Year of entry
- 2026
Duration of study
- 2 years
Nursing Associate Foundation Degree - FdSc
Course summary
The Nursing Associate Foundation Degree (FdSc) at Keele University prepares you to take the next step in your healthcare career. Designed for those already working in a caring role or with some prior experience, the programme focuses on the practical skills, knowledge, and professional behaviours needed to become a Nursing Associate. You'll study alongside apprentices on Keele’s established Nursing Associate Apprenticeship (FdSc), gaining hands-on experience and real-world insights. This programme is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Why study Nursing Associate Foundation Degree at Keele University?
2nd in England for Nursing (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2025)
Nursing and Midwifery No.1 in the West Midlands (Complete University Guide, 2026)
Top 10 in England for Adult (General) Nursing (Guardian University Guide, 2025)
This programme is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council
9th for Nursing and Midwifery (Daily Mail University Guide, 2026)
Course overview
Our Nursing Associate Foundation Degree (FdSc) programme is fully aligned with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards, providing a solid foundation that connects across all fields of nursing: Adult, Children’s, Learning Disability, and Mental Health.
The combination of theory and practical modules will develop your knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours. You'll build progressively in academic level, professional responsibility, and technical skills, with key themes embedded throughout the programme. These include being an accountable nursing professional, promoting health and preventing ill health, providing and monitoring care, working in teams, improving safety and quality of care, and contributing to integrated care.
Your progress will be reviewed throughout the year with your Academic Mentor. These regular check-ins help keep you on track and ensure you get the right support at every stage, whether from academic mentors, clinical supervisors, or specialist wellbeing services.
You’ll spend at least two days per week in clinical practice, across eight placement blocks over two years, adding up to a minimum of 1,150 hours. Practice areas will include hospitals, primary care, mental health, learning disabilities, and community-based settings.
Successful completion of this programme means you are eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) within five years of completion.
Course structure
Modules for Nursing Associate Foundation Degree
Our courses are designed to develop the skills, experience and expertise you'll need to succeed in your chosen career, informed by the latest research, teaching methods, student feedback, and employer insights. Module details are representative of what we intend to deliver on the course, but may change to reflect best practice and academic development. This information should therefore not be considered a definitive list of available modules.
Compulsory modules
Fundamentals of Nursing Associate Practice
In this module you can expect to apply theory to practice in order to demonstrate safe and effective communication with people across the lifespan. A person-centred approach will be used in order to apply the principles of assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care. You will continue to develop your competence and confidence in relation to the role of the nursing associate and how these connect with other roles within the healthcare team.
Nursing Associate Clinical Practice 1
In this module you can expect to gain knowledge, skills and behaviours to demonstrate safe, effective and compassionate nursing associate practice in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) code, and the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) standards of proficiencies.
Skills for Academic Learning and Professional Practice
This module will ensure that you are able to demonstrate and apply accurate numeracy and literacy skills to safe nursing associate practice. This module will equip you with the skills to use digital technologies applying these both to your academic studies and clinical practice. An integral part of this module is to become a reflective practitioner which will be demonstrated through a written reflection considering your professional requirements and standards.
Medicines Management in Nursing Associate Practice
In this module you will demonstrate safe and effective administration of medication. This will include exploring the concept and application of patient consent, and the principles surrounding safe storage, transportation and disposal of medication. This will be underpinned by understanding the importance of key policies and guidance relating to medicines management. You will be introduced to the different medication routes and apply these to the nursing associate role.
Nursing Associate Clinical Practice 2
In this module you can expect to build upon knowledge, skills and behaviours to demonstrate safe, effective and compassionate nursing associate practice in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) code, and the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) standards of proficiencies. Under the supervision of practice supervisors and a practice assessor, the remaining proficiencies will be assessed in order to demonstrate competence and development of knowledge, skills and behaviours within the scope of the Nursing Associate role.
Applied Biological Science
This module enables you to identify key structures and functions of the human body, exploring normal parameters of the human body anatomy and physiology. This will then enable you to recognise altered physiology applied to common health conditions across the lifespan. You will have the opportunity to build your knowledge and understanding in relation to the relationship between health conditions and microbiology and the principles of infection prevention and control associated with this.
Compulsory modules
Enhancing Nursing Associate Practice
This module explores the management of people with complex healthcare needs across the lifespan. It considers a range of settings including both learning disability and mental health. The importance of Partnership working is explained in this module to include the collaboration required with service users and carers, the concept of ‘expert patient’ is applied, the service user, carer voice and experience is recognised as to its importance in nursing associate practice. The module discusses the principles of care management in end-of-life care, sessions are supported by clinical partners from specialist areas addressing the needs pertinent to a range of settings.
Health and Wellbeing in Nursing Associate Practice
This module enables you to explore the health and wellbeing across the lifespan for individuals as well as families and communities, across a range of settings, recognising that public health is the cornerstone to all nursing associate practice. In doing so you will develop an understanding of public health, health protection and health promotion and their significance to your developing nursing associate practice. Through undertaking this module, you will raise your awareness and understanding of the wider determinants of health, health inequalities including social influences and health behaviours.
Nursing Associate Clinical Practice 3
In this module you can expect to build on first year knowledge, skills and behaviours to demonstrate safe, effective and compassionate nursing associate practice relating to a group of people’s needs in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) Code and the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) Standards of Proficiencies. You will start to develop enhanced clinical skills such as venepuncture, electrocardiogram lead placement, basic airway management skills, A - E assessment approach, end of life care and care of complex wounds. Theoretical knowledge will be developed focusing on A-E assessment theory, end of life care, care of the patient living with dementia, mental health in young people, infection prevention and control, genomics and health literacy. There will be a variety of workshops, simulation and guided study associated with this module including journal club, solution focused group supervision, role play and ECG interpretation.
Leadership and Team Working in Nursing Associate Practice
This module explores leadership qualities and behaviours, encouraging reflection as to the application and development in nursing associate practice, in line with the nursing associate scope of practice. You will learn the principles and importance of effective multi-disciplinary teamwork via discussion and collaborative learning. You will develop knowledge and skills pertaining to leadership and team-working that can be applied to clinical practice.
Nursing Associate Clinical Practice 4
In this module you can expect to consolidate knowledge, skills and behaviours to demonstrate safe, effective and compassionate nursing associate practice relating to a group of people’s needs in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) Code and the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) Standards of Proficiencies.
Safety and Quality in Nursing Associate Practice
This module explores the importance of research, audit and risk management in improving quality and safety in healthcare. It will introduce key principles of teaching, learning and supervision relevant to nursing associate practice. You will be equipped with the skills to devise and demonstrate a teaching resource that facilitates learning for other healthcare team members.
Double Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework
Keele is one of only 15 broad-based universities in England - out of over 100 - to have been awarded Gold in both the 2017 and 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) exercises, demonstrating our consistent teaching excellence.
Additional opportunities
There are a range of additional opportunities for this course.
Please note that undertaking one may impact the availability of another.
Entry requirements
These are the typical entry requirements for this course for a range of UK and international qualifications. If your qualifications aren't listed, please contact us to check if we can accept them. If you don't think you'll meet the stated requirements, you may be able to access this course via a Foundation Year.
Additional information
The Nursing Associate Foundation Degree (FdSc) typically requires:
- Some experience in a care setting.
- GCSE Maths and English at Grade C (4) or accepted equivalent such as Functional Skills.
- Your place on the course is subject to successful DBS Check and Occupational Health Clearance.
English language requirements
All our courses require an English language qualification or test. Most students meet this through a 4 or C in GCSE English. Please visit our English Language pages for details, including test information for international students. For students who require a test, this course requires a result from .
Alternative and contextual offers
We're committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for applicants with the potential and motivation to succeed, regardless of background. We offer alternative offer schemes with clear eligibility criteria, including contextual offers, offers for those studying in the Keele region, and recognition of a range of additional qualifications.
General information
The entry grades outlined indicate the typical offer, along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary conditions based upon a candidate's application. For international students, find out how we work with approved agents as part of our admissions process.
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Fees and funding
Tuition fees for 2026/27 academic year
- UK: Fees for the 2026/27 academic year are subject to Parliamentary approval and have not yet been confirmed.
- International:
For Home students, the University's fees are regulated by the UK Government and may be subject to change in subsequent years of your course in-line with government policy or legal requirements. For continuing international students, fees will increase annually by RPI, with a maximum cap of 5% per year.
For details of our international fee bands visit our Undergraduate tuition fees page.
Going to university can be daunting as well as exciting. It's important to understand the costs and financial support available. You may be eligible for funding support via the NHS Learning Support Fund. Further details and eligibility criteria can be found in the Student Finance section on the gov.uk website.
You may also be eligible to receive Parents' Learning Allowance or a Childcare Grant. Further details and eligibility criteria can be found in the Student Finance section on the gov.uk website.
Going to university can be daunting as well as exciting. It's important to understand the costs and financial support available.
Our Student Financial Support team offers confidential advice and guidance to help you manage your money, resolve issues with Student Finance, create a budget, explore your options if you're facing financial hardship, and access any funding you are eligible for, such as bursaries and scholarships.
For more information visit our undergraduate fees and funding pages.
Additional costs
Your future career
Nursing associates work with people of all ages, in a variety of settings in health and social care. The role contributes to the core work of nursing, freeing up registered nurses to focus on more complex clinical care.
Nursing associates are a separate profession to nursing with different knowledge and skills, set out in a distinct standard of proficiency. This means, for example, that while a nurse and nursing associate will play different roles in an aspect of care, they will both uphold the standards in the Code within the contribution they make to overall care.
Find out more about our careers and employability services, including career planning, alumni mentoring, jobs, internships, starting your own business and much more.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching
We use various teaching and learning methods on this programme which recognise the varied nature of nursing. Education delivery takes place online with some small group teaching alongside clinical based simulation settings.
Teaching and learning methods may also include:
- Lead lectures
- Tutor and student led tutorials
- Problem solving scenarios
- Case study presentations
- Small group work
- Interprofessional learning
- Simulation
- Independent study
In your programme you will sometimes be expected to role play and engage in simulated clinical scenarios with other students, such as the practice and observation of practical skills in physical contact with other students. For some specific practices, this may necessitate modification of dress - e.g., to shorts and t-shirt. These activities will be conducted in a professional, safe, respectful and culturally sensitive way, under the supervision of academic staff, according to a defined protocol.
Assessment
We use a wide variety of assessment methods on this programme that reflect the range of knowledge and skills you will develop on the programme.
Assessment methods may include:
- Continuous assessment of practice
- Assessments of an 'episode of care' in practice settings
- Practical examinations
- Reflective accounts
- Examinations (essays, short answer and/or multiple)
- Essays
- Class tests
- Oral and poster presentations
- Peer assessment
Student life at Keele is vibrant, diverse, and packed with opportunities to make the most of your time at university.
We help students manage their money and ensure that they receive any funding for which they may be eligible.
Make yourself more employable after graduation by taking advantage of the whole host of additional opportunities.
