Admission to the BSN Program > How to Apply to Nursing

How to Apply to the BSN Program

Declare Nursing as your major

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Declare the nursing major when you register for freshman orientation.  This will enable you to be assigned to a nursing advisor during freshman orientation and throughout your time at JMU who can answer your questions and help you plan your course of academic study.  If you do not enter JMU as a nursing major and desire to change to nursing, you will need to complete a “Change of Major” form by the departmental deadlines.  In order to change your major to nursing, you must have a GPA of > 2.8. 

Complete a BSN Application to the Nursing Program

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New Freshmen and Transfer Students

Declare the nursing major when you register for orientation and complete the BSN Application (The BSN Admission Application will be posted by March 1, 2012) once you have completed and/or enrolled in at least 36 credit hours and have the appropriate pre-requisites as outlined in the admission policy for the department.    NOTE: The Department will respond only to applications that are complete from students who have been admitted to James Madison University.

Currently Enrolled Major Changers

To change your major to nursing, you must have at least a cumulative GPA of 2.8 at the time you submit a completed "Change or Declaration of Major” form to the nursing department head in the Health and Human Services building, room 2124.  In addition, you need to complete a BSN Admission Application prior to the deadlines as outlined in the admission policy.  

Seek Admission to the Nursing Program

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Admission to the Nursing program is competitive. Admission is based on all student qualifications but GPA is a strong consideration. You must apply and be fully admitted to the nursing program to begin taking nursing courses.  To be considered for admission:

• Applications are due July 1, 2012 for Spring 2013 program admission. Students will be notified of program acceptance by September 15, 2012
• Applications are due December 1, 2012 for Fall 2013 program admission. Students will be notified of program acceptance by February 15, 2013

To be considered for full admission to the nursing major, you must:

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• Have earned a cumulative GPA of at least 2.800 as verified by your academic record
• Complete 36 academic credits by the end of the fall semester (to be considered for the following fall) or by the end of spring semester (to be considered for the following spring).
• Complete the following nursing pre-requisite courses (or approved equivalents) with a grade of “C-“or higher: CHEM 120, MATH 220, and at least two of the required biology courses (BIO 270, BIO 280 or BIO 290) by the end of the fall semester (to be considered for the following fall) or by the end of spring semester (to be considered for the following spring).         

In order to begin the nursing program, at time of entry to the first full semester, you must:

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• Have completed all required nursing prerequisite courses (CHEM 120, MATH 220, GPSYC 160, NUTR 280, BIO 270, BIO 280, and BIO 290)
• Maintain a GPA of at least 2.800 or higher
• Meet the department’s Technical Standards

Any exceptions to these requirements are at the discretion of the BSN Coordinator and/or Department Head. If the student has further questions and wishes to schedule an appointment or would like a hard copy of the information packet and BSN Application form, contact the main nursing office at 540-568-6314.