Nursing Foundation Year
Subject and course type
- Nursing and Midwifery
- Undergraduate
- Foundation
This Nursing Foundation Year will give you the knowledge, skills and confidence you need to progress onto your journey towards a BSc (Hons) Nursing degree in your chosen field.
You are reading:
Prepare for a successful career in Nursing
Build essential skills for degree-level study
This foundation year helps you prepare for your degree in Nursing, providing you with essential skills for success.
This foundation year is available with four of our Undergraduate BSc (Hons) Nursing courses:
- Adult
- Children's
- Learning Disabilities
- Mental Health
Why choose this course
We recognise that there are many routes to success at degree level. This foundation year option provides an entry route for students from a wide range of backgrounds who may not have the traditional entry qualifications to join the first year of a nursing degree.
This foundation year will help you develop both personally and professionally, providing you with the tools to begin your journey towards becoming a competent, sensitive professional who can perform effectively in a variety of settings and work in collaboration with other professionals.
You will develop practical, technical and communication skills, and apply knowledge to real-life problems.
You will gain awareness of the attitudes and behaviours required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to succeed on a professional programme, and in your future career. You will also learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and how these link to healthcare.
What’s more, Kingston’s TEF Gold award recognises our commitment to teaching excellence, ensuring you receive quality support throughout your studies.
We are top in London for Nursing (The Times Good University Guide 2025).
Apply for this course
Select your chosen degree programme and apply for the including foundation year course. The corresponding UCAS codes are listed below.
- Adult Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B74F - Children's Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B73F - Learning Disabilities Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B76F - Mental Health Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B75F
Course content
This foundation year provides a supportive environment in which you can build your confidence, whilst developing the academic, numeracy and practical skills alongside the subject knowledge you need to progress onto the degree of your choice.
In the Project-Based Learning Module you will carry out a project where you focus on a real-world scenario relating to healthcare.
Foundation year
Core modules
30 credits
This module will help develop your academic skills, providing you with the foundation you need to become an independent learner. These skills are contextualised to your subject to enhance your success as you move to the subsequent levels of degree study, from academic writing and relevant numeracy skills, to exploring different learning styles and how you can use this knowledge to enhance your own learning.
You will be supported by your personal tutor group, which provides opportunities for individualised support and reflection.
30 credits
This module will provide you with an essential introduction to the biological sciences, through the study of biochemistry, cells, tissues, body systems, and genomics. You will also be introduced to some of the relevant tools and techniques used in modern biology and healthcare, and how to analyse data. This module will also ensure you know how to work safely and responsibly in the laboratory/clinical skills spaces.
30 credits
This module discusses what it means to be a professional and understand the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Council. It will enable you to explore your role as an individual and provide you with a foundation that will allow you to develop your professionalism and become an independent and reflective learner.
These skills will be contextualised to your chosen subject to enhance your success as you move to the subsequent levels of degree study and professional registration. Self-reflection, and associated strategies, will be explored to help develop your own professionalism and enhance wellbeing.
Communication underpins this module, with a view to providing you with the skills and opportunities to begin your journey towards become a confident, self-aware professional. You will start to learn about the skills required to interact with service users and other professionals, alongside barriers and facilitators to effective working.
30 credits
In this module, you will work on a project related to a real-world scenario and/or problem in healthcare. This module is designed to allow you to further develop your oral and written communication skills, critical thinking, problem solving, research and team working skills that were introduced in the Becoming an Active Learner module.
Future Skills and careers opportunities
Embedded within every course curriculum and throughout the whole Kingston experience, Future Skills will play a role in shaping you to become a future-proof graduate, providing you with the skills most valued by employers such as problem-solving, digital competency, and adaptability.
As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills, learning to demonstrate and articulate to employers how future skills give you the edge.
After you graduate
Success on the course will allow you to progress to Year 1 of your chosen degree at Kingston University. Visit your degree course pages to find out more about your future career opportunities.
At Kingston University, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it
For more information on how Kingston prepares you for the future job market, visit our Future Skills page.
Teaching and assessment
Teaching uses a variety of approaches including lectures, seminars and tutorials, workshops and laboratory practical work. Sessions are designed to be active, involving students undertaking small projects and working in groups to solve problems. The use of technology to enhance learning is an important way in which students are supported. There is particular emphasis placed on developing study skills that will help mature applicants who are returning to education.
Assessment includes a mixture of coursework and examination. Coursework may take the form of report writing, examinations, practical data reports, case studies and presentations with emphasis on real world problems. The style of assessment provides a natural progression to Year 1 of your chosen degree.
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for final assignments. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the online virtual learning platform.
Our academic support team here at Kingston University provides help in a range of areas.
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of academic staff who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at Kingston and show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer at Kingston University.
17% of your time is spent in timetabled learning and teaching activity.
- Scheduled learning and teaching: 200 hours
- Guided independent study (self-managed time): 1000 hours
Assessment typically comprises exams (e.g. test or exam), practical (e.g. presentations, performance) and coursework (e.g. essays, reports, self-assessment, portfolios and dissertation).
The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows:
- Coursework: 87.5%
- Exam: 12.5%
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled learning and teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9am and 6pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
Fees and funding
Fees are included on the relevant webpage for the degree course you would like to study.
- Adult Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B74F - Children's Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B73F - Learning Disabilities Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B76F - Mental Health Nursing BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: B75F
Facilities at Kingston Hill
There is a wide range of facilities at our Kingston Hill campus, where this course is based.
Kingston Hill is a leafy, hillside campus, situated about three miles from Kingston town centre. It is a quiet, secure place to study, with easy access to London, meaning it offers the best of all worlds to our students.
Library
One of the highlights of the Kingston Hill campus is the modern library, called the Nightingale Centre after Florence Nightingale, who was a regular visitor to Kingston Hill.
The library provides a spacious and attractive place for students to meet and study. It features a cafe, more PCs and zoned study areas. Long opening hours give you plenty of access to specialist education books, journals and online resources.
Computer and online facilities
There are many computers (PCs and Macs) available for you to use across the Kingston Hill campus when you need a place to study. Access to the wireless network across the campus means you can also work from your laptop or mobile device.
Using IT to support your studies is crucial. Kingston has an innovative virtual learning environment called Canvas. This allows you to access course materials and contact fellow students and staff while away from the campus.
Additional course costs
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs that are not covered by tuition fees which students will need to consider when planning their studies. Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, access to shared IT equipment and other support services. Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees.
Where a course has additional expenses, we make every effort to highlight them. These may include optional field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering), security checks such as DBS, uniforms, specialist clothing or professional memberships.
Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. You may prefer to buy your own copy of key textbooks; this can cost between £50 and £250 per year.
There are open-access networked computers available across the University, plus laptops available to loan. You may find it useful to have your own PC, laptop or tablet which you can use around campus and in halls of residence. Free WiFi is available on each campus. You may wish to purchase your own computer, which can cost between £100 and £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
In the majority of cases, written coursework can be submitted online. There may be instances when you will be required to submit work in a printed format. Printing, binding and photocopying costs are not included in your tuition fees, this may cost up to £100 per year.
Travel costs are not included in your tuition fees but we do have a free intersite bus service which links the campuses, Surbiton train station, Kingston train station, Norbiton train station and halls of residence.
The University pays for the processing of the application, which is £51, but students are expected to pay a small fee (£16 per year) for subscribing to the Update Service. This subscription allows universities and potential employers to view any changes to students' DBS.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
