Prerequisite courses

     
  Please note: Prerequisite courses are NOT offered by UNMC.
You may take them through the University of Nebraska (on campus or online/distance) or from any accredited community college, 4-year college or university.		  
     

 

Preparation coursework prior to nursing curriculum

Your path to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree starts by completing 58 or more prerequisite credits. These courses are essential foundation for your nursing curriculum.   Some/much of this foundation may already be satisfied if you are applying for: 

  •   Accelerated BSN Program — and thus already have a bachelor's degree in another field.
  •   RN to BSN Program — and thus are already a registered nurse with an associate degree or diploma in nursing.

 

BSN prerequisite courses

To be completed before starting the BSN nursing curriculum. 

  Summary — BSN prerequisites   CREDITS
  English Composition I and II   6
  Introduction to Psychology   3
  Introduction to Sociology   3
  Human Growth & Development   3
  Chemistry   4
  College Algebra   3
  Statistics   3
  Anatomy & Physiology I and II OR   8
  Human Anatomy AND   4
  Human Physiology   4
  Ethics   3
  Microbiology   4
  Nutrition   3
  Choose one course in each gray category below
  Humanities   3
  Culture / Race / Ethnicity / Gender   3
  Family / Human Behavior   3
  Political Science / Social Organization   3
  Free Electives   3 to 5
  Total prerequisites   58

 

Grade and currency requirements

  • All BSN applicants must have a GPA of 2.5 or above (on a 4.0 scale) for all college coursework, including nursing prerequisite courses.
  • A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each prerequisite course.
  • Prerequisite course credits earned more than 10 years prior to application to the BSN program will be reviewed by the student services office. The director of the BSN program is the final authority for transfer credit. Some prerequisite credits more than ten years old may need to be re-earned.

Transferring credits

All prerequisite credits must be transferable to the University of Nebraska. Credits from any accredited community college, 4-year college or university — including online and independent study courses — are generally accepted for transfer.  

Completion timeline

Prerequisite credits may be comfortably completed over 2 years or 4 semesters. Move at any pace that your resources, work schedule and family responsibilities allow - progressing on a part-time student basis or on a faster schedule by taking heavier course loads and summer classes.  

Questions?

Contact a student services representative.

Nebraska's largest educator of nurses

The UNMC College of Nursing is easily the largest nursing educator in the state — and is also the biggest of UNMC's health colleges, with nearly 1,000 students over 5 campuses serving the state border to border. About two thirds of enrollment is in the bachelor's program, with the balance in our master's, postmaster's and doctoral programs. 

Fast fact:
  The UNMC College of Nursing has educated over half of Nebraska's bachelor-degreed nurses.