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Required Courses

Courses required for admission vary significantly from one institution to another. These courses are mentioned frequently as being required and/or recommended:

  • General Chemistry
  • Human Anatomy
  • Human Physiology
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Microbiology
  • Statistics
  • Other courses may also be required

Some of the above courses may not be offered by Northwestern University’s undergraduate program but may be available through the Northwestern School of Professional Studies (SPS). 

Because pre-requisite courses can vary so much by program, we encourage pre-nursing students to research nursing programs early by reviewing program websites. 

  • Coursework that may be accepted by one nursing program may not necessarily be accepted by other programs. 
  • It’s important for pre-nursing students to communicate with each program in which they are interested to double-check that their coursework is accepted as fulfilling that particular program’s pre-requisites.
  • We’re also happy to meet with students to discuss the best way to plan and complete the necessary coursework.

Choosing a Major

Nursing students come from a wide variety of educational back grounds. Applicants are not required to major in particular major in college to be eligible for admission to an accelerated Bachelors or generalist Master’s degree program. If the nursing program pre-requisite courses are not required as part of an applicant’s undergraduate major, these courses will need to be completed as electives or outside of the Northwestern system (there would not be a need to transfer the courses back to Northwestern).