College of Health Professions

A.B.S.N. Admission Requirements

Admission to the ABSN program is highly selective, hence the following requirements need to be met prior to consideration of acceptance into the program.
  1. Priority admission will be given to students whose academic record reflects strength in the sciences and math.
  2. Graduate of an accredited college or university with a bachelor's or higher degree.
  3. Admitted to the university as a degree-seeking student with post-baccalaureate status without restrictions.(1)
  4. Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  5. Completion of the following prerequisite courses with a grade of at least a "C." Prerequisites taken at another university are not considered completed until the course has been transferred to Northern Kentucky University and posted on the student's NKU transcript. NO EXCEPTIONS.(2)

       -One full academic year of Anatomy and Physiology with labs (BIO 208, 208L, 209, 209L)
       -Chemistry with a lab (CHE 115 and CHE 115L; or CHE 120, 120L, 121 and 121L)
       -Microbiology with lab (BIO 202, 202L)
       -Healthcare Ethics (PHI 220; PHI 155 will be accepted as an alternative)
       -Nutrition (BIO 126)
       -Introductory Statistics (STA 205)
       -Growth and Development (PSY 220 or EDU 300)

  6. The applicant has no previous failures within the past four years in any of the prerequisite courses or any nursing courses. A failure is identified a "D" or "F."
  7. All prerequisite science courses must be less than eight years old as of the first day of the semester in which the accelerated program is started.(3)
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      (1) Students who have not yet completed their degree but who wish to pursue a nursing degree after completion of their bachelor's degree in another field may apply in the semester prior to graduation provided they meet the above criteria. Students must have a letter from their academic advisor indicating that they will graduate prior to the semester in which they plan to start the ABSN program.

      (2) Students who have not completed all of the prerequisites may apply to the program when they have completed at least two natural science prerequisite courses with a grade of "C" or better. Students with prerequisites remaining must submit a plan to complete all prerequisites prior to the first semester of the accelerated program. Students who have not yet completed all prerequisites but meet other admission criteria will be accepted into the applicant pool.

      (3) A waiver to the eight-year requirement may be requested if the applicant believes he/she can demonstrate current knowledge related to content of the course he/she wishes to have waived (e.g. registered dietitian currently working as a dietitian, educator teaching the course content). All requests for waivers must be made in writing to the chair of the admission, progression and graduation committee and must accompany the application for admission with documentation of the course content.