Applications to study nursing in the UK have fallen for a fourth consecutive year and are down by more than 15,000 compared to 2021, latest data has revealed.
New figures from University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) show that 30,550 applications have been made to study nursing in the UK in 2025 before its January deadline.
This marks the lowest number of applications since records began in 2019 and a 34% decline since 2021 – a year which saw significant interest in nursing programmes following the Covid-19 crisis.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the news was ‘devastating’ for the profession and a ‘hammer blow’ to the government’s plans for reforming the NHS.
Almost 1,000 fewer applicants in England in a year
Today’s data saw 23,730 applications to study nursing in England – down 950 (-4%) on last year.
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This also represented a drop of 35% compared with 2021 when there were 36,410 applications in England.
In Scotland, there were 4,560 applications this year – down 90 (-2%) on last year and down 42% on 2021.
Despite the overall UK total of applications on the decline, those in Northern Ireland and Wales have increased slightly.
There were 90 more applications to nursing courses in Northern Ireland this year compared with 2024, with 2,350 applications in total (+4%).
And Wales saw 430 more people applying to study nursing in 2025, compared with 2024 – at 3,480 applications (+14%).
Numbers have ‘plunged to a record low’
RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: ‘These figures are devastating for the nursing profession and a hammer blow for the government’s planned NHS reforms.
‘Health services are battling with thousands of unfilled nurse jobs, and the horizon looks bleak – the numbers choosing nursing in England have plunged to a record low.’
She urged the government to launch an ‘urgent, fully funded student recruitment campaign this spring to turn this situation around before September’s intake’.
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‘Today’s broken model of education funding impoverishes students and saddles them with debt, and it is turning people away from the nursing profession,’ added Professor Ranger.
‘Low starting salaries make a bad situation worse. This further student decline is dangerous for patient care.’
And she once again urged the government to introduce a ‘loan forgiveness model’ as well as ‘uplifted maintenance grants’ for nursing students.
The nursing bursary was scrapped in 2016 and nursing students in England currently pay tuition fees of £9,250 each year, set to rise to £9,535 this year.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government wants to ensure anyone who wants to work in healthcare ‘can do so’.
‘We inherited a broken NHS, where staff have been undervalued and demoralised for years. We have raised pay, ended strikes, and are determined to work with staff to rebuild our NHS together.’
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The government is currently working on a new NHS workforce plan ready for the summer that is expected to have more focus on public health nursing.
In October the RCN found that student nurse numbers had fallen in every region in England.
In September England’s chief nursing officer (CNO), Ruth May, told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that the removal of the bursary student nurses was a ‘catastrophic decision’ that had a lasting impact on the nursing workforce and the Covid-19 pandemic.
