CCSU offers an undergraduate program designed to prepare the student for the knowledge, skills, and understanding needed to function as a professional nurse. The BSN program is designed for first time students who wish to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing. The program begins with a pre-nursing year and admission to the major occurs in the spring of the first year. The remaining three years comprise the nursing major. Admission to the program is highly competitive and admission to the university does not guarantee admission to the major. Transfer students are admitted on a space available basis.

Nursing students will do their clinical rotations in a variety of hospitals and agencies in the Greater Hartford area.

BSN Curriculum

Pre-Nursing Eligibility Criteria

Admission to CCSU as a pre-Nursing major requires:

• Eligibility to enroll in CHEM 161, 162: General Chemistry I
• For first year students, that is a math score of 550 or higher on SAT or 24 on the ACT
• OR, AP credit for CHEM 161, 162
• For transfer students and re-entry students only,
• A cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better
• A grade of "C" or better in any required science courses, if completed.
• A grade of “C+” or higher in CHEM 161 & 162: General Chemistry I or its equivalent, if completed
• A grade of "B-" or better in any nursing course, if completed

A change of major to pre-Nursing for matriculated CCSU students require:

• A completed change of major request form that will be available on November 1^st in the Nursing Department and will be due back by December 1^st for fall acceptance consideration. Decisions are based on student’s academic record, related criteria, and space available. Decisions will be made by January 30^th following posting of the fall semester academic grades. Students must have completed one full semester of course work at CCSU in order to be considered for a change of major.
• A cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better
• A grade of "C" or better in any required science courses, if completed.
• A grade of “C+” or higher in CHEM 161, 162: General Chemistry I or its equivalent, if completed.
• A grade of "B-" or better in any nursing course, if completed

Nursing Program Admission Requirements

Admission to the Nursing Program is expected to be highly competitive and meeting the following minimum criteria does not guarantee admission. Since we only admit 50 students into the major, meeting the minimum requirements does not mean that you are a strong candidate. Over the past few years, the average GPA of students admitted into the major has been over 3.20.

1. Application to the University by December 1^st for Fall admission
2. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 for coursework taken at CCSU, as well as an overall minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 for all course work taken at all institutions (including CCSU)
3. Minimum grade of “C+” or higher in CHEM 161, 162: General Chemistry I or its equivalent
4. Minimum adjusted individual total score of 65% or higher for the TEAS V
5. Completion of or enrollment in EXS 207 or its equivalent 

Transfer students must have Official Transcripts from all schools attended sent to the Nursing Department office by February 15^th.  Incomplete applications will not be considered (includes those without all transcripts).  

The process of application to the nursing major is as follows:

1. Applicants must obtain an application form from the Department of Nursing.
2. The completed application, including all official transcripts, must be received by the Department of Nursing by February 15^th to be considered for admission to the nursing major in the forthcoming fall semester. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
3. Applicants must have taken the TEAS V test prior to application deadline. Applicants must have official results sent by ATI to the department by the application deadline. The TEAS V test will be offered multiple times at various testing locations but may only be taken twice between November 1^st and February 1^st, with a one month wait period between testing if needed.
4. Admission decisions are based on cumulative GPA, entry testing, and may include but not be limited to overall academic record, i.e. course withdrawals, course repeats. Interviews, letters of recommendation and outside work are not considered in the nursing admission decision.
5. Admission to the nursing major is competitive and is by application to the Department of Nursing. The decision to admit an application to the nursing major is made by the Department of Nursing.
6. All nursing course prerequisites (EXS 207, BIO 111/BMS 111/BMS 102, CHEM 161, 162, &CHEM 210) must be completed prior to enrolling in nursing major courses.
7. Students, who are admitted as pre-nursing majors and fail to be admitted to the major in the spring, will be removed from the pre-nursing status.