Prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing
(Currently Not Accepting Enrollments)
The 🌐 icon appears in the title of traditional courses that are also available as a set of module courses.
Description and Outcomes
Effective December 4, 2019, this program will no longer be accepting enrollments.
The Prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offers a dynamic curriculum designed to organize and integrate content, skills, and procedures, increase your knowledge and competence, and provide the foundation for progressively higher levels of nursing practice.
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree is considered essential for registered nurses seeking broader professional responsibilities and career opportunities. Baccalaureate-level nurses are typically generalists that provide direct and indirect patient care. The program emphasizes professional growth and continuous learning, and features a capstone course and a professional development plan that includes career planning.
Upon successful completion of the required plan of study and all other graduation requirements, you may be academically prepared to apply to take the licensing examination for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN®). Refer to the Certification, State Board, and National Board Exams section for important program disclosure information.
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree prepares members of the nursing profession who are effective in the integration of evidence as a foundation for practice. The program emphasizes professional growth and lifelong learning by building upon a foundation of the arts, sciences, and humanities. Program outcomes promote leadership in a culturally diverse and global health care system that is rapidly changing. Graduates are prepared to provide direct and indirect care for individuals, families, communities and populations.
The Prelicensure BSN program option provides a comprehensive foundation for the development of nurses who are safe, effective practitioners. Program outcomes align with professional nursing standards and guidelines. Using courses in the arts, sciences, and humanities as a foundation, the curriculum integrates several learning modes, including theory, lab, clinical, and simulation experiences that incorporate the knowledge, skills, and values essential for professional nursing practice. The core courses cover in-depth physical assessment, evidence-based practice, interprofessional collaboration, information technology, leadership, and public health nursing. Also, you may choose nursing electives, which can serve as precertification preparation for subspecialty areas of nursing, including hospice/palliative care nursing, transcultural nursing, faith community nursing, and holistic nursing. Delivery of the content is through distance and onsite learning. Graduates are prepared to provide care across the lifespan, manage various health conditions along the wellness/illness continuum, and possess a foundation for progressively higher levels of nursing practice.
Program Length
The Prelicensure BSN option of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program consists of a minimum of 182 quarter credit hours. Upon successful completion of the Prelicensure BSN program option, you will receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.
Discipline-Specific Outcomes
- Integrate theoretical and empirical knowledge from the arts, sciences, and humanities to support nursing practice.
- Apply organizational and systems leadership concepts in providing safe, cost-effective, and quality nursing care.
- Integrate evidence in planning, implementing, and evaluating outcomes of care.
- Implement safe and appropriate use of informatics and emerging health care technologies in the delivery of nursing care.
- Analyze the influence of power, politics, policy, finance, and regulatory guidelines on health systems and nursing practice.
- Employ interprofessional communication to lead collaborative teams in delivering patient centered care.
- Incorporate health promotion, prevention, and risk-reduction strategies to provide population-focused care.
- Demonstrate clinical reasoning that reflects ethical and professional nursing values.
- Deliver nursing care to individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations to achieve positive outcomes in a variety of health care settings.
General Education Literacies and Professional Competencies
In addition to the discipline-specific outcomes, general education literacies and professional competencies are integrated throughout your academic program. You can review the general education literacies and professional competencies associated with your academic program in the General Education and Professional Competency Requirements section of this Catalog.
Program Availability
For program availability, please refer to the U.S. State and Other Approvals section and Program Availability Information.
Policies
Admissions Requirements
You must meet the below admissions requirements in addition to Purdue Global's general requirements.
If you have held prior health care licensure or certification, it may be subject to additional review during the admissions process. Past disciplinary action may be grounds for denial of admission to the program.
If applying for admission, you must:
- Be at least 18 years old at the program's start date.
- Complete an informational interview with an admissions representative.
- Submit proof of evidence of high school graduation or a GED certificate and official transcripts from all other colleges and universities.
- Achieve a passing score on the standardized admission examination that evaluates basic academic skills. Additional information about the exam is available through the School of Nursing.
- Complete an admissions interview conducted by the Academic Chair or designee.
- Complete enrollment activities, including submission of the Student Expectations Acknowledgment Form. You must also submit a request for a criminal background check to the Purdue Global-approved vendor prior to the first day of your first term. If an approved background check is not on file with the University prior to the first day of your first term, your enrollment will be cancelled.
- Pay all applicable application fees.
Progression Requirements
- You must achieve a minimum grade of “C” in each of the required courses for the program and attain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.
- You will be withdrawn from the program if unable to successfully complete a course on the second attempt.
- Prior to beginning any nursing major course, you must successfully complete the following courses with a minimum grade of “B”:
Course List Code Title Credits SC121 Human Anatomy and Physiology I 5 SC131 Human Anatomy and Physiology II 5 SC246 🌐 Fundamentals of Microbiology 5 MM212 🌐 College Algebra 5 MM207 🌐 Statistics 5 - In order to remain enrolled in the program, you must submit proof of a negative result on drug/chemical substance testing by the deadline specified by the location where you are enrolled. You must provide a valid, verifiable, current prescription and evidence of appropriate medical supervision for medications that may affect your academic or clinical performance during the nursing program. If you test positive and do not have a prescription as described above, you will not be permitted to start the program or re-enroll at a later date.
- Prior to the start of the sequence of clinical courses, you will be required to submit the following:
- Proof of a physical exam no more than 1 year old. The exam must be signed by a medical doctor, physician assistant, doctor of osteopathy, or nurse practitioner.
- Documentation of required health examinations, tests, and immunizations.
- Current American Heart Association CPR certification (also called BLS) at the health care provider level; online and American Red Cross will not be accepted. Certification must be valid during your full tenure in the program.
You may be required to pass a second criminal background check prior to beginning certain courses that require clinical experiences.
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Some facilities may require additional documentation, as necessary, to comply with specific federal and/or state requirements for student nurse candidates. Failure to submit appropriate documentation to participate in clinical experiences by the deadline will result in dismissal from the University.
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If you are enrolled in the Prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Lincoln location, you are required to complete your clinical experiences at various sites throughout the state of Nebraska and Southeast Iowa. If you are enrolled in the Prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Augusta location, you are required to complete your clinical experiences at various sites throughout the state of Maine. Faculty will assign you to a clinical site, and you will be supervised by a faculty clinical instructor. You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation, housing, and availability to attend clinical experiences. Clinical locations may change at any time. You are required to complete all clinical activities assigned. Failure to meet clinical attendance requirements will result in failure of the course.
Certification, State Board, and National Board Exams
Certain state certification and licensure boards have specific educational requirements for programs to lead to a license or nongovernmental certification that is a precondition for employment in a recognized occupation.
Unless otherwise specified, Purdue Global's programs are not designed to meet any specific state’s licensure or certification requirements. If certain licensed occupations, vocations, or professions are not explicitly listed, Purdue Global has not reviewed the licensure or certification requirements of those occupations, vocations, or professions, nor intended the program to meet such requirements. Licensure-track programs may limit enrollment to students in certain states; please see Purdue Global’s Program Availability Information to determine enrollment eligibility.
You are responsible for understanding the requirements of optional certification exams. Such requirements may change during the course of your program. You are not automatically certified in any way upon program completion. Although certain programs are designed to prepare you to take various optional certification exams, Purdue Global cannot guarantee you will be eligible to take these exams or become certified. Your eligibility may depend on your work experience, completion of education and/or degree requirements, not having a criminal record, meeting other certification requirements, or the program or the University itself having appropriate accreditation or licensure.
The Prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is designed to help you become academically and clinically qualified to provide outstanding patient care. Upon successful completion of the program of study, you may be academically prepared to apply to take the national licensure examination for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN®). This program meets the educational requirements to obtain licensure in the states of Maine and Nebraska. Graduates of this program should not expect to obtain initial licensure in other states. For more information on additional eligibility requirements, please visit:
- Maine Board of Nursing: http://www.maine.gov/boardofnursing/licensing/index.html
- Nebraska Board of Nursing: http://dhhs.ne.gov/licensure/Pages/Nurse-Licensing.aspx
The 🌐 icon appears in the title of traditional courses that are also available as a set of module courses. Module course availability may be limited to certain academic calendars. See Course Types for information about module courses.
Program Requirements
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Core Requirements | ||
CM107 | 🌐 College Composition I | 5 |
CM220 | 🌐 College Composition II | 5 |
CS204 | 🌐 Professionalism - Theory and Practice in the Global Workplace | 3 |
MM212 | 🌐 College Algebra | 5 |
SC246 | 🌐 Fundamentals of Microbiology | 5 |
Arts and Humanities (select one of the following): | 5 | |
🌐 Arts and Humanities - Modern Creative Expressions | ||
🌐 Ethics | ||
🌐 Humanities and Culture | ||
Social Science (select one of the following): | 5 | |
🌐 American Government | ||
🌐 Technology and Society | ||
Total Core Requirements | 33 | |
Major Requirements | ||
MM207 | 🌐 Statistics | 5 |
PS124 | 🌐 Introduction to Psychology | 5 |
SC115 | Principles of Nutrition | 5 |
SC121 | Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 5 |
SC131 | Human Anatomy and Physiology II | 5 |
SC156 | Principles of Chemistry 1 | 5 |
or SS144 | Sociology | |
SC435 | 🌐 Genetics | 6 |
Total Major Requirements | 36 | |
Open Elective Requirements | ||
Open Electives | 10 | |
Total Open Elective Requirements | 10 | |
Nursing Major Requirements | ||
NU301 | Fundamentals of Nursing Care | 6 |
NU301ME | Fundamentals of Nursing Care Clinical | 4 |
NU305 | Clinical Pharmacology | 5 |
NU307 | Physical Assessment | 5 |
NU309 | Pathophysiology for Nursing | 4 |
NU310 | 🌐 Research Guided Evidence-Based Nursing Practice | 6 |
NU311 | Nursing Care of Adults I | 5 |
NU311ME | Nursing Care of Adults I Clinical | 5 |
NU321 | Nursing Care of Childbearing Families | 4 |
NU321ME | Nursing Care of Childbearing Families Clinical | 3 |
NU327 | Nursing Care of Children, Adolescents, and Families | 4 |
NU327ME | Nursing Care of Children, Adolescents, and Families Clinical | 3 |
NU330 | Nursing Care of the Mental Health Patient and Family | 4 |
NU330ME | Nursing Care of the Mental Health Patient and Family Clinical | 2 |
NU341 | Nursing Care of Adults II | 5 |
NU341ME | Nursing Care of Adults II Clinical | 5 |
NU411 | Nursing Care of Adults III | 4 |
NU411ME | Nursing Care of Adults III Clinical | 3 |
NU418 | Nursing Care of the Geriatric Patient | 4 |
NU418ME | Nursing Care of the Geriatric Patient Clinical | 2 |
NU422 | Leadership, Management, Issues, and Trends in Nursing | 5 |
NU452 | Community-Based Nursing Care | 4 |
NU452ME | Community-Based Nursing Care Clinical | 2 |
NU496 | Bachelor's Capstone in Nursing for Entry-Level Practice | 4 |
NU496ME | Bachelor's Capstone in Nursing for Entry-Level Practice Clinical | 5 |
Total Nursing Major Requirements | 103 | |
TOTAL CREDITS | 182 |
1 | Students enrolled at a Maine location will take SS144 Sociology; students enrolled at the Lincoln location will take SC156 Principles of Chemistry. |