Freshman Admission (Direct Admit)

Who Should Apply

High school seniors who want to begin their nursing education at UT as first-year students and pursue the traditional four-year BSN program. 

Application Process

• Apply online through Undergraduate Admissions.
• Select the Nursing major code on the application.
• Applicants must meet the statewide U.S. history requirement (one high school unit OR 6 college credit hours).
  

Application Timeline

• Application Opens: Early August
• Early Action Submission Deadline: November 1
• Regular Decision Submission Deadline: December 15 
• Entry Term: Fall
  Space is limited; early application is strongly encouraged.
  

Other

• Students anticipating more than 45 dual enrollment hours or completion of an Associate of Arts/Science degree at high school graduation should contact the College of Nursing Office of Student Services before applying. Direct admission may not be the best fit in these cases.
• High school students apply for direct admission to the nursing major as freshman through the Undergraduate Office of Admissions. Freshman direct admission to the nursing major is a highly competitive application process and aligns with the university’s admissions process and holistic review for First-Year Students. For more information, please click here. 

Traditional/Transfer BSN (TBSN)

Who Should Apply

Current UT students or external transfer students who will have completed the prerequisite foundational and science coursework by the end of Fall semester. Applicants must be ready to enter upper division nursing coursework after sophomore-level coursework.

Application Process

• Current UT students: Submit a NursingCAS application.
• Transfer students: Submit both a NursingCAS application and a UT Undergraduate Admissions transfer application.
• All transcripts must also be sent directly to NursingCAS. External applicants must additionally send transcripts to UTK Undergraduate Admissions.

Admission to UT does not guarantee admission to the College of Nursing BSN program.

Application Timeline

• Late May: Application opens
• October 1: Final Deadline
  • Applications must be verified in NursingCAS and have a completed UTK application to be considered.
• October 2: Decisions sent
  • If denied TBSN and you indicated an interest in BSN Scholars, you will then be considered for BSN Scholars.
• Late January: TBSN program begins

Admission Criteria

• Minimum 3.2 combined GPA.
• Completion of Human Anatomy and Human Physiology (lecture + lab) with a C or higher by the end of Fall. Admission will not be offered to students completing these courses in the Spring admit term.
  • Anatomy equivalents: EEB 250/251, ANTH 250/251, or NURS 250/251
  • Physiology equivalent: BCMB 230
  • Year-long A&P sequences must be taken at the same university. Please use the transfer equivalency table to check how your courses transfer.
• Completion of Microbiology and/or Human Development with a C or higher by the end of Fall. One of these courses may be outstanding to be taken in the Spring term of admission.
  • Microbiology equivalents: MICR 210 or BIOL 220/229
  • Human Development equivalents: HDFS 210 or CFS 210
  • Note: Microbiology cannot fulfill the Natural Science requirement for the Nursing major. We require 8 credits of Natural Science in addition to our Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology prerequisites.
• 44 credit hours of VolCore general education courses must be completed. Of these 44 credits, students may have up to 2 outstanding VolCore courses that they take during the Spring term before entering upper division coursework.
• For guidance, please see the BSN catalog page. From this page, students must complete all requirements for Terms 1, 2, and 3 prior to admission. For credit transferring from other institutions, please check UTK’s transfer equivalency table.
• The list below reflects the VolCore courses that must be completed.
  • English 101 (3 credits)
  • English 102 (3 credits)
  • Oral Communication (3 credits)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (6 credits)
  • Natural Science with Lab (4 credits)
  • Natural Science with or without Lab (4 credits)
  • Arts & Humanities (3 credits)
  • Global Citizenship International (3 credits)
  • Global Citizenship U.S. (3 credits)
  • Expanded Perspectives Electives (6 credits)
  • Unrestricted Electives (6 credits)
• Please use the transfer equivalency table to check how your courses transfer.
  • Courses that show up in the transfer table as “UD” are not equivalent to UTK courses and do not meet our requirements. Courses that show up as “LD” or do not show up at all may not be equivalent and/or may need to be evaluated. Transfer coursework is typically evaluated several weeks after a student is admitted to the university. For more information, please visit the Transfer Credit Policy page
• Students graduating after July 1, 1978 must have completed 1 unit of U.S. history in high school or 6 semester hours of collegiate U.S. history, as required by Tennessee law. UTK’s HIUS 221/222 courses fulfill this requirement if not completed in high school.

Other

• All minor courses must be completed by end of the Spring admit term.
• All progression requirements must be met by the end of the Spring admit term.
• Admitted students must take NURS 201 and NURS 219 in the Spring admit term

BSN Scholars Program

Who Should Apply

Current UT students or external transfer students who want a clinical pathway at UT Medical Center, value close hospital integration, and who are ready to commit to a structured, early-entry pathway into nursing with a post-graduation work requirement in return for tuition assistance.

Application Process

• Current UT students: Submit a NursingCAS application.
• Transfer students: Submit both a NursingCAS application and a UT Undergraduate Admissions transfer application.
• All transcripts must also be sent directly to NursingCAS. External applicants must additionally send transcripts to UTK Undergraduate Admissions.
• Qualified applicants will be informed to submit a resume and complete a virtual interview with UT Medical Center. UTMC grants final approval on admission decisions.
• The BSN Scholars program is not open to international students. To be eligible, applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Admission to UT does not guarantee admission to the College of Nursing BSN program.

Application Timeline

• Late May: Application opens
• August 15: First round decisions sent
  • Please note that applying by this date does not guarantee a decision on this date. Some decisions may remain pending until the second round of decisions.
• October 1: Final Deadline
  • Applications must be verified in NursingCAS and have a completed UTK application to be considered.
• October 30: Second round decisions sent
• Late January: BSN Scholars program begins

Admission Criteria

• Minimum 3.2 combined GPA
• Completion of Human Anatomy and Human Physiology (lecture + lab) with a C or higher by the end of Fall. Admission will not be offered to students completing these courses in the Spring admit term.
  • Anatomy equivalents: EEB 250/251, ANTH 250/251, or NURS 250/251
  • Physiology equivalent: BCMB 230
  • Year-long A&P sequences must be taken at the same university. Please use the transfer equivalency table to check how your courses transfer.
• Completion of Microbiology and/or Human Development with a C or higher by the end of Fall. One of these courses may be outstanding to be taken in the Spring term of admission.
  • Microbiology equivalents: MICR 210 or BIOL 220/229
  • Human Development equivalents: HDFS 210 or CFS 210
  • Note: Microbiology cannot fulfill the Natural Science requirement for the Nursing major. We require 8 credits of Natural Science in addition to our Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology prerequisites.
• 44 credit hours of VolCore general education courses must be completed. Of these 44 credits, students may have up to 2 outstanding VolCore courses that they take during the Spring term before entering upper division coursework.
• For guidance, please see the BSN catalog page. From this page, students must complete all requirements for Terms 1, 2, and 3 prior to admission. For credit transferring from other institutions, please check UTK’s transfer equivalency table.
• The list below reflects the VolCore courses that must be completed.
  • English 101 (3 credits)
  • English 102 (3 credits)
  • Oral Communication (3 credits)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (6 credits)
  • Natural Science with Lab (4 credits)
  • Natural Science with or without Lab (4 credits)
  • Arts & Humanities (3 credits)
  • Global Citizenship International (3 credits)
  • Global Citizenship U.S. (3 credits)
  • Expanded Perspectives Electives (6 credits)
  • Unrestricted Electives (6 credits)
• Please use the transfer equivalency table to check how your courses transfer.
  • Courses that show up in the transfer table as “UD” are not equivalent to UTK courses and do not meet our requirements. Courses that show up as “LD” or do not show up at all may not be equivalent and/or may need to be evaluated. Transfer coursework is typically evaluated several weeks after a student is admitted to the university. For more information, please visit the Transfer Credit Policy page.
• Students graduating after July 1, 1978 must have completed 1 unit of U.S. history in high school or 6 semester hours of collegiate U.S. history, as required by Tennessee law. UTK’s HIUS 221/222 courses fulfill this requirement if not completed in high school..

Other

• All minor courses must be completed by end of the Spring admit term.
• All progression requirements must be met by the end of the Spring admit term.
• Admitted students must take NURS 201 and NURS 219 in the Spring admit term.

Accelerated BSN (ABSN)

Who Should Apply

Students who already hold a non-nursing bachelor’s degree and want to become a nurse through a fast-paced, 12-month accelerated program. Ideal for second-degree students ready for an intensive full-time on-campus commitment.

Application Process

• All applicants must complete a NursingCAS application.
• Applicants must also submit a UTK Transfer Application through Undergraduate Admissions.
  • Current UTK students who will be enrolled in the Spring term prior to admission do not need to complete a UTK application, only the NursingCAS application.
  • If you previously attended UTK or will be graduating from UTK in the Fall term prior to admission, applicants must complete the UTK Readmit Application in addition to the NursingCAS application.
• All transcripts must also be sent directly to NursingCAS. External applicants must additionally send transcripts to UTK Undergraduate Admissions

Admission to UT does not guarantee admission to the College of Nursing BSN program.

Application Timeline

• Early August: Application opens
• Early September: First-round decisions sent
  • Please note that applying by this date does not guarantee a decision on this date. Some decisions may remain pending until the second round of decisions.
• November 1: Priority Deadline
  • Students who apply by this date may be given priority.
  • Applications must be verified in NursingCAS and have a completed UTK application to be considered for priority.
• December 1: Final Deadline
  • Applications must be verified in NursingCAS and have a completed UTK application to be considered.
• December 15: Second round decisions sent
• Late May: ABSN program begins

Admission Criteria

• Conferred, non-Nursing bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited university by May 2027.
• Minimum 3.0 combined GPA.
• Three of the four prerequisites must be completed with a C or higher by the end of Fall term. The final prerequisite must be completed during the Spring term prior to the Summer start.
  • Human Anatomy equivalent to EEB 250/251, ANTH 250/251, or NURS 250/251
  • Human Physiology equivalent to BCMB 230
  • Microbiology equivalent to MICR 210 or BIOL 220/229
  • Human Development equivalent to HDFS 210 or CFS 210
• Year-long A&P sequences must be taken at the same university. Please use the transfer equivalency table to check how your courses transfer.
• Please use the transfer equivalency table to check how your courses transfer.
  • Courses that show up as “LD” or do not show up at all in the transfer table may not be equivalent and may need to be evaluated. Transfer coursework is typically evaluated several weeks after a student is admitted to the university. For more information, please visit the Transfer Credit Policy page.
  • Courses that show up in the transfer table as “UD” are not equivalent to UTK courses and are not guaranteed to meet our requirements. Please submit UD course syllabi to NursingCAS for a case-by-case review ONLY if your course is upper division (i.e. 300-level or higher).
• Students graduating after July 1, 1978 must have completed 1 unit of U.S. history in high school or 6 semester hours of collegiate U.S. history, as required by Tennessee law. UTK’s HIUS 221/222 courses fulfill this requirement if not completed in high school.

RN–BSN

Who Should Apply

Licensed registered nurses who want to complete a fully online, flexible BSN degree. Ideal for working nurses seeking advancement, magnet hospital eligibility, or preparation for graduate study.

Application Process

• Applicants must submit a Vols Online undergraduate application.
  • If you previously attended UTK, you must complete the UTK Readmit Application and select “RN-BSN (Online)” as your first-choice major.
  • If you were previously in the RN-BSN program, you must complete a Readmit application. If it has been over 5 years since initially enrolling, former RN-BSN students will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis due to curricular changes.
• All transcripts must also be sent directly to UTK Undergraduate Admissions.

Application Timeline

RN-BSN decisions are sent on a rolling basis. Applicants can expect a 1–2 week decision timeline after fully completing their application.

Fall Start Date

• February: Application review begins
• May 1: Priority Deadline
• July 1: Final Deadline
  • Applications must be completed with no outstanding materials.
• July 10: Confirmation Deadline
• Mid August: RN-BSN program begins (1 week earlier than UTK)

Spring Start Date

• August: Application review begins
• October 1: Priority Deadline
• December 1: Final Deadline
  • Applications must be completed with no outstanding materials.
• December 10: Confirmation Deadline
• Mid January: RN-BSN program begins (1 week earlier than UTK).

Admission Criteria

• Minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA.
• Completed Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) from a regionally-accredited school.
• 60 semester credits eligible for transfer to UTK.
• Proof of RN licensure (new graduates may receive conditional acceptance).
• Students graduating after July 1, 1978 must have completed 1 unit of U.S. history in high school or 6 semester hours of collegiate U.S. history, as required by Tennessee law. UTK’s HIUS 221/222 courses fulfill this requirement if not completed in high school.
• Additional VolCore courses may be required depending on prior degree.