Nursing, B.S.

In the pre-licensure route, you can earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing through completing the traditional four-year curriculum at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Students are also admitted into this program with transfer credit from other colleges or universities.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne nursing students benefit from both the applied sciences and a core curriculum based in the liberal arts. Students apply to the School of Nursing in the spring of their sophomore year. Once accepted, students begin the program in the fall of the junior year. Upon graduation, nurses are prepared to take the national licensure exam (NCLEX®) and are ready to enter the nursing profession and provide direct patient care.

Through our Bear Bound program, students, including early college/middle college high school students, can now apply for direct entry into the nursing program if they have completed an Associate in Arts (AA) or Associate in Science (AS) and satisfied the School of Nursing admission criteria.

This means that if a student graduates with an AA or AS in May and satisfies the School of Nursing admission criteria, the student can immediately begin NUR 231 and NUR 235 as summer courses, keeping the student on track to graduate within two years.

In addition to earning an AA or AS, students need to be aware of the following nursing admission criteria: 

• CNA I certified or on track to earn certification before the start of fall classes 
• TEAS test score of 65 or above (students may also take the test during the summer but must earn a 65 or above to advance) 
• Minimum cumulative GPA and nursing GPA of 2.9 or above
  • Courses factored into Nursing GPA are Anatomy & Physiology I (BIO 165 or BIO 168), Anatomy & Physiology II (BIO 166 or BIO 169), Microbiology (BIO 275), either Organic Chemistry or General Chemistry (CHM 130 or CHM 131 or CHM 151), Introduction to Statistics or Applied Statistics (MAT 152 or MAT 252), Nutrition (BIO 155), General Psychology (PSY 150), Developmental Psychology (PSY 241), Introduction to Sociology (SOC 210), Introduction to Professional Nursing (NUR 231 - LR), Health Assessment (NUR 235 - LR). 
• Successful completion (C or better and repeated no more than 1 lab science course) of Anatomy & Physiology I (BIO 165 or BIO 168), Anatomy & Physiology II (BIO 166 or BIO 169), Microbiology (BIO 275), either Organic Chemistry or General Chemistry (CHM 130 or CHM 131 or CHM 151), Introduction to Statistics or Applied Statistics, Nutrition, General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Introduction To Sociology, Introduction to Professional Nursing (NUR 231 - LR), Health Assessment (NUR 235 - LR). 
• Successful completion (C or better) of Introduction to Statistics (MAT 152) or Applied Statistics (MAT 252), Nutrition (BIO 155), General Psychology (PSY 150), Developmental Psychology (PSY 241), and Introduction To Sociology (SOC 210). 

Course codes listed above are from the North Carolina Community College system.

In this route, you can earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing through the pre-licensure path. If you’ve already earned an associate degree in nursing, you can take this program and work as a nurse, while completing your bachelor’s degree in three or four semesters.

RIBN is a dual enrollment program where you have the opportunity to complete coursework at both Lenoir-Rhyne University and a number of area community colleges. You take a pre-approved list of courses at community college to earn your Associate Degree in Nursing before transferring fully to LR to complete your Bachelor of Science in Nursing.