The Foundational Nursing (or Pre-Professional) phase of a Nursing Major’s career is designed to prepare students to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Typically, the first two years of a student’s career, students complete Nursing foundational coursework and complete University of Arizona General Education requirements. This prepares students for the rigor and curriculum of the Professional Phase of the BSN program.
Beginning Fall 2025, the College of Nursing is transitioning to a Direct Admission Program wherein new first-year students are admitted directly to the BSN Direct Admission program.
Students who joined the University of Arizona College of Nursing prior to that time were admitted as Pre-Nursing majors to complete their Foundational Nursing curriculum and apply in a competitive process for entry to the Professional Phase. Transfer students and current Arizona students who have completed Foundational Nursing coursework can be eligible to join the Pre-Nursing major.
First Year Students
Students applying to start at the University of Arizona in Spring 2025 would be considered for admission to the Pre-Nursing major by the University of Arizona Undergraduate Admissions office.
First Year Student applicants need a 3.5 unweighted high school cumulative GPA for consideration to Pre-Nursing.
Transfer Student applicants need a 3.4 cumulative GPA on all transfer coursework for consideration to Pre-Nursing.
Students applying to start at the University of Arizona beginning Fall 2025 would be considered for admission to the BSN Direct Admission program by the University of Arizona Undergraduate Admissions office. Review the Admissions Requirements for BSN Direct Admission for more information.
Transfer directly into BSN
A competitive application process exists for students to join the BSN programs in Tucson and Gilbert in 2025. If you are a transfer student who has completed your Nursing Foundation coursework and would like to apply to transfer directly into the BSN program, please review the BSN Admissions requirements and deadlines.
Through August 2024, current UA students are eligible to join Pre-Nursing if they have earned a minimum 3.4 cumulative UA GPA based on 12 or more units taken at the University of Arizona.
Beginning September 3, 2024, UA students are eligible to join Pre-Nursing if they have earned a minimum 3.6 cumulative UA GPA based on 12 or more units taken at the University of Arizona.
All students joining Pre-Nursing from other UA majors will need to first attend an information session, and then schedule an appointment with an Academic Advisor to review eligibility and discuss course planning. The schedule for information sessions is available here.
No students will be changed into Pre-Nursing after May 2025 to allow the College of Nursing to transition admissions practices.
Beginning in Fall 2025, students can apply for consideration to join the BSN Direct Admission program, which is replacing the Pre-Nursing major. Please read more about BSN Direct Admission here.
The application to join BSN Direct Admission requires current UA students to meet the following criteria to apply:
3.75 cumulative UA GPA based on 12 or more units taken
Completion of all requirements for 4 of the Nursing Foundational Coursework categories. To see accepted coursework for Nursing Foundations, review this webpage.
- Composition
- Chemistry
- Introductory Biology
- Statistics
- Lifespan Development
- Microbiology
- Human Anatomy and Physiology
- Human Nutrition
The application will open in December and May each year. Application coming in December.
Students will be notified of an admissions decision to their University email. Admissions decisions will be based on space availability. Those admitted will need to meet Continuing Eligibility requirements for Advanced Standing and progression into the professional BSN curriculum.
Students unable to declare the Foundational Nursing major are encouraged to identify and declare a complementary major. Common complementary majors include: Public Health, Nutrition, Family Studies and Human Development, Physiology, Psychology, or Care, Health and Society.
Campus Preference
The College of Nursing offers its BSN curriculum on two UArizona campuses – Tucson and Gilbert. Each campus offers unique benefits. We encourage all students interested in pursuing a BSN to register for a tour of both campuses. This allows the best opportunity to get a feel for which campus is the best fit for them.
Upon admission to the BSN Direct Admit major, students will identify on which campus they prefer to complete their BSN curriculum. They will be admitted to either BSN Direct Admit Tucson or BSN Direct Admit Gilbert.
All BSN Direct Admit students will begin their journey at the UArizona main campus in Tucson, Arizona. There they will complete the General Education, University Foundation, and BSN Prerequisite Course Requirements.
When students complete the Advanced Standing Request Form, they will be asked to specify on which campus they prefer to begin their BSN curriculum. Preference will be given to students who select the same campus they indicated when they first entered the BSN Direct Admit pathway. Students who prefer to change to the other campus, will be selected on a space-available basis. The College of Nursing cannot guarantee space will be available in the other campus. If space is not available on the other campus, the student will be offered a spot on the campus they indicated when they first entered the BSN Direct Admit pathway.