Bachelor of Science

BS Program

3 nursing students sitting with one another

The UCLA School of Nursing admits new undergraduate students once each year at the First-Year level and a limited number of transfer students at the junior level. The School requires the completion of a supplemental application to allow potential students the opportunity to provide additional information about their preparation for entry into the nursing profession.

Key Information

  • This is a traditional, four-year program beginning as a First-Year student. A limited number of transfer students are accepted annually.
  • Graduates of the BS program are eligible to take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX) to be licensed as a registered nurse (RN) and may apply for the Public Health Nursing Certificate from the California Board of Registered Nursing.
  • The BS program is a UCLA-certified capstone major. During the last clinical course in the fourth year, each student plans and implements a Clinically-based Scholarly Project designed to improve the system of care provided to patients and their families.
  • Students successfully completing the BS requirements also acquire an educational foundation for entry into the post-BS to DNP program that prepares nurses for advanced practice clinical roles.

Admission

Freshman applicants must satisfy the general freshman admission requirements of the University of California and provide the information requested on the School of Nursing Supplemental Application for Freshman Admission.

Applicants with Military Experience

UCLA School of Nursing will accept qualified student applicants who have completed relevant military education and experiences, have met the University admission requirements, and who present documented equivalency courses. Once admitted, such individuals are eligible for credit by challenge examination. For additional details, read the full policy here. For more information, contact Mark Covin, Director of Recruitment, Outreach & Admissions for further information.

Transfer applicants must complete all IGETC (General Education) requirements at the school where they are currently enrolled or have previously attended. Applicants must complete the equivalent of all seven non-nursing preparation courses for the major by the end of the spring semester/quarter to be considered for admission. Those courses are as follows:

  • Chemistry 20A, 20B & 30A (General, Inorganic & Organic)
  • Life Sciences 7A & 7C (Cell and Molecular Biology & Physiology and Human Biology)
  • Physiological Science 3 & 13 (Human Anatomy & Human Physiology)

The following prerequisite coursework is strongly recommended:

  • Communications 1 or 10* (Introductory Communication)
  • Math 3A or 31A* (Calculus)
  • Microbiology* (General Microbiology)
  • Psychology 10* (Introductory Psychology)

Applicants with Military Experience

UCLA School of Nursing will accept qualified student applicants who have completed relevant military education and experiences, have met the University admission requirements, and who present documented equivalency courses. Once admitted, such individuals are eligible for credit by challenge examination. For additional details, read the full policy here. For more information, contact Mark Covin, Director of Recruitment, Outreach & Admissions, for further information.

Licensed Vocational Nurses interested in completion of the UCLA 45-unit option must formally request to follow this option. It does not lead to conferral of a Bachelor of Science degree at UCLA. Interested students are required to meet with the Associate Dean of Student Affairs.

Tuition & Fees

Degree Requirements

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.

University Requirements 

  1. Entry Level Writing or English as a Second Language (ESL) in the first year
  2. American History and Institutions

School of Nursing Requirements

  1. Units Required — minimum 180/maximum 216

  2. Scholarship — minimum GPA 2.0 for graduation
  3. Residence Requirement — All units in the last two years of the major must be taken in residence
  4. Course Requirements
    1. Writing — Writing I and Writing II Course (GE/Writing II recommended)  (10 units)
    2. Quantitative Reasoning (Biostatistics 100A recommended) (4 units)
    3. General Education  47 units
      1. Foundations of Arts and Humanities (14 units)
        1. Philosophical and Linguistic Analysis — select from approved list
        2. Visual and Performing Arts Analysis — select from approved list
        3. Literary and Cultural Analysis — select from approved list
      2. Foundations of Society and Culture (14 units)
        1. Historical Analysis — select from approved list
        2. Social Analysis — (Communications 10 recommended)
        3. Third course — (Psychology 10 recommended)
      3. Foundations of Scientific Inquiry (18 units)
        1. Life Sciences, two courses (Life Science 7, Nursing 3 recommended)
        2. Physical Sciences, two courses (Chemistry 14 A and 14B recommended)

Nursing Major Requirements

  1. Preparation for the major — Completion of all General Education Foundations courses and the courses listed below are required as preparation for nursing major courses. Preparation for the major courses may be used to fulfill the General Education requirements as recommended above.
    1. Chemistry 14A, Atomic and Molecular Structure, Equilibria, Acids, and Bases (4)
    2. Chemistry 14B, Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry, Kinetics, and Organic Chemistry (4)
    3. Chemistry 14C, Structure of Organic Molecules (4)
    4. Communication Studies 1, Principles of Oral Communication (4), or Communication Studies 10,  Introduction to Communication Studies (5)
    5. Biostatistics 100A, Introduction to Biostatistics (4)
    6. Life Sciences 7A, Cell and Molecular Biology (4)
    7. Life Sciences 7C, Physiology and Human Biology (4)
    8. Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics 10, Medical Microbiology for Nursing Students (4)
    9. Psychology 10, Introductory Psychology (5)
    10. Calculus (4)
    11. Nursing 3, Human Physiology (5)
    12. Nursing 13, Human Anatomy (5)
    13. Nursing 10, Introduction to Nursing/Social Justice (2)
    14. Nursing 20, Introduction to Nursing/Social Justice (2)
    15. Nursing 50, Fundamentals of Epidemiology (4)
    16. Nursing 54A, Pathophysiology I (3)
    17. Nursing 54B, Pathophysiology II (2)
    18. Nursing 173W, Introduction to Research (5)
  2. Major Courses
    1. Nursing 115, Pharmacology and Therapeutics (5)
    2. Nursing 150A, Fundamentals of Professional Nursing I (4)
    3. Nursing 150B, Fundamentals of Professional Nursing II (4)
    4. Nursing 152A, Health Promotion: Growth & Development in Culturally Diverse Populations (2)
    5. Nursing 152B, Health Promotion: Nutrition in Culturally Diverse Populations (2)
    6. Nursing 160, Secondary Prevention (4)
    7. Nursing 161, Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (5)
    8. Nursing 162A, Foundational Concepts for Tertiary Prevention and Care of Medical-Surgical Patients and Families (4)
    9. Nursing 162B, Tertiary Prevention and Care of Medical-Surgical Geriatric Patients and Families (6)
    10. Nursing 162C, Tertiary Prevention and Care of Medical-Surgical Patients and Families (8)
    11. Nursing 163, Nursing Care of Geriatric Patients and Families (3)
    12. Nursing 164, Maternity Nursing (5)
    13. Nursing 165, Pediatric Nursing (5)
    14. Nursing 168, Advanced Leadership and Role Integration (5)
    15. Nursing 169, Clinical Internship: Integration (12)
    16. Nursing 171, Public Health Nursing (6) 
    17. Nursing 174, Physical Assessment (4)

Total Units = 180-216

See UCLA Catalog for description of courses.

Curriculum

  1. Domain #1: Knowledge for Nursing Practice: Integrate established and evolving disciplinary nursing knowledge, the liberal arts, and natural and social sciences to develop clinical judgement in nursing practice.
  2. Domain #2: Person-Centered Care: Deliver high quality, holistic care that is person-centered, equitable, compassionate, developmentally appropriate, and evidence-based using the nursing process while collaborating with other healthcare team members to engage additional expertise when necessary.
  3. Domain #3: Population Health: Engage in population health interventions by collaborating with traditional and non-traditional partnerships from community organizations, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities to advocate for equitable health outcomes.
  4. Domain #4: Scholarship for Nursing Practice: Synthesize nursing knowledge and integrate evidence-based interventions to address practice problems, health inequities, policy gaps, and system inefficiencies in order to improve patient safety, care quality, and equitable health outcomes while promoting ethical conduct in scholarly activities.
  5. Domain #5: Quality and Safety: Provide quality nursing care based on emerging principles of safety and improvement science to enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both individual performance and system effectiveness.
  6. Domain #6: Interprofessional Partnerships: Collaborate through interprofessional partnerships to enhance the healthcare experience, optimize care, and improve quality outcomes for diverse patients, families, and communities.
  7. Domain #7: Systems-Based Practice: Work within complex systems to effectively and sustainably coordinate resources to provide safe, quality, and equitable health care to diverse populations through the use of innovation and evidence-based practice.
  8. Domain #8: Informatics and HC Technologies: Use Informatics and healthcare technologies to collect and analyze data that informs evidence-based decision-making; supports safe, ethical, high-quality and efficient person-centered care; and facilitates effective communication.
  9. Domain #9: Professionalism: Develop a professional identity fortified by advanced leadership concepts, embodying accountability, a collaborative disposition, diverse perspectives, and ethical behaviors that exemplify the values and characteristics of the nursing profession while prioritizing the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion in both practice and professional identity.
  10. Domain #10: Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development: Develop leadership skills by participating in activities that build healthy relationships, enhance self-reflection, foster personal health and wellbeing, and promote lifelong learning.

BS program course sequence (Freshman PreCalculus, Calculus, & Transfer)