The MSc Mental Health Nursing (pre-registration) has been designed with graduates in mind, building upon the existing skills you achieved through your undergraduate degree, and applying them at masters level. One in every eight people in the world live with a mental disorder. This is often characterised by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour (WHO 2022). In addition to exploring a range of mental health conditions and presentations, for example psychosis, depression, self-harm and suicide risk, you’ll identify the variant determinants of health as well as the inequality that exists across populations. You’ll be introduced to the psychosocial interventions and medical treatments that are available. Working within an ethos of patient-centred care and collaboration, you’ll start to build therapeutic relationships with individuals from your first placement experience. You’ll become an advocate for vulnerable patients, adhering to capacity and mental health law yet questioning and challenging coercive practices. Throughout your study, you will split your time equally between placement/simulation-based learning and theory. This course is designed to equip you with both the practical skills and theoretical knowledge needed for you to become a future leader. At Manchester Met, all our academic team in the School of Nursing have been practising registered nurses from a range of clinical and managerial backgrounds. Our mental health team has been recruited from diverse backgrounds, including community mental health care, alcohol and substance use, acute inpatient, and liaison psychiatry, peri/post-natal mental health and mental health law.

Career prospects

When you graduate, you’ll gain a masters degree (MSc) and eligibility to register as a mental health nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

The roles and opportunities within mental health nursing have expanded significantly in recent years. You may choose to follow a clinical career pathway towards advanced skills, such as prescribing for nurses, or specialist psychological therapies training.

Maybe you’re one of our future educators? Alternatively, you may want to develop your skills in the pursuit of a career in leadership and management within either the NHS or the private sector.

Mental health nurses work across a vast range of settings and with patients across the lifespan. You could work as part of a specialist eating disorder unit, or alcohol and substance use services. You may choose to work with mentally disordered offenders in secure/forensic services or apply your skills within a care home setting or outpatient clinic for individuals affected by dementia.

You could also choose to be based in crisis services, A&E liaison or acute hospital wards, where mental health nurses have an important role in assessing and managing patients with acute deterioration or first episode presentations. You may also decide that a community mental health or home treatment team is your calling, if your aim is to improve the lives of individuals with complex needs.