Total Semester Hours Required for the Degree: 124 semester hours
Semester Hours Required for the Major: 72 semester hours
The School of Nursing provides exceptional, innovative, and student-centered educational programs at the pre-licensure and post-licensure baccalaureate levels. In a welcoming and supportive community of scholars, students build on existing knowledge and experience to develop and/or expand nursing knowledge, values, theory, and research. Communication skills and reflective, conceptual thinking serve as a foundation for safe, holistic, evidence-based and collaborative, nursing practice in multiple settings across the lifespan.
Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program:
A prospective student may declare pre-licensure nursing major and complete required prerequisite courses with a C or better. Applications聽are accepted in spring of freshman year for admission in the fall of sophomore year. Students admitted to the nursing major complete all prerequisite coursework in the fall of sophomore year and begin nursing coursework in the spring of sophomore year.聽Admission to the program is highly competitive and based on space/availability and competitiveness of the applicant pool. The nursing program at EIU does not accept external transfer students that have attended another college and completed prerequisites. Prospective students must begin the pre-nursing sequence in year one of the study plan at EIU. Admission is based on the following criteria for full consideration:
The pre-licensure nursing program accepts applications in the spring only. Nursing applications are accepted January 15 - March 1. The deadline date for all application materials is March 1st for consideration. Prerequisite courses taken during the spring semester are considered for application. Please be aware that if a student changes their major to pre-nursing later than their freshman year, they are still allowed to apply but doing so will likely result in extended time to program completion.
An application to the School of Nursing will be considered complete for review and聽consideration when all of the following are met:
Seats will be filled in the nursing program by ranking students based on, but not limited to, courses taken, Cumulative GPA, and BIO 1004G, BIO 2210, CHM 1040G, MAT 1160G, and NUR 1511 combined GPA, essay, and references. Admission聽to the program is determined by a nursing faculty committee. Applicants will be notified after July 1st of admission decision. Qualified students not accepted will be placed on a waiting list. The School of Nursing reserves the right to limit the size of the entering class, therefore, merely applying to the program and meeting or exceeding the stated minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission into the nursing program.
If accepted into the nursing major students must meet health and safety compliance requirements.
Due by October 1: Proof of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Healthcare Providers within 6 months, Completed Immunization Record, Completed History and Physical, and Drug test results within the last 30 days.
**Students admitted into the nursing program are required to purchase a lab coat and uniforms for use in clinical rotations and a stethoscope that meets minimum standards. Students must also have a computer that meets the minimum technical standards to support applications used in the nursing program.
**Re-application is allowed but is limited to one additional time. When re-applying to the program, previous ranking does not apply; all re-applicants will be ranked as new prospective students at the beginning of each application cycle.
To be considered for direct admission to the School of Nursing students must meet the following requirements:
Decisions will be made by February 1st. Please note that the direct admit applicant pool is competitive and the number of seats is limited. Meeting all requirements does not guarantee direct admission to the program. Students not selected for direct admission will begin as pre-nursing students and will apply to the BSN program in the spring semester of their freshman year as outlined in the plan of study.
Each student admitted to the nursing major is guaranteed a space in the major if the student makes scheduled academic progress and meets the criteria as defined below:
Students that do not meet the criteria for progression will forfeit their direct admission seat but are still eligible to apply through the traditional pathway.
The major comprises:
Applicants notified of admission must formally accept in writing by July 10th. Students admitted to the major must complete the following prior to spring semester sophomore year:
Information sourced from the 2026-2027 EIU Undergraduate Catalog.
