Direct Admission to the Professional Nursing Program (BSN)

Students who have recently graduated from high school demonstrating excellent academic performance in their high school curriculum, particularly in the sciences, in addition to high SAT or ACT (or equivalent) scores will be considered for direct admission to the professional nursing program. Direct admission to the professional nursing program is a very selective and highly competitive process.

All high school graduates interested in the BSN must apply to WMU and declare nursing as their intended major.

Candidates for direct admission will be selected from this pool and notified by the Bronson School of Nursing.

Selection criteria for direct admission to the professional nursing program requires at least ALL of the following:

• High school GPA of at least 3.6 or higher.
• Minimum SAT Composite score of 1240 or ACT Composite score of 26.
• One year of high school chemistry (grades will be evaluated).
• Two years of high school biology (grades will be evaluated).

Students will be required to maintain a minimum of 3.25 university cumulative GPA, earn a “B” (3.0) or better in each of the prerequisite sciences courses (CHEM 1100 and CHEM 1110 OR CHEM 1510 and CHEM 1520; CHEM 1530 and CHEM 1540; and BIOS 1910 OR BIOS 2110; and BIOS 2400) and earn no less than a “C” (2.0) in all other courses to maintain their place in the professional nursing program. All prerequisite courses must be satisfactorily completed before beginning the professional nursing program. Failure to maintain these standards will result in the student being placed into pre-nursing. The student will need to reapply for the professional nursing program.

Pre-Nursing Admission

Students who declare nursing as their intended major and are accepted to WMU must complete the following pre-requisite courses in preparation for application to the professional nursing program.

• BIOS 1910 - Introduction to Human Anatomy and Biology Credits: 4 hours

• OR

• BIOS 2110 - Human Anatomy Credits: 4 hours
• BIOS 2400 - Human Physiology Credits: 4 hours
• CHEM 1100 - General Chemistry I Credits: 3 hours

• with

• CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry Laboratory I Credits: 1 hour

• OR

• CHEM 1510 - Chemistry for Health Professionals I Credits: 3 hours

• with

• CHEM 1520 - Chemistry for Health Professionals I Lab Credits: 1 hour
• CHEM 1530 - Chemistry for Health Professionals II Credits: 3 hours
• CHEM 1540 - Chemistry for Health Professionals II Lab Credits: 1 hour
• ENGL 1050 - Thought and Writing Credits: 4 hours
• HSV 2250 - Growth, Development, and Aging Credits: 3 hours
• PSY 1000 - General Psychology Credits: 3 hours
• SOC 2000 - Principles of Sociology Credits: 3 hours

Professional Nursing Admission

Pre-nursing students who have completed the pre-requisite courses must complete the formal application process to be considered for admission to the professional nursing program. Admission to the professional nursing program is highly competitive. Availability of space in nursing courses, including clinical settings, will limit the number of admissions possible each semester.

Selection criteria for admission to the professional nursing program include ALL of the following:

1. Complete all of the courses in the pre-nursing program curriculum (or equivalencies) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (B).
2. Individual courses must be completed with a grade of 2.0 (C) or above.
3. Earn an average grade of 3.0 (B) or above in the four science prerequisites courses (or equivalencies.)
4. Science prerequisite courses considered in the admission decision may be repeated once. If a course is repeated the second course grade will be used to establish consideration for admissions.

Applications for the fall semester are due by March 1; applications for the spring semester are due by October 1.

Professional Curriculum Requirements (125 credit hours)

The sequencing of the Professional Nursing curriculum is critical. Students must complete designated course requirements for each level in the nursing program before progressing to the next level. To remain in good standing within the Professional Nursing curriculum, students must achieve a grade of “C” or better in all nursing courses and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above. No nursing courses may be repeated without review and approval by the Bronson School of Nursing Student Affairs Committee. Further, students may only re-enroll in one nursing course during their program.

Baccalaureate-Level Writing Requirement

Students enrolled in the Prelicensure Track of the nursing curriculum will satisfy the Baccalaureate-Level Writing requirement by successfully completing the following course:

• NUR 3320 - Nursing Research Credits: 3 hours