Image
Kent State University nursing students receive hands-on learning experience by practicing on a simulator.

Nursing for Registered Nurses - B.S.N.

Advance your nursing career with the Nursing for Registered Nurses program. Our program is designed to help you build on your nursing experience and earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, opening doors to a wider range of career opportunities. Read more...

Contact Us

Apply Now
Schedule a visit

Apply Now
Request Info
Schedule a Visit

Watch and Learn More!

Program Information

Program Description

Full Description

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in Nursing for Registered Nurses is for registered nurses (RN) with a diploma or associate degree who are seeking an accredited bachelor’s degree in nursing. The completer program is offered fully online for part- and full-time students. Expert faculty and administrators work closely with students to equip them to meet the future challenges of professional nursing and influence the future of health care.

Student may apply early to the M.S. degree in Health Informatics and double count 9 credit hours of graduate courses toward both degree programs.  See the Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program policy in the University Catalog for more information.

Admissions

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

Admission to the Nursing for Registered Nurses major is selective. Criteria for admission includes the following:

  • Evidence of admission in good standing from a state-approved associate degree or diploma nursing program with a minimum 2.000 (on a 4.0 scale) overall GPA.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency unless they meet specific exceptions. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Acquire competencies based on professional standards to assume the role of the professional nurse and for career advancement, including graduate studies.
  2. Apply the nursing process in providing evidence-based, culturally sensitive care to promote health and adaptation of individuals, families, groups and communities.
Coursework

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Prerequisite Requirements (min C graded required in all courses)
BSCI 20021BASIC MICROBIOLOGY 3
or BSCI 30171 GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY
BSCI 21010ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I (KBS) (KLAB) 14
BSCI 21020ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II 14
CHEM 10050FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEMISTRY (KBS) 3-4
or CHEM 10055 MOLECULES OF LIFE (KBS)
or CHEM 10060 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (KBS)
Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA; minimum C grade required in all courses)
BSCI 30050HUMAN GENETICS 3
or BSCI 30156 ELEMENTS OF GENETICS
NURS 40075INFORMATION AND PATIENT CARE TECHNOLOGY FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS 3
NURS 40873INTRODUCTION TO EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE FOR REGISTERED NURSES 3
NURS 41000CONCEPTS AND ISSUES FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
NURS 42000LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
NURS 43001HEALTH PROMOTION IN PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE (ELR) 3
NURS 44001POPULATION-BASED NURSING FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE (DIVG) 3
NURS 45000HEALTH MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
NURS 46000HEALTH CARE POLICY 3
NURS 47099CAPSTONE FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE (ELR) (WIC) 2,33
NUTR 23511SCIENCE OF HUMAN NUTRITION (KBS) 3
Nursing Upper-Division Elective, choose from the following:3
NURS 35020
TRANSCULTURAL NURSING AND HEALTH CARE
NURS 35040
COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH
NURS 35070
NURSING ETHICS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE
NURS 35075
INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC NURSING
NURS 35080
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN NURSING PRACTICE AND HEALTH CARE
NURS 45050
LEGAL ISSUES FOR NURSES
Statistics Elective, choose from the following:3-4
MATH 10041
INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS (KMCR)
NURS 31010
APPLICATIONS FOR STATISTICAL FINDINGS FOR EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
PH 30002
INTRODUCTORY BIOSTATISTICS
PSYC 21621
QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY I
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
PSYC 11762GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
SOC 12050INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Composition6
Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning (min C grade)3
Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each)9
Kent Core Additional3
Associate Degree Courses and General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours)39
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

Students who have successfully completed ATTR 25057 (or EXSC 25057) and ATTR 25058 (or EXSC 25058) or BSCI 11010 and BSCI 11020 with a minimum C grade may use those courses in place of BSCI 21010 and BSCI 21020.

2

Students who take NURS 47000 may use it to substitute for NURS 47099.

3

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

Progression Requirements

To be eligible to register for nursing (NURS) courses, students must have successfully completed:

  • Active, unrestricted registered nurse (RN) license in the state in which practica will be completed
  • Completion of required science courses or their direct equivalents with an overall 2.0 GPA
    • Anatomy and Physiology: BSCI 21010 and BSCI 21020
  • Chemistry: CHEM 10050 or CHEM 10055 or CHEM 10060
  • Microbiology: BSCI 20021
  • All Kent Core requirements
  • Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning course with minimum C grade
  • BSCI 30050 or BSCI 30156 (or equivalent) with minimum C grade
  • The following courses (or their equivalents): NUTR 23511; PSYC 11762; SOC 12050; and MATH 10041 (or NURS 31010 or PH 30002 or PSYC 21621)

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000
Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester PrerequisiteCredits
BSCI 20021
or BSCI 30171
BASIC MICROBIOLOGY
or GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY
3
BSCI 21010 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I (KBS) (KLAB) 4
BSCI 21020 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II 4
CHEM 10050
or CHEM 10055
or CHEM 10060
FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEMISTRY (KBS)
or MOLECULES OF LIFE (KBS)
or GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (KBS)
3-4
Associate Degree Courses 33
 Credit Hours47
Semester One
PSYC 11762 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
SOC 12050 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours13
Semester Two
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Three
BSCI 30050
or BSCI 30156
HUMAN GENETICS
or ELEMENTS OF GENETICS
3
NUTR 23511 SCIENCE OF HUMAN NUTRITION (KBS) 3
Statistics Elective 3-4
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours12
Semester Four
NURS 40075 INFORMATION AND PATIENT CARE TECHNOLOGY FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS 3
NURS 41000 CONCEPTS AND ISSUES FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
NURS 42000 LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
NURS 43001 HEALTH PROMOTION IN PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE (ELR) 3
 Credit Hours12
Semester Five
NURS 44001 POPULATION-BASED NURSING FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE (DIVG) 3
NURS 45000 HEALTH MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
NURS 46000 HEALTH CARE POLICY 3
Nursing Upper-Division Elective 3
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Six
NURS 40873 INTRODUCTION TO EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE FOR REGISTERED NURSES 3
NURS 47099 CAPSTONE FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE (ELR) (WIC) 3
 Credit Hours6
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • Fully online
Accreditation

The B.S.N. degree Nursing for Registered Nurses at Kent State University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.

Health Informatics

RN to BSN students may pursue a Health Informatics focus that allows them to take three graduate level courses (9 credits) that substitute for courses in their program. Advisors can help students make the appropriate substitutions.

RN to BSN students, regardless of which option they choose to pursue can count the following graduate-level courses towards their BSN program requirements. Additional health informatics courses are available and may be substituted with approval from and in consultation with the student’s undergraduate advisor. You can find the full list of available courses in the catalog.

  • If Nursing is your primary career and you would like to add a few courses in health informatics (HI) to enhance your skills and differentiate you from other job candidates, following the health informatics focus as part of your BSN by using the three HI courses (9 credits) listed above as substituting for other courses under the guidance of your advisor.
  • If you are pursuing a Nursing career but would like an option to apply for and change your career path to more health informatics-focused positions, the Combined Bachelor’s/Graduate Certificate option is the choice for you. This option involves applying for the Online Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics (18 credits) and using 9 credits from the certificate towards your BSN degree.
  • If you know that you would like to switch your career path to health informatics, the Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree option is the choice for you. This option involves applying for the Master of Science in Health Informatics (36 credits) and sharing 9 credits between the BSN and MS by applying three graduate-level courses (9 credits) in HI to the BSN program requirements.

Interested students should contact their advisor to discuss which options would be the best fit for their career goals.

Learn more about combined bachelor's/master's programs

When Can I Start?

Classes start every 7 weeks.

Term Application Deadline Re-enrollment Deadline Classes Start
Spring I 2024 Dec. 1, 2023 Jan. 5, 2024 Jan. 16, 2024
Spring II 2024 Feb. 2, 2024 Feb. 23, 2024 March 8, 2024
Summer I 2024 May 1, 2024 May 10, 2024 May 20, 2024
Summer II 2024 June 7, 2024 June 14, 2024 June 28, 2024
Fall I 2024 Aug. 2, 2024 Aug. 9, 2024 Aug. 19, 2024
Fall II 2024 Sept. 27, 2024 Oct. 4, 2024 Oct. 14, 2024
A map of the United States

Courses are 100% online – students are never required to come to campus.

SEE IF a PROGRAM IS OFFERED IN YOUR STATE

 

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries

Registered nurses

7.2%

faster than the average

3,096,700

number of jobs

$75,330

potential earnings

Teaching assistants, postsecondary

3.4%

about as fast as the average

169,600

number of jobs

$36,250

potential earnings

Additional Careers
  • Entry level management
Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.

Accolades & Accreditation

The Kent State University College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Education and approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing to award the Baccalaureate of Nursing Degree. Graduates of this program meet educational eligibility requirements to take the National Certification and Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN). For specific state RN licensure, students should contact the states in which they are interested in working. See the National Council of State Boards website and the Kent State Professional Licensure website for specific information about each state.

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master’s degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and post-graduate APRN certificate program at Kent State University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. Kent State University College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.  Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) concentrations within the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program and APRN Certificates, along with the Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice (BSN-to-DNP) program qualify graduates to sit for national APRN certification and APRN licensure in Ohio.  States other than Ohio may have additional requirements to apply for or obtain an APRN license, including but not limited to specific state examinations, letters of recommendation, or proof of completion of an accredited nursing program. The College of Nursing is in the process of collecting information from all states and has not yet made a determination whether graduates from the Kent State University College of Nursing MSN, Certificate, and BSN-to-DNP programs meet the requirements for APRN licensure outside the state of Ohio.

https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/NLN-Center-of-Excellence-Logo-01%20%281%29_0.jpg?VersionId=d2oSfmC3pdrHyPXQD2kZhqDbaPKeZpzm

CCNE Accredited Seal