Last Updated: October 9, 2026
Program Overview
Elmhurst’s 16-month ABSN pairs fully online coursework with university-arranged clinical placements and two required campus residencies for students in five approved states.
Elmhurst University’s Online Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a full-time second-degree program for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in another field. Its 60-semester-hour nursing curriculum spans four terms and prepares graduates for the NCLEX-RN and other RN licensure requirements.
The pathway is available to residents of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. Coursework takes place online, while clinical experiences and both campus residencies require in-person participation.
Program Format and Attendance
Online coursework: Students use an online learning platform with access to faculty and classmates. This is an intensive, scheduled full-time program; the university strongly advises against working, including part-time employment, during the 16-month sequence.
Campus residencies: Two required residencies provide supervised skills and simulation practice at Elmhurst’s nursing simulation facilities. The program brochure describes one five-day visit and one two-day visit; confirm the cohort’s dates and budget for travel and lodging.
Clinical attendance: University placement staff arrange clinical sites and preceptors near students’ communities when possible. Placements are in person, can involve shifts as long as 12 hours and require travel; living in an approved state does not guarantee a placement at a preferred facility or eliminate commuting.
For Indiana residents: Indiana is one of Elmhurst’s approved enrollment states. The program remains based in Illinois: online coursework and assigned clinical learning are combined with two mandatory visits to the Elmhurst campus. Confirm placement travel expectations with the university before enrolling.
For Iowa residents: Iowa is an approved enrollment state. Coursework is online, assigned clinical learning is in person, and both required residencies take place in Illinois; ask about commuting and placement expectations for your Iowa community.
Accreditation and NCLEX Outcomes
Elmhurst’s baccalaureate nursing degree is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE); the university is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and the program is approved by the Illinois Board of Nursing.
The current online ABSN program page reports an 86% NCLEX-RN pass rate for online ABSN graduates in 2023. It does not specify that the figure represents first-time test takers, so it should be read as the program’s stated 2023 pass rate rather than a first-time result or a current-cohort forecast.
Admissions Requirements
- Hold a bachelor’s degree in any field from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university; applicable non-U.S. credits require transcript evaluation.
- Have a 3.0 minimum cumulative GPA.
- Complete the published prerequisites with C or better in every course.
- Have a minimum 2.8 GPA across the science prerequisites: Anatomy and Physiology I and II, General Chemistry and Microbiology.
- Reside in, or be willing to move to, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri or Wisconsin.
- Meet nursing health requirements, essential functional abilities and clinical clearance requirements.
- Submit official transcripts when ready to apply; send electronic transcripts to the online admissions records office. The current program page advertises no application fee.
- Include a personal statement, as listed in the official online ABSN brochure.
Prerequisite planning: An enrollment advisor can review existing coursework and identify local or online completion options. Prerequisites must be satisfied for program entry; the prior bachelor’s degree does not remove the science and psychology requirements.
Application Timing and Starts
Elmhurst’s nursing handbook describes rolling admission for the ABSN. The program offers fall and spring entry, and its current program page names February 1, 2027 as the upcoming spring start; that date is not an application deadline.
Contact enrollment advising early enough to finish the application, prerequisite evaluation and clinical-clearance planning for the intended cohort. Follow the named cohort date rather than treating a generic month in an FAQ as the exact start for every year.
Prerequisites
The current online program and brochure list 25 semester hours. Each course requires C or better, and the four science prerequisites together require at least a 2.8 GPA.
- Anatomy and Physiology I (4)
- Anatomy and Physiology II (4)
- Microbiology with Lab (4)
- General Chemistry with Lab (4)
- Statistics (3)
- Lifespan Psychology (3)
- Abnormal Psychology (3)
Curriculum
The university’s online ABSN brochure groups coursework into four terms, progressing from assessment and foundations to adult, mental-health and family care, then complex systems, community health and professional accountability. The sequence includes 60 semester hours and at least 450 clinical hours.
The tables use the brochure’s pathway-specific term assignments and course names, with credits checked against the official accelerated-course variants. Elmhurst catalogs may express these as course units: one course unit equals four semester hours. Accelerated variants may carry an A suffix, and associated zero-credit clinical or lab registrations do not add to the 60-hour academic total.
Required Courses and Credits
First Term – 16 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NRS 300 – Health Assessment | 3 | Interviewing, health histories and physical examination across the lifespan, including confidentiality and culturally responsive assessment. |
NRS 308 – Foundations for Professional Nursing Practice | 4 | Basic health needs, safety, comfort, medication principles and nursing interventions through skills and clinical practice. |
NRS 321 – Pathophysiology–Pharmacology I | 3 | Common disease processes and drug treatment, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and clinical case application. |
NRS 309 – Adult Health I | 4 | Care of adults and older adults with common health problems, chronic-care needs and end-of-life concerns. |
NRS 303 – Conceptual Basis of Professional Nursing Practice | 2 | Professional identity, ethical nursing, leadership and frameworks for critical thinking and decisions. |
Second Term – 15 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NRS 315 – Adult Health II | 4 | Evidence-based care for adults with selected acute, chronic and complex conditions, including supervised clinical practice. |
NRS 322 – Pathophysiology–Pharmacology II | 3 | More complex disease processes and pharmacotherapy across the lifespan, integrated through clinical cases. |
NRS 410 – Research and Evidence-Based Practices in Professional Nursing | 4 | Searching and appraising research, evidence-based care and the role of information technology in quality outcomes. |
NRS 408 – Mental Health | 4 | Patient-centered care for mental-health conditions, therapeutic communication and ethical and legal responsibilities. |
Third Term – 14 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NRS 316 – Family Health: Child Rearing | 4 | Infant-to-adolescent and family nursing, prevention, developmental needs and family-focused clinical care. |
NRS 407 – Policy, Finance and Legislation | 2 | Health policy, healthcare financing, legislation and nursing advocacy in the healthcare system. |
NRS 409 – Family Health: Child Bearing | 4 | Perinatal and reproductive health within families, including prevention, genomics and clinical decision-making. |
NRS 403 – Leadership and Management in Health Care | 4 | Organizational leadership, quality, safety, delegation, teamwork, conflict management and interprofessional practice. |
Fourth Term – 15 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NRS 411 – Synthesis: Professional Nursing Practice in Complex Systems | 5 | Integrated care for patients with multisystem problems, increasing autonomy and collaborative clinical leadership. |
NRS 414 – Ethical and Legal Dimensions of Professional Nursing Practice | 4 | Ethical and legal responsibilities, professional identity and accountability in a changing healthcare system. |
NRS 412 – Synthesis: Community and Public Health Nursing | 5 | Community nursing, epidemiology, environment, global health and population interventions with supervised clinical practice. |
NRS 453 – Test Taking Strategies | 1 | Clinical thinking, case-based practice, stress management and strategies for the NCLEX-RN examination. |
Clinical Placement and Simulation
Placement support: Elmhurst’s clinical-placement team identifies sites and preceptors and manages the placement process at no extra placement-service cost. Students work with an experienced RN while developing assessment, care coordination and patient advocacy skills.
Clearance before practice: The program requires clinical clearance, background checks and the initial campus residency before clinical participation. Students maintain required immunization and health documentation, CPR, insurance and other agency requirements throughout the sequence.
Simulation: The campus residencies let students practice procedures and patient scenarios under faculty supervision before applying those skills in clinical settings. Simulation preparation complements the in-person clinical experiences rather than replacing all patient-care training.
Progression and NCLEX Preparation
The prelicensure nursing handbook requires a 2.8 cumulative GPA, C or better in nursing theory and clinical courses, a minimum 78% exam average in clinical courses, passing evaluations in clinical sections and resolution of incomplete grades. Admission GPA and enrolled-student progression GPA are different measures.
Nurse Achieve examinations support NCLEX-RN preparation throughout the four terms, with specialty assessments in foundations, medical-surgical, pediatric, mental-health and maternity courses. Students must also follow clinical attendance and professional standards to progress.
Tuition and Costs
Published ABSN tuition: $50,000. Elmhurst’s online-program tuition page lists this tuition amount for the 60-credit, four-semester program and a rounded rate of $833.33 per credit. It lists $849 for NCLEX preparation separately, bringing those two stated educational charges to $50,849 before other costs.
Additional expenses: Prerequisite tuition, books, immunizations, clinical-clearance expenses, uniforms, lab equipment, travel, food and lodging are outside the published tuition. Budget for both campus residencies and transportation to assigned clinical sites; the placement-coordination service itself has no extra charge.
Tuition payments are due by the 15th before the semester begins under the program’s posted payment policy. Confirm the specific cohort’s payment schedule, additional charges and available aid; a published tuition figure does not guarantee that financial aid will cover every educational or living expense.
Related Programs
Compare ABSN programs in Illinois and explore other accelerated nursing options below.
The 2026–27 baccalaureate handbook confirms the online ABSN admission, progression and 17-course, 60-semester-hour requirements.
Also compare Iowa ABSN programs, Indiana ABSN programs, Missouri ABSN programs and Wisconsin ABSN programs.