Accelerated BSN Option

For students with a bachelor's or graduate degree in a non-nursing field, the Accelerated BSN option can be completed in just 12 months. 

All applicants are placed in Pre-Nursing at time of admission. The College of Nursing administratively moves students from Pre-Nursing to Accelerated Nursing upon verification of completed prerequisite coursework. Coursework begins during the fall semester, with students graduating the following summer semester. All general education coursework must be completed prior to the first fall semester.

Course content in the Accelerated BSN option aligns information in a meaningful way to accelerate learning and avoid repetition. Theory courses integrate clinical reasoning into concepts discussed in class, and focus on student involvement in the learning process. Clinical courses allow students an opportunity to incorporate concepts learned in theory and apply them to clinical practice. Emphasis is placed on clinical reasoning, finding resources, building/utilizing the health care team, patient/family teaching, and the management of care in the health care setting. Because of the intense pace of the program, Accelerated BSN students spend many hours together and build a sense of community with their peers.

Upon completion of the BSN program, students will: 

1. Integrate evidence-based concepts from nursing, the arts, sciences, and humanities to provide comprehensive nursing care in a variety of settings.  
2. Integrate clinical decision making into professional practice. 
3. Administer culturally competent, compassionate, holistic care to promote healthy outcomes and health equity for diverse individuals, families, communities, and populations. 
4. Apply knowledge of health care policies in a regulatory environment and their influence on health care access and quality. 
5. Utilize communication to enhance relationships with individuals, families, communities, and populations and collaboration among members of the healthcare team. 
6. Demonstrate responsibility and accountability for decisions and actions based on professional intrapersonal values, ethical and legal obligations, standards of practice, social justice, and economics. 
7. Demonstrate motivation and self-direction in activities that contribute to lifelong personal, professional, and intellectual development. 
8. Integrate principles of quality care, patient safety, health education when organizing, coordinating, and engaging in professional nursing practice across the healthcare continuum. 

We’d love to meet you! Schedule a campus visit, join one of nursing’s academic information sessions, tour our state-of-the-art nursing simulation lab, and meet with a College of Nursing academic advisor. If you have questions about our nursing programs or the admission process, please don’t hesitate to contact nursing@umsl.edu or 314-516-6066.

Advance registration for our Academic Information Sessions is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the virtual information session. We recommend checking your "Junk Mail" folder if the confirmation email does not appear in your “Inbox.” If you have challenges registering or logging in, please contact Kelly Hogenmiller at kelly.hogenmiller@umsl.edu.  

In addition to virtual information sessions and daily campus visits, UMSL and the College of Nursing host an in-person Open House each semester. Prospective and admitted students learn about our nursing programs, tour our state-of-the-art simulation labs, speak with nursing faculty and current students, and meet with academic advisors and student success staff

For more information, contact the College of Nursing Office of Student Services.