Accelerated Bachelor of Science Degree, Nursing Major

Are you looking to re-start your career and move into the in-demand field of nursing? Or, are you a recent grad who wants to move into this challenging and rewarding profession?

The Accelerated BS Degree, Nursing Major Program is designed for people with non-nursing degrees to move into a career where they make a difference both in the lives of others and their own.

How You Learn

The program is a specially designed, accelerated curriculum for non-nurse college graduates (US bachelor’s degree or its equivalent) who wish to study nursing in a first professional degree program (BS). As a student in the program, you may progress according to a one-year, full-time plan. All students must complete prerequisites before entering the one-year program.

Career Outcomes

After completing study, the student receives a BSN and is eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. The program consists of 50 or 52 credits in the nursing major that includes an opportunity to take a 3-credit undergraduate or graduate nursing elective course. The graduate course would be double-counted for the MS degree, should you continue into an LSN graduate program.

Admission to the graduate program is in the fall semester. If you do choose to go on for the master’s degree, you must submit an application to change to this graduate program by February 1st.

Prerequisite Courses

Prerequisite courses may be taken at Pace or transferred; for transfer credit to be granted, a grade of "C" or better must be earned. Check with the Office of Graduate Admission for details.

• General Psychology (Any PSY 100-level Course)
• Statistics
• Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with Lab
• Microbiology with Lab
• Chemistry

Note: Computer science three credits (or) evidence of word processing and data entry skills is pre- or co-requisite to graduate nursing courses. It is the student’s responsibility to have all transcripts sent directly to the Office of Graduate Admission for all prerequisite courses completed at other colleges. Students cannot graduate from the ABSN without complete documentation showing completion of all pre-requisite courses.

Semester I

• Fundamental of Nursing Practice
• Communication for Professional Nursing
• Clinical Management in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
• Pathophysiology/Pharmacology I
• Concepts of Evidence Based Practice for Practice Improvement

Semester II

• Clinical Management in Adult Medical Surgical Nursing
• Clinical Management in Maternal Newborn Nursing and Women’s Health
• Clinical Management in Child Health Nursing
• Pathophysiology/Pharmacology II
• Ethics and Excellence in Professional Nursing

Semester III

• Clinical Management of Population Health
• Organizational and Systems Leadership in Nursing
• Evolution to Professional Nursing
• Gerontological Nursing
• Nursing Elective

Important Information About the ABS, Nursing Major (Formerly Combined Degree Program)

• Students who previously failed a nursing course or who were academically dismissed from a nursing program are not eligible for admission to this program.
• Admission of students who have attended other nursing programs (without failing a class or being academically dismissed) will be considered on a case by case basis. These students may be required to provide additional application materials e.g., letter(s) of reference from didactic and clinical faculty.
• The program is an intensive, rigorous program, so students must plan to consistently study to be successful. The full-time program requires students to dedicate as many as 36 hours of weekly class and clinical hours, not including study hours. We encourage students to think about personal and professional commitments and the significant amount of time necessary to devote to the program on a daily basis. Students taking 12 or more credits (one-year program) should not work.
• The program's students must maintain a minimum of a "C+" average (77% and higher) in their undergraduate nursing courses and an overall CQPA of 3.0. For graduate courses, the passing grade is a "B."
• Once admitted to Pace, students must attend a mandatory program clinical calculation exam session. Students must pass the clinical calculation exam that is given prior to each semester in order to take clinical courses.
• Once admitted to Pace, students must attend a mandatory Orientation session.
• Nursing students are required to undergo background checks and a 10 panel drug screen as part of the clinical clearance process.
• The program's applications are not reviewed until all prerequisites have been completed. Applications will not be considered for admission until all required documents have been submitted to the Admission Office.
• The application deadline for January entry is September 15. The application deadline for September entry is February 1.
• Admission to the program is competitive, and class size is limited to a maximum of 80 students per class. Applications will be processed on a space available basis until the 80 seats are filled. To guarantee a seat, students must submit deposit within two weeks of admission. Students who do not submit deposit within two weeks of admission are NOT guaranteed a seat. Deposits received after all 80 seats are filled will be returned.
• A checklist of the documents required for a completed application can be found here.

Please refer to the Lienhard School of Nursing website under clinical clearance for further updates and any additional requirements.

Recent Graduates Talk About the Program...