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Northwestern University SCHOOL OF CONTINUING STUDIES

Prenursing

Take the laboratory science courses in biology, chemistry physics, psychology and statistics required for application to nursing schools.

Program Overview:

Prenursing

The Prenursing post-baccalaureate certificate program admits post-baccalaureate students seeking the courses required for two types of nursing programs: accelerated registered nurse programs for college graduates who are not nurses, and master of science in nursing programs for licensed registered nurses. Prenursing students may complete the required courses on a flexible year-round schedule that can be customized. Students are advised to contact the schools in which they are interested before enrolling at SCS to ensure that the SCS program fulfills their requirements. This program is designed for career changers who do not have an extensive background in science.

Curriculum

Students are required to take the following courses:

  • BIOL SCI 165 Human Physiology
  • BIOL SCI 313 Human Anatomy (with dry lab)
  • BIOL SCI 316 Human Structure and Function (with dry lab)
  • CHEM 101 General Chemistry (with lab, CHEM 121)
  • CHEM 102 General Inorganic Chemistry (with lab, CHEM 122)
  • CHEM 103 General Physical Chemistry (with lab, CHEM 123)
  • CHEM 210-A Organic Chemistry I
  • CHEM 210-B Organic Chemistry II (with lab, CHEM 230-B)
  • CHEM 210-C Organic Chemistry III (with lab, CHEM 230-C)
  • STAT 202 Introduction to Statistics
  • PSYCH 110 Introduction to Psychology
  • PSYCH 218 Developmental Psychology

In addition to the program requirements, prenursing students have the option to take any of the courses offered at SCS to fulfill nursing program prerequisites. Based upon federal financial aid requirements, elective courses are NOT eligible for financial aid.

Transfer Credit Policy for Prenursing

Students in the Prenursing post-baccalaureate certificate program may transfer up to six semester hours, or nine quarter hours of academic credit. A transcript and grade of B or better are required for transferred courses in the prenursing program. Courses audited or taken with the pass/no credit option cannot be applied toward a certificate program. Courses earned for a bachelor's degree at SCS may not be applied retroactively toward certificate requirements. Required courses that have been completed in the past two years by students-at-large may be applied toward the completion of a certificate, subject to the approval of the admissions committee, and provided admission requirements for the program are met.  All transfer credit must be approved before a student begins his or her course work at SCS.

Additional Information

Prenursing students have different admission requirements and application processes than other post-baccalaureate students. Visit the Acceptance Critera page for details on admission requirements for this program, and for SCS Office of Admissions contact information.