Program Overview

The Wellstar School of Nursing (WSON) offers Accelerated and Traditional* BSN programs for students who want to become a registered nurse. The curriculum includes courses in the humanities and the biological and social sciences, as well as the theoretical and clinical practice background necessary for the practice of professional nursing. 

This accelerated nursing program is an abbreviated four-semester program.** 

**This program is only for students who hold a bachelor's degree in another field of study (from an accredited U.S. institution, or equivalent international degree) OR who are currently enrolled in courses for their first baccalaureate degree and will finish before starting the nursing program (if accepted). If you are interested in the accelerated program and already have a bachelor's degree, please complete the accelerated application. However, if you are interested in the accelerated program, do not yet have a bachelor's degree, but will complete the degree before the semester you plan to start the nursing program (if accepted), you may complete the application for the accelerated program and indicate that you will complete your first degree before the start of the program. Remember that if you do not complete your degree and are accepted, your acceptance will be canceled for the accelerated program, and your application will not be considered for the traditional program. 

*Other students interested in nursing should look at the Traditional BSN program.

If you are considering applying for the accelerated program and are an accepted KSU student, please set up an appointment with the Advising Center to discuss your situation and to determine your ideal course load. This will allow you to effectively plan your smooth progression into the nursing program. 

Students who have earned an undergraduate degree at an institution outside of the United States MUST fulfill General Education Requirements and University-Wide Degree Requirements prior to applying to the Accelerated Nursing Program.

Students who were previously enrolled in another nursing program and were dismissed from their former nursing program for any reason will not be eligible for admission to the Wellstar School of Nursing.

 

Deadlines

Nursing program applications must be completed and submitted by the deadline to be eligible for consideration: Students must select only one program to apply for.

  • Spring Semester (of any year): Applications must be submitted between Feb 1  - Aug 10 for admission in January following the deadline. 
  • Fall Semester (of any year): Applications must be submitted between Aug 15 - Jan 31 for admission in August following the deadline.

For transfer courses to be considered for nursing admission, they must be transferred to and verified by the KSU Registrar’s Office by the nursing application deadline. Therefore, it is recommended that transfer students apply to KSU and have their transcripts from all previous institutions sent at least 3 months before the nursing application deadline. While the process most likely will occur much quicker than 3 months, this will allow for delays of transcripts from other institutions and transcript review by KSU.

If you have any questions after looking over the information presented above, please contact the WSON at nu_admissions@kennesaw.edu.

Program Admission Requirements

*Effective January, 2023

Minimum requirements to be considered for admission to the Accelerated BSN program:

  • Must be admitted to KSU through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions or be a currently enrolled student. Students admitted to KSU but are inactive for 3 consecutive semesters must reapply to the university.
  • Must hold a baccalaureate degree in another discipline from an accredited U.S. institution (or equivalent international degree) with all KSU Core Requirements completed.
  • Once admitted to KSU, must be able to log into Owl Express to access application for Nursing program.
  • Must complete at least 7 of the following 11 prerequisite courses before the nursing application deadline — at least 5 of the 7 MUST be from the math & natural science requirements. 
  • All 11 prerequisite courses (as listed below) must be completed with a grade of C or better prior to beginning the BSN program. Courses with a lab component are considered one prerequisite. If an applicant is invited for admission but does not successfully complete all 11 courses before starting the program, their admission to the program will be canceled:
    • One Math course in Area A2 (refer to general education options)
    • One Area E4 Social Sciences course (refer to general education option)
    • One of the following science-with-lab sequences*:
      • CHEM 1151 and 1151L & 1152 and 1152L -OR-
      • CHEM 1211 and 1211L & 1212 and 1212L -OR-
      • BIOL 1107 and 1107L & 1108 and 1108L -OR-
      • PHYS 1111 and 1111L & 1112 and 1112L
    • BIOL 2221 and BIOL 2221L - Anatomy and Physiology I & Lab*
    • BIOL 2222 and BIOL 2222L - Anatomy and Physiology II & Lab*
    • BIOL 2261 and BIOL 2261L - Microbiology & Lab* or approved equivalent
    • oSTAT* 1401 - Elementary Statistics
    • ENGL 1101 - Composition I
    • ENGL 1102 - Composition II
    • PSYC 1101 - Introductory Psychology

*Note: The WSON will only accept the first two graded attempts for STAT 1401 and for the natural science courses ( e.g., CHEM 1151/L, PHYS 1111/L, BIOL 2221/L, BIOL 2261/L, etc.). However, a third attempt may be taken after five years. 

In addition, any natural science course older than 10 years at time of nursing application deadline will not be accepted by the WSON for admission into the program. However, an exception can be made for students who successfully complete a Prior Learning Assessment as available (e.g., CLEP exam; departmental challenge exam) to demonstrate relevant knowledge in the course which was taken over 10 years ago. Refer to the following website for more details: https://transfer.kennesaw.edu/transfer-resources/credit-by-exam.php.

  • GPA of 3.0 or above at the time of nursing application deadline.
    • Cumulative KSU GPA will be reviewed for students who have completed 18 or more credit hours at KSU by the nursing application deadline; Transfer GPA will be reviewed for students who have completed fewer than 18 credit hours at KSU by the nursing application deadline.
  • To be considered for admission to the Wellstar School of Nursing undergraduate program, you must take the ATI TEAS Test within 5 years prior to the nursing application deadline and submit your scores to KSU. The test can be taken remotely online or in-person. You may also retake the test as many times as needed.

    Submitting your scores to KSU: If you are taking your test at a KSU site, then you do not have to take any action. If you are testing remotely or at a different site, please choose “Kennesaw State U BSN” in the drop down when prompted.

Admission is a competitive process and will be based on a combination of several factors such as number of required prerequisite courses completed at the time of nursing application deadline, grades received in these courses, and ATI TEAS score. Decisions regarding admission into the nursing program will be made by a WSON Admissions, Progression, and Retention committee.

If you have any questions about the Accelerated BSN program prerequisites, course substitutions, or any other aspect of the program, please contact Nursing Admissions at nu_admissions@kennesaw.edu. To accurately address your questions about Nursing Admissions and the requirements, please contact us directly. Although you may seek and obtain information from other sources, the most accurate information about admission to our program is contained on the WSON website, in the University Undergraduate Catalog, or by contacting us at the email above.

KSU’s Nursing program encourages you to declare Nursing-Interest as your major and begin taking the general education component of the program at your earliest convenience.

Curriculum

General Education Requirements

All KSU students must complete KSU's General Education Requirements and University-Wide Degree Requirements to graduate with any Bachelor's degree. These General Education/University-Wide required courses can be taken before, during, or after acceptance into and completion of the BSN program, but all courses must be completed before you can graduate with a BSN degree. While these courses do not impact consideration of students’ applications to the nursing program, they must be completed for graduation.

PLEASE NOTE: The above statement should not be interpreted to mean the required nursing prerequisite courses can be taken after students begin the BSN program; they must all be completed prior to beginning the program.

Transfer students and students who already hold a degree in another field may already meet some or all of these general core requirements. Please refer to your Degree Works link in Owl Express. If you have any further questions, please contact the Advising Center at wellstaradvising@kennesaw.edu. Please keep in mind that the Nursing curriculum is very rigorous and does not allow a lot of flexibility with scheduling given the hours for clinicals and labs. Please plan accordingly if you have not fully met General Education Requirements per the University System of Georgia’s guidelines.

Lower Division Major Requirements

Area F

18 Credit Hours as follows:

BIOL 2221 and LAB—Anatomy and Physiology I & Lab*
BIOL 2222 and LAB—Anatomy and Physiology II & Lab*
BIOL 2261 and LAB—Microbiology & Lab* or approved equivalent
PSYC 1101—Introductory Psychology
STAT 1401 – Elementary Statistics

Upper Division Major Requirements 

57 Credit Hours

Once accepted into the Accelerated BSN program, students will take a series of 13 courses (57 credit hours) over four semesters. Courses must be taken sequentially, and the exact schedule of courses varies depending on the semester in which students begin the program.

View the starting semester below to see the applicable semester-by-semester curriculum plan:

Beginning Fall Semester

Fall Semester Spring Semester Summer Semester Fall Semester
NURS 3209 - 6 Hours
NURS 3304 - 3 Hours
NURS 3309 - 3 Hours
NURS 4402 - 3 Hours
NURS 3313 - 6 Hours
NURS 3302 - 3 Hours
NURS 3303 - 3 Hours
NURS 3314 - 4 Hours
NURS 3318 - 6 Hours
NURS 4414 - 4 Hours
NURS Elective - 3 Hours**
NURS 4412 - 6 Hours
NURS 4419 – 7 Hours

Beginning Spring Semester

Spring Semester Summer Semester Fall Semester Spring Semester
NURS 3209 - 6 Hours
NURS 3304 - 3 Hours
NURS 3309 - 3 Hours
NURS 4402 - 3 Hours
NURS 3313 - 6 Hours
NURS 3302 - 3 Hours
NURS 3303 - 3 Hours
NURS Elective - 3 Hours** 
NURS 3314 - 4 Hours
NURS 3318 - 6 Hours
NURS 4414 - 4 Hours
NURS 4412 - 6 Hours
NURS 4419 – 7 Hours

**NURS Elective: May be taken at other points in the curriculum based on availability).
Free elective: 2 credit hours; any course in university curriculum.
There is also one carry-over hour for the core curriculum Area D credits.

Nursing Application 

The Nursing application is located on Owl Express under the Student Services tab. If you do not have a KSU account, you will need to apply to KSU undergraduate admissions. If your KSU account is not working, please reach out to undergraduate admissions.  

PROGRAM APPLICATION

Frequently Asked Questions: BSN & TEAS

For additional information, please refer to the BSN & TEAS FAQ page.