Bachelor in Fdsc Nursing Associate

Tuition comes to 17,800 GBP per year.

Designed for compassionate individuals committed to patient advocacy, this two-year Foundation Degree bridges the vital gap between healthcare assistants and registered nurses. You will cultivate the clinical expertise and professional capability required to deliver holistic, safe, and evidence-based care across all primary nursing fields, including adult, child, mental health, and learning disabilities.

Clinical Excellence and Professional Registration

The programme is mapped against Care Certificate Standards, ensuring you build foundational skills in therapeutic communication, anatomy, and clinical practice from the outset. You will benefit from a blend of intensive academic study and hands-on placement experience, supported by the university's advanced Clinical Skills Simulation Ward. Upon completion, you will be eligible for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Nursing Associate.

As a graduate, you will be prepared for diverse roles within specialist, inpatient, or community healthcare settings. Many students also leverage this qualification to progress onto the BSc (Hons) Nursing degree, often completing it in just 18 months via direct entry into year two. By studying at our campuses in Plymouth, Exeter, or Truro, you will join a highly-ranked nursing community dedicated to improving health outcomes through collaborative, person-centred care.

University of Plymouth, situated on England’s southwest coast, is a modern, student-centred university with around 18,000 students and a welcoming international community. The campus blends contemporary facilities with strong industry links, particularly in marine science, health, engineering and business. Plymouth emphasises practical learning and employability, offering placements, internships and project-based modules that connect students directly with employers and local partners.

International students find Plymouth attractive for its supportive campus services, range of student societies and manageable city scale that balances urban amenities with coastal lifestyle. The university provides pre‑arrival guidance, English language support and dedicated international student teams to ease transition and help with accommodation, visas and wellbeing. Teaching approaches combine lectures, labs and applied projects, while research-active staff bring real-world problems into the classroom.

Graduates from Plymouth benefit from strong regional and national employer engagement, which can lead to placements, graduate roles and entrepreneurial support through incubators and career services. The city’s quality of life, lower cost compared with larger UK cities and emphasis on hands-on learning make Plymouth a practical choice for students seeking a balanced academic experience and strong prospects for work or further study after graduation.