as for A Level).

You can find out more about the admissions process at ARU, including what happens after you apply and the different types of offer we may make.

We may automatically offer you a place at ARU if you meet any of these criteria:

• are a care leaver or care experienced
• have a declared disability
• are from certain postcodes
• provide unpaid care for another person
• are currently, or were, in receipt of free school meals during secondary education
• are a Service Child, where a parent or carer currently serves in the UK Armed Forces
• participated in an approved activity in preparation for entry to higher education
• attended a secondary school that had a Progress 8 score of average, below average or well below average

This is called a contextual offer. Find out about contextual offers.