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Upper Division Transfer BSN Prerequisite Courses

WE HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO OUR ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR FALL 2027 ADMISSION, PLEASE READ THE BELOW PAGE CAREFULLY.

Courses should not be taken for Credit/No Credit. If a course has already been taken and passed for Credit, we will assume a grade of “C” for such course(s). Credit earned through AP, IB, or CLEP exams is acceptable for the non-science prerequisite courses and for Chemistry. We will not accept AP, IB, or CLEP scores for Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, or Microbiology.

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Prerequisite Courses Must Be Complete By the End of Fall 2026

  • We have a recency requirement of 5 years for the four required science prerequisite courses.
    • For Fall 2027 applicants, sciences must have been completed in 2022 -2026.
  • There is no limit on how many times an applicant can repeat a prerequisite course.
  • Applicants must earn a “B” or higher in each science prerequisite course.
  • Applicants must earn a "C" or higher in each non-science prerequisite course.
  • We accept both in-person and online course formats for all prerequisites, including labs.
  • Non-science prerequisite courses must be a minimum of three (3) semester units.
  • Science prerequisite courses must be a minimum of three (3) semester units lecture and a minimum of one (1) unit of lab.
    • Chemistry must be a minimum of three (3) units, with associated lab if the lab was required at the institution where the lecture course was taken.
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Required Science Prerequisite Courses

Applicants must earn a "B" or higher in each of these courses.

Human Anatomy + Lab: 
Course must be a minimum of three (3) units lecture and one (1) unit lab. If an integrated A&P I course is taken a corresponding A&P II course must be taken at the same institution.

  • Example Course Description: Study of the anatomical structure of the human body. Structure and function of the musculoskeletal, nervous and cardiorespiratory systems. Systems approach to the structure and function of the human body.

Human Physiology + Lab: 
Course must be a minimum of three (3) units lecture and one (1) unit lab. Mammalian Physiology courses will not be accepted. If an integrated A&P I course is taken a corresponding A&P II course must be taken at the same institution. 

  • Example Course Description: Human physiological systems and their relationship to human function. Study of the cellular to organ system level of muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory and renal systems, and the neural and endocrine control of these systems. Includes functional aspects of each organ system.

Microbiology + Lab
Course must be a minimum of three (3) units lecture and one (1) unit lab. Other acceptable course titles: Medical Microbiology, General Bacteriology, and Biology of Microorganisms.

  • Example Course Description: Introduction to structure and function of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses with emphasis on pathogenic agents and how they are controlled by host defenses and human intervention. Laboratory provides practice with basic microbiological skills and investigations with microscopy, culture, physiology and genetics of microbes.

General, Inorganic, Organic, or Integrated Chemistry + Lab (if applicable)
Course must be a minimum of three (3) units lecture, with associated lab if required at the institution where the course was taken.

  • Acceptable course types: Course must be CSU transferable. AP Chemistry Exam (if passed with a score of 4 or 5), General chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Organic chemistry, Integrated chemistry, or Chemistry for Allied Health.
  • We will not accept: AP Chemistry Exam (if passed with a score of 1, 2, or 3), IB Chemistry Exam, CLEP Examination for Chemistry, Preparation for General Chemistry, Survey of Chemistry, or Chemistry of/for Life.

Required Non-science Prerequisite Courses

Applicants must earn a "C" or higher in each of these courses.

To check if a course meets CSU GE A.1/1C, A.2/1A, or A.3/1B, please use ASSIST.org or the CSUF TES Database.

Oral Communication
Only approved CSU GE A.1/1C courses will be accepted. Upper division or topical courses are not accepted for this requirement. This course must be taken from an institution within the United States. Generally, a public speaking course that covers the theory and presentation of speeches will meet this requirement.

Written Composition
Only approved CSU GE A.2/1A courses will be accepted. Upper division or topical courses are not accepted for this requirement. This course must be taken from an institution within the United States. Generally, a first year college-level, non-topical, writing course will meet the requirement. Applicants who receive credit for successful completion of an AP examination must send in their official AP score report with their official transcripts. 

Critical Thinking
Only approved CSU GE A.3/1B courses will be accepted. Upper division or topical courses are not accepted for this requirement. This course must be taken from an institution within the United States. Typically, but not all, courses which qualify as an A.3 course include a 2nd semester of college-level English, as part of a 1-year sequence, or a 'Logic' course.

Statistics
Any statistics course that falls into the CSU GE B.4/2A category is acceptable. Generally, the SON will accept a statistics course as long as it covers these topics: Design surveys and experiments. Graphical and numerical summaries. Correlation, regression and analysis of contingency tables. Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing via simulation and using normal, t, chi-squared distributions. Probability, analysis of variance (ANOVA), factorial designs, and interpreting data. Applicants who receive credit for successful completion of an AP examination must send in their official AP score report with their official transcripts. 

College Level Math: 
If an applicant has a statistics course, but it does not fulfill the CSU GE B.4/2A requirement, the applicant must have a college-level CSU GE B.4 course completed as well, per the University Admission Requirements for Transfer Students (The Golden Four).

Additional Course Requirements

Applicants must earn a "C" or higher in each of these courses. These two additional courses must be completed (if not already completed) during the first semester of nursing coursework. Completion of these courses is required for CSUF pre-licensure graduates by the California Board of Registered Nursing to be eligible to test for the CA Registered Nurse (RN) license.

Introduction to Psychology
Applicants who receive credit for successful completion of an AP examination must send in their official AP score report with their official transcripts. We will not accept upper division or topical psychology courses for this requirement.

  • Other acceptable course titles: General Psychology, Principles of Psychology, Psychology Fundamentals.
  • We will not accept: Life-Span Psychology, Developmental Psychology.

Introduction to Sociology OR Cultural Anthropology
We will not accept upper division or topical sociology or anthropology courses for this requirement.

  • Other acceptable course titles: General Sociology, Principles of Sociology, Sociology Fundamentals, Introduction to Socio-cultural Anthropology.
  • We will not accept: Biological Anthropology.
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If an applicant is unable to determine if their statistics or science prerequisite course will meet our requirement(s) after reviewing this page in full, they may submit a request for the course to be reviewed by clicking the button below.

Review of Prerequisite Courses

To check if a course meets CSU GE A.1/1C, A.2/1A, or A.3/1B, please use ASSIST.org or the CSUF TES Database.

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