Nursing application process

All applications for entry to undergraduate study in the UK must be directed through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Please refer to the UCAS website for further information on key dates and the application process.

Please note it is a requirement of our NHS placement providers that all BNurs students are aged 18 or over at the point that they start their first placement.

All applicants must therefore be 18 or over by 1 January of the year they start the course. If you will still be under 18 by 1 January, your application will either be rejected (with a suggestion that you re-apply the following year) or deferred by the Admissions team (subject to passing an interview and meeting all offer conditions).

To help us consider your application and recommend you for an interview, your personal statement must make reference to the following areas.

• A sound rationale for your choice of field within nursing (adult, child or mental health). This is an essential aspect of your personal statement.
• A summary of how your academic learning so far will help you to study in higher education (for example time management skills, subjects etc).
• A statement about work-related skills (gained through either paid employment or voluntary work) demonstrating the experiences you have had that could be transferable to a career in your chosen field of nursing (for example, dealing with the public, customer service etc). Please note that it is important that you detail the skills you have acquired (for example, specific communication skills).
• An understanding of and an ability to appreciate the needs of others (for example supporting peers, understanding cultural differences).

Your application should usually be supported by a reference from your most recent educational institution, which may also make reference to the criteria set out above.

All offers of a place will be subject to confirmation of residence status, a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and satisfactory compulsory health clearance.

The health screening comprises completion of a detailed health questionnaire by the applicant, and also a medical appointment with the University's Occupational Health Department.

Failure to return this form before the start of the course may result in the offer of a place being withdrawn.

What information should I include in my UCAS personal statement?

Be honest about yourself when completing the personal statement. It is acceptable to write about situations in which you did not achieve as much as you hoped, as you can indicate what you have learnt from the experience.

If you have previously studied on nursing or other healthcare courses, but did not complete the programme, please tell us, as this will have been part of your personal development.

You should be totally honest about declaring any previous convictions or cautions, no matter how long ago or how minor the offences. Declaration will not affect your application at this stage, but later identification of undeclared issues may do so.

Be accurate in relation to your academic qualifications. We ask to see original certificates or other evidence of these achievements before we offer a place. We recommend that you apply for copies of any lost documents.

Be careful as you complete your form. We receive thousands of application forms and read them all with due care and attention. Any application that is incomplete, written in poor English or contains errors will not be considered.

Because of the high volume of applications we receive for the three Nursing pathways, we are only able to consider applicants whose personal statement strongly reflects their interest in the programme they have applied for.

If your personal statement is written specifically to express your interest in a different discipline (such as Medicine), it will be rejected.

What sort of reference should I include?

Your application should usually be supported by a reference from your most recent educational institution, which may also make reference to the criteria set out above. If you have not been studying recently, i.e in the last five years, you may supply a reference from an employer.

However, please note that for all applicants, we may request a further reference prior or after interview.

Interviews are scheduled from November to March/April.

Interviews are conducted online (via Zoom) or on campus. You will have the choice between these options, and you will be considered equally regardless of your choice.

The interview will provide information about your ability to think on your feet, critically appraise information, communicate ideas, and demonstrate that you have thought about some of the issues that are important to the nursing profession.

There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end of the interview.

Candidates who are shortlisted to attend an interview will receive an email to select your interview preference.

The interview session can take up to 20 minutes. Further information will be provided if you are shortlisted for interview.

The offer of a place will be based on your application, your performance during the interview, and the assessment of your interviewer.

If you have a disability that you think will affect your ability to participate in this interview process, please tell us about this when you confirm your intention to attend for the interview.

While our aim is to inform applicants of our decision as soon as possible after the interview, there will be a number of cases when our decision will be delayed, and we will need to wait until ALL interviews have been completed before we are able to update UCAS.

In this scenario, we will inform applicants of a potential delay and the timeline of when we expect to be able to confirm our decision.

Events for offer holders

Following the interviews, you will have the opportunity to attend an on-campus offer holder event (from end of January 2025) to give you the opportunity to visit the University campus, meet our staff and current students, and see the facilities in Jean McFarlane Building.

For international students, or those who cannot make it to campus, online offer holder events will also take place.

Reconsideration

The overwhelming majority of unsuccessful applicants are rejected because they do not satisfy our entry requirements, or because the Admissions Tutors does not feel the personal statement fully reflects the Nursing pathway for which they have applied, but requests for reconsideration of a decision can be made.

Requests should be made via email to the Nursing admissions team (ug.nursing@manchester.ac.uk) while also being supported (again via email) by the applicant's tutor/academic advisor.