College of Nursing
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Prior to Admission

An Associate’s Degree in Nursing or Diploma in Nursing from an accredited program and a current unrestricted Registered Nurse (R.N.) license to practice professional nursing in the United States are required for admission to the RN-BSN program. A minimum Nursing (previous Associate or Diploma) Degree GPA of 3.000 is required. See the Bulletin for additional admissions requirements.

Prior to admission into (or while pursuing) the R.N.-B.S.N., students must have credit for all Carolina Core¹ requirements plus electives including the equivalents of:

• Two levels of statistics or one course in statistics and one course calculus. Students may substitute STAT 201 or STAT 206 for STAT 205. 
• 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 4-6 hours of a GFL sequence. 
• Microbiology with laboratory
• Human Growth and Development
• Anatomy and Physiology I and II with laboratories
• Introduction to Psychology and Introductory Sociology

The RN-BSN Program is a distance education program with online coursework, offered in 7-week courses.

Semester One (6 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade2	Major GPA3	Prerequisites
!	NURS 250	Nursing Science in Professional Practice (MR)	3	C
	NURS 309	Nursing Health Assessment (MR)	3	C		Prereq or Coreq: NURS 250

Semester Two (6 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade2	Major GPA3	Prerequisites
	NURS 400	Evidence-Based Nursing Practice (MR/CC-INT)	3	C		C or better in NURS 250
	NURS 318	Application of Pathophysiology & Pharmacology in Nursing (MR)	3	C		C or better in NURS 250

Semester Three (6 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade2	Major GPA3	Prerequisites
	NURS 420	Emerging Issues in Health Care (MR)	3	C		NURS 250
	NURS 431	Population Health Nursing (MR)	3	C

Semester Four (3 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade2	Major GPA3	Prerequisites
	NURS 313	Nursing Care of the Older Adult (MR)	3	C		C or better in NURS 250

Semester Five (7 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade2	Major GPA3	Prerequisites
!	NURS 434	Community-Based Clinical Practicum for RNs4 (MR)	3	C
	NURS 428	Nursing Leadership & Management (MR)	4	C		C or better in NURS 250

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	Minimum College & Program Requirements Hours6	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	28	48-60	32-44	3.000

1. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students. Students in the College of Nursing are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language by a score of 2 or higher on the foreign language placement test, or credit equivalent to USC 109 and 110 courses, or credit equivalent to the USC 121 course.
2. Regardless of individual course grades, students admitted to the RN-BSN Program must maintain a minimum 3.000 cumulative Institutional GPA to maintain good standing in the program.
3. 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.
4. Requires 8 hours of work per week in the community. (56 hours total)

Program Notes

• Courses identified as “critical” must be completed in the semester in which they are listed.
• Students must maintain RN licensure for the duration of the RN-BSN Program.
• After admission to the RN BSN program and completion of all BSN degree requirements: Students awarded an Associate Degree in Nursing with an unencumbered RN licensure from an accredited nursing program OR students with an unencumbered RN Licensure with a Diploma in Nursing from an accredited nursing program will be awarded up to 38 credits towards meeting educational competencies for their degree.  Number of credits awarded will be determined after careful review of the student transcript and program of study degree requirements.  Additional coursework may be needed to satisfy outstanding credits not met by ADN or Diploma degree.  Education competency credits are held and will be awarded upon successful completion of all BSN degree requirements. 
• 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 25% of a student’s degree must be completed in residence (meaning through USC Columbia coursework or other USC campus), and at least half of the hours in the student’s major and minor courses (if applicable) must be taken at the University, I.E. 122 credits = 31 hours. Advanced placement exam credits or transfer credits do not meet this requirement. Students must meet these requirements to be eligible for BSN graduation.

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