Nursing, BSN

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (820000BS)

More on the Nursing major

Contact Information

School of Nursing
Mary Gladwin Hall
Student Success Center, Room 313
(330) 972-5103

Program Description

The traditional undergraduate nursing program provides the education needed to earn a Registered Nurse license and begin work in an entry level nursing position or apply for graduate school.

Admission Criteria: BSN degree-seeking students must meet the minimum criteria listed below:

• 2.75 Prerequisite GPA.  All prerequisites must be completed by the end of the spring semester before.
• 2.75 Prerequisite Science GPA

Students must earn at least a C in all prerequisite course courses.  Grades of a C- or less must be repeated. (See School of Nursing Repeat Policy below)

Students are separated into two admission consideration categories and in each category they are ranked based on the prerequisite science GPA.

Admission Consideration Categories

• Priority Pool: Pre-nursing students who were admitted or transferred to the school before the first day of spring semester, are prioritized by Pre-science GPA. Five seats are reserved for Army ROTC scholarship recipients. 
• Secondary Pool: Any pre-nursing student or ICT students who has repeated a pre-admission science class will be placed in this category and are prioritized by science GPA. The top 5 students in this category whose science GPA is above the Priority Pool admission cut off will be offered a seat in the major.
• Provisional Admission Criteria: Direct admits to the CHP, pre-nursing or ICT students, intended nursing majors finishing prerequisites Summer session 1 and/or 2 can still be considered for admission pending successful completion of the summer courses, if they meet the admission criteria listed above, and availability in the in the courses for the fall semester.

All students admitted to the Sophomore class, by August 1st will begin nursing coursework in the fall and take a six or eight semester course of study. Upon successful completion of the program, the student are granted the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. They may then apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Registered Nurses.

By the end of your first 48 credit hours attempted, you should have completed your General Education English, Math, and Oral Communication (Speech) requirements;

By the end of your first 48 credit hours attempted, you should have declared a major and transferred to (been accepted by) a degree granting college at The University of Akron.

School of Nursing Repeat Policy: If School of Nursing Pre-Nursing students or students located in the Center for Academic Advising & Student Success or College of Applied Science & Technology do not achieve a C or higher in science prerequisite courses the first time they take them, they are allowed to repeat the course for a change of grade one time only. (UA policy allows for two repeats for change of grade.) If a student must take a science course for a third time in order to earn a grade of C or higher, the student will no longer be eligible for consideration for the nursing major until the previous science courses are 5 years old. This policy includes the repetition of a course originally taken at another institution or vice versa. All students must be aware that the repeat of a prerequisite science will automatically place them into the Secondary pool. Any student who has repeated a prerequisite science course, including those students who elect to repeat a science course which they have passed successfully (“illegal repeat” of a C or higher) in order to raise their entry GPA, will be placed in the Secondary pool, even if they had previously been in the Priority consideration pool.

Transfer Students: A student must be accepted by the University and have all course work applicable to the Nursing requirements evaluated by the respective UA departments with a copy of the departmental approval on the file by June 1st of the year of entry into School of Nursing. All transfer prerequisites will be combined and averaged with those earned at the University of Akron. Transfer students who have been dismissed from a Nursing program at another institution are not eligible to apply to The University of Akron’s Nursing program.

Notification of Admission: Pending the outcome of spring semester, applicants completing pre-admission requirements will be notified of admission by June 30th. Meeting minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission. Qualified students who do not receive admission will be placed on a waiting list which will be in effect through the first week of fall classes.

Reapplication Process: Applications for the College of Health Professions are only effective for the current academic year. A student meeting the minimum entry criteria but not admitted from the waiting list or denied admission will have their file remain in the School of Nursing as a pre-nursing student. These students will need to reapply during the next year’s application period.

The School of Nursing reserves the right to approve admission to those individuals whose abilities, attitudes and character promise satisfactory achievement of the program of studies.

***Background Checks/Fingerprinting/Urine screen: All Nursing students are subject to yearly thorough criminal background checks and urine screen at the students' expense. Both background checks may reveal a student’s unsealed and sealed criminal record. Students are required to have a yearly TB test and flu vaccine as well as maintain current BLS Certification for the Healthcare Provider through the American Heart Association.

The following information has official approval of The School of Nursing and The College of Health and Human Sciences, but is intended only as a supplemental guide. Official degree requirements are established at the time of transfer and admission to the degree-granting college. Students who were admitted prior to fall 2021 would follow the program of study that was in effect at the time of their admission. Students should refer to the Degree Progress Report (Stellic) which is definitive for graduation requirements. Completion of this degree within the identified time frame below is contingent upon many factors, including but not limited to: class availability, total number of required credits, work schedule, finances, family, course drops/withdrawals, successfully passing courses, prerequisites, among others. The transfer process is completed through an appointment with your academic advisor.

Requirements

Summary

*

Several courses required for the major also satisfy General Education requirements. The University minimum of 36 credits are required for General Education and credit for these courses will apply to multiple requirements. 

Total credit hours will be 121-122 for students starting the nursing core courses in the fall of 2025 or after

Recommended General Education Courses

Preadmission Courses

Nursing Core

¹

Credit hours for NURS 380 Mental Health Nursing and NURS 401 RN Transition will change to 4 and 3 credits, respectively, for students starting the nursing core courses in the fall of 2025 or after.

Recommended Sequence

¹

Preadmission courses: A grade of C or higher is required.

²

It is strongly recommended that a student have recent high school algebra and chemistry. If algebra skills need updating, a student should see advisor for assistance. If a student has no high school chemistry, CHEM 101 Chemistry for Everyone should be taken prior to enrollment in CHEM 114 Introduction to General, Organic & Biochemistry (Lecture) and CHEM 115 Introduction to General, Organic & Biochemistry (Laboratory).

³

The math requirement is STAT 260 Basic Statistics or STAT 250 Statistics for Everyday Life. A student may substitute STAT 261 Introductory Statistics I, STAT 262 Introductory Statistics II. Either option will fulfill the Mathematics, Statistics, and Logic requirement.

⁴

Corequisite courses: A grade of C or higher is required.

⁵

Junior level clinical courses may be taken in any order:

• NURS 350 Nursing of the Childbearing Family
• NURS 360 Nursing Care of Adults
• NURS 370 Nursing Care of Older Adults
• NURS 380 Mental Health Nursing

⁶

Senior level clinical courses may be taken in any order:

• NURS 410 Nursing of Families with Children
• NURS 430 Nursing in Complex & Critical Situations
• NURS 440 Nursing of Communities
• NURS 450 Senior Practicum and Nursing Leadership

⁷

Credit hours for NURS 380 Mental Health Nursing and NURS 401 RN Transition will change to 4 and 3 credits, respectively, for students starting the nursing core courses in the fall of 2025 or after.

Total credit hours will be 121-122 for students starting the nursing core courses in fall of 2025 or after.