Health Education England welcomes new UCAS nursing figures

Health Education England welcomes the news that more than 29,000 applicants have accepted onto places to study nursing.

New figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that English universities offered places to 29,440 nursing applicants in 2022. This marked a fall in the number of places offered compared to 2020 and 2021 but maintained an increase from 2019 when Health Education England committed to growing the number of nursing degree placements. 

In total there were 56,155 applications to study nursing in 2023, the second highest figure on record.

Professor Mark Radford, Chief Nurse at Health Education England, said: “I’m delighted that nursing continues to be a popular choice for university applicants, with over 55,000 applying to study nursing and over 29,000 places being offered.

 “Nursing is a valuable and rewarding career choice and the number of prospective students showing an interest in nursing in encouraging to the profession.

 “Congratulations to all those who have been offered places and for those who have been unsuccessful this year we hope that you will continue to explore the idea of a career in healthcare and encourage you to consider the other routes into nursing.”

 For more information on becoming a nurse and hundreds of other career options in the health service, visit the NHS Health Careers website here: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/we-are-nhs/we-are-nhs