Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Website: https://twu.edu/nursing/undergraduate-programs/rn-bsn/

TWU’s RN-BSN program is designed for registered nurses with an associate’s degree or diploma, ready to earn their bachelor’s degrees and advance their nursing career.

As a registered nurse, your experiences in a health care setting have molded you into an exceptional caretaker, and you’re ready to take the next step. The RN-BSN program is 100% online - allowing you to continue to work full time. Courses that require clinical components are completed with a focus of building on your prior knowledge. 

Marketable Skills

Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."

  1. Function in multidisciplinary teams
  2. ​Apply ethical principles to provide leadership in promoting advocacy, collaboration, and social justice within the health care system and to act in a manner reflective of professional values and value-based behavior
  3. Use written, verbal, non-verbal, and emerging technology to communicate effectively and deliver quality patient care in a variety of health care settings
  4. Apply basic organizational and systems leadership for quality health care and patient safety.
  5. Identify, evaluate and apply  scientific evidence, clinical judgment, interprofessional perspective, and patient preference to the practice of nursing
  6. ​Knowledge of healthcare policies, both financial and regulatory, and how they impact nursing practice and the health care system
  7. ​Clinical reasoning within the context of patient-centered care across the lifespan, to diverse patients, that reflects ethical values

Admissions

All applicants must meet the general undergraduate admission requirements.

Application Deadlines

The RN-BSN program admits students on a rolling basis. Applications received on or before the priority deadline will be processed first. Applications received after the priority deadline will be considered if space is available.

Priority Deadlines:
Spring - November 1
Summer - March 15
Fall - July 1

Registered Nurses with a Diploma or Associate's Degree

The RN-BSN Program is designed to facilitate educational mobility for those registered nurses who wish to earn the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. The curriculum offers courses that are 100% online on all campuses. Courses that require clinical components are focused on building on prior clinical knowledge. 

Application to Upper-Division Nursing: Licensed RNs with a Diploma or Associate's Degree

To be eligible to be considered for progression into upper-division (3000-4000 level) nursing courses, students must have:

  1. completed the admissions process and been accepted by the University;
  2. a current unencumbered license as an RN in the United States;
  3. submitted an application for entry into the RN to BSN Program, through NursingCAS, to the College of Nursing by the application deadline;
  4. successfully completed the lower-division prerequisite courses, plus 2 semester credit hours of electives (total 60 semester credit hours). Courses successfully completed do not have to be repeated. The multicultural women’s studies course may be completed before or after admission to upper-division nursing. Registered nurses who have previously earned a bachelor’s degree in another field must complete only those prerequisite courses listed for non-nurses with a bachelor’s degree;
  5. a minimum grade of C in anatomy and physiology I and II, chemistry, and microbiology including all labs;

  6. a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on the required lower-division prerequisite courses. If a course is taken more than once, the most recent grade received will be counted in calculating the GPA. Other courses that an applicant may have taken are not calculated in the GPA for admission.

    (Note: The nursing prerequisite courses are as follows: Any college-level Chemistry with lab, Microbiology (BACT 1003) with lab (BACT 1001), Human Anatomy and Physiology I (ZOOL 2013 and ZOOL 2011), Human Anatomy and Physiology II (ZOOL 2023) with lab (ZOOL 2021), Introduction to Nutrition (NFS 2323), Developmental Psychology (PSY 1603), and Elementary Statistics I (MATH 1703).

Transfer from Another RN-BSN Nursing Program

Students previously enrolled in another nursing program must meet the same prerequisite and admission requirements as other RN-BSN applicants, and be accepted both by Texas Woman's University and the TWU College of Nursing. Additionally, the following requirements must be met.

  1. Nursing courses were completed within a nursing program that has national nursing accreditation.
  2. A grade of C or better was earned in all nursing courses (including pathophysiology).
  3. Nursing courses transferred in for credit must have been completed within the last five years.
  4. Eligibility to continue in or return to the previous nursing program must be verified by a letter of good standing from the dean of the previous program.
  5. Applicants must submit to the College of Nursing a course syllabus for each completed nursing course for evaluation. If the course(s) is/are determined to be equivalent to TWU nursing courses, credit may be granted.
  6. At least 30 of the last 60 hours have to be completed at TWU. (A minimum of 25% of the total hours required for the degree must be taken at TWU.)

Degree Requirements

Effective October 10, 2023: R.N. to B.S.N. students completing this coursework as part of the Blended B.S.N. program should take NURS 3122 and NURS 4502 instead of NURS 3614. Please consult with your advisor.

Twenty-eight semester credit hours of credit will be awarded to those individuals who have an unencumbered license to practice in the US as a registered nurse and who have met the established criteria for admission to upper-division nursing courses. Credit is awarded for:

NURS 3025Women's Health and Family Role Competencies5
NURS 3035Adult Health Competencies I5
NURS 3813Pharmacology3
NURS 4045Adult Health Competencies II5
NURS 4055Child Health Competencies5
NURS 4615Mental Health Competencies5
Total SCHs28

These upper-division course requirements for RN students are taken at TWU

BIOL 4344Pathophysiology4
NURS 3612Introduction to Nursing Research2
NURS 3614Nursing Assessment across the Life Span4
NURS 3643RN Introduction to Baccalaureate Nursing3
NURS 3713Survey of Informatics in Nursing and Health3
NURS 3804RN with Families and Groups4
NURS 4612Promoting Wellness in the Aging Family2
NURS 4614Community Health Competencies4
NURS 4803The Nursing Leadership and Management Experience3
NURS 4823Competencies in RN Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing3
Total SCHs32

Additional Requirements

At the time of enrollment in nursing courses, the registered nurse must provide proof of:

  1. Current unencumbered licensure as a registered nurse in the United States.
  2. Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from the American Heart Association.
  3. Current required immunizations as specified by TWU College of Nursing approved vendor (e.g. Castlebranch).
  4. Negative drug testing and cleared criminal background screening by a company designated by the College of Nursing.(background check must be cleared for admission to program).
  5. Proof of personal health insurance (required by clinical facilities).
  6. Completion of HIPAA training.
  7. Social Security Number.
  8. Photo Identification.

Professional liability insurance (covered by course fees) is provided for each student through the TWU student professional liability group policy.