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Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing

Centria University of Applied Sciences educates qualified nurses who care for patients, support them and maintain rehabilitation for people of various ages. Our objective is to train nurses who can work both in Finland and in international positions around the world.

Tutkinto: Bachelor of Health Care

Opintomuoto: Päivätoteutus

Opintojen laajuus: 3,5 years, 210 credits

Campus: Talonpojankatu 2, Kokkola

Aloituspaikat: 15

Haku alkaa: 04.01.2023

Haku päättyy: 18.01.2023 klo 15:00

Koulutus alkaa syksyllä 2023

Opetuskieli: Englanti

Programme description

During your nursing studies, you will learn interpersonal and interactional skills, guidance skills, decision-making skills, as well as diverse caretaking skills. Your main task as a registered nurse is to ensure clients’ health and safety, which means you need to be responsible, cautious, and accurate. Nurses’ work is usually done in multi-professional teams. The ability and skills to work independently are required in nurses’ work as well. 

The nursing studies at Centria are very practical, and from the first year onwards, you get to dive deep into the different fields of nursing. The studies are conducted in English on weekdays. Theory courses are carried out as contact teaching, online studies, and independent studies. Nurses must be familiar with different treatments and procedures, so part of the teaching happens in workshops and simulations. In simulations, you get to practice real-life care situations as part of a team or a group. We also have experts from working life visiting our lectures. Nursing studies include several practical work placement periods in different environments, such as hospitals and health centres. During the work placement, you get to familiarize yourself with various work assignments with the support of instructors from the workplace and your Centria teacher. 

The nursing teachers at Centria University of Applied Sciences have extensive experience in different sectors of nursing. We are proud of the fact that we know our students and can give them very individual teaching. We also have modern study spaces and a diverse variety of different teaching equipment – during your studies, you get to use the same equipment that nurses use in clinical settings. 

Our students come from all around Finland and the world. During your studies, you get to experience a multicultural atmosphere.

Additional information

You can find the curriculum here.

The scope of the Bachelor’s degree programme in Nursing is 210 ECTS, and the studies last 3,5 years. Nursing studies consist of core studies, profiling studies, work placement and a bachelor’s thesis. The teaching takes place at our Talonpojankatu campus in Kokkola on weekdays. 

During the nursing studies, you go through the basics of health care. You learn how the human body functions and how to advance the health and capability of the patient. You will also study ethics and learn customer service skills and communication skills. You get acquainted with the operational environment of the social and health sector, patient safety in different clinical environments and research and development operations. 

The studies of clinical nursing begin from the basics. During your studies, you will dive into internal medicine, pharmacology, surgical nursing and acute care. You will study the nursing of children and families, as well as mental health nursing. All the different sectors of clinical nursing will be covered during your studies.

The nurse’s work is becoming more and more international, which is why in addition to occupational skills, language and communication skills are emphasised in the studies. At Centria, nursing studies include communication studies and Finnish language studies. In addition, you can choose more language studies as optional courses. You will also learn to utilise international research results in different written assignments and in your bachelor’s thesis. 

You can complete some of your studies abroad. Short, as well as longer, work placement periods can be spent in many different countries. Nursing students are offered options for exchange studies example in the Nordic countries, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Italy, China, Kenya and Uganda and many other countries. All our students have the chance to study in a genuinely international environment and we recommend that you take full advantage of the possibilities Centria UAS offers.

At the end of your studies, you will carry out your own thesis project on a topic that interests you. The thesis is a bridge between studies and work life, and it will advance your transition to specialist positions. The objective of the thesis is to develop and demonstrate the student’s ability to apply the evidence-based knowledge and skills they have learned to practical specialist tasks. The scope of the thesis is 15 ECTS. 

On the online library Theseus www.theseus.fi  all the previously completed bachelor’s theses are available for everyone. 

Registered nurses who graduate from Centria University of Applied Sciences have excellent employment possibilities locally, as well as around Finland, but also internationally. Nurses who have graduated from Centria are currently working in hospitals, health centres, first aid, medical centres, home care, nursing homes, patient associations and other third sector organisations. In addition to these, some graduates work in different development and project positions. 

Some of our work-life partners are Central Ostrobothnia Federation on Municipalities for Social and Health Care Services Soite, the City of Kokkola, The Regional Council of Central Ostrobothnia, The Jakobstad Region, municipalities of the Ylivieska region, local associations, congregations and private sector companies of social and health care services. Centria University of Applied Sciences is involved in many national UAS networks. We are also active in international university cooperation. The title Registered Nurse (BHC) may only be used and practised by a registered nurse who has completed the degree of Bachelor of Health Care. The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) grants, upon application, the right to practice as a licenced or authorised professional and authorises the use of the occupational title of ”health care professional ” according to the Act on Health Care Professionals (559/949). The degree programme fulfils the European Union’s Directive (2013/55/EC) on the requirements for recognition of professional qualification.  

Centria University of Applied Sciences uses the following student selection methods during the first joint application 2023:  

International University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Exam

International UAS Exam is a joint digital entrance exam of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS), used for selecting students for English-conducted study programmes leading to a Bachelor’s degree.

The entrance examination assesses the applicants’ abilities to study at UAS. The entrance examination does not contain any pre-reading materials or pre-tasks.

The entrance exam consists of two phases organized remotely online:

First phase: written examination on 8th February 2023

Second phase: group interview on 1st – 15th March 2023

Please read more information about the selection methods on the UASinfo website.

Certificate-based selection

Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing does not use certificate-based selection.

Take a look at the virtual learning environments developed in our health education. During the academic year 2021-2022, teachers participated in a VR simulation project, which produced teaching material for the systematic assessment of the patient’s need for treatment and for the implementation of medical treatment in the hospital.

How to apply


Joint application 4.–18.1.2023

While the application is open you can apply to the degree programme in Studyinfo.


Applying during transfer application 1.-15.5.2023 and 1.-15.11.2023

It is possible to apply to Centria UAS during the transfer application period if a student wants to transfer from one field of study to another within Centria UAS or a student wants to transfer from another Finnish university of applied sciences to Centria.


Applying with open UAS studies 1.4.–31.5.2023 and 1.10.–30.11.2023

Students who have completed studies in the Open University of Applied Sciences (UAS) may use the open UAS pathway to apply for degree student status.


Applying with an incomplete degree 1.4.–31.5.2023 and 1.10.–30.11.2023

If you have studied at Centria UAS or in another university in Finland but you have not yet finished your degree, you can re-apply for the same or related degree programme to finish your degree.


Check your eligibility

The following education will give applicants eligibility to apply for Bachelor’s programmes:

  • the studies required for graduating from the Finnish upper secondary school or a Matriculation Ex-amination;
  • an International Baccalaureate (IB) degree;
  • a European Baccalaureate (EB) Diploma;
  • a Reifeprüfung (RP) or Deutsche Internationale Abitur (DIA) degree;
  • a Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification covering 120 credits or 180 competence points or a corresponding earlier Finnish vocational degree covering at least 80 credits;
  • a Finnish post-secondary or higher vocational level diploma;
  • a Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification or a further or specialist vocational qualification as a competence-based qualification, or a comparable previous qualification;
  • a foreign qualification that provides eligibility for higher education studies in the country in question;
  • Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree.

If an applicant is applying through discretionary admission, he or she is required to submit copies of certificates that he or she wishes to use, to the Admissions office of Centria UAS by (date to be published) at 3 pm Finnish time (UTC +2). Discretion only concerns an applicant’s eligibility to apply.

Student Stories

  • – Vivian Ajayi, Opiskelija

    What I enjoy in Centria the most, is that the teachers and tutors are very understanding. In academical way and also about our personal life.


  • – Livera Cardozo, Opiskelija

    While I was studying practical nursing, I was interested in a higher degree program. I asked my friends about the best university in Ostrobothnia, so they told me about Centria.


Contact information

More information about the studies:

Timo Kinnunen

Koulutusalapäällikkö (hoitotyö)

+358447250576

Kokkola


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