Nursing at Birmingham - Frequently Asked Questions

Applicants must meet our minimum GCSE requirements in full. You are welcome to apply if you are currently studying towards the required GCSEs and are predicted to achieve the required grades.

However, if you apply with GCSE grades that do not meet our requirements, your application will not be considered, even if you meet our Level 3 entry requirements in full or are predicted to achieve the required A Level grades.

Please note that we do not accept GCSE equivalents, including Key Skills qualifications or Functional Skills qualifications, in place of the required GCSEs.

Yes. We accept applications from applicants who are taking a combination of A Level and BTEC qualifications.

As the suitability of the qualification combination can vary depending on the specific qualifications being studied, please email nursingadmissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk with the full titles of your qualifications (for example, BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Applied Science and A Level Biology).

We will then be able to provide further guidance on whether your particular combination of qualifications meets our entry requirements.

If you do not currently meet our standard entry requirements, you may wish to consider completing a Level 3 Access to Higher Education Diploma in a relevant Health or Science subject, ideally Access to Nursing. Your Access course should include the study of Physiology or Biology.

If you are also missing any of the required GCSEs, you may wish to study these alongside your Access to Higher Education Diploma, where possible.

Our standard Access to Higher Education Diploma requirement is 60 credits overall, including a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3, with 30 credits at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit.

Yes. We welcome applications from applicants who are classified as Overseas for fee purposes.

International applicants can apply for our BNurs Adult Nursing and BNurs Mental Health Nursing programmes. Please note that international applicants must meet the relevant academic, English language and any other programme-specific entry requirements.

We are able to consider applications for second-year entry to Adult Nursing or Mental Health Nursing from students currently studying Nursing at another UK institution. Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

To be considered, you would normally need to have successfully completed Year 1, including the relevant clinical placement, and meet our academic entry requirements. You would also need to successfully complete an interview, obtain DBS and Occupational Health clearance, and provide sufficient information for us to map your current Year 1 modules against our programme. This allows us to confirm that the required learning outcomes and clinical experience have been covered.

Please note that meeting these requirements does not guarantee that a transfer will be possible, as this will also depend on available places and clinical placement capacity.

In general, we do not consider applications from applicants who have previously failed a Nursing course at another institution.

However, where there were extenuating circumstances that affected your ability to successfully complete the programme, we may be able to consider your application on a case-by-case basis. If this applies to you, please contact us at nursingadmissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk before submitting an application, providing details of the circumstances and any relevant supporting evidence. We can then advise whether your circumstances may be considered.

No. Healthcare experience is not an essential requirement for applying to our Nursing programmes, although relevant experience can strengthen your application.

Volunteering or work in other sectors can also be valuable, as these experiences can help you develop transferable skills such as communication, empathy, teamwork and the ability to remain calm under pressure. These are important skills for working effectively and resiliently as a nurse.

Yes. When you apply through UCAS, you will be asked to select your intended year of entry.

Please note that you will normally be interviewed during the application cycle in which you apply, rather than in the year you intend to start the programme.

We can also consider requests to defer an offer to the following academic year. Deferral requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and are not guaranteed. If you receive an offer and subsequently wish to defer your place, please contact nursingadmissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk for further information.

Please note that our Admissions Team is unable to provide any further information beyond that outlined in the questions and answers above, and we are unable to provide feedback on individual applications.

If your query has not been answered by the information provided, please contact our Nursing Admissions Team at nursingadmissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk, and we will be happy to advise where we can.