RN to BSN Program Requirements

The BSN degree requires a minimum of 120 credits:
• 60 in general education
• 48 in nursing
• 12 free electives.

General Education Requirements
The 60-credit requirement in general education provides students with a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences/mathematics and a foundation for the professional nursing requirements and graduate study.

Professional Nursing Requirements
The 48-credit nursing requirement includes 20 credits of lower-division nursing and 28 credits of upper-division nursing.

Lower-Division Nursing
The 20-credit lower-division nursing requirement will be satisfied by transfer credit from an associate degree nursing program or by the award of credit for diploma nursing course work.

Upper-Division Nursing
The 28-credit upper-division nursing requirement may be completed entirely by online courses offered by the School of Nursing. Three graduate courses, Health Policy, Emerging Trends in Healthcare Technology and Seminar in Clinical Competence, will be completed by all BSN degree students as part of upper-division nursing requirements. These nine graduate credits will apply to MSN degree requirements at Thomas Edison State College.

Free Elective Requirements
Twelve credits of college-level course work and examinations that do not duplicate other credits may be used, with a maximum of eight credits from physical education activity courses.