Overview 

The baccalaureate curriculum provides for eight semesters of study in general education and professional nursing. Upon admission, students are assigned an advisor to guide planning throughout the program. Students should obtain guidance in the selection of courses as early as possible. 

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree requires a minimum of 120 hours. These credits are distributed between general education requirements and electives, and professional nursing requirements. All lower division requirements must be completed before progressing to upper division courses. Upper division courses must be taken in sequence as outlined in the Undergraduate Student Handbook.

The upper division focuses on clinical practice and requires full-time study. Clinical practice is supported by concurrent classroom study. Students practice in a variety of settings such as hospitals, extended-care facilities, nursing homes, clinics, schools, and other community agencies.

Computer skills are required throughout the curriculum. Skills required for class assignments and clinical practice include: word processing, computerized assisted instruction, e-mail, Web access, Internet searches, database searches, computerized patient documentation, and computerized medical equipment.

Lower Division

All students in the lower division in the baccalaureate program are subject to the following regulations:

1. Students must maintain a minimum 3.000  institutional GPA in order to maintain good standing in the nursing program. Grades are reviewed at the end of each semester. Students who have less than a 3.000  institutional GPA are placed on probation within the college for one major semester or 12 credit hours but may continue to take all required courses. If at the end of the probationary semester their institutional GPA is still less than a 3.000, students must change their major before the next semester and will not be advised by the College of Nursing. Students must contact the University Advising Center.
2. All incomplete grades posted on the transcript must be removed before progression into the upper division can be considered.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C in all required courses in the nursing program. Only one below C grade is allowed in a required science or nursing (NURS) course to remain eligible for the nursing major. Any science course that needs to be repeated must be taken within the USC System. All nursing courses that need to be repeated must be taken at USC Columbia.

Upper Division

Progression into upper division nursing for pre-licensure students occurs in the summer and fall. Students should be prepared to start upper division in a summer term. There is no guarantee that students will get placed in their term of preference. In addition, students are encouraged to look into their financial aid/scholarship/funding sources in preparation for their upper division start. Fifty percent of admitted students will be placed into the summer cohort. Fifty percent of admitted students will be placed into the fall cohort. Once selection has been made there will be no changes to the cohorts. GPA standing does not guarantee placement in your term of preference.  Students who wish to apply to upper division nursing must have a completed parallel plan on file with their nursing advisor and submit a completed College of Nursing Progression Application by the stated fall application process for the following summer or fall semester in which registration is desired. In addition, students must also complete an interview/essay as part of their application. Progression is competitive, based on progression GPA and interview/essay.  Progression to upper division is limited to a set number of qualified students based on available clinical faculty and placement sites. Factors considered in the progression decision include:          

1. A minimum institutional grade point average of 3.000 or better.
2. A grade of C or better in all required courses in the nursing program.
3. Progression GPA which includes grades on all attempts of designated courses listed on the BSN major map.
4. Interview and/or essay evaluation.

Note: Honors students are required to submit an application to upper division by the posted deadline. All progression requirements must be met to guarantee admission to the upper division.

Note: all applicants will complete the same evaluation metrics.

Students must have a completed application on file, provide evidence of successful completion of remaining lower division coursework, be admitted to the upper division, have completed all required clinical healthcare information, and confirmed acceptance of their seat prior to registering for their first upper division nursing courses (300 level).

A minimum grade of C is required in each nursing course. Only one upper division nursing course may be repeated once to earn a grade of C or better to remain eligible for the nursing major. All students must maintain a minimum 3.000 institutional GPA in order to maintain good standing in the nursing program. Grades are reviewed at the end of each semester. Students who have less than a 3.000 institutional GPA in all coursework are placed on probation within the college for one semester but may continue to take all required courses. If at the end of the probationary semester their institutional GPA is still less than 3.000, students are administratively removed from the nursing major.

Learning Outcomes

1. Provide evidence-based, culturally sensitive, clinically competent care across the continuum of care.
2. Use information and health care technologies to assist in making clinical judgments using reflection, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills for effective health care delivery.
3. Exhibit professional behavior while working as a member of an interprofessional healthcare team and in all other settings.
4. Perform the professional roles of care provider, care coordinator, leader, member of a profession, and life-long learner.

Entrance Requirements

BSN Program (Pre-Licensure)

Lower Division

In order to be admitted into the College of Nursing, freshmen must meet all University and College of Nursing admission requirements. Acceptance into the University with a lower division classification does not guarantee progression into the upper division nursing major. Undergraduates who seek a nursing degree are first admitted into the College of Nursing’s pre-nursing lower division.

Upper Division

Students enrolled in the lower division must meet minimum upper division admission standards set forth by the College of Nursing. Once minimum criteria are met, all qualified applicants are placed into an applicant group and are evaluated, using the same criteria, by their institutional grade point average, their progression grade point averages and essay and/or interview criterion for a total evaluation metric. Based on the number of available seats and available clinical sites, students are admitted based on results of the total evaluation metrics.

Effective Fall 2020 and After:

• Prerequisite BSN science courses must be completed within 7 years of starting upper division coursework, or 8 years if have continuous fall/spring higher education enrollment.
• Once a student has begun upper division coursework, they must complete the BSN degree within 5 years.

Additional transfer admission criteria

To be considered for admission into pre-nursing lower division of the BSN generic (pre-licensure) program, transfer students from another institution of higher education must have a minimum 3.500 institutional GPA in their college level coursework. In addition, any below C grades in nursing or science courses will eliminate you from consideration. See major specific transfer information on the admissions website.

To be eligible to apply for the upper division, transfer students must meet the College of Nursing requirements for progression through completion of the lower division science and nursing courses. Courses equivalent to NURS courses will not be accepted for transfer to the BSN generic (pre-licensure).

Current USC students please see change of major requirements on the CON website.

Smart Start Program 

Students entering the university and meeting South Carolina Honors College (SCHC) admission criteria have a one-time opportunity, at the point of freshman admission only, to enroll in the Smart Start Nursing Program. Students admitted into Smart Start are directly admitted into Upper Division of the Nursing Program contingent upon meeting all SCHC and College of Nursing academic standards criteria and completion of all upper division application progression requirements.

Smart Start students who are not successful with meeting upper division application requirements will lose their direct admit status but will remain eligible for admission under the competitive upper division admissions process.

Degree Requirements (120 hours) 

See College of Nursing for progression requirements and other regulations.

Program of Study

all degree requirements must be passed with a grade of C or higher

Program Summary

Requirements	Credit Hours
1. Carolina Core	31-37
2. College Requirements	7
3. Program Requirements	11-15
4. Major Requirements	67

Founding Documents Requirement

All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade in the subject areas of History, Political Science, or African American Studies that covers the founding documents including the United State Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation and one or more documents that are foundational to the African American Freedom struggle, and a minimum of five essays from the Federalist papers.  This course may count as a requirement in any part of the program of study including the Carolina Core, the major, minor or cognate, or as a general elective.  Courses that meet this requirement are listed here.

1. Carolina Core Requirements (31-37 hours)

CMW – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written (6 hours)

• ENGL 101
• ENGL 102

ARP – Analytical Reasoning and Problem Solving (6 hours) 

• STAT 205 and 
• STAT 112, or CSCE 101 or CSCE 102

SCI – Scientific Literacy (7 hours)

• CHEM 102
• BIOL 206

Note: CHEM 102 is a pre-requisite course for nursing courses.

GFL – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language  (0-6 hours)

Demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language by achieving a score of two or higher on the Foreign Language Placement Test or by completing one Foreign Language through 110 or 121.

• CC-GFL courses

GHS – ​Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Historical Thinking (3 hours) 

• any CC-GHS course​ 

GSS – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Social Sciences (3 hours) 

• PSYC 101

AIU – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding (3 hours)

• any CC-AIU course

CMS – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component¹ (0-3 hours)

• PHIL 213

INF – Information Literacy¹ (0-3 hours)

• Fulfilled through STAT 112/ENGL 102, overlay courses with ARP/CMW

VSR – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility¹ (0-3 hours)

• Fulfilled through PHIL 213, an overlay course with CMS

¹

Carolina Core Stand Alone or Overlay Eligible Requirements — Overlay-approved courses offer students the option of meeting two Carolina Core components in a single course. A maximum of two overlays is allowed. The total Carolina Core credit hours must add up to a minimum of 31 hours. Some programs may have a higher number of minimum Carolina Core hours due to specified requirements.

2. College Requirements (7 hours)

• BIOL 250 & BIOL 250L
• PSYC 420

3. Program Requirements (11-15 hours)

Supporting Courses (11 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
BIOL 243 & 243L	Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory	4
BIOL 244 & 244L	Human Anatomy and Physiology II and Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory	4
SOCY 101	Introductory Sociology	3
Total Credit Hours		11

Electives (0-4 hours)

As needed to meet minimum 120 hours required for graduation.

4. Major Requirements (67 hours)

Major Courses (67 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Lower Division Courses 1
NURS 112	Introduction to Nursing as a Profession	2
NURS 208	Introduction to Nursing Informatics	2
NURS 216	Biophysical Pathology	3
NURS 220	Clinical Nutrition	3
Upper Division Courses
NURS 311	Introduction to Health Assessment	3
NURS 312	Foundations of Nursing Practice	5
NURS 313	Nursing Care of the Older Adult	3
NURS 314	Clinical Reasoning in Nursing Practice	2
NURS 324	Chemical Therapeutics	3
NURS 400	Evidence-based Nursing Practice	3
NURS 411	Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing	4
NURS 412	Acute Care Nursing of Adults I	5
NURS 413	Intradisciplinary Communication and Skills Development	2
NURS 422	Acute Care Nursing of Adults II	5
NURS 426	Concepts of Pediatric and Reproductive Health	5
NURS 427	Intradisciplinary Coordination and Skills Management	1
NURS 428	Nursing Leadership and Management	4
NURS 431	Population Health Nursing	4
NURS 435	Senior Nursing Capstone Practicum	8
Total Credit Hours		67

¹

All lower division courses must be successfully completed before progression to the upper division.

Major Map

A major map is a layout of required courses in a given program of study, including critical courses and suggested course sequences to ensure a clear path to graduation.

Major maps are only a suggested or recommended sequence of courses required in a program of study. Please contact your academic advisor for assistance in the application of specific coursework to a program of study and course selection and planning for upcoming semesters.

Nursing-Generic, B.S.N.