Last Updated: October 7, 2026
Program Overview
Saint Xavier’s campus-based ABSN begins each May and carries students through four consecutive sessions of nursing theory, simulation and progressively advanced clinical practice.
Saint Xavier University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a 15-month, full-time route for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in another discipline. The 60-credit nursing sequence starts in May and continues through the following summer with no breaks between sessions.
Students prepare as nurse generalists for entry-level practice, the NCLEX-RN and other RN licensure requirements. The next cohort advertised by the university begins May 10, 2027.
Program Format and Attendance
Campus learning: SXU identifies the ABSN format as on-campus. Students attend full time through initial summer, fall, spring and final summer; a prior bachelor’s degree shortens the route but does not remove the required nursing and clinical sequence.
Hands-on practice: Clinical practice runs through all four sessions. The Simulation and Integrated Learning Center (SILC), in the Warde Academic Center, provides supervised skills practice and realistic nursing scenarios throughout the program.
Accreditation
Saint Xavier’s baccalaureate and master’s nursing degree programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The university’s accelerated program follows the same BSN requirements in a concentrated schedule and emphasizes nursing standards, evidence-based care and professional development.
Admissions Requirements
Applicants need an earned bachelor’s degree in another discipline and completion of the applicable prerequisites before starting. The ABSN admissions page describes a 3.0 cumulative GPA as recommended; it does not present that figure as a mandatory ABSN minimum.
- Complete the university’s online application.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university attended.
- Read, sign and submit the School of Nursing and Health Sciences Essential Abilities Form.
- Provide two professional recommendation letters.
- Submit a current résumé or brief CV.
- Write a 300–500-word personal statement explaining the career change, choice of nursing, relevant attributes and career goals.
- Complete an interview with the School of Nursing.
Clinical clearance: Before clinical courses, students must supply a health history, physical examination, immunization record and required laboratory reports, 12-panel drug screen, CPR certification, proof of health insurance and an Illinois State Police criminal background check.
Application Timing
The ABSN-specific admissions section says there is no application deadline and recommends applying as soon as possible, ideally in the fall before the intended May cohort. That early timing allows prerequisite and course review; May 10, 2027 is the next start date, not an application deadline.
Prerequisites
The published accelerated academic plan lists 38 prerequisite credits. Science prerequisites require B or better, biological sciences must be within five years of entry, and other prerequisites require C or better to transfer. All prerequisites must be finished before the accelerated program begins.
- COMM 101 – Speech Fundamentals (3)
- BIOL 202 – Human Anatomy with Lab (4)
- BIOL 203 – Human Physiology with Lab (4)
- BIOL 206 – Microbiology with Lab (4)
- CHEM 109 – Survey of General, Organic and Biochemistry with Lab (4)
- MATH 135 – Introduction to Statistics (4)
- PE 124 – Health and Nutrition Across the Lifespan (3)
- PSYCH 101 – introductory psychology (3)
- PSYCH 199 – lifespan development (3)
- PSYCH 204 – abnormal psychology/psychopathology (3)
- An approved Sociology or Anthropology course (3)
Consult nursing advising about equivalent courses and the individual transfer evaluation. The academic plan identifies these requirements separately from the 60-credit nursing sequence.
Curriculum
SXU’s accelerated academic plan and current nursing handbook show four sessions totaling 60 credits: 17 in the first summer, 13 in fall, 16 in spring and 14 in the final summer. Foundations, assessment and pathophysiology lead into family, adult and mental-health nursing, then advanced practice concepts and a clinical capstone.
The tables follow the verified accelerated sequence. Descriptions reflect the current nursing and nursing-practicum catalog; the required nursing elective’s content varies with the selected offering.
Required Courses and Credits
First Summer – 17 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NURS 102 – The Professional Nurse: Roles and Concepts | 1 | Introduces professional nursing practice and core nursing concepts. Students examine professional identity, clinical practice, the patient experience, and health systems through the school’s mission and values. |
NURS 215 – Pathophysiology | 3 | Explains how disease processes develop and present across the lifespan. Students connect altered physiology to symptoms and nursing implications in common clinical conditions. |
NURS 218 – Concepts in Professional Nursing I | 3 | Introduces key nursing concepts such as professionalism, health care systems, mental health, and informatics. Students use case studies and reflection to connect concepts to holistic patient care. |
NURS 220 – Holistic Assessment | 3 | Builds holistic assessment skills across the lifespan. Students practice physical assessment, therapeutic communication, clinical reasoning, and health promotion with safe technology use. |
NURSP 221 – Introduction to Clinical Practice | 1 | Applies assessment, documentation, and clinical reasoning in supervised clinical or lab settings. Students build therapeutic relationships while demonstrating patient safety and professional behavior. |
NURS 333 – Holistic Care in Nursing Practice I | 3 | Introduces nursing care for basic health alterations across the lifespan using a conceptual approach. Emphasis is placed on safety, communication, clinical judgment, and evidence-based interventions. |
NURSP 332 – Clinical Practice I | 3 | Strengthens core nursing skills through clinical and simulation experiences. Students practice medication administration, clinical reasoning, and safe interventions in diverse settings. |
Fall – 13 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NURS 349 – Nursing Pharmacology I | 3 | Covers safe medication administration, dosage calculation, and basic pharmacokinetics. Students learn major drug classes and practice patient teaching using current medication resources. |
NURS 376 – Holistic Care in Nursing Practice II | 4 | Focuses on maternal-obstetric and pediatric nursing care. Students study growth and development, prenatal to postpartum care, and common pediatric conditions using evidence-based practice. |
NURSP 377 – Clinical Practice II | 3 | Applies maternal, pediatric, and community health concepts in clinical settings. Students provide evidence-based care for families across the lifespan, with focus on maternity and pediatric experiences. |
NURS 395 – Concepts in Professional Nursing II | 3 | Introduces research processes and evidence-based practice in nursing care. Students examine ethics, legal issues, mental health concepts, and informatics for performance improvement. |
Spring – 16 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NURS 379 – Concepts in Professional Nursing III | 3 | Examines nursing practice within health systems, policy, and environmental influences. Students explore community health and mental health concepts from national and global perspectives. |
NURS 399 – Concepts in Professional Nursing IV | 3 | Prepares students to support palliative and end-of-life care through leadership and advocacy. Students use culturally sensitive approaches and strengthen mental health integration in care planning. |
NURS 433 – Holistic Care in Nursing Practice III | 4 | Focuses on adult patients with acute and chronic physical and mental health conditions. Students apply clinical judgment, safety, leadership, and therapeutic communication to complex care needs. |
NURSP 434 – Clinical Practice III | 3 | Provides supervised clinical learning to apply Junior-level concepts in direct patient care. Students build confidence in safe, evidence-based interventions and professional practice behaviors. |
NURS 449 – Nursing Pharmacology II | 3 | Expands pharmacology knowledge for patients with complex conditions. Students reinforce dosage calculation, medication safety, interactions, reconciliation, and patient education. |
Final Summer – 14 Credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NURS 383 – Nursing Elective / Special Topics | 3 | Selected nursing topics that vary by offering; the sequence requires a three-credit elective rather than one fixed specialty for every student. |
NURS 475 – Concepts in Professional Nursing V | 3 | Supports the transition from nursing student to registered nurse. Students strengthen leadership, collaboration, and clinical judgment while completing NCLEX-focused preparation. |
NURS 478 – Advanced Concepts in Nursing Practice | 4 | Integrates clinical reasoning, management, and evaluation skills in a final synthesis experience. Students apply evidence-based practice and critical inquiry to improve health outcomes. |
NURSP 479 – Clinical Practice IV: Capstone | 4 | Provides a culminating clinical experience focused on role transition and practice readiness. Students demonstrate safe decision-making, priority setting, and professional accountability in clinical care. |
Clinical Experience and Simulation
Progressive practice: NURSP 221 introduces assessment, communication and documentation; later practice courses apply nursing concepts in adult, maternal-obstetric, pediatric, community and mental-health settings. The university also describes experiences in acute care, home health, hospice, schools and public health.
Simulation: SILC supports repeated skills and scenario-based practice with nursing faculty and simulation staff. Some catalog contact-hour figures combine lab with clinical or clinical with simulation; those figures should not be interpreted as clinical-only hours.
Capstone: NURSP 479 emphasizes safe care of patients with complex needs, professional accountability and role transition. Students complete a capstone reflection and presentation that summarizes their nursing development.
Progression and NCLEX Preparation
Students follow the undergraduate nursing handbook’s academic and clinical standards, maintain required clearance and meet course-specific performance requirements. ATI learning resources and examinations are integrated into nursing education and preparation for the NCLEX-RN.
The handbook distinguishes ABSN students’ one-time ATI charge at the beginning of the program from the installment arrangement used for other undergraduate nursing students. Check the accelerated cohort’s billing and handbook rather than assuming traditional-track charges apply unchanged.
Tuition and Costs
Published total program tuition and fees: $50,900. Both the ABSN program page and the Fall 2026–Summer 2027 tuition and fee schedule list this combined program price. The university does not separately identify the tuition-only portion on those pages, so this package should not be compared directly with tuition-only figures at other schools.
Fee clarification: Ask for the entering cohort’s itemized package breakdown before budgeting additional academic fees. The general schedule lists $83 malpractice insurance per clinical semester, nursing lab fees, ATI assessments and university service or graduation charges, but it does not establish which of those are already included in the $50,900 ABSN package.
- The general schedule lists NURSP 221 at $40 and designated later nursing-practicum labs at $90 each.
- General undergraduate ATI listings include $200 for NURS 102 and $800–$950 for designated courses; ABSN billing follows the handbook’s one-time program arrangement.
- Books, uniforms, equipment, clinical screening and health requirements, insurance, commuting and parking may add to the student’s budget.
- Housing, meals and personal expenses are separate living costs. Rates and fees can change; confirm the May 2027 cohort’s applicable charges.
The $50,900 package remains the useful published program-cost reference. A separate tuition-only estimate cannot be obtained reliably by subtracting generic university fees or applying ordinary undergraduate rates to the accelerated sequence.
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