We play a leading role in educating the next generation of healthcare professionals through programmes in nursing, midwifery, paramedic science, allied health professions and medicine.
Students at ARU benefit from practice-based learning, clinical placements and specialist simulation facilities, ensuring they graduate with the skills and experience needed to contribute directly to healthcare systems and patient care.
Our healthcare education is internationally recognised, with ARU ranked among the world's top universities for Pre-clinical, Clinical and Health subjects in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Through these programmes, we contribute to the development of a skilled healthcare workforce capable of addressing current and future health challenges, supporting healthier communities across the region and beyond.
Educating the future healthcare workforce
ARU is one of the UK's largest providers of nursing, midwifery, health and social care education, supporting the development of the healthcare workforce across the East of England and beyond. As such, we make a significant contribution to the regional healthcare workforce, supporting NHS services, community health provision and social care organisations across the East of England.
Students benefit from practice-based learning, placement opportunities and access to specialist simulation facilities, enabling them to develop the clinical competencies required to work in a wide range of healthcare settings. Our courses are designed in partnership with healthcare providers and professional bodies, helping to ensure that graduates are equipped to meet the evolving needs of health and care services.
Our healthcare education has received extensive national recognition. In 2026, we received ten nominations at the Student Nursing Times Awards, with students winning awards for Student Nurse of the Year: Children and Student Nurse or Midwife of the Year: Clinical Research. These achievements sit alongside wider recognition for ARU as a Gold-rated institution in the Teaching Excellence Framework and our position as one of the UK's leading providers of healthcare education.
School of Medicine
ARU's School of Medicine was established to help address the growing demand for doctors across the East of England and wider NHS. Through an innovative curriculum that combines scientific knowledge with clinical practice, medical students gain early exposure to patient care and develop an understanding of the social, environmental and behavioural factors that influence health outcomes. By training future doctors, the School contributes directly to strengthening healthcare capacity and improving population health. The School collaborates with five NHS trusts in our local region, as well as 60 GP surgeries and a large mental health trust.
Nursing, midwifery and allied health professions
We offer a range of programmes that prepare students to support health and wellbeing throughout the life course. Our nursing and midwifery students undertake extensive clinical placements and gain experience across acute, community and specialist healthcare settings. Allied health programmes equip graduates with the skills to promote rehabilitation, independence and wellbeing, helping to improve quality of life for individuals and communities. Many of these courses are delivered in close collaboration with NHS partners, ensuring that teaching reflects current professional practice and emerging healthcare priorities. We were nominated for ten awards at the 2026 Student Nursing Times Awards, in recognition of the achievements of our nursing and midwifery students, winning in two categories, for Student Nurse of the Year: Children, and Student Nurse or Midwife of the Year: Clinical Research.
Public health, social care and wellbeing
Health and wellbeing are addressed across a broad range of disciplines at ARU. Courses in public health, social work, psychology and social policy explore the social determinants of health, including poverty, inequality, housing, education and access to services. Students develop an understanding of how wider social and economic factors shape health outcomes and learn how policy, practice and community-based interventions can help build healthier and more equitable societies.
Research-informed teaching
Students benefit from being taught by researchers whose work is improving health and wellbeing nationally and internationally. This includes research led through ARU's Vision and Eye Research Institute, Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, Veterans and Families Institute for Military Social Research, Women's Health Evidence Synthesis and Methodology Research Unit, and Medical Technology Research Centre. By integrating current research into teaching, students gain insight into the latest developments in healthcare, public health and clinical practice, preparing them to become evidence-based practitioners and future leaders in the health sector.
Last updated: October 2026
To request additions, corrections or changes to the information in these pages, please contact: Dr Zareen Bharucha: [email protected]. Please use the subject line ‘ARU SDG’.