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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Complete three years of math with pre-calculus as the minimum attainment.
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:
- Complete and pass (C or higher) all nursing prerequisite courses at the University during the first (freshman) year.
- Maintain an overall Science GPA of 2.7 and Cumulative GPA of 3.0.
- 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.
BSN Curriculum Requirements
Pre-requisite Courses for Nursing Programs
FYS 1 and FYS 2
| First Year Seminar | 2,2 |
ENG 1A and ENG 1B
| Freshman English | 3,3 |
| or | |
ENG 5H | Freshman Honors English | 3 |
SOC 1 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
PSY 1 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
MTH 10 | Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematical Ideas | 3 |
SPE 10 | Introduction to Communication | 2 |
PHS 1 | Scientific Concepts | 3 |
| or | |
CHE 3 | Foundations of Chemistry | 3 |
BIO 50A | Human Anatomy | 3 |
BIO 50AL | Human Anatomy Laboratory | 1 |
BIO 50B | Human Physiology | 3 |
BIO 50BL | Human Physiology Laboratory | 1 |
BIO 3 | General Microbiology | 3 |
BIO 3L | General Microbiology Lab | 1 |
PSY 12 | Lifespan/Human Development | 3 |
| or | |
PSY 15 | Global Lifespan Development | 3 |
First Year of Nursing
NUR 12T | Nutrition and Health | 2 |
NUR 13T | Pharmacology I | 1 |
NUR 14T | Pharmacology II | 2 |
NUR 55T | Adaptation Nursing: Foundations of Nursing and Roy Adaptation Model | 7 |
NUR 55TP | Adaptation Nursing: Foundations of Nursing and Roy Adaptation Model | 0 |
NUR 56T | Pathophysiology | 3 |
NUR 57T | Adaptation Nursing: Fundamental Nursing Skills Lab | 1 |
NUR 62T | Adaptation Nursing: Adult Medical Surgical Nursing I | 7.5 |
NUR 62TP | Adaptation Nursing: Adult Medical Surgical Nursing I | 0 |
| | |
LACE
| Central Core Course | 3 |
| | |
RST 41 | Christian Ethics: Introduction to Christian Ethics | 3 |
| or | |
PHI 21 | Moral Values and Ethical Decisions | 3 |
| | |
PSY 12 | Lifespan/Human Development | 3 |
| or | |
PSY 15 | Global Lifespan Development | 3 |
Second Year of Nursing
NUR 168T | Integrative Theory and Practices | 1.5 |
NUR 169T | Pallative Care | 1.5 |
NUR 170T | Adaptation Nursing: Adult Medical Surgical II | 4.5 |
NUR 170TP | Adaptation Nursing: Adult Medical Surgical II | 0 |
NUR 171T | Adaptation Nursing: Childbearing Families and Women's Health | 4.5 |
NUR 171TP | Adaptation Nursing: Childbearing Families and Women's Health | 0 |
NUR 172T | Adaptation Nursing: Children and Families | 4.5 |
NUR 172TP | Adaptation Nursing: Children and Families | 0 |
NUR 173T | Adaptation Nursing: Mental Health | 4.5 |
NUR 173TP | Adaptation Nursing: Mental Health | 0 |
| | |
PHI 168A | Contemporary Moral Problems | 3 |
| or | |
PHI 168B | Bioethics | 3 |
| or | |
RST 149 | Biomedical Issues in Christian Ethics | 3 |
| or | |
HCP 158 | Ethics in Health Policy | 3 |
| | |
LACE
| Critical Thinking Course | 3 |
Third Year of Nursing
NUR 134T | Evidence-Based Practice | 3 |
NUR 184T | Adaptation Nursing: Leadership and Policy | 4.5 |
NUR 184TP | Adaptation Nursing: Leadership and Policy | 0 |
NUR 185T | Adaptation Nursing: Gerontology | 4.5 |
NUR 185TP | Adaptation Nursing: Gerontology | 0 |
NUR 186T | Adaptation Nursing: Transition to Professional Practice | 5 |
NUR 186TP | Adaptation Nursing: Transition to Professional Practice | 0 |
NUR 187T | Adaptation Nursing: Community/Public Health | 4.5 |
NUR 187TP | Adaptation Nursing: Community/Public Health | 0 |
NUR 188T | Adaptation Nursing: Advanced Health Assesment | 2 |
| Integrative Scholarship (Any 2 courses that meets) | 6 |
*SOC 1, PHI 21 or RST 41, and PHI 168A or PHI 168B or RST 149 or HCP 158 are required as part of the LACE General Education requirements, starting with the Fall 2018 Catalog.
To graduate with a BSN degree, students will need to complete the LACE requirements. This will encompass a central core course sophomore year in addition to the courses noted above.
*NUR 186T and NUR 186TP fulfill the capstone requirement for BSN.
Please note, those courses with Practicum units above are the clinical courses in the curriculum. They must be passed with a C or better. A C- or lower grade will result in program dismissal.