Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing

Tutkinto: Bachelor of Health Care

Opintomuoto: Päivätoteutus

Opintojen laajuus: 3,5 years, 210 credits

Campus: Talonpojankatu 2, Kokkola

Aloituspaikat: 15

Haku alkaa: 03.01.2024 klo 08:00

Haku päättyy: 17.01.2024 klo 15:00

Koulutus alkaa syksyllä 2024

Linkki opinto-oppaaseen

Linkki opintopolkuun

Opetuskieli: Englanti

Programme description
Additional information
How to apply
Student Stories
Contact information

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.

First joint application 2024

Joint Application period is from 3 to 17 January 2024.

Centria University of Applied Sciences uses the following student selection method during the first joint application 2024:

International University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Exam: 100% of study places

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 to 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.

Every applicant must submit a document of the English language skills and a valid identification document on the Studyinfo’s application form. Please check the approved documents at UASinfo.fi.

Language requirements during joint application 2024

In order to be invited to the International UAS Exam and to be selected based on the International UAS Exam selection method, the applicants have to prove their English language skills either by an internationally recognized language test or previous studies. Please, check the accepted documents here.

Identification documents during joint application 2024

The applicant needs a valid, acceptable identification document to be able to participate in the International UAS Exam. Please, check the accepted documents here. (Notice: only a passport is accepted from the applicants outside EU/EEA).

Please notice: the UASinfo.fi -website will be updated before the new year for the 2024 application.

More information about admission criteria on the UASinfo website.

NB. Changes may occur.

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 3.–17.1.2024

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

Apply on Studyinfo

Applying during transfer application 1.-15.5.2024

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.

Learn more about transfer application

Applying with open UAS studies 1.–30.4.2024 and 1.–31.10.2024

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.

Learn more about applying with open UAS studies

Applying with an incomplete degree 1.–30.4.2024 and 1.–31.10.2024

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.

Learn more about applying with an incomplete 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.

More information about applying with an education completed in Finland

Student Stories

– Augustina Okwue, Opiskelija

The engaging classes, active learning, the practice, workshops and simulations combine to make my studies here enjoyable and impactful.
– 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.