COURSE CURRICULUM

The RN to BSN program at The University of Alabama is designed to help registered nurses upgrade their qualifications to a bachelor’s degree through a flexible and structured pathway that combines foundational education with advanced nursing practice, requiring a total of about 73 credit hours split between lower-division (43 hours) and upper-division (30 hours) coursework, while also awarding 40 credit hours for prior nursing education upon admission, making it an efficient option for working professionals, and the lower-division portion focuses on core academic subjects such as Human Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, English composition, psychology, ethics, mathematics, and general education areas like humanities, literature, and history, ensuring students build a strong theoretical and interdisciplinary base, while the upper-division coursework is more specialized and career-focused, including subjects like nursing informatics, evidence-based practice, leadership and management, community health, and complex patient care systems, which are essential for modern healthcare environments and leadership roles, and to progress into the upper division, students must meet strict academic and professional criteria such as maintaining at least a 2.5 GPA in prerequisite courses, a 2.0 GPA in science courses, completing most prerequisites with a minimum grade of C-, and holding an active, unencumbered RN license, along with passing background checks and drug screening requirements, and beyond the BSN, the program also offers an advanced RN-to-BSN/MSN pathway that allows students to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees in a streamlined format, with specialization options like Nurse Executive and Nurse Educator, requiring a higher GPA of 3.0 and acceptance into both undergraduate and graduate programs, making this pathway especially valuable for nurses aiming for leadership, teaching, or advanced clinical roles while continuing their careers through online learning.