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.

Pre-Nursing

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.

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

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

Note: May substitute STAT 201 or STAT 206  for STAT 205.

SCI – Scientific Literacy (7 hours)

• CHEM 102
• BIOL 206

Note: CHEM 102 is a pre-requisite course for nursing courses; CHEM 111, CHEM 111L, CHEM 112, and CHEM 112L (all must be taken) may substitute for CHEM 102.

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)

Electives (0-4 hours)

As needed to meet minimum 120 hours required for graduation.

4. Major Requirements (67 hours)

Major Courses (67 hours)

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.

¹

Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 3.000 cumulative institutional GPA.  One below C grade is allowed in a required science or nursing (NURS) course to remain eligible for the major.  However, students must earn a minimum grade of C in all required courses for the BSN program in order to continue with the curriculum and graduate. 

²

Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses.  Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study. 

³

CHEM 102 is a pre-requisite course for nursing courses; CHEM 111, CHEM 111L, CHEM 112, and CHEM 112L (all must be taken) may substitute for CHEM 102. 

⁴

Students who do not place into the required ARP courses must complete the necessary prerequisites before continuing with the required Carolina Core ARP courses. 

⁵

The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students. 

⁶

Students may substitute STAT 201 or STAT 206 for STAT 205. 

⁷

Students in the College of Nursing are required to 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. 

⁸

NURS 220 must be completed with a C or better grade prior to starting upper division coursework. 

Program Notes:

• Students must have a “C” or better grade in all critical courses and a cumulative 3.000 or higher progression and institutional GPA in order to be eligible to apply to Upper Division.
• Acceptance into the University with a pre-nursing (lower-division) classification does not guarantee progression into the upper-division nursing major. Students enrolled in pre-nursing (lower division) must meet minimum upper division admission standards set forth by the College of Nursing (see Bulletin listing). Once minimum criteria are met, all qualified applicants are placed into an applicant group and are evaluated, using the same criteria,  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. 
• Prerequisite BSN science courses must be completed within 7 years of starting upper division coursework, or 8 years if continuous fall/spring higher education enrollment.
• Once a student has begun upper division coursework, they must complete the BSN degree within 5 years.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin.
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.