RN to BSN

The practice and study of nursing is experienced as as a journey through deep caring connections with patients, students, colleagues and the discipline of nursing. Nursing is imagined and known through caring authentic presence with others and multiple ways of knowing.

Nursing is a presence to life lived with those entrusted to our care, a beacon, attentive to the extraordinary in the mundane and boldly entering questions of meaning. All stories of individuals and of the discipline are valued as necessary to the growth and advancement of the profession.

Healing practice is possible in partnership relationships; nursing creates safe welcoming places, encouraging growth, seeking to understand and knowing each other's hearts.

Nurses are called to care through advocacy, action, 'power-with' and trusting relationships with persons and groups in diverse settings. Nursing embraces diversity and commitment to social justice. With perseverance and fortitude, caring and compassion are preserved as the ethical foundation of nursing practice and scholarship.

A nursing way of being requires reflective practice, a listening, that allows for meaning-making in all dimensions of academic and practice endeavors. Nursing practice is characterized by thoughtfulness and necessarily lived out with intention. 

The Course of Study allows for possibilities for our mission to be realized—educating nurses to transform the world. 

Credits Needed from Notre Dame

A minimum of 30 earned credits from Notre Dame of Maryland University is required for graduation. The final 30 credits for the degree must be earned at Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Specific course requirements for the RN to BSN program include:

General Education requirements (21 Credits)*

          200-level Philosophy (3)
          200-level Religious Studies (3)
          300/400-level Religious Studies (3)
          English Composition (3)
          Literature (3)
          History (3)
          Math (Basic Statistics) (3)

*The General Education Requirements for Natural and Social Sciences are part of the Department requirements.

Please Note: As part of the degree program (120 credits) at least one course must be focused on Gender Studies and one on Cross-Cultural Studies. Students who take the upper-level Religious Studies course as part of the accelerated sequence will fulfill the Gender Studies requirement through that course. The Cross-Cultural Studies requirement will be fulfilled through the upper-level nursing course NUR-412 Population Health through a Caring Lens. NUR-412 is a required nursing course.

Students who have earned an Associate Degree prior to admission to the University are exempt from the Gender and Cross-cultural Requirement. However, most students will need to complete the upper-level Religious Studies course at NDMU in order to fulfill General Education Requirements.

Department Requirements for the Nursing Major

         Core

          Human Anatomy & Physiology (6-8)*
          Microbiology (3-4)*
          Introduction to Psychology** (3)
          Human Growth & Development ** (3)
          Introduction to Sociology (3)

          *Lab Required
          **Challenge Exam Available

Upper-Level Nursing Courses

30 upper-level nursing credits from an associate degree or diploma program may be granted through the Maryland Nursing Education Articulation Model.

          Upper-level Nursing courses at Notre Dame (30 credits)

          NUR-306 Writing for Professionals (1)
          NUR-309 Foundations of Caring Science: Nursing Situations, Scholarly Analysis, and Calls for Justice (3)
          NUR-319 Holistic Health Assessment & Nutrition Across the Lifespan for Professional Nurses (5)
          NUR-400 Information Systems for Caring Practice (3)
          NUR-411 Healthy Aging for Professional Nurses (3)
          NUR-412 Population Health through a Caring Lens (4)
          NUR-420 Nursing Research for Professional Nurses (3)
          NUR-440 Caring Nursing Leadership for Professional Nurses (3)
          NUR-450 Capstone Experience (2)

          One Nursing Elective:

          NUR-314 Nursing Situations in Palliative Caring (3) or
          NUR-315 Advocacy, Politics and Power (3) 

International/Study Abroad Opportunities

Special topics focused on nursing practice may be taken in partial fulfillment of select nursing courses. Contact the School of Nursing at 410-532-5526 for more information.

1. All students who matriculate with a nursing major must meet the admission requirements for students entering the College of Adult Undergraduate Studies (CAUS). Applicants must matriculate prior to taking courses in the College of Adult Undergraduate Studies.
2. Graduation from a diploma or associate degree in nursing program with a minimum Grade Point Average of 2.5 (on a four-point scale).  Students with a GPA between 2.0 and 2.49 may be required to take and pass the Adult Placement Exam in order to qualify for admission and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
3. Students must have earned a grade equivalent to “C” (2.0 or higher) in all courses that must be completed prior to beginning the upper division nursing major courses.  Examples of courses that must be completed are: English Composition; Anatomy and Physiology I and II; Microbiology; Introduction to Psychology; and Human Growth and Development.
4. When previous coursework has not been completed, for example Human Growth and Development, admission to the program and timeframe to complete courses will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
5. Students who matriculate into the nursing major must meet additional requirements:

• Active RN license or verification of licensure through a “compact” state in which they currently reside; or NCLEX-RN eligible.
• Students who begin the RN to BSN program without a RN license will not be permitted to enroll in NUR-412 Population Health through a Caring Lens and NUR 450 Capstone until they receive a license. The Adult Student Advisor must be notified when students receive a RN license.
• Students who are considered Associate to Bachelor (ATB) students cannot enroll in NUR-412 Population Health through a Caring Lens and NUR-450 Capstone until they receive a license. The Adult Student Advisor must be notified when students received a RN license.

  6. Additional Information

• The Registrar Office determines the maximum number of credits accepted for transfer. Generally, up to 68 credits can be transferred.
• No community college nursing credits will be transferred.
• All RNs with an active license in Maryland or a compact state will be granted 30 upper-level nursing credits per the Maryland Articulation Model.
• RNs will complete the remaining 30 upper-level nursing credits and any additional program requirements through Notre Dame

• Students who are considered Associate to Bachelor (ATB) students cannot enroll in NUR-412 Population Health through a Caring Lens and NUR-450 Capstone until they receive a license. The Adult Student Advisor must be notified when students received a RN license.
• Students who begin the RN to BSN program without a RN license will not be permitted to enroll in NUR-412 Population Health through a Caring Lens and NUR 450 Capstone until they receive a license. The Adult Student Advisor must be notified when students receive a RN license.
• Active RN license or verification of licensure through a “compact” state in which they currently reside; or NCLEX-RN eligible.