Current IU Students

Admission requirements and application process

Questions?

If you have questions about admission to the BSN program’s traditional track, please email iubnurse@indiana.edu.

If you are a prenursing student at Indiana University, the first time you can apply for admission to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program is the spring semester of your freshman year. Applications are accepted from January 15 through March 15 each year.

If you are a current IU student and are considering changing your major to nursing, your first step is to contact a nursing advisor.

Admission requirements

You must meet these requirements to qualify for admission to the BSN program. However, meeting the admission requirements does not guarantee acceptance to the program. Admission requirements are subject to change.

You must complete 9 courses (approximately 29-31 credit hours) by the end of the spring semester to be eligible for admission to the BSN program. Your grades in these courses are used to calculate your nursing application GPA. You must have a nursing application GPA of at least 3.0 when applications are finalized in May.

Learn about prenursing coursework

Admission score

Your admission score is based on your required course GPA (65%) and your GenEd GPA (35%). More information about each of these is listed in the sections below, and in the Traditional Track BSN Planning Guide.

Please note: The ATI TEAS exam is waived for Fall 2021 applicants.

Your Required course GPA counts for 65 percent of your admission score. It consists of your grades in these required courses:

Basic Human Anatomy: ANAT-A 215 (5 credits)
A finite math or calculus course: MATH-D 116/117, MATH-M 118, MATH-M 119, MATH-M 211, MATH-M 213, MATH-V 118, or MATH-V 119 (3–4 credits)
English Composition: CMLT-C 110, ENG-W 131, or ENG-W 170 (3 credits)
Psychology: PSY-P101, PSY-P 102, or PSY-P 155 (3 credits)
Sociology: SOC-S 100, SOC-S 101, or SOC-S 230 (3 credits)

Your General Education (GenED) GPA counts for 35 percent of your admission score. It consists of your grades in one science course and 3 IU Bloomington GenEd courses.

One required science course:

An IU Bloomington GenEd Natural & Mathematical Sciences (NM) course or a School of Nursing Critical/Analytical/Science (C/A/S) cluster course (3-5 credits)

Three GenEd courses chosen from these areas

Social & Historical Studies (SH): maximum of 1 course
World Languages (WL) or World Cultures (WC): maximum of 2 courses
Arts & Humanities (AH): maximum of 2 courses

Important notes

Courses and credits that can be used to determine the nursing application, science, and GenEd GPAs include Advanced College Project (ACP) dual-credit courses, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) credits, special departmental course/test credits, and transfer credits.
Up to two AP or special departmental credit courses totaling 7 credit hours may be used on the nursing application. One course may be used toward the science GPA and one may be used toward the GenEd GPA.
Undistributed credit may be used only to fulfill the Critical/Analytical/Science requirement or as elective credit.

Disclosure form

As part of the application process, you are required to complete the Student Disclosure of Criminal Conviction and Pending Criminal Charges Form to disclose any issues that would be documented on a national criminal background check. You will fill out the form online when you complete your BSN program application.

If you have pending legal charges or are currently in a pretrial diversion program, you are ineligible to apply for the BSN program until those are resolved. Certain types of offenses, such as theft, may disqualify you from applying for five years. If you have more than one offense (including alcohol citations), you may be ineligible to apply.

National criminal background check

If you are admitted to the School of Nursing, you are required to complete a National Criminal Background Check annually. If you have a criminal offense while a student in the School of Nursing, you will be required to disclose this issue to the Assistant Director of Student Services within 7 business days.

Mandatory drug screen

If you are admitted to the School of Nursing, you are required to provide proof of a negative drug screen annually. The School of Nursing and/or a clinical partner may request additional drug screens.

High school transcripts

You must have a copy of your final high school transcript on file with the University.

Social Security number

To be able to access medical records and computer-based information during your hospital-based clinical courses, you will need to have a Social Security number (SSN). The SSN is also required for you to be able to take the national board exam (NCLEX). You will not be admitted to the School of Nursing without a Social Security number.

How to apply

Follow these steps to submit your application for the BSN program:

Complete the online application. The application is available from January 15 through March 15 each year.
Attend a mandatory application information session presented by School of Nursing advisors.

Applying to the BSN program on other IU campuses

Regional campuses have their own admission criteria and application processes, so if you want to apply to the BSN program on a regional campus, you must submit a separate application to that campus.