For Post Baccalaureate Students

Texas Woman's University, College of Nursing offers a fifteen-month intensive full-time program for people holding bachelors or masters degrees in other fields who want to become registered nurses (RNs). Application deadline is February 1 for annual summer admission. The Fast Track program has been discontinued on the Houston campus. The Dallas campus admits fast track students in odd numbered years. Eligible applicants who are not admitted to the Fast Track may have their application considered for the following Fall admission. The Texas Board of Nursing and the Commission on the Collegiate Nursing Education accredit the baccalaureate nursing program.

The program plan leading to a baccalaureate degree in nursing has been modified for individuals who have previously earned a bachelors or a higher degree. The program is designed to facilitate a career change for the more mature and experienced student. All applicants must meet the University’s admission requirements for transfer students.

Admission to upper division nursing courses is based on consideration of multiple criteria. These criteria include the following: GPA for prerequisite coursework; admission assessment test scores; grades received on first attempt for Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Microbiology, and Statistics. Students who complete 16 or more semester credit hours of the required non-nursing lower division courses at TWU and meet the minimum criteria for admission into the upper division nursing program will have 0.40 grade points added to their grade point average for consideration for admission into upper division nursing. These additional grade points will not be used for any purpose other than progression into upper division nursing courses.

Students may not enroll in upper division nursing courses unless they have been accepted to do so.  Class space in nursing courses is limited and progression into nursing courses is competitive. Students who are eligible for admission to upper division nursing but not admitted to the fast track program will automatically be considered for Fall admission only.  

Eligibility

To be eligible to be considered for progression into upper division (3000-4000 level) nursing courses, students must HAVE COMPLETED ALL of the following:

1. Been admitted to TWU using the Texas Common Online (Apply Texas) application. In order to qualify for admission to the upper division program the student must be admitted to TWU.  Thus, the student must complete the "Apply Texas" application and submit all transcripts from prior schools to: Student Records, P.O. Box 425649, Denton, TX 76204. Because it takes approximately 6 weeks for the admssion to TWU to be completed, we urge students to apply early - at least 6 weeks prior to the College of Nursing application deadline of September 1 or February 1.

2. Completed at least 25 hours of required lower division non-nursing courses to include core nursing courses (Anatomy and Physiology + Labs 8 hours, Chemistry + Lab 4 hours, Microbiology + Lab 4 hours, Developmental Psychology 3 hours, Nutrition 3 hours, Statistics 3 hours) and be able to complete all 37 hours of the lower division course work specified in the degree plan before beginning nursing courses;

3. A minimum grade of C in anatomy and physiology, chemistry, and microbiology including all labs; (If a student has not taken Anatomy and Physiology I and II, or Microbiology before fall 2009, the student must take the sections designated for science majors. Beginning fall 2010, for qualified applicants to upper division nursing, credit will only be given for Anatomy & Physiology I and II and Microbiology taken within the past 5 years. If the student already has a science degree, and took the required science courses, they are exempted from the 5 year rule;

4. A minimum grade point average of at least 3.0 on the required non-nursing lower division core courses. All courses which are listed below are calculated in the grade point average. IF A COURSE IS TAKEN MORE THAN ONCE, THE MOST RECENT GRADE RECEIVED WILL BE COUNTED IN CALCULATING THE GPA. Other courses which the applicant may have taken are not calculated in the grade point average.

5. Successfully pass the HESI A² entrance test before application and admission to upper division nursing courses. Entrance testing results must be submitted to the TWU College of Nursing by application dates. It is the applicant's responsibility to inform the testing agency at the time of registration to forward their score to TWU. An applicant is allowed to take the entrance test only once before each deadline date. 

6. a. Submitted to the College of Nursing a completed application for upper division nursing with the required nursing processing fee.

    b. Submitted to TWU Student Records Processing in Denton, official transcripts from all colleges attended postmarked no later than one of the following College of Nursing application deadlines of September 1 or February 1

The following courses and requirements are necessary for the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing for students who have completed a previous bachelor’s degree. The College of Nursing faculty has defined a set of courses that must be taken by all students either to meet a state requirement or to have the foundation necessary for upper division nursing courses. The following courses meet the nursing major prerequisite requirement and must be taken by all students who have completed a previous bachelor’s degree.  

Courses			Credit hours
U.S. History			6
Government (U.S. and Texas)			6
Microbiology with Lab			4
Chemistry with Lab			4
Developmental Psychology			3
Anatomy & Physiology with Labs			8
Nutrition			3
Statistics			3
TOTAL			37