Nursing - Prerequisites

BW's accelerated BSN has seven prerequisite courses that must be completed prior to enrollment. Students must take these courses through a regionally accredited college or university and they must be completed within seven years of your intended ABSN program start date.

Additionally, candidates must earn a B- or better in all prerequisite courses and have a prerequisite GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale). Please note, students who have earned a C in one of the prerequisites may be able to move forward in the admission process, but will ultimately be required to retake the course for a grade of B- or better before the program’s start.

• Human anatomy and physiology I with lab
• Human anatomy and physiology II with lab
• Microbiology with lab
• General Chemistry I with lab
• General Chemistry II with lab
• Nutrition
• College Mathematics

Candidates still completing prerequisite coursework may apply

Candidates may apply and have their applications reviewed by the admission committee while they are still in the process of completing their prerequisites. In some cases, candidates may be conditionally admitted pending successful completion of their prerequisites. All prerequisite courses must be completed by early August before the start of the program.

Regionally Accredited College or University

The prerequisite courses must have been completed within the last seven years at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. The science prerequisites must contain lab components to be considered.

International candidates who have completed medical programs in other countries must complete the prerequisite coursework at a regionally accredited institution in the U.S.

Please refer to the following guides for assistance in planning prerequisite course completion:

• Cuyahoga Community College
• Lakeland Community College
• Lorain County Community College

Seven-Year Time Limit

All prerequisite courses are to be completed within the last seven years, and candidates must have a working knowledge of these courses. For candidates seeking admission to the fall 2023 cohort, prerequisite must be completed in spring 2016 or later.

Anatomy and physiology 1 and 2

Not all schools offer A&P as a combined two-course sequence with labs. One semester of human anatomy with lab and one semester of human physiology with lab may be substituted for the two combined anatomy and physiology courses with labs.

Courses in comparative anatomy, mammalian anatomy and physiology and/or vertebrate anatomy will not meet the prerequisite requirement of human anatomy and physiology. Likewise, courses such as anatomy and physiology for non-science majors, anatomy and physiology for physical education majors and anatomy and physiology for non-health science majors will not meet the Baldwin Wallace nursing prerequisite requirement.

Retaking prerequisites

When a student has retaken courses for a better grade or to meet the seven-year time limit, both the original and retaken grade will be included in the ABSN GPA calculation, and BW will make note of the better grade. Preference will be given to candidates who have no more than two attempts per prerequisite.

No previous credit replaces or transfers into the accelerated BSN curriculum

No previous coursework will transfer to replace courses in the BW nursing program. There will be no advanced standing permitted in the accelerated BSN.

Additional recommended coursework

While not required for admission, these recommended courses may strengthen a candidate’s application and support successful performance:

• Medical terminology
• Pathophysiology
• Introduction to pharmacology
• Abnormal psychology
• Medical ethics