Entry requirements
Preparation for the Major/Prerequisites
The practice of nursing is a complex function requiring knowledge derived from the basic and related applied sciences, technical skills, and personal aptitudes. The pre-professional curriculum, therefore, must provide students with sufficient information from the social and natural sciences to permit an effective undertaking of the nursing courses as well as of the lower and upper division courses in related disciplines and applied sciences. Further, it must facilitate the students’ acquisition of a broad, liberal education, which forms the foundation for the subsequent program of professional education.
An associate degree or diploma in nursing, licensure as a registered nurse with a minimum of one year of experience, and 75 transferable units from community, state or private colleges including the prerequisites listed below are required for acceptance to the School of Nursing. Also required is successful completion of four standardized competency-screening examinations (Fundamentals of Nursing, Adult Nursing, Maternal and Child Nursing-AD and Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing) from Excelsior College for 30 transfer credits. The prerequisite courses must include the subjects in the list that follows. UCLA courses that satisfy these requirements are in parentheses. All prerequisite courses should be taken for a letter grade unless letter grading is unavailable at the institution in which the student is enrolled.
Prenursing Requirements:
Anatomy, Human with Lab
(UCLA-Physiological Sciences 13)
Anthropology, Sociocultural
(UCLA-Anthropology 9)
English, Compostion, Rhetoric and Language
(UCLA-English 3 - Writing I)
English, Critical Reading and Writing
(UCLA-English 4 or Writing II)
Humanities
(Arts, Literature, Philosophy)
Mathematics
(College level -- concepts and quantitative reasoning. Calculus is required for students planning to take Chemistry at UCLA.)
Microbiology, Introductory or Genera
(UCLA-Microbiology 6)
Physics, Introductory*
(UCLA-Physics 10)
Physiology, Human/Genera
(UCLA-Physiological Sciences 3)
Psychology, Introductory
(UCLA-Psychology 10)
Sociology
(UCLA-Sociology 1)
*One year of high school Physics with a grade "B" or better will fulfill this requirement.
The courses listed below are part of the nursing curriculum in the RN-BS program but may be completed in advance. Applicants may check http://www.assist.org for appropriate transferable courses
Chemistry 14A or 20A
Chemistry 14B or 20B
Chemistry 14C or 30A
Life Science 2
Life Science 3
A preparatory course in Chemistry prior to admission is strongly recommended:
Course description
The UCLA School of Nursing offers undergraduate study leading to the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Nursing for students who are already licensed as a Registered Nurse. The focus of the curriculum is on community-based nursing care and cultural and human diversity. The B.S. program provides a bridge for students who wish to prepare for advanced practice study at the graduate level.
A guiding premise of the baccalaureate curriculum is that a professional program of instruction contains approximately equal portions of general education and professionally specific courses. The prenursing curriculum, therefore, is comprised of specified courses in anatomy, anthropology, English, humanities, microbiology, nutrition, physics, physiology, psychology and sociology. A maximum of 74 prerequisite quarter units is transferable from the community college.
The baccalaureate program in nursing extends over a period of four quarters of full time day study and two summers. A total of 180 units is required for the B.S. degree. A minimum of 76 units must be completed in residence at UCLA. The curriculum is designed to assist registered nurses in gaining new knowledge needed for professional nursing in a changing society, and to build on their earlier associate degree or diploma education. Specifically, students are prepared to meet the need for community-based nursing care in a culturally diverse society.
Throughout the curriculum, emphasis is placed on concepts related to: (1) contributing to the viability of academic health centers through responsiveness to community needs, (2) improving care of the underserved in community clinics in inner city urban and rural settings, and (3) redesigning the role of public (community) health care through community outreach, home-based health services, and population-based health promotion.
Graduates of the UCLA B.S. degree program are able to assume responsibility for organizing, implementing, and evaluating community-based plans of nursing care for a culturally diverse society. The curriculum's focus on community-based nursing and multiculturalism has evolved from the changing health care system and the health care needs of California's demographically diverse population.
Students successfully completing the B.S. degree also acquire an educational foundation for entry into the master's program that prepares advanced practice nurses for roles as nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, clinical specialists, and administrators in primary and acute care.
After completing the B.S. program, graduates are able to:
1. Select and apply appropriate theory and research findings (concerning biopsychosocial health promotion and disease prevention, biobehavioral and health systems, cultural and human diversity, and the environment) to the nursing process with a variety of clients, families and communities;
2. Utilize the nursing process to promote biopsychosocial health and disease prevention and to support the resources of culturally diverse clients, families, and communities;
3. Identify researchable problems and critique completed research on issues of importance to nursing and health care delivery within culturally diverse communities;
4. Participate in professional and community organizations and/or interest groups relevant to health care delivery and modify nursing standards and practices in keeping with current trends;
5. Demonstrate leadership on the health team to plan, manage, and evaluate care of individuals, families, and communities for culturally diverse populations.
