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About University of Galway
About University of Galway
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Guiding Breakthrough Research at University of Galway
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Community Engagement
Community Engagement
At University of Galway, we believe that the best learning takes place when you apply what you learn in a real world context. That's why many of our courses include work placements or community projects.
Mental Health Nursing
Course Overview
This four-year programme, offered in partnership with the Health Service Executive West, leads to the award of Bachelor of Nursing Science (Mental Health Nursing) and eligibility for registration in the Psychiatric Division of the Nurses’ Register, maintained by Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the nursing profession’s regulatory body.
The BSc. (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing will provide students with knowledge, skills, attitude, and professional behaviours necessary to provide high quality care and competent nursing practice in an ever-changing health care environment.
Mental Health Nursing aims to assist in the recovery of people experiencing mental health issues and to promote mental health and wellbeing. At the heart of mental health nursing is the development of therapeutic relationships, engaging with service users, their carers and their families.
Applications and Selections
Who Teaches this Course
http://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/nursing-and-midwifery/andrewhunter/
https://www.universityofgalway.ie/medicine-nursing-and-health-sciences/staff-profiles/louiselmurphy/
https://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/nursing-and-midwifery/siobhansmyth/
https://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/nursing-and-midwifery/fionnualajordan/
Requirements and Assessment
Key Facts
Entry Requirements
Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving
Certificate, including Irish, English, Mathematics, a laboratory science subject (i.e., Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics with Chemistry (joint) or Agricultural Science), and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes.
Additional Requirements
Duration
4 years
Next start date
September 2023
A Level Grades (2022)
universityofgalway.ie/alevels
Average intake
30
QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes
Closing Date
NFQ level
Mode of study
ECTS weighting
Award
CAO
GY516
Course code
Course Outline
Year 1
- NU1111 Foundations of Mental Health Nursing
- NU1112 Research and Evidence for Practice 1
- NU1116 Introduction in Mental Health Nursing
- NU1118 Mental Health Nursing 1
- NU1114 Communications & interpersonal skills
- NU1107 Health and Applied Biosciences
- NU1119 Clinical practice 1 & 2
- NU138/NU1106 Practice assessment
Year 2
- NU2202 Research and Evidence for Practice 2
- NU2200 Health and Applied Biosciences II
- NU2204 Applied Psychology of Nursing and Midwifery
- NU2205 Sociology of Health and Healthcare
- NU2214 Mental Health Nursing 2
- NU2215 Mental Health Nursing 3
- NU2217 Mental Health Nursing 4
- NU2307 Clinical Practice 3 & 4
- NU225 Practice Assessment
Year 3
- NU3014 Law and Ethics
- NU3015 Medicines and Clinical Practice
- NU314 Elective
- NU3108 Mental Health Nursing 5
- NU3109 Mental Health Promotion and Recovery
- NU3110 Mental Health Nursing 6
- NU3112 Clinical Practice 5 & 6
- NU337 & NU348 Practice Assessment I and II
- NU3111 Mental Health Nursing 7
Year 4
- NU4106 Leading and Developing Practice
- NU4108 Transition to Practice
- NU4101 Research Project
- NU4107 Clinical Practice 7
- NU486, NU487, NU488, NU489 Clinical Internship Assessments 1, 2, 3 & 4
- NU470 Practice Assessment
- Clinical internship which runs over 36 weeks - Semester II
Curriculum Information
Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Glossary of Terms
- Credits
- You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
- Module
- An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
- Subject
- Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
- Optional
- A module you may choose to study.
- Required
- A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
- Required Core Subject
- A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
- Semester
- Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.
Year 1 (60 Credits)
Required NU185: Principles and Practice of Clinical Nursing 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 1Required NU184: The Nature of Mental Health Nursing - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU138: Practice Assessment (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU104: Placement Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU183: Caring for Mental Health Service Users with Enduring Mental Health Needs 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU118: Clinical I & II - 15 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU182: Assessing and Promoting Health 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU116: Social Sciences 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU115: Biological Sciences I - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU1106: Practice Assessment 2 (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Year 2 (60 Credits)
Required NU251: Caring for the Physically Ill and Older Adult - 10 Credits - Semester 3Required NU231: Clinical Practice 3 & 4 - 20 Credits - Semester 3
Required NU245: Assessing and Promoting Health II - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required NU249: Biological Sciences II - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Optional NU915: Univ of Fairfield: Race, Cities and Poverty - 10 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU225: Practice Asessment - 0 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU252: Introduction to Bio-Psychosocial Interventions - 10 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU247: Research Methods I - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU248: Social Sciences II - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU208: Specialist Placement Hours Module - 0 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU905: Univ. of Fairfield: Elective Module (Free Choice) - 10 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU901: Univ. of Fairfield: Research in Nursing - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU902: Univ. of Fairfield:Health Assessment - 10 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU903: Univ. of Fairfield: Sociology of Law - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU904: Univ. of Fairfield: Elective Module (Psychology) - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU906: Univ. of Fairfield: Sociology of Law & Psychology - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU911: Univ of Fairfield:Geriatric Nursing - 10 Credits - Semester 4
Optional NU914: Univ of Fairfield:Developmental Psych-Non Majors - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Year 3 (60 Credits)
Required NU333: Research Methods II - 5 Credits - Semester 5Required NU306: Biological Sciences III - 10 Credits - Semester 5
Required NU348: Practice Assessment 2 (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 5
Required NU350: Clinical Practice V & VI - 15 Credits - Semester 6
Required NU314: Elective - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required NU307: Caring for Mental Service Users with Specialist Service Needs - 15 Credits - Semester 6
Required NU337: Practice Assessment - 0 Credits - Semester 6
Required NU334: Social Sciences III - 10 Credits - Semester 6
Required NU399: Clinical Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 6
Year 4 (60 Credits)
Required NU405: Leading & Developing Practice - 10 Credits - Semester 7Required NU499: Clinical Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU474: Clinical Practice VII - 10 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU470: Practice Assessment - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU488: Internship Assessment 3 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU489: Internship Assessment 4 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU475: Research Project - 20 Credits - Semester 8
Required NU471: Clinical Internship - 20 Credits - Semester 8
Required NU486: Internship Assessment 1 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU487: Internship Assessment 2 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Further Education
There are a variety of continuing professional development opportunities available to graduates of this programme, in particular postgraduate programmes within the School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Why Choose This Course?
Career Opportunities
- In-patient mental health services
- Community mental health services
- Child and adolescent mental health services
- Forensic mental health services
- Voluntary organisations
- Recovery and rehabilitation services
- Services for the older person
- Substance misuse and addiction treatment services
- Primary mental health care
Work Placement
Clinical practice modules require students to complete clinical placements within the Health Service Executive West region. While on clinical placements, students will be supervised by an appropriately trained nurse. In accordance with Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland regulations, the total requirements of the programme are 144 weeks of clinical placement. Students undertake a 36-week clinical internship in semester two of year four. During the clinical internship period, students are paid a salary.
Who’s Suited to This Course
Learning Outcomes
Transferable Skills Employers Value
Work Placement
Students undertake a 36-week clinical internship in semester two of year four. Clinical practice modules require students to complete clinical placements within the Health Service Executive West region. While on clinical placements, students will be supervised by an appropriately trained nurse. In accordance with Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland regulations, the total requirements of the programme are 144 weeks clinical placement. During the clinical internship period, students are paid a salary.
Study Abroad
Related Student Organisations
Course Fees
Fees: EU
Fees: Tuition
Fees: Student Contribution
Fees: Student levy
Fees: Non EU
*EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy
Student Levy: €140 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here https://su.nuigalway.ie/
Find out More
The School of Nursing and Midwifery
T 353 (0)91 493 432
F 353 (0)91 494 537
E nursing.midwifery@universityofgalway.ie
www.universityofgalway.ie/nursingmidwifery
What Our Students Say

Martyna Zdzieblowska | Mental Health Nursing
Choosing a university was an important milestone, and I am glad I chose University of Galway for my university journey. The Mental Health Nursing programme offers a diverse range of clinical placements which provide a vast insight into what you can do with your nursing degree. Moreover, the state of the art building enables students to learn and practice their nursing skills in a clinical environment which is further supplemented by a great selection of books in the university library and the new computer suite. University of Galway has a great location right in the centre of the Galway, which offers great opportunity to have fun and explore the local area. The campus also offers several clubs and societies that allow you to meet with like-minded people and share interests which is an important part of the university experience.