Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

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.

The College of Nursing takes into consideration a wide range of factors when making admission decisions. Beginning with the fall 2024 freshmen direct admit pathway, we require students to complete the Holistic Admissions Questionnaire to be considered for admission into our Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

The final deadline for high school students applying as a freshman to the nursing major is December 15 of the applicant’s senior year. Space for the nursing major is limited; high school students are encouraged to apply as early as August. Freshman applicants must indicate the major code of Nursing when applying through the UT Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Applications received after December 15 will not be considered for admission to the nursing major.

Applicants may apply online through Undergraduate  Admissions.

Applicants must meet the statewide US history requirement for a bachelor’s degree (either one unit at the high school level or 6 credit hours at the college level).

Note: Freshman applicants who anticipate earning more than 45 hours of dual enrollment credits or earning an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree upon high school graduation must contact the College of Nursing, Office of Student Services before submitting a freshman application to the Undergraduate Admissions Office as direct admission may not be the best fit for you.

Application Process:

• Current UT students must submit a NursingCAS application.
• Transfer students must submit both a NursingCAS application and a transfer application through Undergraduate Admissions.
• Transcripts sent to Undergraduate Admissions are not available to the College of Nursing, so students must also attach unofficial copies to the online change of major/transfer student application. Admission to the University of Tennessee through Undergraduate Admissions does not guarantee admission to the College of Nursing BSN program.

Admission Criteria:

• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 is required (note: meeting this does not guarantee acceptance).
• Completion of Human Anatomy and Human Physiology. This applies to both the didactic and lab portion. Anatomy and Physiology courses must be equivalent to EEB 250/251 and BCMB 230.
  • These courses must be completed no later than the Fall term to be ready for a Spring start. Admission will not be offered to students completing these courses in a mini-winter term.
  • For year-long Anatomy & Physiology courses (e.g., “Anatomy & Physiology I” and “Anatomy & Physiology II”), both must be completed to meet requirements. These cannot be mixed with standalone “Anatomy” or “Physiology” courses (e.g., “Anatomy & Physiology I” + “BCMB 230 Physiology” does NOT qualify). Use the transfer equivalency guide to check how your courses transfer.
    • Note: Some courses will only transfer if the full sequence is completed (e.g., “Anatomy & Physiology I” and “II”).
• Only one of the following courses can be outstanding and taken in the term of admission: Microbiology or Human Development. Micro must be equivalent to MICR 210 or BIOL 220/229 and Human Dev must be equivalent to HDFS 210 or CFS 210 or PSYC 300.
• 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 guide.
• Students graduating after July 1, 1978, must have completed one unit of American history in high school or 6 semester hours of collegiate American history, as required by Tennessee law. UT’s History 221-222 courses fulfill this requirement if not completed in high school.

Other Considerations:

All progression requirements must be met by the end of the Spring term to advance to upper division courses.

If pursuing a minor, all minor courses must be completed before the junior term begins.

NursingCAS Student Guide

Student Admission Checklist

The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing have partnered to create a new undergraduate nursing pathway at a satellite campus adjacent to UTMC. The BSN Scholars Program is a robust academic-practice partnership that will offer nursing students an opportunity to learn and train inside UTMC, the region’s academic medical center. Students accepted will attend class and complete their clinical rotations at UTMC with access to an onsite learning lab and simulation center at the satellite campus, which is located in the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm. This program has the same accreditation standards and follows the same mission, vision, values, and honor code as the existing programs. BSN Scholars receive the same high-quality education as traditional BSN students, with access to campus resources, events, and activities, ensuring a full University of Tennessee student experience. Students in the BSN Scholars Program are awarded a minimum of $17,000 in tuition assistance from UTMC with a three-year work commitment post-graduation.

Please note: UTMC does not have a pediatric unit. If this is your area of interest, this pathway may not be the best fit for you.

Application Process:

• Current UT and College of Nursing students must submit a NursingCAS application.
• Transfer students must submit both a NursingCAS application and a transfer application through Undergraduate Admissions.
• Applicants will be required to submit a resume and complete a virtual interview with UT Medical Center (UTMC).
• Admission decisions are based on the admission criteria being met and the final decision made by UT Medical Center. 

We welcome applications from both in-state and out-of-state students. While we value and encourage the diversity that out-of-state applicants bring to our program, please be aware that preference may be given to in-state applicants. We look forward to reviewing your application and considering you for our esteemed program.

Admission Criteria:

• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 is required (note: meeting this does not guarantee acceptance).
• Completion of Human Anatomy and Human Physiology. This applies to both the didactic and lab portion. Anatomy and Physiology courses must be equivalent to EEB 250/251 and BCMB 230.
  • These courses must be completed no later than the Fall term to be ready for a Spring start. Admission will not be offered to students completing these courses in a mini-winter term.
  • For year-long Anatomy & Physiology courses (e.g., “Anatomy & Physiology I” and “Anatomy & Physiology II”), both must be completed to meet requirements. These cannot be mixed with standalone “Anatomy” or “Physiology” courses (e.g., “Anatomy & Physiology I” + “BCMB 230 Physiology” does NOT qualify). Use the transfer equivalency guide to check how your courses transfer.
    • Note: Some courses will only transfer if the full sequence is completed (e.g., “Anatomy & Physiology I” and “II”).
• Only one of the following courses can be outstanding and taken in the term of admission: Microbiology or Human Development. Micro must be equivalent to MICR 210 or BIOL 220/229 and Human Dev must be equivalent to HDFS 210 or CFS 210 or PSYC 300.
• 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 guide.
• Students graduating after July 1, 1978, must have completed one unit of American history in high school or 6 semester hours of collegiate American history, as required by Tennessee law. UT’s History 221-222 courses fulfill this requirement if not completed in high school.

Other Considerations:

• If pursuing a minor, all minor courses must be completed before the junior term begins.
• All progression requirements must be met by the end of the Spring term to advance to upper division courses.
• Applicants will be required to submit a resume, and complete a virtual interview with UT Medical Center.

Interested in learning more about BSN Scholars? Fill out an interest form here.

NursingCAS Student Guide

Student Admission Checklist

General Guidelines:

• The BSN Scholars Program covers last dollar (after scholarships or grants) towards the payment of tuition and fees. This includes tuition, fees, program and service charges. The BSN Scholars Program does not cover room and board, meal plans, e-books, nursing student insurance, etc.
• Prior to the start of semester/term, the College of Nursing provides the list of BSN Scholars Program students to the Bursar’s Office. This applies to fall, spring and summer. 
• Tuition and fees (mandatory and course fees) will be covered by a UT Medical Center contract payment. This contract payment is placed on the student account on the tuition due date each semester. On the payment due date for the semester/term, financial aid will disburse scholarships/grants. There may be adjustments to the contract payments based upon additional scholarships/grants disbursed to the students accounts after the initial contract payment is applied (in particular, when the financial aid award is disbursed after the payment due date or later in the semester).
• If a student does not receive any scholarships or grants, the tuition and fees will be paid in full through the tuition assistance provide by UT Medical Center.
• You are not required to accept student loans as part of the BSN Scholars Program. 
• After tuition is finalized for the semester, an invoice is created and submitted to UT Medical Center. This invoice is usually sent 4-6 weeks after the start date of the semester to ensure the tuition dollar amount owed is accurate. 
• UT Medical Center will provide a minimum of $4,250 of tuition assistance per semester. If the total amount of your tuition and fees is less than the minimum tuition assistance coverage (based upon the dollar amount of scholarships and grants that you receive), the student will receive disbursement of excess aid funds. Excess aid funds will not be applied to the student’s account until after UT Medical Center is invoiced by the College of Nursing (separate invoice from tuition & fees) and payment is received by the Bursar’s Office from UT Medical Center. The payment of excess aid funds is usually received and applied to the student’s account towards the latter part of the semester. 
• If a student thinks their account balance is incorrect, or they have any additional questions related to account balances, please email [email protected]. The student may also contact [email protected] (Bursar’s Office) to discuss the account balance (contract payments and excess aid funds).

The College of Nursing partners with Army and Air Force ROTC programs to provide multiple pathways for nursing admission into the BSN program.

• Admission into the College of Nursing as a direct freshman entry, a student must have met all competitive criteria used by the faculty of the College of Nursing to earn one of the allocated seats for the freshman class.
• Admission into the College of Nursing through the Change of Major process a student must have met all competitive criteria used by the faculty of the College of Nursing to earn one of the allocated seats for the freshman class.
• If not accepted into the College of Nursing as a direct entry freshman, an ROTC scholar will have a second opportunity for review of admission prior to the start of freshman year. (Preference will be given towards two prospective students who were denied admission at time of review for the direct entry process). Admission into the College of Nursing as a freshman through this process must be selected jointly by the College of Nursing and ROTC. There is a two seat maximum for this pathway.

• Direct freshman admission to the nursing major
• Freshman Nursing Living and Learning Community on campus
• Active Student Nurses Association within the college
• Excellent clinical experiences at major hospitals, community clinics, health departments, schools, and other health care facilities in the region
• Highly qualified faculty who are experienced teachers, researchers, and leaders in nursing and health care
• Technology-enhanced classrooms and accredited simulation laboratory facilities
• Outstanding preparation for the NCLEX, the national licensing exam for RNs—UT College of Nursing graduates consistently exceed both the state and national pass rates

The baccalaureate nursing curriculum is guided by the following assumptions:

• Persons and their health and well-being are the focus of nursing.
• Nursing is a caring practice profession, an art, and a scientific discipline.
• Persons are influenced by a complex environment (both internal and external) that affects their health and well-being.
• A goal for nursing is to modify environmental factors to promote, maintain and restore health.

The curriculum integrates the themes of holism, diversity, and caring and emphasizes critical thinking, communication and leadership, and management principles and skills.

A broad base of general education, a thorough study of human behavior; an emphasis on health maintenance, promotion, and restoration; and a strong family and community orientation are all essential components of baccalaureate nursing education.

Maintaining a high-quality relevant program responsive to the increasing complexity of health care delivery, the changing health needs of society, and the changing and expanding role of the nurse enables graduates of the program to:

• Assume beginning leadership positions in a variety of settings
• Work collaboratively with other health professionals
• Function as socially conscious and contributing citizens
• Pursue advanced education on either a formal or informal basis

Undergraduate Catalog

For more information regarding fees please visit our Undergraduate Tuition & Fees page.

Due to the high volume of individual visit requests for prospective students, the College of Nursing holds Information Sessions for those interested in our nursing pathways. More information regarding open houses and information sessions can be found here.

FAQs