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Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston focuses solely on preparing students to achieve excellence in nursing education, practice, and scientific discovery.

To earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, students must complete general education courses at another educational institution before enrolling at Cizik School of Nursing. Students may satisfy these prerequisites at a community college or four-year university.

The full prerequisite list includes 60 credit hours; however, an application to our Pacesetter BSN track will be considered for admission if, at the application deadline, at least 48 prerequisite credit hours have been completed, 16 of which are in Anatomy Physiology, Chemistry, and Microbiology. Please note that if admission is offered, all prerequisite courses must be completed prior to the start of class.

There are no time limits on prerequisites.

  • Required courses

    Courses

    Hours

    American Government

    3

    Texas Government

    3

    U. S. History

    6

    Intro to Psychology

    3

    Intro to Sociology

    3

    Human Growth & Development (Lifespan)

    3

    Statistics Math or psychology only

    3

    Anatomy & Physiology Lecture & Lab

    8

    Microbiology Lecture & Lab

    4

    Chemistry Lecture & Lab

    4

    Nutrition

    3

    English  Literature courses do not qualify

    6

    Intro to Philosophy

    3

    Visual & Performing Arts Course prefixes ARTS, DANC, MUAP, MUEN, MUSI, DRAM,  or equivalent

    3

    Electives  (college-level only)

    5

  • About electives

    An elective is any academic course that is not used to satisfy another course prerequisite.  The UTHealth Registrar’s Office will use the highest graded electives available on the transcript to calculate your prerequisite GPA. 

    Cizik School of Nursing does not accept the following courses as electives:

    • Nursing
    • Physical education, kinesiology, or fitness courses
    • Vocational or technical courses, including computer courses
    • Remedial courses
    • Graduate-level courses
  • Fulfilling specific requirements

    Visual and performing arts:
    We accept dance, music, art, and drama courses as well as art, theater, and music history courses. Generally, any course with a prefix such as ARTS, DANC, MUAP, MUEN, MUSI, DRAM will satisfy the requirement.

    English
    Literature courses are not accepted for this prerequisite.

    Philosophy
    In addition to undergraduate courses with a PHIL prefix, critical thinking courses are accepted to fulfill the Intro to Philosophy requirement. Intro to the Humanities does not count; however, that course can be used as an elective.

    Texas Government
    This course is required and cannot be substituted. Students who complete undergraduate coursework in other states must complete a Texas Government course before enrolling.

    Growth & Development
    To meet Cizik School of Nursing’s requirement, Growth and Development courses must cover the full life span of a human, from conception to death. Veterinary courses and child development courses do not meet the requirement. 

Transcripts
Applicants must submit official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended by the BSN application deadline. Electronic submission is preferred. Official transcripts may be sent directly from your post-secondary institutions to student-admissions@uth.tmc.edu. Transcripts will not be accepted if emailed from the student. Transcripts submitted on paper must be printed within six months of receipt.

Prerequisite Evaluation
Once an application is submitted and all supporting materials have been received, the UTHealth Registrar’s Office will conduct an official course evaluation. A transcript of the evaluation will be sent via postal mail.



Frequently Asked Questions about BSN Prerequisites

Q: Can I request an unofficial prerequisite evaluation?
A: Unfortunately, due to limited staffing and the volume of applications received, we are unable to provide unofficial evaluations. Official evaluations are conducted by the UTHealth Registrar’s Office upon submitting your transcripts when you apply. If you have a question about a specific course after reviewing the information on this page, please email student-admissions@uth.tmc.edu.

Q: My school is not listed on the transfer guide, what can I do?
A: The transfer guide is not a comprehensive list of the many schools in Texas. To get a sense of what may transfer, please refer to the Texas Common Course Numbering System. From here you can choose a school listed in our transfer guide and compare it to the institution you are planning to attend.

Q: Will the courses I earned for dual credit at my high school count for credit?
A: Yes, to get credit, you will be required to submit an official transcript from the institution who certified the credit.

Q: Are CLEP/IB/AP scores accepted?
A: CLEP/IB/AP scores will be accepted for most courses if they were already evaluated for post-secondary credit and appear on a college transcript. They will not be accepted for science courses.

Q: Do online courses count toward prerequisites?
A: As long as the courses are taken from a regionally accredited institution, most online courses will be accepted. Please contact your school’s registrar to determine if it is regionally accredited. Labs for science courses taken online cannot be accepted for prerequisite requirement.

Q: If I retake a course, how will that be reflected in my overall prerequisite GPA.
A: In most cases, the nursing prerequisite GPA will be calculated using the grade of the most recently taken course. The science GPA will be calculated using ALL SCIENCE courses taken.

Q: I will not have completed 48 credit hours until after the deadline has passed – can I still apply?
A: No, the review process commences shortly after the deadline, so the 48 credits must be earned and reported on a transcript prior to application deadline.

Q: If I’ve taken two Anatomy & Physiology courses, but the combined total is not eight hours, can I still apply or do I have to take another course?
A: The number of credits is what is considered, not the number of courses taken. You must have a minimum of 16 hours of sciences to apply for admission.