*QS Stars World University Rankings 2023
**Research Excellence Framework 2021
***The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
Specialist nursing skills and expertise have never been in higher demand or held in higher esteem. So much so that the theme for 2024 International Nurses Day, chosen by the International Council for Nurses, is ‘Our Nurses, Our Future’. This environment presents significant opportunities for nurses to upskill, gain qualifications and progress quickly in their careers.
The 100% online BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Top-Up) from the University of Sunderland has been specifically designed for registered nurses with a Diploma in Nursing at UK level 5 or equivalent, who want to top-up their existing academic qualification to a BSc (Hons) degree and progress into more senior roles and higher pay bands.
Course content is delivered entirely online and asynchronously, so you can combine work and study around your shift patterns within the programme structure. Focusing on the ‘theory behind the practice’, theories, theoretical knowledge, and research are linked to the delivery of clinical practice, enhancing your ability to deliver high quality, evidence-based healthcare. There are no practical elements to the programme.
On the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies Top-Up, you’ll be taught by a team of skilled professionals who each have at least one specialist area of both clinical and teaching expertise.
We have been ranked internationally as a leading university, receiving five stars for teaching, inclusiveness, employability and facilities in the QS World University Rankings 2023, the highest rating that can be awarded to a university. A special recognition of our practical focus on developing the skills that enable career progression for our students.
Because of the uniquely flexible design of the online BSc degree, it can be studied around your work and family commitments, at times that are convenient for you.
You can continue to work in your current role and apply the knowledge and skills that you develop, earning whilst you learn rather than taking a costly study break.
You will learn and interact within an interactive online learning environment as part of a community of fellow nursing professionals from across the world. You will collaborate with tutors and fellow students via discussion boards, forums and group learning activities, providing unique opportunities to learn from the experiences of nurses from diverse backgrounds.
You will also be allocated a dedicated Student Success Coordinator, who will provide you with proactive support throughout your studies, from enrolment through to graduation.
The BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies Top-Up will enhance your existing knowledge base and provide a comprehensive understanding of theoretical concepts and models underpin, and link to your own clinical practice. The skills, knowledge and understanding you develop throughout the programme will equip you for leadership roles and support you in delivering evidence-based care as an enquiring practitioner, and as an innovator in your field of clinical practice.
There is a high percentage of international students at University of Sunderland, and we have students studying by distance learning around the world. Sunderland is also one of the UK’s leading widening participation Universities and 7th in the UK for social inclusion (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).
With campuses in Hong Kong, Sunderland and London, as well as many global partnerships including in the Caribbean, Greece, Kenya, Malaysia, Lanka, Oman, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tashkent and Vietnam. The way we approach learning is predicated on encouraging diverse learner cohorts of professionals to collaborate within a bespoke learning environment, benefiting from different cultural perspectives. We believe that this provides students with a broader set of insights and leads to a richer and more meaningful learning experience.
You pay tuition fees for each module taken, either module-by-module or in full at the start of your course.
If you pay module-by-module, you will pay in instalments of £927.
This module enables you to explore theoretical healthcare perspectives and principles and their impact upon healthcare practice. It explores healthcare theories and models relating to healthcare delivery and outcomes and critically examines contemporary healthcare practice. In this module you will challenge the recognition of professional practice approaches in healthcare settings as a means of identifying changes to your own practice and to that of others.
This module enables you to explore and develop a deeper appreciation of the impact of management and leadership in care delivery, exploring the impact of policy, business needs and resources within healthcare settings. The concepts and principles of teamwork and leadership are investigated, and you will develop an understanding of the influence and strategies adopted to ensure safe and effective practice and to enhance patient or service user outcomes.
This module explores learning theories and develops an understanding of teaching and learning with clearly defined links to practice settings. You will evaluate the approaches to teaching in formal and informal settings and will develop negotiation and feedback skills as part of your professional development. The module examines the nature, reliability and validity of assessment and examines supervision, mentorship and preceptorship as means of encouraging reflective practice.
This module develops your understanding of how to ensure healthcare practice is informed by the best available evidence. You will examine the general principles affecting nursing in professional practice linked to levels of accountability and responsibility, duty of care and candour. This will be informed through investigative research and critical debate, exploring ethical moral principles on a professional and potentially personal level.
This module provides you with a comprehensive appreciation of the issues surrounding healthcare practice and how to ensure that practice is informed by the best available evidence. The module explores:
In this module you will explore the principles of research, the skills required and how research can be applied to healthcare; developing an understanding of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, examining the problems associated with data collection and data analysis and the structure of research questions.
For your dissertation, you will develop a critique of an area of current interest within the nursing field. The dissertation will feature a structured systematic literature review including a critical analysis of the reported literature as well as recommendations for nursing and nursing practice.
QTop 40 university (Guardian University Guide 2025)
Best in North East (The Times Good University Guide 2024)
More than 70% of Nursing research rated ‘world leading’ or of 'international importance'***
University of the Year for Social Inclusion (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2024)