Last Updated: October 1, 2026
Program Overview
Mount Saint Mary’s uses the Roy Adaptation Model in an intensive Los Angeles ABSN with no entrance exam and closely integrated classroom, simulation and clinical learning.
Mount Saint Mary’s University offers a 12-month, three-semester ABSN through the Summer 2027 entering cohort for students who already hold a non-nursing bachelor’s degree. Beginning Fall 2027, the program changes to 15 months over four semesters.
The campus-based program is centered at Doheny, with some classes potentially held at Chalon. Its nursing tradition includes California’s first BSN program and the Roy Adaptation Model developed by Sister Callista Roy, which guides assessment and nursing care throughout the curriculum.
Accreditation and Licensure
The BSN is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Graduates prepare for the NCLEX-RN and are eligible to apply for California Public Health Nurse certification.
Admissions Requirements
Applicants need an accredited bachelor’s degree and a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA across all colleges attended. No entrance exam is required; qualified applicants are invited to a required in-person interview after the deadline.
- Complete prerequisites with grades of C or better.
- Complete science prerequisites within the preceding five years.
- No more than two prerequisites may be in progress, with at most one science course among them.
- A prerequisite may be repeated once if the initial grade was C− or lower. Two failed prerequisites make an applicant ineligible under the published policy.
- Pass/fail prerequisite credit requires documentation showing performance equivalent to at least a C.
Application materials and deadlines
Submit the Nursing Transfer/ABSN application, official transcripts from all institutions, two academic or professional recommendations, and a two- to three-page, double-spaced essay. Include documentation of current prerequisite enrollment and applicable AP scores.
- Summer entry: application opens August 1; deadline November 1. Summer 2027 applications close November 1, 2026.
- Fall entry: application opens December 1; deadline March 1.
- All materials are due by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the deadline.
Returning applicants submit a one-page explanation of changes to their application and may need a new interview. A waitlist applies to the current term only and does not confer priority for a later cohort. See the ABSN admissions requirements for the application and Fall 2027 transition notice.
Prerequisites
The admissions page lists the following semester-unit requirements, separate from the nursing curriculum:
- Chemistry or physics: 3 units.
- Human anatomy with lab: 4 units.
- Human physiology with lab: 4 units.
- Microbiology with lab: 4 units.
- General psychology: 3 units.
- Introduction to sociology or cultural anthropology: 3 units.
- Human nutrition: 3 units.
- English composition, ENG 1A or ENG 1B equivalent: 3 units.
- Oral communication/public speaking: 2–3 units.
- Lifespan development, infancy through older adulthood: 3 units.
Applicants also complete the Liberal Arts Core Education areas of Community, Global Awareness, and Women and Gender, three units each. Previous coursework may fulfill these areas; sociology or cultural anthropology can satisfy Community or Global Awareness, but not both. Medical terminology is recommended, not required.
Curriculum
The published three-semester ABSN plan progresses from foundational nursing and adult care to specialty practice, then leadership, community health and transition to professional practice. It includes 58 nursing units plus a three-unit upper-division bioethics course, for 61 units.
The sequence below is the current 2026–27 catalog plan. Students entering the four-semester format in Fall 2027 should use the sequence assigned to that cohort.
Required practicum enrollment
The AP courses listed beside their paired nursing courses are required zero-unit practicum registrations. Their credit allocation is already included in the paired course total; zero units does not mean there is no clinical work. These registrations must be completed alongside the corresponding course.
Required Courses and Credits
Semester 1 — 21 units
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 13A — Pharmacology I | 1 | Drug action, safe administration, therapeutic applications and medication policy. |
NUR 14A — Pharmacology II | 2 | Major therapeutic drug classes, building on successful completion of Pharmacology I. |
NUR 55A / 55AP — Foundations of Nursing and Roy Adaptation Model | 6 | Foundational nursing theory and care using the Roy Adaptation Model; includes 3 theory and 3 practicum units, with required zero-unit 55AP enrollment. |
NUR 56A — Pathophysiology | 3 | Mechanisms of disease and health alterations across the adult lifespan. |
NUR 57A — Fundamental Nursing Skills Lab | 1 | Beginning hospital nursing skills and procedures, integrating theory and hands-on practice. |
NUR 62A / 62AP — Adult Medical Surgical Nursing I | 8 | Collaborative care for common adult health problems; 4 theory and 4 practicum units, with required zero-unit 62AP enrollment. |
Semester 2 — 20 units, including bioethics
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 168A — Integrative Theory and Practices | 1.5 | Holistic nursing and integrative therapies for patient care and personal self-care. |
NUR 169A — Palliative Care | 1.5 | Helping patients and families maintain quality of life and achieve care goals across the health–illness continuum. |
NUR 170A / 170AP — Adult Medical Surgical II | 3.5 | Increasingly complex adult illness in a family context; 2 theory and 1.5 practicum units, plus zero-unit 170AP enrollment. |
NUR 171A / 171AP — Childbearing Families and Women’s Health | 3.5 | Maternal and women’s health across the lifespan and diverse settings; 2 theory and 1.5 practicum units, plus zero-unit 171AP enrollment. |
NUR 172A / 172AP — Children and Families | 3.5 | Pediatric health, family-centered care and improved child health outcomes; 2 theory and 1.5 practicum units, plus zero-unit 172AP enrollment. |
NUR 173A / 173AP — Mental Health | 3.5 | Mental illness and psychosocial and spiritual needs across the lifespan; 2 theory and 1.5 practicum units, plus zero-unit 173AP enrollment. |
PHI 168B, PHI 168A, RST 149 or HCP 158 — Upper-division bioethics — choose one | 3 | A required bioethics course selected from the catalog’s approved alternatives; students do not take all four. |
Semester 3 — 20 units
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 134A — Evidence-Based Practice | 3 | Research methods and evidence used to improve nursing care and patient outcomes. |
NUR 184A / 184AP — Leadership and Policy | 3.5 | Leadership, problem-solving and healthcare policy; 2 theory and 1.5 practicum units, plus zero-unit 184AP enrollment. |
NUR 185A / 185AP — Gerontology | 3.5 | Aging, function, quality of life and health promotion for older adults; 2 theory and 1.5 practicum units, plus zero-unit 185AP enrollment. |
NUR 186A / 186AP — Transition to Professional Practice | 4 | Advanced care management and integration of nursing leadership; 2 theory and 2 practicum units, plus zero-unit 186AP enrollment. |
NUR 187A / 187AP — Community/Public Health | 4 | Epidemiology, environmental health and population-focused nursing; 2 theory and 2 practicum units, plus zero-unit 187AP enrollment. |
NUR 188A — Advanced Health Assessment | 2 | Comprehensive assessment across the lifespan, emphasizing adults; 1 theory unit and 1 skills/practicum unit. |
Transition to practice and graduation
The final semester’s NUR 186A/186AP integrates advanced patient care, care management and leadership. Community/public health practice, gerontology and advanced assessment broaden the final preparation for professional nursing.
The catalog requires the ABSN curriculum to be completed in residence. Its sample plan places bioethics in semester two, before the final senior semester. Students must meet nursing progression requirements and successfully complete the paired clinical work; interruption can delay graduation until the affected courses are offered again.
Clinical Experience
Students combine simulation and clinical learning with rotations at healthcare sites across Los Angeles County. MSMU describes three clinical days per week, about nine hours each, typically around 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m., and two classroom days extending roughly 7 a.m.–4 p.m.
Students must also be available for assigned evening, night or weekend clinical schedules. They arrange their own transportation and meet agency requirements for health clearance, background and drug checks, CPR, safety training and professional liability coverage.
Tuition and Costs
Estimated tuition is $90,429 for the current three-semester, 61-unit plan, using MSMU’s published 2026–27 rates. Required fees and other expenses are additional.
The flat tuition rate covers 12–18 units per semester. Each unit above 18 costs an additional $2,103, so the overload charges are part of the tuition estimate:
| Term | Tuition calculation | Estimated tuition |
|---|---|---|
Semester 1 — 21 units | $25,236 + 3 × $2,103 | $31,545 |
Semester 2 — 20 units | $25,236 + 2 × $2,103 | $29,442 |
Semester 3 — 20 units | $25,236 + 2 × $2,103 | $29,442 |
Three-semester tuition total | 61 units | $90,429 |
This is a current-rate estimate, not a guaranteed bill. It assumes the published 21/20/20-unit sequence and excludes remaining prerequisites, fees and living expenses. Actual charges can increase when later terms fall under new rates; this estimate does not price the four-semester format beginning Fall 2027.
Fees and other expenses
The 2026–27 tuition and fee schedule separately lists:
- Nursing Program Fee (Clinical): $548.
- Nursing Professional Fee: $583.
- University Services Fee: $782 per semester, or $2,346 over three semesters at the same rate.
- Health insurance: $1,363 for Fall 2026; $2,215 for Spring and Summer 2027 combined; or $990 for new Summer 2027 entrants. Insurance can be waived with proof of comparable coverage.
The two nursing fees are listed separately from the university’s explicitly per-semester services fee; obtain an itemized cohort bill showing how often each nursing charge applies. Insurance charges depend on entry term and coverage, so the combined spring/summer premium should not be added again to the new-student summer premium.
Also budget for books, uniforms and supplies, clinical compliance, transportation and living expenses.
Other Nursing Pathways
MSMU also offers a traditional BSN, an RN-to-BSN pathway and graduate nursing study. These have separate admission, delivery and tuition arrangements from the prelicensure ABSN.
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