The curriculum of the BSN program encompasses general, foundational and professional studies within a liberal-education perspective. The curriculum is driven by the belief that nursing knowledge and skills are essential to improving the health and well-being of patients and populations.
As first year and second year students, nursing students are considered pre-nursing majors. Students are required to complete approximately 60 semester hours of general education and prerequisite coursework while applying the clinical nursing major.
Students apply for admission to the clinical major during the last semester of general education and prerequisite coursework. After admission, a student must earn 60 additional credit hours in nursing to complete the clinical major. MU requires a minimum of 120 credit hours for the bachelor’s degree in nursing.
A four-year plan of study can be found in the University Catalog. An alternative plan to modify the time to graduation permits a student to use a summer session option.
Cultural Competency Course Requirement
Students will be required to complete three (3) credit hours of coursework that fulfills the cultural competency course requirement. These courses are intended to prepare nursing students to interact with diverse patient populations, work to address health disparities, understand how different cultures interact, gather knowledge of other cultures, and use this knowledge to adapt to various cultures as they are encountered. Students will take one (1) of the three (3) humanity/fine art courses OR the upper level behavioral science course to fulfill this requirement.
The Student Advising Office will maintain and distribute the list of approved courses to students on a regular basis. This course will be built into a student’s personal timeline during their first advising appointment.
(Approved by Faculty Assembly 4.25.2016)
Optional Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) Program
The UAP program is funded by the Missouri Department of Economic Development to build a pipeline of health care professionals. It is especially helpful for pre-nursing students looking to build their resume with health care experience before applying for their clinical program.
*The nursing clinical curriculum will be revised to meet accreditation standards beginning fall 2025.