Nursing - Mental Health Nursing
Our Mental Health Nursing course will provide you with excellent opportunities to develop knowledge and skills relevant to professional Psychiatric Nursing practice, including independent and critical thinking, and problem solving. It will enable you to deliver nursing care that is up-to-date and based on the best current evidence.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
4 Years full-time.
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Leaving Certificate Requirements
At Least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish.
Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:
English O6/H7
Irish O6/H7
Maths O6/H7
A Lab Science O6/H7
The following are considered Lab Science subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Physics with Chemistry and Agricultural Science.
Students are subject to Garda vetting.
Students are subject to Fitness to Practise Policy.
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme LCVP
Distinction 66 points
Merit 46 points
Pass 28 points
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Careers / Further progression
Skills and Careers Information
The course aims to provide you with sound clinical nursing skills (and the supporting knowledge base) necessary for starting your professional career as a Mental Health Nurse. These skills will be further developed through clinical experience and further study at postgraduate and in-service levels.
You will develop sound therapeutic interpersonal skills and self-awareness, as well as skills in independent thinking, problem solving, and analytical and clinical decision-making, as well as fundamental research utilisation and application skills.
On graduation, you may seek employment as a Psychiatric Nurse. Psychiatric Nurses work in a wide range of areas, including hospitals and community mental health facilities.
Traditionally, Irish nurses are highly regarded by other countries, enhancing work opportunities abroad, in particular in the UK, Canada, Australia and the US.
Further information
September 2026
Approximate Available Places 7
Find out about the mature entry requirements at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/entryreqs/matureapplicants/
Approximate Available Places Overall 42
Entry 2026
Early online application (discounted): Fee €35 Closing Date: 20 January 2026 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €50 Closing Date: 1 February 2026 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: €65 Closing Date: 1 May 2026 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2026 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2026. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2026, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2026 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €65 applies.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
Course Outline
Our Mental Health Nursing course will provide you with excellent opportunities to develop knowledge and skills relevant to professional Psychiatric Nursing practice, including independent and critical thinking, and problem solving. It will enable you to deliver nursing care that is up-to-date and based on the best current evidence.
This four-year full-time degree course is offered in partnership with the Health Service Executive (South) (HSE) and on completion you can apply to register as a Psychiatric Nurse to the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the profession’s regulatory body. After registration, you will be ready to start work as a qualified psychiatric nurse in a variety of clinical settings.
The broad aim of the course is to promote your personal, intellectual and professional development to meet the role dimensions of a qualified practitioner of Mental Health Nursing. Each year, you will study modules in both theory and clinical practice. Clinical practice modules require you to be in supervised clinical practice in hospital, community and other healthcare settings for 35 hours per week for a number of weeks each year.
Theory modules include both nursing, and biological and social science modules, some of which are core (shared with students from other nursing/midwifery branches), while others are discipline-specific (taken by Mental Health Nursing students only).
Year 1 Modules
All modules 5 credits unless otherwise stated.
NU1026 Academic Writing, Information Technology and Evidence-Based Nursing Practice
NU1032 Fundamental Knowledge and Skills for Nursing Practice (10 credits)
NU1040 Infection Prevention and Control for Nursing and Midwifery Practice
NU1042 Developing Hope-Inspiring Relationships and Psychology for Health Care (10 credits)
NU1043 Recovery - Theory, Concept and Principles (10 credits)
NU1045 Creative Therapies and Self Awareness Skills for Mental Health Nursing
NU1044 Developing Skilled Mental Health Nursing Practice 1 (10 credits)
SC1015 Sociological Concepts for Nursing
Year 2
Pharmacology and Medication Management for Nurses and Midwives; Research for Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery Care; Recovery - Working with People through Crisis; Therapeutic Relationships - Communication and Self-Awareness; General Health Care for Adults with Mental Health Problems - Applied Nutrition, Anatomy and Physiology; Social Justice and Mental Health: Combating Discrimination, Labelling and Stigma; Skilled Mental Health Nursing Practice.
Year 3
Health Promotion and Primary Health Care in a Mental Health Context; Mental Health Nursing: Politics, Policy and Practice; Developing Hope-Inspiring Relationships when working therapeutically with Individuals in Groups; Recovery - Working with Children and Young People with Mental Health Problems; Recovery - Working with the Older Adult with Mental Health Problems; Skilled Mental Health Nursing Practice.
Year 4
Research for Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery Care; Recovery - Working with Vulnerable Populations; Leadership and Therapeutic Team Working Skills in a Mental Health Setting; The Profession and Discipline of Psychiatric Nursing; Elective module: Skilled Mental Health Nursing Practice.
In Year 4, you will take a number of theory modules at UCC in semester one (before Christmas). In semester two (after Christmas), you will undertake a 36-week paid internship with your parent health service provider (HSP).
Dr John Goodwin
john.goodwin@ucc.ie
+353 21 490 1473
http://www.ucc.ie/en/nursingmidwifery/
SONM UnderGrad Support
sonmundergrad@ucc.ie