Traditional accelerated 16-month BSN program

Program at a glance

  • Who can apply: This program is designed for high school graduates as well as graduates of associate degree programs. Applicants with previous baccalaureate degrees may also apply to this program.
  • Application deadlines: We accept applications twice a year: once in the fall for spring admission and once in the spring for admission the following fall. We accept 96 students for each term. Learn more about the application process. 
  • Next application deadline: Applications for Fall 2024 admission open on January 21, 2024, and close at noon February 9, 2024.
  • How long does the program take? The program is 16 months in length.  Students admitted to the program must complete four consecutive full-time semesters, including full summer.
  • Who are the pre-nursing advisors? The School of Public Health advisors help guide pre-nursing students through the prerequisites and the application process through their Nursing 101 advising workshops.
  • Students need to be enrolled in NURS 407 in the Spring 2024 semester to be eligible for application to the Fall 2024 cohort

OSN traditional BSN program objectives

  1. Integrate concepts from the arts and sciences in promoting health and managing complex nursing care situations.
  2. Apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision-making in the provision, and oversight of nursing practice in a variety of settings.
  3. Translate principles of patient safety and quality improvement into the delivery of high-quality of care. 
  4. Appraise, critically summarize and translate current evidence into nursing practice.
  5. Integrate knowledge, processes, and skills from nursing science; information and patient care technologies; and communication tools to facilitate clinical decision-making, and the delivery of safe and effective nursing care.
  6. Describe the effects of health policy, economic, legal, political, and socio-cultural factors on the delivery of and advocacy for equitable health care.
  7. Demonstrate effective professional communication and collaboration to optimize health outcomes.
  8. Deliver and advocate for health promotion and disease prevention strategies at the individual, family, community and population levels.
  9. Demonstrate value-based, professional behaviors that integrate altruism, autonomy, integrity, social justice, and respect for diversity and human dignity.
  10. Demonstrate critical thinking, clinical decision-making, and psychomotor skills necessary for the delivery of competent, evidence-based, holistic, and compassionate care to patients across the life span.

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Admissions requirements

The admitting criteria is subject to change. It is the applicant's responsibility to review the criteria on a regular basis. COVID-19 vaccination is required for admission to the BSN.

Course requirements

A complete list of required prerequisites is available online.  You must earn at least a C grade in all prerequisite courses. 

As of March 2023, the Orvis School of Nursing no longer requires Organic Chemistry.

You must also earn a minimum GPA of 3.0 in select prerequisite courses, listed below. Your GPA in these courses will be used, in part, to determine admission to the nursing program. You can use our GPA calculator worksheet to calculate your GPA in these courses.  For students petitioning for S/U grades for Spring 2021 courses used in calculating the pre-nursing GPA, the course must be retaken for a grade before applying to Orvis.

  • BIOL 189A (Fundamentals of Life Science or 190A (Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology)
  • BIOL 223 A/L (Anatomy & Physiology I)
  • BIOL 224 A/L (Anatomy & Physiology II)
  • BIOL 251 (Microbiology)
  • CHEM 121 A/L (General Chemistry)
  • MATH ≥ 126 (Pre-Calculus)
  • NUTR 223 (Principles of Nutrition)
  • NURS 407 (Pathophysiology: A Conceptual Approach)
  • HDFS 201 (Lifespan Human Development)
  • Communication (Several Options)

Applicants should complete all prerequisite course requirements for the major by the end of spring semester for fall admission and by the end of fall semester for spring admission to the nursing major. You may have up to 16 credits in progress at the time of application, but no more than four science credits can be in progress at the time of application. Science courses must have been taken within the past 7 years. 

Transfer credits taken for S/U credit from an institution that does not offer letter grades are evaluated on an individual basis.

Class repeat policy

A grade of C or higher is required in all nursing prerequisite coursework. You are allowed up to three attempts per course. The most recent letter grade will be used in the GPA calculation. 

Any grade of W (withdrawal), R (grade replacement), or AD (audit) will count as an enrollment attempt. If your first or second attempt in a prerequisite course is below a C (including a W grade), you may not apply to the nursing program while your third attempt is in progress. You must wait until your grade in the third attempt has been recorded.

TEAS registration

Students must register for the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) Exam through the ATI website. 

  1. Visit ATI's registration page and select the "Register now" button.
  2. You will be prompted to choose how you would like to take your proctored exam; choose "Online."
  3. Once you are directed to the new window, select the "Proctor - Program Type" drop down. Here you will choose "ATI Remote Proctor – Nursing."
  4. Select the testing date range that meets the admissions requirements - Choose "ATI Remote Proctor – Nursing"
  5. Select the session date and time that works best for your schedule and continue to the Product Details page.
  6. Here, you will review all testing information before continuing with your registration, as well as purchase additional transcript credits. Select “Continue Registration” to proceed. *Note: One transcript is included with your exam registration. You may select the institution in which to send your transcript following the completion of your ATI TEAS exam. You will need to log into your student account and select SEND TRANSCRIPT under TEAS Activity. Request to have transcript sent to "U of NV Reno" and it will be emailed directly to Orvis.
  7. Review your order and proceed to checkout to complete.
  8. Check your email! Following registration, you will receive an email confirmation from ATI. This includes test details, dry run information and more.

Applicants may take the TEAS once per application cycle and no more than three times in a two-year rolling period. Only the latest exam score will be used. The deadline to take the TEAS Exam for the Spring 2024 application for Fall 2024 admission is January 21, 2024.

 

How to apply

The Orvis School of Nursing actively supports the University of Nevada, Reno's policies that ensure equal opportunity/ affirmative action and diversity.

Step 1: Apply to the University

In order to be eligible to apply to any Orvis School of Nursing BSN program, you must first be admitted to the University of Nevada, Reno, for the semester in which you are applying to Orvis. Example: if you are applying in September, you must be an active University of Nevada, Reno student in the current Fall semester.  If you are applying in January, you must be an active University of Nevada, Reno student for the current Spring semester.  Your transcripts must be submitted and evaluated by the University admissions office, including in-progress coursework.

University application deadlines for transfer students:

  • Fall: July 1
  • Spring: December 1

Step 2: Apply to the Traditional BSN Program

Submit your online application to the Orvis School of Nursing during the specified window. For assistance with your application, please reference our Traditional BSN application FAQs. Read the BSN readiness assessment.

Applications for Fall 2024 admission open on January 16th, 2024, and close at noon on February 9, 2024. The deadline to take the TEAS exam for this admission cycle is January 21, 2024.

The Orvis School of Nursing actively supports the University of Nevada, Reno's policies that ensure equal opportunity/ affirmative action and diversity.

Admissions process

  1. Applications are reviewed by the OSN Admissions Team.
  2. Applications that do not meet minimum requirements will not be considered. The  applicant will receive a letter stating the reason(s) the application was not reviewed.
  3. Applications that meet minimum requirements will be evaluated through a point- based matrix.
  4. Applicants will be ranked from highest to lowest, based on the application matrix.
  5. Applicants with the top 96 scores will be offered provisional admission to the OSN pre -licensure program.
  6. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaking candidate will be selected using the pre-nursing GPA and TEAS score.

If selected for admission, you will receive a provisional acceptance to the nursing major. The admission offer is contingent upon successful completion of any remaining prerequisite courses in progress at the time of application with a grade of C or above, negative drug screening, and background check deemed acceptable by the Orvis School of Nursing clinical partners.