Overview

Ready for a career change into nursing?

Designed for graduates from any subject area, this MSc offers a fast-track route into nursing, with no prior health degree required. You can qualify as a registered nurse in just 28 months, without completing a second undergraduate degree.

Nurses play a vital role in guiding patients through illness, recovery and uncertainty. They are trusted faces in a complex healthcare system, offering care, reassurance and stability when it matters most. Nursing is more than a job. It is a profession built on skill, compassion and trust.

Our MSc Nursing Studies Adult (Pre Registration) prepares you to step into that role with confidence. Blending academic excellence with hands-on experience, this course empowers you to advocate for patients, support them to understand their conditions, and help them take control of their health and wellbeing. From your first day, we will support you to develop the strength, empathy and clinical expertise that define an exceptional adult nurse.

Half of your learning will take place in clinical placements. This gives you valuable experience caring for adults in hospitals, community settings, and the independent and voluntary sectors. You’ll carry out a range of adult nursing duties, and work as part of a busy multi-disciplinary team.

As Scotland’s largest single-campus provider of pre-registration nursing education, you’ll train in our state-of-the-art Interprofessional Simulation Centre. Here, you will practise in realistic hospital wards and home environments using real equipment and advanced patient manikins. You will work alongside health and social care students from other disciplines, building the teamwork and leadership skills employers value.

You will graduate ready to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as an Adult Registered Nurse. You’ll be ready to begin a caring, compassionate and rewarding career.

Why study Nursing Studies Adult (Pre Registration) at GCU?

We are Scotland’s largest provider of postgraduate and continuing professional development nursing education.
50% of the course is dedicated to clinical placements. Engage with patients face-to-face and get hands-on experience of real-life settings.
Set yourself up to thrive as part of a dynamic multi-agency team, working regularly with students from other health and social care courses.
Practice clinical skills in lifelike hospital wards and community settings. Build confidence with real equipment and advanced patient manikins at our Interprofessional Simulation Centre.
GCU is home to the UK’s only WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation. It supports global nursing, community and public health initiatives.

General Optical Council

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What you will study

Modules

The Art and Science of Nursing

Developing Nursing Skills

Practice Learning Experience Part 1 (MSc)

Interprofessional Working: Contexts, Organisations and Practice (IPW)

Promoting Values Based Nursing in Contemporary Practice

Person Centred Adult Nursing

Global Health

Enhancing nursing skills

Practice Learning Experience – Part 2 MSc

Leading and Managing Complex Care in Adult Nursing

Dissertation

Practice Learning Experience – Part 3 MSc

We aim to display the most up-to-date information possible.

The modules listed on this page and the Programme Specification are intended to give you an idea of what you may be able to study on this course. Please note that course content, modules, teaching and assessment may change each year and after you have accepted your offer to study at GCU. This might be because we are required to do so by law, by a governmental authority, regulator or accrediting body. We may also make changes for quality assurance reasons, or to enhance the course.

Careers

When you complete this course, you will be eligible for registration as an Adult Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

You will be ready to apply for a range of positions across the NHS and other sectors, working closely with patients, clients, service users and carers.

As a graduate, you’ll benefit from fantastic employment opportunities through our strong practice partnerships. These include several NHS Boards, as well as private and third sector agencies.

Postgraduate study has a strong research and academic focus. This gives you an excellent foundation for future careers in nursing leadership and research.

Course information

Award	Mode of study	Duration	Start date	Location
MSc	Full time	28 months	Jan 27	Glasgow	Enquire Apply

Please note that admission to GCU is considered on a competitive basis, and the academic entry requirements stated here may be the minimum required to be eligible for an offer.

International students can get information on entry requirements specific to their country in our International Study section.

Please note: All offers for pre-registration nursing are subject to satisfactory Occupational Health and Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) screenings.

Minimum academic requirements

UK honours degree 2:2 (or equivalent) in a non-adult nursing discipline. English and Maths at Standard Grade, GCSE, National 5 (or equivalent). Two satisfactory references (one of which should be academic). Evidence of recent assessed study or relevant CPD activities within the last five years. Evidence of digital literacy. If successful, you will be shortlisted and invited for an interview.

We have a very limited number of places available on this course for students from outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland. These places fill up very quickly and we are unable to process applications more than 12 months in advance.

English language requirements

Applicants from countries that are not included on the NMC’s list of accepted English-speaking countries will be required to demonstrate English proficiency by gaining an English language qualification; either Academic IELTS 7.0 with reading, listening, and speaking at 7.0, and writing at 6.5 or an OET with a minimum of 350 in reading, listening and speaking and a minimum of 300 in writing.

However, if an international applicant wishes to study using a student route visa and has been in the UK for at least three years and has completed a minimum of a degree qualification in the UK, they may not need to undertake IELTS or equivalent in advance of starting the course.

However, each application will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Relevant experience (RPL) GCU's flexible entry policies exist to allow relevant work experience and prior learning to be considered towards standard entry or advanced entry into a course. If you have three to five years of relevant work experience, you can apply for the degree that interests you and get in touch with our Admissions team about your application and your eligibility for Recognition of Prior Learning.

Additional information for international applicants

Entry requirements by country
Application deadlines
English language tests
Knowledge of English - Applicants from a majority English speaking country may not be required to provide further proof of your English language proficiency. Information about this requirement is available on the Student Visa section of the gov.uk website.

Additional information for all applicants

Relevant experience (Recognition of Prior Learning)

GCU's flexible entry policies exist to allow relevant work experience and prior learning to be considered towards standard entry or advanced entry into a course.

If you do not have the typical academic entry qualifications, but can demonstrate relevant work experience and/or credits from recognised professional bodies, you may be eligible to enter this course via the University's Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) scheme.

Minimum entry requirements

Minimum entry requirements are for widening access students only. If you are from a group that is not currently well-represented in higher education you may qualify as a widening access student. This includes living in a target postcode area, attending a target school or college, attending SWAP, are care-experienced or provide care for someone else, have refugee status or are an asylum seeker.

The tuition fees you pay are mostly determined by your fee status. What is my student fee status?

Fees are subject to change and are published here for guidance only.

2026/2027 annual tuition fees

Please visit our central tuition fees section for details.

Additional costs

As a student at the University, there are additional fees and costs which may or may not apply to you, but that you should be aware of.

View additional costs.

Additional costs for Scottish domiciled students

If you are a Scottish domiciled student, you will not need to pay for PVG checks, occupational health checks or uniforms. However, there may be costs associated with travel to and from placement sites. You may be able to apply to SAAS for additional expense support to help meet these costs. Check out the SAAS Nursing and Midwifery student placement expenses claim and Allied Health Professions student placement expenses claim forms.

Additional course costs for all other students (rest of UK, EU and International)

During this course, you will be required to cover the cost of:

while on practice education placements, you will need to meet any additional costs for accommodation and travel
uniforms: approximately £14 each. The number of uniforms you require depends on the duration of your course and can range from two to four
occupational health checks and vaccination set fee of £372
membership of Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme. New applications cost £59. Updates to the existing scheme record cost £18.

Invoices will be issued by the University for payment of all of the above additional costs in Trimester B (March/April) of the first year of your programme.

Scholarships

We provide high-quality education for a fair price; as the University for the Common Good, we are committed to offering accessible higher education for talented students by keeping our tuition fees low and providing a generous scholarship package.

View our postgraduate scholarships.

Teaching methods

Our learning and teaching methods ensure the course is vocationally relevant and academically challenging. Our student-centred approach is practical, collaborative, and relevant to employers.

We encourage you to think independently and develop critical thinking skills.

Each module uses a different learning, teaching and assessment strategy to make sure you build a comprehensive understanding of adult nursing and achieve the necessary learning outcomes.

Our learning and teaching methods include:

lectures
seminars
guided study
simulation
group work.

Assessment methods

Assessment is an integral part of the learning process. You will be encouraged to discuss, interpret, analyse and evaluate information in depth. This will support you to become an active, self directed participant in the educational process.

Assessment strategies include:

essays
patchwork assessments
digital artifacts
Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)
projects.

Practice-based assessment takes place across a range of clinical settings. This is in line with Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements, using Scottish Practice Assessment Documents.

Interprofessional Simulation Centre

Our Interprofessional Simulation Centre is a state-of-the-art teaching facility where health and social care students learn through realistic, hands-on experience. It includes lifelike hospital wards, simulated home and care environments, an ambulance and specialist spaces such as X‑ray, radiotherapy and physiotherapy clinics.

Using real healthcare equipment, advanced patient manikins and video recording, you can practise real-life situations safely and review your learning. The Centre supports nursing, paramedic, allied health and social care training. It helps you learn how to work across specialties while building your confidence and practical skills before working with real patients.

ISC Recording

We use video and audio recording of students during practical exercises in our teaching and assessment. If you’re applying to study a health-related course, you should be aware that you may be recorded. These recordings may be viewed by staff, students, and external examiners for learning and assessment. This is not an optional component of the course.

Accreditation

This course is accredited by the General Optical Council (GOC).

Upon completing this course, you’ll automatically be eligible for the GOC’s independent prescribing speciality register.

Visit the GOC website for more details.

Work placements

The course is 50% theory and 50% practice. You’ll get experience in community and acute placement settings within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Golden Jubilee National Hospital. You will undertake eight placements during the MSc. This requires 2,300 hours of clinical experience across each year of the course.

You must work alongside your practice supervisor. This means you will need to follow established shift patterns, day and night, and contribute to continuous provision of care.

Professional registration

When you graduate, you will be eligible for registration as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as an Adult Registered Nurse (RN1).

Visit the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) website.

Download the programme specification

In addition to the core modules that all students must undertake, some courses offer students a choice from a selection of optional modules to shape the focus their degree. Optional modules where available, form part of the overall credit structure of the course.

Download the programme specification for a detailed breakdown of the course structure, including modules, what you'll learn and other useful information.

Terms and Conditions

Details of the University’s terms and conditions are available here.

Overview

Why study Nursing Studies Adult (Pre Registration) at GCU?

Accreditations

What you will study

Careers

Course information