Accelerated BS in Nursing Admissions

Application Deadlines

Applications are accepted through January 8 for fall admission. The deadline for missing materials is February 1. 

Admissions decisions are made by March 15.  

Note: UMass Amherst is not able to offer immigration sponsorship to this program to applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

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Admission Criteria and Prerequisites

Admission to the Accelerated BS in Nursing is contingent upon successful completion of a first undergraduate degree (BA or BS) and the prerequisites required for the Accelerated nursing program. Accelerated BS in Nursing applications are submitted to the Flexible Education Division and reviewed by the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing.  Applicants are notified about admissions decisions by the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing.

Admission Criteria: 

  • A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in a field other than nursing
  • Applicants must have completed all prerequisite courses with a grade of C or better in each course and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher by the application deadline of January 8. Note that prerequisites may be completed at any accredited institution, including community colleges or online courses and labs.
  • All prerequisite courses must be 3 or 4 semester hours. Courses taken as quarter credits will be multiplied by .67; those that don’t equal the equivalent of at least 3 credits will not be considered as fulfilling the Nursing prerequisite requirement. 

The following prerequisites must have been completed within the past five years:

  • Human Nutrition (3 credits) 
  • Medical Microbiology or General Microbiology (3 credits. No lab required for admission to the Accelerated program, but some states, including CA, require a microbiology lab for licensure)

The following prerequisites must have been completed within the past ten years: 

  • Anatomy and Physiology I with lab (4 credits) 
  • Anatomy and Physiology II with lab (4 credits) 
  • Statistics (3 credits)
  • Human Growth and Development throughout the Lifespan (3 credits) 

To request an evaluation of your prerequisites, please complete the form.  

Information for non-native speakers of English:

  •  Non-native speakers of English: an internet-based TOEFL ( iBT ) score of 80 or higher, a computer-based TOEFL score of 213 or higher, or an IELTS score of 6.5 or higher. Students who earned a bachelor's degree from a U.S. college/university may qualify for a TOEFL waiver.
  •  TOEFL scores for application expire 2 years after the test is taken
  • Note: A TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) exam is not required for entry into this program.

Supplemental Application Materials 

Along with your application, you will need to submit an essay, a resume, and one recommendation, as well as transcripts from all colleges you have previously attended. Information about these materials is provided in the Flexible Education online application.

All required supplemental admissions materials should be sent to:

Flexible Education
UMass Amherst
350 Campus Center Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9248

Please direct questions about the admissions process to the Flexible Education Division: uwwadmissions [at] umass [dot] edu (uwwadmissions[at]umass[dot]edu)