Program Overview
Manhattan’s CUNY Flagship Nursing School — The Highest Bar in the Review, the Lowest Price in New York
Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing sits inside one of the most demanding ABSN admission frameworks in the country: 3.2 GPA floor, B or better in every science, no repeated courses accepted, and admissions ranked purely by composite score (GPA 50%, NLN NEX 50%). The program doesn’t negotiate on minimums — applications that fail any single requirement aren’t reviewed.
Yet New York State residents pay just $6,930 per academic year in CUNY tuition, putting a Manhattan CCNE-accredited ABSN within reach at a price no private program can match.
Hunter College’s Brookdale Health Science Center is located at 425 East 25th Street — steps from Bellevue Hospital, the nation’s oldest public hospital, and within one of the world’s most concentrated healthcare employment markets.
ABSN Admission Summary
Admission is entirely score-based and rank-ordered — all applications meeting minimum requirements are ranked by composite score and offers made from highest to lowest until seats are filled. The 3.2 GPA minimum is a floor, not a target; competitive admitted students typically exceed it. Prerequisite courses repeated for grade improvement are not accepted.
Academic requirements:
- Earned bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution — must be conferred by June 1 of the year of enrollment
- Minimum 3.2 cumulative GPA across all undergraduate courses from all institutions attended
- B or higher in every science prerequisite course — no exceptions; courses taken for credit/no-credit basis are not accepted
- No repeated prerequisite courses accepted under any circumstances
Ten required prerequisite courses (B or higher in each; all must be complete by June 1 — no summer immediately preceding fall entry):
- General Chemistry with lab (or equivalent CHEM 102/103, 102/106, or 111)
- Organic Chemistry with lab (or equivalent CHEM 222/223)
- Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II — two separate courses (BIOL 120 and BIOL 122)
- Microbiology with lab (BIOL 230)
- Introduction to Statistics (or higher equivalent)
- English Composition
- General Psychology
- Human Development / Developmental Psychology — full lifespan, 1 course (PSYCH 150 equivalent)
- Nutrition (NFS 141 or equivalent)
- A genetics course (e.g., Genome Biology or equivalent)
Transfer prerequisites from other institutions must be evaluated and officially transferred to the Hunter College transcript with Hunter course equivalencies before applying. Only math and science courses designed for math/science or pre-medical/pre-health majors are accepted as equivalencies. Students may take a maximum of two final outstanding prerequisites during the spring semester of the application year — results must reach the School of Nursing by June 1.
NLN Nursing Entrance Exam (NEX):
- Required for all A2D applicants
- Registration open from early December to January; exam must be completed by end of February
- Exam may be taken remotely or in person at the Hunter College Testing Center (68th St Campus, Room 150N)
- Counts for 50% of the admission composite score
Admission composite score (100 points):
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
Cumulative undergraduate GPA | 50% |
NLN NEX total score | 50% |
All qualifying applications are ranked by composite score; admission is offered starting from the highest score down until seats are filled.
Application process — two simultaneous tracks:
- CUNY Transfer Application (if degree is from a non-Hunter institution): Apply through cuny.edu/admissions; select Nursing curriculum code; Fall deadline February 1; mandatory transfer orientation required upon admission
- NursingCAS Application: Apply through nursingcas.org, November 30 through February 1; submit all transcripts to NursingCAS AND to the CUNY University Application Processing Center (UAPC); include a career goal statement on the “Personal Statement” tab
U.S. citizenship/residency requirement for clinical advancement:
Before advancing to clinical courses, students must document one of the following statuses: U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, F1 international student status, or a recognized immigration status (asylum, refugee, TPS, withholding of removal, deferred enforced departure, or deferred action status).
Post-acceptance requirements:
- Mandatory A2D orientation in June — failure to attend rescinds accepted status
- Health and clinical clearance documentation submitted before any nursing coursework begins; tracked in Castlebranch
- Criminal background check may be required by clinical sites — felony or misdemeanor convictions trigger investigation by the Office of Professional Discipline, which may result in denial of RN licensure
- Clinical schedules may include day, evening, and weekend hours on any day of the week — full availability required
Grading and progression standards:
- Minimum C required in all nursing courses
- One required nursing course may be repeated once with a failing grade — failure in a second nursing course means the student cannot continue in the nursing major
- Minimum grade of B required in biology courses; failure in a second biology course also ends program eligibility
Curriculum
Fifty-one nursing credit hours are distributed across five sequential terms — Fall, Winter Session, Spring, Summer, and a second Fall — totaling 18 months. Students who have completed a prior bachelor’s degree are exempt from Hunter’s general education requirements and proceed directly into the nursing major after prerequisites are cleared.
Prerequisite Overview
Ten prerequisite courses required — all with B or higher, all transferred to Hunter with official equivalency, all complete by June 1. No summer prerequisites immediately before fall entry. No repeated courses accepted. See the admission summary above for the full list.
18-month nursing sequence (51 credit hours):
Fall — Semester 1:
NURS 200: Introduction to Nursing
This course introduces nursing fundamentals, including physical examination skills, history taking, and accurate documentation practices. It lays the groundwork for effective nursing assessments and patient-centered care.
NURS 210: Nursing Fundamentals and Health Assessment
Students develop foundational nursing skills and assessment techniques, including thorough physical exams and patient history taking. Emphasis is placed on accurate documentation and the importance of holistic care.
NURS 220: Adult Health and Illness
This course focuses on the knowledge needed to provide effective nursing care for adult clients. It addresses common health conditions and promotes critical thinking in adult patient care.
NURS 331: Pharmacology I
The initial pharmacology course covers essential drug information, highlighting medications affecting the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, and renal systems. Students learn safe medication practices and their clinical implications.
Winter Session:
NURS 380: Nursing Research and Theory
Students are introduced to nursing theory development and research processes. The course emphasizes the role of evidence-based practice in professional nursing.
Spring — Semester 2:
NURS 339: Pharmacology II
Building on Pharmacology I, this course expands into additional areas of pharmacotherapy, including substance abuse, chemotherapy, alternative medicine, and immune and endocrine medications. It deepens understanding of safe medication administration.
NURS 343: Pathophysiology and Nursing Care
This course analyzes disruptions in body systems and their impact on wellness across the lifespan. Students learn how these disruptions guide nursing care plans and interventions.
NURS 352: Nursing Care of Women and Childbearing Families
Students explore nursing care for women and families during the childbearing process. The course encourages individualized, family-centered approaches to perinatal care.
NURS 360: Nursing Care of Infants, Children, and Adolescents
Students gain the knowledge base needed for nursing care of infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents. Focus is on family-centered care and health promotion.
Summer Session:
NURS 455: Public Health Nursing
This course explores nursing roles in population-based health services and community health. Students learn how to develop and deliver care that addresses the needs of families and populations.
NURS 460: Mental and Behavioral Health Nursing
Students learn to manage complex mental and behavioral health challenges in diverse patient populations. Emphasis is on leadership, ethical care, and holistic treatment approaches.
Fall — Semester 3 (final):
NURS 420: Nursing Leadership and Ethics
This course examines leadership, management, and ethical decision-making in nursing practice. Students explore strategies for effective team-based care within a complex healthcare system.
NURS 470: Adult Acute Illness/Immersion Clinical
Students develop skills for managing care of acutely and critically ill adults. The course provides real-world immersion into clinical practice environments.
NURS 490: Gerontological Nursing
This course builds knowledge and skills for caring for older adults. Students address the unique needs of geriatric patients and explore best practices for aging-related care.
NURS 492: Advanced Synthesis of Nursing Knowledge
This capstone course reviews essential nursing concepts and skills. Students integrate learning across the program to prepare for professional practice.
The Winter Session compresses Nursing Research and Theory into an intercession term — an unusual structural choice that positions evidence-based practice knowledge before the Spring’s specialty clinical content, supporting research-informed care from the midpoint of the program onward. The final Fall’s Adult Acute Illness/Immersion Clinical (NURS 470) functions as the program’s most demanding real-world patient care experience, running simultaneously with Gerontological Nursing and Leadership to build maximum clinical complexity in the final semester.
More curriculum details available in the Hunter course catalog: Hunter CUNY Nursing A2D Catalog
Clinicals
Clinical rotations are scheduled throughout all 18 months, with clinical placement entirely determined by the School of Nursing based on resource and site availability. Hunter-Bellevue’s proximity to Bellevue Hospital and New York City’s dense healthcare infrastructure provides clinical access unmatched by any comparable program reviewed.
- Clinical arrangement: All clinical schedules are assigned by School of Nursing faculty — students do not select or arrange their own placements
- Clinical hours: Day, evening, and weekend availability required across all 7 days of the week — the program explicitly requires full scheduling flexibility
- New York City clinical network: Hunter-Bellevue maintains clinical affiliations throughout New York City’s hospital and healthcare system — access to major academic medical centers, community hospitals, public health agencies, and specialty facilities across the five boroughs; specific named partners not listed in available materials; contact the School of Nursing at prenursingadvising@hunter.cuny.edu for current affiliate information
- Specialties with clinical components: Fundamentals and health assessment, adult health and illness, women’s and childbearing family care, pediatrics and adolescents, public health, mental and behavioral health, adult acute illness immersion, gerontology
- Adult Acute Illness/Immersion Clinical (NURS 470, 4 cr.): The final fall’s capstone clinical experience — an immersive real-world acute care immersion in the most complex patient care environment of the program; functions as the bridge between student and independent RN practice
- Health Professions Education Center (HPEC): Hunter’s academic learning center serves all nursing and health professions students; includes simulation laboratory support through the New York Simulation (NYSIM) Center, state board testing preparation programs, virtual training technologies, and the largest collection of health-related instructional media within CUNY
- Research integration: Hunter-Bellevue is a partner in the Weill Cornell Medical College Clinical and Translational Science Center consortium — alongside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Hospital for Special Surgery, and others; student clinical and research exposure occurs within this major academic health system network
Tuition
Estimated total program cost: ~$10,395 (NY resident) | ~$27,900 (out-of-state)
Hunter College charges CUNY tuition rates — a public institution in Manhattan with among the lowest ABSN tuition costs in the country for New York State residents.
| Status | Annual Rate | × 1.5 Years | Estimated Total |
|---|---|---|---|
NY State resident (full-time) | $6,930/year | × 1.5 | ~$10,395 |
Out-of-state (full-time) | $18,600/year | × 1.5 | ~$27,900 |
Note: Full-time tuition is based on 15 credits per semester for the out-of-state rate; the NY resident flat rate covers full-time enrollment. The Winter and Summer sessions may be billed at per-credit rates — NY resident part-time rate is $305/credit, out-of-state $620/credit. Confirm exact per-term billing for the Winter and Summer sessions with Hunter’s Bursar. An Accelerated Study Fee applies for students taking 18 or more credits.
Additional costs include lab fees, textbooks, standardized exam fees (NEX, NCLEX preparation), health and liability insurance, criminal background checks, uniforms, and medical equipment — all student-funded.
At approximately $10,395 in tuition for NY residents, Hunter’s A2D program is the most affordable ABSN reviewed in this entire compilation — less than half the cost of New York’s next-cheapest option and a fraction of any private program. Even for out-of-state students, $27,900 over 18 months is below most private ABSN programs nationally. The combination of the lowest CUNY tuition rate with the highest admission bar in this review makes the Hunter A2D the most distinctive value proposition of any program on absnprograms.org.
See the official tuition page for more details: Hunter College Tuition & Fees
Accreditation
The baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs at Hunter College, CUNY, are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 887-6791. Hunter College is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Graduates from the A2D program are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN licensure examination. Students with felony or misdemeanor convictions must undergo investigation by New York’s Office of Professional Discipline, which may affect RN licensure eligibility.