Centria University of Applied Sciences educates qualified registered 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.

Degree: Bachelor of Health Care

• Study type: Daytime studies
•  Duration: 3,5 years, 210 credits
•  Campus: Talonpojankatu 2, Kokkola
•  Tuition fee for non-EU/EEA citizens: 9500 €
•  Places: 15
•  Application period opens: 03.01.2024 at 08:00
•  Application period closes: 17.01.2024 at 15:00
•  Studies start in autumn 2024
• Curriculum
•  Link to Studyinfo

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. 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 training periods in different environments, such as hospitals and health centres. During the practical training, 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.

Registered Nurse (BHC)

The title Registered Nurse (BHC) may only be used and practiced 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.

Finnish language studies

The nursing curriculum includes 12 credits of Finnish language studies. Theoretical studies include Finnish nursing terminology as the studies progress. In some courses, we maintain cooperation with Finnish and international groups. Finnish language skills are also developed during practical training periods.

Additional information

Content of studies

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, practical training and a bachelor’s thesis. The teaching takes place at our Talonpojankatu campus in Kokkola on weekdays. 

During 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.

Internationalisation

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. Swedish is an important language in our operational area and it is possible to study Swedish and some other languages as optional studies. Also, you will learn to utilise international research results in different written assignments and in your bachelor’s thesis.

You can complete some of your practical trainings abroad. Short and longer practical training periods can be spent in many different countries, for 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.

Thesis

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. 

Work possibilities

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.

Student selection and tuition fees

Selection methods

First joint application 2024

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

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

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 valid identification document and a document of the English language skills on the Studyinfo’s application form. Please check the approved documents at UASinfo.fi (Notice: only a passport is accepted from the applicants outside EU/EEA). Please notice: the UASinfo.fi -website will be updated during the autumn 2023 for the 2024 application.

Please read more information about admission criteria on the UASinfo website.

NB. Changes may occur.

Tuition fees and scholarships

Please notice that some applicants are obligated to pay tuition fees. If you are not an EU/EEA- citizen or if you do not have a document that exempts you from paying the tuition fees, you are obliged to pay them.

More information including the tuition fees, who is obligated to pay them, and scholarships can be found here.

Eligibility criteria for Bachelor’s degrees

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.