Beginning in Fall 2024, the BSN program will transition to a “Holistic Admission” process. The criteria for admission will take into consideration experiences, attributes, an essay, as well as traditional metrics. Admission to the BSN program is competitive and meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee program admission. Students must be admitted to the BSN program and meet the Technical Standards to take nursing courses. Transfer students are eligible to apply to the BSN program after completing one semester of full-time course work at JMU. 

Application Requirements

Applications for admission are accepted twice per calendar year. For admission to the Fall cohort, applications are due by December 1st and transcripts are due by January 11th. For admission to the Spring cohort, applications are due by July 1st and transcripts are due by August 31st. 

The following are required to apply for admission to the BSN program:

• Enrolled at JMU
• BSN declared major
• One full-time semester at JMU completed
• 36 credit hours completed
• Maintain a minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.0
• An earned grade of “C-“ or higher in prerequisite courses
  • General Education “Madison Foundations” One Critical Thinking and One Human Communication course *
  • One of two biology courses: BIO 270**/270L** Human Physiology or BIO 290/290L Human Anatomy
  • PSYC 160 Life Span Human Development***

After the criteria and pre-requisite courses are met the following will be used in applicant consideration

• Experiences such as military service, ROTC, veteran status, work, and community experience
• Attributes such as Pell grant eligible, first-generation college student, multilingual
• An essay of no more than 250 words to address a prompt that demonstrates students’ commitment to the values of the School of Nursing

Program Admission Requirements

After application and before entry into the BSN program, the remaining pre-requisite courses must be completed with an earned grade of “C-“ or better:

• 48 credit hours completed
• Earn “C-“ or higher in pre-requisite courses and maintain a minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.0:
  • NUTR 280 Nutrition for Wellness
  • MATH 220** Elementary Statistics
  • CHEM 120** Concepts of Chemistry
  • BIO 245/245L General Microbiology
  • Complete remaining biology course: BIO 270**/270L** Human Physiology or BIO 290/290L Human Anatomy

* Prerequisite Courses Included General Education “Madison Foundations” One Critical Thinking and One Human Communication course
**Prerequisite Courses Included in General Education “The Natural World”
***Prerequisite Course Included in General Education “Sociocultural and Wellness Area”