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Northumbria University has an established reputation for excellence and innovation in nursing education. We are working closely with our NHS partners to deliver a pre-registration Nursing Science Masters that embodies the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s ‘Future Nurse’ standards, to equip you to lead your profession.

This two-year Masters will allow graduates from any undergraduate subject to build on their experience in a caring role, and graduate with NMC Registration. Studying within the requirements of the new NMC standards means that you will be prepared for rapid career progression within learning disability nursing, especially when combined with the high-level attributes that you will acquire as a Northumbria postgraduate.

You will study partially at our Coach Lane Campus, and partially on placement, with both strands running alongside each other to give you an integrated approach to theory and practice. You will study within the standard university semester system, allowing time during the Easter and summer breaks for additional projects and internships – or simply a well-earned rest.

This programme will equip you to be curious, creative and collaborative in your care. It will allow your compassion to thrive within an evidence-based approach. And it will enable you to make a genuine impact on the health and wellbeing of your clients and patients with learning disabilities

Throughout this course you will experience a range of creative and challenging learning opportunities and different environments. This will enable you to grow, personally and professionally, within safe and supportive spaces.

Our concept-based approach will allow you to build the complexity of your understanding gradually over the course of your studies. It will encourage you to question and think critically, establishing a healthy learning habit that will last throughout your career.

Your learning experience will be enhanced by the use of innovative technology – all lectures will be delivered electronically, so that you can get the most out of your time with staff during seminars, discussion groups and practical sessions. This will also encourage you to develop excellent communication and interpersonal skills, which you can use in your delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care.

In addition, we’ll use the supported online learning environment to enhance your digital skills within practice, and to help you understand and promote the use of digital technology as a solution within care settings.

Your assessments will be balanced between theory and practice, with essays evenly spaced through the year. Your supervision and assessment on placement will be extremely supportive, based on a model designed in collaboration with our partnership organisations, and will be structured to encourage you to develop the necessary proficiencies at the highest level.

You will be supported throughout your time at Northumbria by a truly remarkable team of highly experienced academics and practitioners. Our staff are experts in their field; they use their diverse range of skills and experience to help develop the next generation of caring, compassionate and competent health professionals.

You’ll benefit from our Personal Tutor system, Learning Leaders programme, and close partnership working with Practice Supervisors and Assessors, all of which play a part in ensuring you meet University and NMC expectations. We will all coach you towards independent learning and personal and professional achievements, as you journey towards graduation and registration.    

Carol Morgan RNLD, RHV, BSc (Hons) Nursing, BSc (Hons) SCPHN, PGCAP, FHEA. PhD candidate is an Assistant Professor of Nursing Science Registered Nurse (Learning Disability) and is an expert within her field. She has co-written an article ‘Introductory Guide For Someone Considering A Career In Learning Disability Nursing’, read more here.

At our base on Coach Lane Campus you will benefit from state-of-the-art teaching and practice facilities, and from being immersed in an environment dedicated to the study of healthcare.

Our innovative Clinical Skills Centre replicates a range of nursing environments and situations. Its virtual reality equipment, high fidelity Simulated Mannequins (SimMan and SimBaby), and immersive technologies will allow you to practise skills, challenge your learning and develop confidence in your clinical ability – all within a safe environment.

If you are an international student, you will have access to Academic Language Skills (ALS) sessions to help you develop your academic language, writing and study skills. These sessions will run throughout the course

Research is vital to the evolution of healthcare, and this postgraduate course will equip you to play a valuable role in generating new knowledge within the nursing profession.

Research-rich learning will be embedded throughout the course, culminating in a dissertation that will allow you to explore a topic of your choice in significant depth. You will have the option to conduct an empirical study, undertaking hands-on research supported by tutors with specialist knowledge in that area.

Our academic staff have extensive research experience across nursing, midwifery and health, where our work informs policy and practice to improve quality, safety and effectiveness. Our areas of research strength include Ageing, Later Life & Long-term Conditions (ALL), Healthcare Organisation, Practice Improvement & Economics (HOPE), and Healthcare Education and Learning for Practice and Patient Safety (HELPPS).

This course will lead directly to Registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), under the new Standards, which will allow you to start and quickly progress in your nursing career.

The NMC’s ‘Future Nurse’ change programme seeks to drive forward changes in the profession, and we have embedded research, leadership and advanced practice strands throughout the course to equip you to play a key role in those future developments.

You will graduate as an accountable professional who has the knowledge and skills to promote health and prevent ill health; assess, plan, provide, co-ordinate and evaluate care; lead and manage nursing care and work in teams; and improve safety and quality of care.

At Northumbria we have long-standing strong relationships with our partnership Trusts, and we have developed this new course in close collaboration with them as well as with a wide range of experts by experience. This will ensure that the course prepares you for practice in exactly the way employers are seeking, so that you benefit from our consistently high employment rates.

The course will also provide ideal preparation for further study at doctoral level.