OHSU School of Nursing: Bachelor's of Science Degree Program

All students admitted to the OHSU School of Nursing B.S. with a major in nursing program, must have completed 45 quarter/30 semester credits of lower division prerequisites at an accredited institution prior to matriculation. Although students may apply while in the process of completing admissions prerequisites, 30 quarter/15 semester credits must be completed by the end of Winter term of the year they are applying. Students are eligible to apply for admission to the nursing major after completion of 30 quarter credits of courses from the below list. The 30 quarter credits must include Anatomy and Physiology I and Math 95 or higher. Students who are selected for admission to the nursing program must complete the remaining credits to a total of 45 quarter credits prior to matriculation.

A minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.00 is required for all applicants to be eligible for application review. Only prerequisite courses will be used in the GPA calculation. The general prerequisite standard is that all prerequisites must be taken for a grade of C or higher rather than pass/no pass, must be from an accredited institution, and must be college level (100 level or higher).

Anatomy and Physiology - 12 quarter credits: A full sequence of human anatomy and physiology with laboratory, inclusive of all body systems. This sequence must be taken in its entirety. The first term of A&P must be completed prior to application to the nursing program; the full sequence must be taken prior to the first nursing course. Note: Chemistry or Biology may be required prior to the A&P sequence at some colleges/universities; please check individual college requirements.

Nutrition - 3 quarter credits: Class should cover biological functions, dietary sources of essential nutrients and the relationship of diet to health.

Written English/English Composition (WR 121 & 122 or equivalent) - 6 quarter credits: Class should involve the development and support of ideas through the medium of written English. Remedial English such as sentence structure and punctuation will not be accepted as sufficient to meet the prerequisite. These courses are preparation for scientific or technical writing, which will be required later in the nursing program.

Humanities Electives - 3 quarter credits (recommended for the B.S. degree): Any humanities course that meets the general prerequisite standard can meet this requirement. Specific options include courses from the following departments: History of Art, Art Appreciation, History of Music, Music Appreciation, English Literature, Linguistics, Philosophy, Communication, Journalism, Religion, Speech and Theater Arts, Foreign Language, & Women's Studies.

Social Science Electives - 6 quarter credits: Selection of these electives may serve as a foundation for a focused area of study. Specific options include courses from the following departments: Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, Business, Criminology, and Sociology.

Human Development - 3 quarter credits: The developmental process of human life covering the full life span. Courses that cover only a part of the life span will not be accepted.

Other Electives to meet 45 total quarter credits of prerequisites - as needed: These courses can be any course(s) that meet the general prerequisite standard.

Math 95 or higher: Competency for Math 95 or higher must be demonstrated prior to application to the nursing program. Competency may be demonstrated by a math placement test or by successful completion of Math 95 or higher. Note: Math 95 credits are not applicable to credits for the Bachelor’s degree; however, Math courses that are 100 or higher may be included in the credits that are applied to the prerequisites and to the degree. The student is advised to consider taking the prerequisite for Statistics in choosing a math course, which will be required later in the nursing program.

Basic Computer Literacy: College credit work and or life experience can meet this competency. To determine your skill level, please refer to our minimal Computer Literacy Skills Assessment. No courses required.

Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement: Language proficiency is a baccalaureate graduation requirement that can be met by 1) two years of high school language, 2) two quarters or one semester of the same college level language, or 3) a language proficiency examination. College level (100 and above) credits in the foreign languages can count toward the 45 prerequisite credits as well as the baccalaureate degree credits. Neither high school course work nor proficiency examination as a means of meeting the language requirement, count in the credits for prerequisites or for the degree. American Sign Language is an accepted language to meet this requirement.

Review the Preliminary Transcript Evaluation Form to help plan your course work with your pre-nursing advisor or return the form to OHSU School of Nursing for an unofficial transcript evaluation. The fee for an OHSU School of Nursing unofficial transcript evaluation is $25.

Proof of Immunization: Students must have all required immunizations completed and current: Tb, Varicella, MMR, Hepatitis B series. All students admitted to the bachelor's program are REQUIRED to have completed a Hepatitis B Vaccination series (HEPVAC) of immunizations prior to the summer session. This requires that the series start around the time of application submission to ensure the six-month series is entirely complete by June or July.
CPR: Students must have completed a certified course of CPR in basic life support for health care providers.
Computer Requirements: School of Nursing students are required to have access to a computer with certain minimum capabilities, independent of the School of Nursing and university resources. All students are required to have minimal computer literacy skills. Please see the Computer Requirements web page for more information. Please view and print the Student Self Assessment Guide for Computer Literacy. (The Self Assessment Guide is in Adobe Acrobat 4.0 format, you must have an Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to print this document. Go to Adobe Acrobat to download the free Acrobat Reader.)
Expected Proficiencies: Nursing is an exciting and demanding profession. Nurses must possess the physical and mental capacity to practice nursing safely. Individuals entering school to pursue a career in nursing must:

be able to learn to think critically; analyze with diagnostic and therapeutic judgments
have enough self reflective ability to acknowledge evaluation and respond appropriately
possess sufficient interpersonal skills to develop rapport and positive relationships with a wide range of diverse clients
possess enough perseverance, diligence and consistency to complete the school of nursing curriculum
be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads, function effectively under stress, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility and function in the face of uncertainties in the clinical situations of many clients
possess sufficient sensory, visual, hearing, and psychomotor agility to independently perform clinical skills
be able to learn to respond with precise, quick, and appropriate action in emergency situations, and be able to learn to perform under stress when confronted with emergency, critical, or unusual situations in which working speed and sustained attention are critical
be able to speak and write with accuracy, efficiency, sensitivity and clarity

If you are accepted you may be asked to verify that you meet these expected proficiencies.

This Web page is a guide; final decisions regarding the acceptance of prerequisite course work is made by the OHSU Registrar's Office. The OHSU School of Nursing reserves the right to make changes to the academic program structure.