College of Nursing
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Semester One (16-17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	ENGL 101	Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW)	3	C
!	CHEM 102	Fundamental Chemistry II3 (CC-SCI)	4	C		1 yr. high-school chemistry, or CHEM 101 or 111 or equiv.
!	BIOL 243 & 243L	Human Anatomy & Physiology I (PR)	4	C
!	NURS 112	Intro. to Nursing as a Profession (MR)	2	C
	UNIV 101	The Student in the University (or elective) or MATH 111/111i4 (if required per placement test) or Carolina Core Requirement5 (PR/CC)	3-4	C

Semester Two (18 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	ENGL 102	Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW/ CC-INF)	3	C		C or better in ENGL 101
	NURS 208	Introduction to Nursing Informatics (MR)	2	C
	STAT 112 or CSCE 101 or CSCE 102	Statistics and the Media or Introduction to and Programming Concepts using AI tools or Web Design and Development using AI tools (CC-ARP)	3	C
	PSYC 101	Introduction to Psychology (CC-GSS)	3	C
!	BIOL 244 & 244L	Human Anatomy & Physiology II (PR)	4	C		BIOL 243
	SOCY 101	Introductory Sociology (PR)	3	C

Semester Three (16-17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	BIOL 250 & 250L	Microbiology (CR)	4	C		College-level biology & chemistry
	PSYC 420	Survey of Developmental Psychology (CR)	3	C		PSYC 101 or EDPY 335
!	NURS 216	Biophysical Pathology (MR)	3	C		CHEM 102 & BIOL 243 & 244
	STAT 205	Elem. Stat. for the Bio. & Life Sci.6 (CC-ARP)	3	C		C or better in MATH 111 or higher or through placement exam
		Foreign language7 or other Carolina Core Req.5 (CC-GFL)	3-4	C

Application for Nursing Upper Division must be submitted by the deadline.

Semester Four (12-15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	NURS 220	Clinical Nutrition8 (MR)	3	C		NURS 216
		Foreign language7 or other Carolina Core Req.5 (CC-GFL)	3	C
	BIOL 206	Genetics and Society (CC-SCI)	3	C
	PHIL 213	Communicating Moral Issues (CC-CMS/CC-VSR)	3	C
		Carolina Core Req.5 (only if needed to meet CC)	0-3	C

Semester Five (16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	NURS 311	Introduction to Health Assessment (MR)	3	C		C or better in NURS 220; Coreqs: NURS 312, 313, 314 & 324
	NURS 312	Foundations of Nursing Practice (MR)	5	C		C or better in NURS 220; Coreqs: NURS 311, 313, 314 & 324
	NURS 313	Nursing Care of the Older Adult (MR)	3	C		C or better in NURS 220; Coreq: C or better in 311, 312, 314 & 324
	NURS 314	Clinical Reasoning in Nursing Practice (MR)	2	C		C or better in NURS 220; Coreqs: NURS 311, 312, 313 & 324
	NURS 324	Chemical Therapeutics (MR)	3	C		C or better in NURS 220; Coreqs: NURS 311, 312, 313, & 314

Semester Six (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	NURS 400	Evidence-Based Nursing Practice (MR/CC-INT)	3	C		C or better in NURS 314
	NURS 412	Acute Care Nursing of Adults I (MR)	5	C		C or better in NURS 311, 312, 313, 314, & 324; Coreq: NURS 400, 413, & 426
	NURS 413	Intradisciplinary Comm. & Skills Dev. (MR)	2	C		C or better in NURS 311, 312, 313, 314, & 324; Coreq: NURS 412 & 426
	NURS 426	Concepts of Pediatric & Reprod. Health (MR)	5	C		C or better in NURS 311, 312, 313, 314, & 324; Coreq: NURS 412 & 413

Semester Seven (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	NURS 411	Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing (MR)	4	C		C or better in NURS 412, 413 & 426 Coreq: NURS 422, 427 & 431
	NURS 422	Acute Care Nursing of Adults II (MR)	5	C		C or better in NURS 412, 413 & 426; Coreq: NURS 411, 427 & 431
	NURS 427	Intradisciplinary Coor. & Skills Mgmt. (MR)	1	C		C or better in NURS 412, 413 & 426
	NURS 431	Population Health Nursing (MR)	4	C		C or better in NURS 412, 413, & 426; Coreq: C or better in NURS 411, 422 & 427

Semester Eight (12 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	NURS 428	Nursing Leadership & Management (MR)	4	C		C or better in NURS 411, 422, 427 & 431; Coreq: NURS 435
	NURS 435	Senior Nursing Capstone Practicum (MR)	8	C		C or better in NURS 411, 422, 427 & 431; Coreq: NURS 428

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	Minimum College & Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	67	19-22	31-34	3.000

1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 3.000 cumulative institutional GPA. One below C grade is allowed in a required science or nursing (NURS) course to remain eligible for the major. However, students must earn a minimum grade of C in all required courses for the BSN program in order to continue with the curriculum and graduate.
2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
3. CHEM 102 is a pre-requisite course for nursing courses; CHEM 111, CHEM 111L, CHEM 112, and CHEM 112L (all must be taken) may substitute for CHEM 102.
4. Students who do not place into the required ARP courses must complete the necessary prerequisites before continuing with the required Carolina Core ARP courses.
5. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
6. Students may substitute STAT 201 or STAT 206 for STAT 205.
7. Students in the College of Nursing are required to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language by achieving a score of two or higher on the Foreign Language Placement Test or by completing one foreign language through 110 or 121.
8. NURS 220 must be completed with a C or better grade prior to starting upper division coursework.

Program Notes

• Students must have a “C” or better grade in all critical courses and a cumulative 3.000 or higher progression and institutional GPA in order to be eligible to apply to Upper Division.
• Acceptance into the University with a pre-nursing (lower-division) classification does not guarantee progression into the upper-division nursing major. Students enrolled in pre-nursing (lower division) must meet minimum upper division admission standards set forth by the College of Nursing (see Bulletin listing). Once minimum criteria are met, all qualified applicants are placed into an applicant group and are evaluated, using the same criteria, for a total evaluation metric. Based on the number of available seats and available clinical sites, students are admitted based on results of the total evaluation metrics.
• Prerequisite BSN science courses must be completed within 7 years of starting upper division coursework, or 8 years if continuous fall/spring higher education enrollment.
• Once a student has begun upper division coursework, they must complete the BSN degree within 5 years.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin.
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code	Definition
CC	Carolina Core
CC-AIU	Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP	Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL	Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS	Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS	Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF	Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT	Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI	Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR	Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR	College Requirement
MR	Major Requirement
PR	Program Requirement