Nursing students at UT-Austin can obtain degrees at all levels within the field.
The School of Nursing at the University of Texas at Austin is one of the nation's best programs in the nursing field. "U.S. News & World Report" ranked the UT-Austin program as the No. 19 nursing school among all nursing programs nationwide in 2007 (the last year that programs were ranked). Because the UT-Austin nursing school offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in the field, the entrance requirements for each program differ significantly.
Bachelor of Science Program
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) program at UT-Austin has a two-step process leading to admission in the nursing school. Students must first submit their application to the University of Texas and be admitted to the university as a pre-nursing major. The school requires that students complete 66 credit hours in prerequisite courses prior to admission to the nursing school. Course required include biology, microbiology, pharmacology, chemistry, physiology, global health, communication in health care, ethics in health care, and nursing research. Students also must complete courses in the arts and sciences to fulfill general education requirements. The second phase of the program is the professional sequence, which students are only allowed to start after completing the necessary prerequisites. The school also offers a degree completion program for registered nurses with an associate degree. These students must complete 54 prerequisite course credits, 33 of which may be transferred from another institution or completed by examination.
Master of Science Program
The Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) program has its own prerequisites and admission standards. Students can be admitted to the program if they have received a B.S.N. from a regionally accredited nursing school or if they are registered nurses with an associate degree and hold a bachelor's degree in another career field as well. The school requires that applicants have a minimum 3.0 GPA in their upper-division coursework, complete the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and currently be licensed as a nurse in their state of residence. The only prerequisite course for the M.S.N. program is a course in statistics with the grade of a "C" or higher. Students with a bachelor's degree in another field can be admitted provided they complete all prerequisite courses prior to enrollment.
Ph.D. Program
The Ph.D. program at UT-Austin also has two modes of entry. The alternate entry path to admission in the Ph.D. program requires a bachelor's degree in any field with an upper-level GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students must complete all prerequisite courses prior to enrollment and take the GRE.
The more traditional entry route into the Ph.D. program requires both the B.S.N and M.S.N. degrees or the associate degree in nursing with either a master's degree or bachelor's degree in another field. These applicants must be registered nurses and complete a statistics course with a grade of a "C" or better.
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