BSN Program

The Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing meets the standards for and has been approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, leading to a California Registered Nurse (RN) license. Students who wish to practice in a state other than California may or may not have additional educational and/or non-educational requirements to complete prior to applying for the RN license. Prior to enrollment, prospective students must review the lists below to determine whether this program meets the educational requirements in a specific state. MSMU would like to help applicants and students navigate the licensure process. Contact Marie Seitz at mseitz@msmu.edu to discuss the process of obtaining an RN license in a state outside of California.

Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the general admission requirements, acceptance into the BSN Program is determined by the BSN Admission Committee. Admission is based upon a consideration of the student's academic achievement. There is a formal review of the student's high school achievement record, grade point average, University Entrance Examination scores, previous college experience (if any). Students who intend to major in nursing are advised to take high school chemistry. A student may repeat a course required for the nursing major no more than once. Failure (C- and below) of any two required science or pre-requisite courses results in non-admission.

In order to be eligible for review, applicants must be admitted to the University and then fulfill the nursing admission requirements. Admission to the sophomore nursing courses is considered for the fall semester only and is based on:

• Cumulative GPA: 3.0 or higher
• Science GPA: 2.7 or higher
• English GPA
• Entrance Exam
• Social Science GPA

LVN to BSN Admission Policy

LVNs that have been accepted by the University and have completed the general education requirements of the first two years may challenge sophomore level nursing courses and move directly into junior level nursing courses.

LVN to RN Non-Matriculation 26 unit Option

A non-degree R.N. option is available for applicants licensed as LVN’s in California. After completing 26 units of prescribed courses, the student is eligible to take the California examination for the R.N. Licensure. The student is not a graduate of the BSN Program and does not receive a Degree. This option is available in any of the pre-licensure programs at Mount Saint Mary’s University. Practice as a Registered Nurse with a CA license outside the State of California may be limited.

RN to BSN Admission Policy

Registered Nurses who apply to the BSN program may be given transfer credit for previous nursing courses equivalent to the sophomore and junior level nursing courses. Validation of clinical competence is required prior to entry into the program. In addition, applicants need to meet university admission requirements and BSN program admission policies for RN to BSN applicants.

Criteria for Guaranteed Admission for High School Students

 

Mount Saint Mary’s University Baccalaureate Nursing Program extends eligibility, to be reviewed for admission, to high school student applicants who qualify for guaranteed (direct) admission consideration by meeting the following requirements. Meeting the following requirements does not necessarily constitute a guaranteed (direct) admission spot.

1. Complete two science advanced placement courses with AP or IB test scores of four or five or complete three years of science in high school with a GPA of 3.5 or greater on a four point scale or 4.25 or greater on a five point scale. Of these three years of science requirements, the student must complete at least one year of chemistry and one year of biology.
2. Achieve an overall high school GPA of 3.8 or greater on a four point scale or 4.25 or greater on a five point scale.
3. Complete three years of math with pre-calculus as the minimum attainment.
4. Achieve a total score greater than 1170 on the new SAT, including a minimum score of 600 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (SAT-EBRW) and a minimum score of 570 in Math (SAT-M) OR an ACT composite score of 24 or greater. For applicants submitting old SAT scores, they must achieve a total score greater than 1650, including a minimum score of 550 in Critical Thinking (SAT-CR), a minimum score of 550 in Math (SAT-M), and a minimum score of 550 in Writing (SAT-WR). 

Once the student is accepted and enters the University under the guaranteed (direct) admission program, they will declare nursing as their baccalaureate major and be considered a part of the Department of Nursing. To progress into nursing courses, the student must do all of the following:

1. Complete and pass (C or higher) all nursing prerequisite courses at the University during the first (freshman) year.
2. Maintain an overall Science GPA of 3.2 and Cumulative GPA of 3.0.
3. Obtain a minimum score of 70 or above on the Kaplan evaluation taken during the freshman year.

Once a guaranteed (direct) admission student has completed nursing pre-requisites and achieves the above requirements, the student will move into the sophomore nursing courses.

Should a guaranteed (direct) admission student fail to meet the minimum requirements above in the freshman year, she or he will not progress to the sophomore nursing courses. The student will then be eligible to be added to the general pool of pre-nursing admission candidates for that academic year, provided they meet the BSN admission requirements.

If a student does not meet the BSN admission requirements, they have an option to do a second year as a pre-nursing major and reapply to the program the following spring.