The nursing degree programme consists of theoretical, practical and clinical learning activities, carried out through lectures, active learning, professional training, electives, and concludes with the final examination of the programme.
The clinical experience begins in the first year of the course, under the supervision of a tutor, after having practiced all the required nursing procedures and manoeuvres during workshops and simulation activities. A network of academic and clinical tutors will help students become familiar with the clinical setting and develop nursing competencies directly in the clinic.
Study Plan
Teaching and assessment methods
The professor in charge of each integrated course selects the assessment method (oral, written and practical examination). For each learning activity, students will receive a certain number of university credits and a grade based on a 30-point scale. At the end of each academic year the student will have to sit the annual practical placement exam, which, if successful, will allow the student to continue to the next course year. The grade of the practical placement is based on a 30-point scale.
ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System)
ECTS is the unit of measurement used to determine the study workload, including self-studying, required from the student to perform the learning activities. The unit corresponds to the standard workload of 30 hours.
Each credit that is assigned to the different learning activities corresponds to:
- 12 hours of lectures and 18 hours of self-study;
- 18 hours of skill labs and practical activities and 12 hours of self-study;
- 25 hours of practical placement work and 5 hours of self-study
Core Courses
Core courses may be mono-disciplinary or integrated.
Mono-disciplinary courses consist of a single teaching module and can take place during one or more semesters.
Integrated courses consist of numerous teaching modules, carried out by different professors, and can take place during one or two semesters. An integrated course consists of several modules of related subjects and of a series of complementary lessons that can help obtain an overview of a particular clinical area.
The final grade is based on the grades obtained from the assessments foreseen for each teaching module.
Active learning
The nursing degree programme adopts an active learning approach that integrates lectures with self-learning and discussions between students and professionals.
These include: interactive lectures, skill labs, workshops, focus skills and seminars.
Professional training
Professional training consists of workshops, aimed at teaching technical competencies through simulations, and clinical practical placements. Clinical practical placements are under the supervision of expert nurses, who are responsible for tutoring students in reaching specific course objectives depending on the year of study.
The clinical practical placement, conducted through out the three years of the course (for a total of 71 ECTS), allows for the acquisition of professional competencies through field experience, where the student has the opportunity to connect scientific, practical and interpersonal knowledge and skills during operational and organizational procedures. In order to train the student, he or she will perform clinical care activities that are highly complicated and multidisciplinary.
Elective courses
Electives are educational activities where the student can choose from a wide selection of courses proposed on a yearly basis by the teaching staff. These activities may consist of seminars, workshops and attending conferences. The student can choose when to attend these activities, yet he or she will have to acquire 6 credits from elective courses in order to be admitted at the final examination.
Final examination
The final examination consists of:
- A practical exam where the student will have to demonstrate to have acquired theoretical-practical and technical-operative knowledge and skills for the specific professional profile;
- Thesis preparation, presentation and defence.
To be admitted to the final examination, students must write an original thesis under the supervision of a professor or tutor. The student must have acquired 173 credits. The final examination is considered as an exam that provides a license to practice.
The final grade of the degree, calculated out of a 110-point scale, is based on the final weighted average from the whole curriculum.
