ABSN Prerequisites and Requirements: UST Houston
While you may hold all the necessary qualifications to apply to our ABSN program, it’s likely you may also need to meet certain other prerequisites before you can become eligible to apply for our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. You also must meet certain medical requirements before you can begin the program.
Note: International students and visa holders are not eligible for the ABSN program.
Prerequisite courses provide the foundation for your ABSN coursework, preparing you for anything and everything nursing school will send your way.
Talking with the UST admissions team is a good first step in determining exactly which ABSN prerequisite courses you may need to complete. They can review your academic history and unofficial transcripts with you to help determine which credits will transfer and develop a plan for completing any remaining courses in time for your target start date in our program.
You may take these courses through the University of St. Thomas Houston or any other accredited college or university.
Completing these courses through the University of St. Thomas is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with our intuitive e-learning platform.
To meet UST’s ABSN requirements, you must complete prerequisites with a B or higher in each nursing prerequisite course.
| Nursing Specific Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I (within five years, lab recommended but not required) | 3–4 |
| Human Anatomy and Physiology II (within five years, lab recommended but not required) | 3–4 |
| Microbiology (within five years, lab recommended but not required) | 3–4 |
| College Algebra or Statistics | 3 |
ABSN Requirements
Our 12-month ABSN program in Houston allows you to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing on an accelerated timeline, even without healthcare experience. To do so, you must first meet certain academic requirements.
In addition to transferring a minimum of 60 of the required credits or holding a non-nursing bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university, to be eligible to start the ABSN program at the University of St. Thomas, each student must:
- Complete or develop a plan with an admissions advisor to complete the program’s prerequisites before enrollment.
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
- GPA calculation must include outcomes from the four required UST prerequisite courses as well
- No student with less than a 2.8 cumulative GPA will be considered for admission
- Have a nursing-specific prerequisite GPA of 3.0
- This requirement is specific to four nursing-specific prerequisite courses
- If a 3.0 has not been earned, connect with an admissions advisor to discuss options
- Additional notes on requirement:
- All four prerequisite courses must be passed with a grade of B or better
- All four prerequisite courses are required to have been completed within five years of the student’s start date
- Pass either the HESI or TEAS Standardized Exam:
- HESI — 80% in required sections; applicants can only retest within 30 days of first test
- TEAS — 78% in required sections; applicants can only retest within 30 days of first test
- If accepted, complete the medical clinical requirements before you begin your program. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Vaccinations (e.g., hepatitis B, influenza, MMR, etc.) and updated immunization records
- Drug and health screenings
- Background check
- CPR certification
Some medical requirements take time, so you should begin the admissions process as soon as possible to allow ample room to meet eligibility. Please get in touch with your admissions advisor for details.
Talk to an Advisor
If you have what it takes to succeed in our accelerated nursing program, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our dedicated admissions advisors today.