College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Coloardo Denver

Nursing Careers

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

The baccalaureate curriculum of the School of Nursing is designed to prepare candidates for practice as professional nurses in a variety of settings. Graduates of this program can expect a challenging career in leadership and service as a registered nurse. Baccalaureate education is the initial step toward nursing careers for which graduate level education is required.

How to improve your chances of getting into nursing school

Admission

All applicants are considered competitively. Several factors are considered in selecting applicants, including academic achievement, motivation for nursing as a career, experiences with people from diverse groups and life experiences. Class size limitations and the competitive nature of the program make it impossible for the School of Nursing to offer admission to all applications who meet admission requirements. The following must be completed to be considered for admission.

  • Applicants must complete a minimum of 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of prerequisite course work. Each prerequisite course must be completed with a minimum grade of C (2.0) in each course.
  • Applicants must have a minimum 2.75 overall gpa for all course work completed at the college level.
  • Applicants may have no more than 5 prerequisite courses outstanding by the beginning of the spring semester prior to summer or fall admission. All prerequisite course work must be completed by the end of that spring semester.
  • Applicants must complete the essay questions on the application
  • A personal interview may be required.

Please note that the entering gpa for applicants who have had a 5 year or more break in their undergraduate education may be computed using only the recent course grades provided that a minimum of 24 semester hours has been completed since the break in education. If any courses taken before the break are used to fulfill prerequisites, the grades for these courses will also be calculated as part of the entering gpa.

Prerequisite Course Work

All applicants are required to complete the prerequisite courses listed below BEFORE matriculation. These courses are not available at the Health Sciences Center, but can be taken at any regional institution. Applicants cannot have more than 5 outstanding prerequisite courses to complete at the time of application, and must complete them prior to admission.  Keep in mind that although the nursing programs may not require other courses, various academic programs may have additional pre-requisite courses you will need to take to take the courses listed below.  An example would be general chemistry which is not specifically required for nursing, but is required before taking physiology or microbiology.

  • Microbiology with lab
  • Anatomy with lab (Kinesiology nor general biology are acceptable substitutes)
  • Physiology with lab (general biology not an acceptable substitute)
  • Two additional science courses in any of the following: biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, zoology, or astronomy. One course must include a laboratory experience.
  • College Algebra
  • Statistics
  • General Sociology
  • General Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • One course in either Cultural Anthropology or Multicultural Studies
  • College Level English Composition
  • Philosophy
  • Creative Arts
  • Nutrition
  • One course in any of the following: political science, history, or macroeconomics

Additional Information

Current cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification is required by the beginning of the first semester. A course covering child and adult CPR is required.

The Hepatitis B vaccination series must be completed prior to your first clinical experience.

For further information contact the Univ. of Colo. School of Nursing at 303-315-5592.

Nurse Practitioner Programs

The following schools offer graduate programs in both nurse practitioner and graduate programs in nursing. This list does not include the hundreds of certificate and bachelor's level programs around the country. The following link will take you to a Yahoo web page that has links to the various RN programs around the country, as well as many other useful links for general nursing information.

Graduate Programs Leading to a Nurse Practitioners Degree

Master of Science in Nursing

The following schools offer graduate programs in nursing. This list does not include the hundreds of certificate and bachelor's level programs around the country. The following link will take you to a Yahoo web page that has links to the various RN programs around the country, as well as many other useful links for general nursing information.

Master of Science and Master of Arts in Nursing

Nursing Assistant Programs

  • Aims Community College Nursing Assistant Program; P.O. Box 69, Greeley, Colorado; 1-970-330-8008
  • Arapahoe Community College Nursing Assistant Program: 5900 S. Santa Fe Dr., P.O. Box 9002 Littleton, Colorado, 80160-9002; 1-303-797-4222
  • Colorado Mountain College System Nursing Assistant Program; 831 Grand Ave. PO Box 10001, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, 81602; 1-800-621-8559
  • Community College of Denver Nursing Assistant Program  ; PO Box 173365, Denver, Colorado, 80217; 1-303-365-7771 (This is a BIG page with many other disciplines on it - you will have to spend some time hunting for this particular discipline)
  • Red Rocks Community College Nursing Assistant certification Program; 13300 W. 6th Ave, Lakewood, Colorado, 80228-1255; 1-303-988-6160 This is a BIG page with many other disciplines on it - you will have to spend some time hunting for this particular discipline)

Other Colorado Nursing Programs

  • Arapahoe Community College AAS Program in Nursing : 5900 S. Santa Fe Dr., P.O. Box 9002 Littleton, Colorado, 80160-9002; 1-303-797-4222
  • Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Science; 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colo. Springs, Colo.; 1-719-262-4430
  • Colorado Mountain College System Nursing; 831 Grand Ave. PO Box 10001, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, 81602; 1-800-621-8559
  • Community College of Denver Nursing Program; PO Box 173365, Denver, Colorado, 80217; 1-303-365-7771 (This is a BIG page with many other disciplines on it - you will have to spend some time hunting for this particular discipline)
  • Front Range Community College Nursing Program; 3645 W. 112th Ave., Westminster, Colorado, 80031; 303-404-5550
  • Pikes Peak Community College Nursing Program; 5675 S. Academy Blvd., Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80906; 1-800-456-6847
  • Pueblo Community College Nursing Program; 900 West Orman Ave., Pueblo, Colorado, 81004-1499; 1-719-549-3200
  • Red Rocks Community College Nursing certification Program; 13300 W. 6th Ave, Lakewood, Colorado, 80228-1255; 1-303-988-6160 This is a BIG page with many other disciplines on it - you will have to spend some time hunting for this particular discipline)
  • Regis University School of Nursing; 3333 Regis Blvd. Denver, Colorado, 80221; 1-303-458-4344.
  • University of Colorado School of Nursing; 4200 E. 9th Avenue, Denver, Colorado, 80262; 1-303-315-5592

Questions? Please email Dr. Charles Ferguson