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University of Central Lancashire

UCAS Code: NA10 | Foundation Degree in Science - FdSc

Entry requirements

48 UCAS points.

48 UCAS points.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE grade C/4 or above in English and Maths or Functional Skills Level 2 English and Maths.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

PPP

48 UCAS points.

UCAS Tariff

48

We will also consider applicants who have 12 months HCA experience and evidence of academic study e.g. Level 2 or 3 NVQ or Care Certificate

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

groups

About this course

Course option

2years

Full-time | 2026

Subject

Nursing

**Course overview**

Our FdSc Nursing Associate two-year course is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It has been carefully co-designed to provide you with the knowledge, skills and professional attributes required for the role.

The trainee nursing associate role is proving to be an exciting addition to the nursing workforce and successful completion of this course will ensure you are eligible to apply for initial registration as a Nursing Associate with the NMC.

The nursing associate is a new generic nursing role in England that bridges the gap between healthcare support workers and registered nurses, to deliver hands-on, person-centred care as part of a multidisciplinary team in a range of different settings.

You’ll have the opportunity to engage in skills development and simulated learning, allowing you to practice the skills required of a nursing associate. It will also enable you to identify where you need to focus your personal and professional development plans.

As you progress through the course, you will find that your work-based learning will inform your theoretical work and vice-versa. Your work-based learning will be managed by the University Work Based Learning Team (WBLT) and academic team, to ensure that you will meet the work-based learning requirements for your course.

**Why study with us**

- After you have completed the course, you can train to become a registered nurse by completing a shortened nursing degree or a nursing Degree Apprenticeship.

- The course is based on exciting and innovative teaching, utilising technology, superb clinical skills facilities and interdisciplinary education.

- You will gain real-world experience from your placement in a variety of healthcare settings.

**What you'll do**

- As part of the placement experience, you’ll gain real-world experience in a variety of healthcare settings, understanding how nursing care is delivered to people with diverse needs.

- Throughout each work-based placement, you’ll be supported by practice supervisors, practice assessors, practice education facilitators (PEF), and academic staff.

- Your placements will span across multiple healthcare environments, allowing you to develop your skills in different settings, both within hospitals and in community or home-based care.

**Future Careers**

On completion of the nursing associate programme you’ll be eligible to register with the NMC and have knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and behaviours to work as a nursing associate.

After you have completed the course, you can train to become a registered nurse by completing a shortened nursing degree or a nursing degree apprenticeship.

Modules

Please visit The University of Central Lancashire’s website for the latest information about our modules.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,535
per year
England
£9,535
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Preston Campus

Department:

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

80%
Nursing

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Nursing

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
11%
Male students
89%
Female students
37%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
D

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Nursing (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

Top job areas of graduates

97%
Nursing and midwifery professionals
1%
Caring personal services
1%
Welfare and housing associate professionals

19,890 nursing qualifications were awarded in 2015, making it much the most popular degree in the country. Despite that, we have a serious shortage of nurses - estimates suggest that we're over 20,000 nurses short - that is only set to continue. So it's no surprise to see that the very large majority of nursing graduates go on to become nurses, and that starting salaries are pretty competitive. There are lots of different specialties to choose from (including midwifery), and the most common by far is adult nursing, but the typical end result for graduates is the same — they go on to become nurses (or midwives). That’s not to say that you can’t do anything else. Some nursing graduates get other jobs - usually, but not always, in health or caring professions, or management, and with nurses in such demand, there are always going to be options for you. Do be aware that even this doesn't necessarily guarantee you can get the exact nursing job you want exactly where you want though - some flexibility in type of job and location will still help your career.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Nursing (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£29k

£29k

£30k

£30k

£34k

£34k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here