About This Course
Applications are now open for this course.
Application deadline: 20 February 2026 (for March 2026 start).
Our new PGDip in Community Nursing Mental Health is a Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ) designed for registered nurses who wish to specialise and lead within community-based care settings. It will be delivered via flexible online learning and supports both full-time and part-time study routes; ideal for professionals balancing clinical practice with professional development.
Currently in development, this programme aims to respond directly to the evolving needs of community mental health care, equipping practitioners with the advanced clinical, cultural, and leadership skills required to deliver effective, inclusive support across diverse populations and complex care environments.
Why Study this Course?
- Enhance your clinical expertise in areas such as co-occurring conditions and complex case management
- Develop leadership capabilities to influence and improve mental health services in the community
- Gain cultural competence to support equitable, person-centred care
- Flexible online delivery tailored to fit around your working life and personal commitments
- Study alongside peers from across Wales and the UK, sharing best practice and building professional networks
- Commissioned places available for staff employed by Welsh Health Boards, supporting professional development within the NHS workforce*
- This programme leads to a recordable qualification with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in Specialist Practice upon successful completion*
Is this Course for You?
This course is suitable for registered nurses currently working in a community mental health setting. You may be:
- Seeking to expand the scope of your practice
- Looking to take on specialist or leadership roles
- Aiming to drive improvements in patient outcomes and service delivery
- Interested in building your expertise in culturally competent and inclusive care.
Fees and Funding
The SPQ in community nursing for learning disabilities, mental health, and general practice nursing is commissioned and fully-funded by HEIW as a Postgraduate Diploma (part-time), which leads to a recordable Specialist Practitioner Qualification (SPQ) with the NMC.
Eligibility for a funded place will be assessed as part of the application process. Please see Entry Requirements tab to check your eligibility.
Entry Requirements
Please carefully check your eligibility. Applicants must:
- Be currently registered with the statutory nursing body (NMC) and for more than one year
- Normally possess a 2:1 or First in an undergraduate degree. Applications from those with a 2:2 classification will be considered on a case-by-case basis and based on supplied references and personal statement.
- Be able to evidence access to clinical placements aligned to programme learning outcomes
- Have a current enhanced DBS
- Provide a strong personal statement and professional reference
We welcome applications from mature learners and those returning to education after a career break.
International Applicants: As this course is funded by HEIW and due to the stated entry requirements above, we are unable to accept applications from international students who are based outside the UK. International candidates who are fully NMC registered, working in the UK and meet all other requirements specified above are encouraged to contact us.
Application
Deadline for applications: 20 February 2026 (for March 2026 start). Please note that we may not be able to accept applications submitted after this date.
How to Apply: Applications for this course must be submitted through our online Applicant Portal. Please read the guidance on how to apply below. Should you have any questions or require further information, contact health.applications@bangor.ac.uk
Step 1: Complete Supplementary Application Form
Please download and complete this supplementary application form. You will need to save this and upload it to your online application (see Step 3 below).
We recommend that all applicants complete this form before commencing their online application.
Step 2: Create Account
To apply for this course you will need to create an account in the Applicant Portal. As the system will send a verification email to the email address you have provided, please make sure that you have access to the email address you specify when creating your account, to be ablet o complete this verification step.
Once verified, you can log into the portal by entering the email address and password to proceed with the application. Once an account has been created, you will be able to return to your application at any time and view the status of your application once it has been submitted.
Step 3: Application
After creating an account, you will see a homepage with several tabs:
- Personal
- Programme
- Additional Info
- Contact
- Education
- Employment
- Language
- Finance
You need to complete all sections before submitting your application. When a section is complete, a ‘tick’ symbol will appear beside it in the Menu tab, or this will be underlined in Green.
Step 4: Selecting the course
This course is listed under Distance Learning and appears as: CMH Nursing SPQ
Please note that after selecting your chosen course, it will automatically populate the delivery method as they are ONLY offered on a part-time basis by distance learning.
Please select the March 2026 start date from the dropdown menu.
Then click ‘Save and Continue’.
You will now be asked to upload supporting documents. Please upload your supplementary application form (Step 1 above) in lieu of a Personal Statement. To do this, in the Personal statement section, click ‘choose file’ select your application document, then select ‘Save and Continue’.
Step 5: Complete remaining sections
Please complete remaining sections, ensuring to select ‘save and Continue ‘ if prompted.
In the Finance section, if you wish to be considered for a HIEW funded place, please complete the fields as follows:
- How will you finance your studies? Sponsored
- Exact name of funding authority: HEIW
- Country: United Kingdom
- Give details of the amount of the award: Partially covered
- Sponsorship will cover: Tuition fees
- Value of scholarship in GBP: please leave as 0.00
- Have you been awarded this funding? No*
- Do you require an offer of admission from Bangor University to apply for the funding? No*
*Note. Bangor University will assess eligibility for funding as part of the application, no separate applications are required.
Step 6: Submitting your application
Once all sections are completed, you will receive confirmation on the screen. Review the application details by selecting View Summary.
If you notice any errors, then you can amend the details by selecting the relevant section in the top bar.
If all details are correct, then submit your application.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU SELECT AND CLICK 'SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION'
Following submission of your application you will receive a confirmation email, including an Applicant ID number, within 5-10mins. Further updates on your application will be made via the portal.
Should you be selected, you will be invited to attend an interview.
- Interview dates: 02 March 2026 and 03 March 2026.
