BSc in Nursing Intellectual Disability

The BSc in Nursing Intellectual Disability at Dublin City University prepares you to become a compassionate and capable registered nurse who can care for people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds in both hospital and community settings. This programme blends academic learning with clinical practice so you gain the scientific knowledge, ethical grounding, and hands-on skills needed for a rewarding nursing career.

Curriculum Structure

Year One

In your first year, you’ll build strong foundations in nursing practice and health sciences while connecting theory with early clinical exposure. You’ll explore modules that introduce you to general nursing concepts, person-centred care, and the nature of nursing as both art and science, helping you start to think like a healthcare professional. Alongside academic subjects, your clinical placements begin early so you can apply your classroom learning in real healthcare environments, developing practical skills and professional confidence.

Year Two

In the second year, your studies deepen with a focus on core nursing practice and biological aspects of health and disease. You’ll learn how to assess and manage care for diverse patient needs, including fluid and electrolyte balance, skin integrity, and pharmaceutical interventions, grounding your clinical decisions in evidence and best practice. Through continued placements, you’ll start to integrate assessment, planning, and delivery of nursing care in more complex situations as you prepare for greater responsibility in practice.

Year Three and Beyond

As you progress into later years of the programme, your understanding of nursing becomes increasingly holistic and advanced. You’ll take higher-level modules that challenge your ability to think critically about healthcare, ethics, and leadership in nursing, and you’ll spend more time in clinical placements where you deliver care under supervision in real settings. By the final years, you’ll be combining all your theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and professional values to prepare for registration and transition smoothly into practice as a qualified nurse.

Focus areas (in a string):

Foundations of nursing practice, clinical assessment and care planning, health sciences, professional ethics, evidence-based practice, person-centred care, clinical placements.

Learning outcomes (in a string):

Graduates will apply nursing science to care delivery, integrate clinical skills with ethical and legal decision-making, work effectively with individuals and teams across settings, and demonstrate readiness for professional nursing practice.

Professional alignment (accreditation):

This honours degree is at NFQ Level 8 and prepares you to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) as a Registered General Nurse, giving your qualification strong professional standing in Ireland and internationally.

Reputation (employability rankings):

Dublin City University is a well-regarded institution in Ireland for health and human sciences, and its nursing graduates are highly regarded by employers for their clinical readiness, professionalism, and ability to make meaningful contributions in healthcare teams.