Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (Health Visiting)

To gain entry to the MSc/PGDip Early Years Practice (Health Visiting), you must meet the following requirements.

• Valid registration as a nurse on Part 1 and/or a registered midwife on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. We would welcome applications from nurses working in all fields of nursing (Adult, Child, Learning Disability and Mental Health) and midwives.
• The ability to study at degree level (minimum academic level SCQF Level 9) (NMC 2004; Standard 5).
• Demonstrate knowledge, skills and competence beyond your initial NMC registration, i.e. normally two years’ post registration experience as a registered nurse or midwife-however, other relevant professional experience can be considered. Each individual application is considered on their own merit.
• In order to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) practice requirements for the programme, you’ll need to be supported by an NHS Health Board/LA in an approved practice with a nominated practice assessor and practice supervisor. The placement will be negotiated between the University and NHS health boards and local authorities.

In order to be a registered Nurse or Midwife you will already have been required to prove your English language ability to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

International entry requirements

View the entry requirements for your country.

Before you apply you'll need agreement from a Health Board that they can provide a practice placement and access to a Practice Supervisor and Practice Assessor who can supervise and assess your practice learning throughout the course.

In Scotland, Practice Supervisors/Assessors are currently supplied by NHS Health Boards and local authority partners.

To apply for a trainee health visitor post, applicants are encouraged to visit the recruitment pages of the NHS jobs website for Health Board and the MyJobScotland website for Local Authority Student Health Visitor adverts.

To support this process, the University of Stirling and partner Health Boards/Local Authorities will hold joint interviews for both the University selection process and Health Board provision of practice placements and supervising Practice Assessors. There can be secondment opportunities.

If you are successful at the interview stage you will then be sent an additional application pack and complete the University of Stirling's online application form.

University of Stirling online application process

To apply to Stirling you need to complete our online application form. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and have all your supporting documents ready.

The first stage of the process is to create a profile; you don't have to complete the application in one session - you can complete it in stages by saving each section and returning to complete it at a later date.

You will need to upload supporting documents with your application, which include transcripts and degree certificates and the additional application pack which will provide evidence of sponsorship.

Before you begin your application, we recommend that you read our guide to applying for a postgraduate course.

If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:

• IELTS Academic or UKVI 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in reading and writing and 5.5 in speaking and listening.
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) 62 overall with a minimum of 60 in reading and writing and 59 in speaking and listening.
• IBT TOEFL 80 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 20 in speaking, 18 in reading and 23 in writing.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO University of Stirling offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.

Find out more about our pre-sessional English language courses.

See our information on English language requirements for more details on the language tests we accept and options to waive these requirements.