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Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Apply to the BSN program’s Traditional track

The Traditional track of the Indiana University School of Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is a pre-licensure track for those who don’t have a bachelor’s degree in any field or any prior nursing education. It requires four years of full-time study.

Eligibility to apply

To be eligible to apply to the BSN program’s Traditional track, you must be admitted to IU Bloomington as a degree-seeking student and complete between 28 and 31 credits of pre-nursing coursework, including all courses required for admission to the School of Nursing.

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

Applicants who list the majority of their credit hours (or five courses) from IUB, IUFW, or IUPUI will be given priority consideration for admission. In recent years, students from IUB and IUPUI have filled all seats in the BSN program on the IU Bloomington and IUPUI campuses.

Application deadlines

Applications for fall semester are accepted January 15 to March 15 each year.

Applicants are notified of the admission decision by June 1.

Admission is highly competitive. 120 students are accepted into the Traditional track on the Bloomington campus each year.

Admission requirements and application process

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 eight courses (approximately 28-31 credit hours) by the end of the spring semester to be eligible for admission to the BSN Traditional track. 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 pre-nursing coursework

Students must take eight required courses (approximately 28-31 credit hours) to be eligible to apply. The grades in these courses are calculated to determine a nursing admission GPA and may impact the nursing admission GPA in either a 65% or 35% weight, based on its category. We place these courses in Category A or B to explain this:

Category A (65% of the weight in the nursing admission GPA):

Basic Human Anatomy: ANAT-A 215 (5 credits)
A finite math or calculus course: MATH-D 116 and D117, MATH-M 118, MATH-M 119, MATH-M 211, MATH-V 118, or MATH-V 119 (3-4 credits)
English Composition: CMLT-C 110, ENG-W 131, ENG-W 170, or ENG-W 171 (3 credits)
Psychology: PSY-P 101, PSY-P 102, or PSY-P 155 (3 credits)
Sociology: SOC-S 100, SOC-S 101, or SOC-S 230 (3 credits)

Category B

Human Physiology: PHSL-P 215 (5 credits)
IUB General Education course (3 credits)
IUB General Education course (3 credits)

The Two GenEd courses are chosen from these areas:

Social & Historical Studies (SH): maximum of one course
World Languages (WL) or World Cultures (WC): maximum of two courses
Arts & Humanities (AH): maximum of two 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 a maximum of 7 credit hours may be used on the nursing application.
Up to three transfer courses may be used on the nursing application.
A maximum combination of three Advanced Placement or transfer courses may be used on the application.
Undistributed credit may be used only to fulfill elective credit.

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 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.

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

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

Direct admission to IU School of Nursing

A limited number of highly qualified applicants will be selected for direct admission to the School of Nursing for the fall 2024 semester. Applicants must apply to Indiana University by the November 1, 2023, priority deadline, have a high school GPA of 3.8 or higher, select pre-nursing as their intended major, and answer two essay questions about their experience and strengths as it relates to the nursing profession.

Learn more about direct admission

Honors research

In the last year of the BSN program, students are offered additional chances to grow through “honors research” projects with faculty mentors.

"I was born three months premature. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the hospital atmosphere and doctor’s offices surrounded by caring nurses that would impact my life. The nurses cared for me with compassion and reinforced my strength and resilience. I consider my story of strength and resilience to be a gift. I have the passion to share this gift by becoming a nurse and someday a pediatric nurse practitioner."

-Alexandra Vjestica, IU School of Nursing Bloomington BSN graduate

To our high school students:

Admission to Indiana University’s BSN Traditional track is extremely competitive. The program itself is very demanding and time-intensive, involving long hours of study as you learn the skills you need to be an outstanding nurse.

Our BSN Traditional track is also very different from other IU schools in how we admit students and in how you apply.

For this reason, you’ll want to sign up for one of our virtual academic sessions. At the session, we’ll go over the details of the program with you, and answer any questions you have. That way you and your family can decide, up front, whether our BSN Traditional track is the option for you!

Licensure in Indiana

Indiana University School of Nursing academic programs are designed to prepare students to sit for applicable licensure in Indiana

If you plan to pursue licensure in a state other than Indiana, please review each state’s educational requirements for licensure and certification and state licensing board contact. Specific information regarding each state’s licensure requirements can be found on the NCSBN website.

If you have questions regarding licensure, please contact Ashley Burelison, Director of Student Services & Advising, at ahblanke@iu.edu.

Learn more about the traditional BSN track

Get cost & financial aid information

Contact an academic advisor

Ready to take the next step?

Apply to the BSN Traditional track

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Apply to the BSN program’s Traditional track

Eligibility to apply

Application deadlines

Admission requirements and application process

Course requirements

Admission GPA

Disclosure form

Mandatory criminal background check and drug screening

How to apply

Direct admission to IU School of Nursing

Honors research

To our high school students:

Licensure in Indiana

Ready to take the next step?

IU School of Nursing - Bloomington resources and social media channels