Program Overview
SUNY Tuition. Rochester Clinical Network. No TEAS. No Recommendation Letters.
SUNY Brockport’s ABSN offers what most comparable New York programs cannot — public university tuition at a CCNE-accredited program with named clinical partners, a 100% employment rate within six months, and a rolling admissions process that doesn’t require the TEAS exam or letters of recommendation at any stage. The program runs one cohort per year of 48 students, launching in mid-May on the Monday following Brockport’s commencement.
Clinical placements run through Rochester Regional Health, the University of Rochester Medical Center, Oak Orchard Health, and local school districts — covering academic medicine, community health, and school nursing across a 16-mile corridor from campus.
Admissions are holistic and note where prerequisites were taken — courses from rigorous institutions and in-person formats are weighted more heavily than online or non-traditional formats, a transparency rare among comparable programs.
ABSN Admission Summary
Admission is competitive and holistic — meeting minimum criteria does not guarantee a seat. All applicants are required to meet with Program Director Dr. Karilee Bingham before acceptance (kbingham@brockport.edu). Priority is given to applicants with all prerequisites complete at time of application and to applicants who hold degrees from SUNY Brockport.
Academic requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree (BS preferred; BA accepted) from an accredited institution — must be conferred before the program starts, but not required at time of application
- Minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA
- B or better in all science and math prerequisites (Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Statistics) — all science prerequisites require a laboratory component
- C or better in all non-science prerequisites (Sociology, Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Nutrition)
- Holistic review considers: GPA trajectory, where and how prerequisites were taken, number of attempts needed for success, and professional demeanor in communications with faculty and staff
Nine required prerequisite courses:
Sciences — B or better; in-person lab required:
- Anatomy & Physiology I with lab (BIO 321 or equivalent)
- Anatomy & Physiology II with lab (BIO 322 or equivalent)
- Microbiology with lab (BIO 323 or equivalent)
- Chemistry — non-preparatory, above introductory level, with lab
Non-sciences — C or better:
- Nutrition — not consumer nutrition (PBH 311 or equivalent)
- Introduction to Statistics
- Introduction to Sociology (SOC 100 or equivalent)
- Introduction to Psychology (PSY 110 or equivalent)
- Lifespan Development Assessment / Developmental Psychology (PRO 204 or equivalent)
Recommended but not required: Medical Terminology (HCS 230)
Transfer credit and institutional acceptance policies:
- Non-science prerequisites (Psychology, Sociology, Developmental Psychology, Nutrition) accepted from Portage Learning (Middle States-accredited through Geneva College)
- CLEP exam accepted for Sociology only
- Courses from StraighterLine, Sophia Learning, or Portage for science prerequisites are not accepted
- Science prerequisites from rigorous, in-person settings weighted more favorably than online formats
- All prerequisites must be completed before the program start date
Application process:
- Submit SUNY Undergraduate Application (for applicants from other institutions) or the Second Degree Readmittance Application (for current or former Brockport students); $50 application fee
- Submit official transcripts from every educational institution attended — including dual credit courses taken in high school; Brockport transcripts are accessed directly; all other SUNY and non-SUNY transcripts must be sent to Undergraduate Admissions
- Complete the ABSN Secondary Application — accessed through the applicant portal after the primary application is processed
- Submit ABSN Professional Statement — link provided in the applicant portal alongside the secondary application
- Schedule and complete a required meeting with Dr. Karilee Bingham (kbingham@brockport.edu) before acceptance
No TEAS, HESI, Kaplan, or PAX exam required
No letters of recommendation — not accepted and not read
Clinical requirements — before clinical participation:
- Physical examination and prescribed lab tests on file in the Department of Nursing by the date specified in the acceptance letter
- Required immunizations: rubella titer or evidence of immunization, influenza vaccination (by October 31 of each fall semester), varicella immunization or positive titer, Hepatitis B vaccination or declination, tuberculosis screening
- Annual flu vaccine required by clinical institutions
- CPR certification
- Criminal background check (per clinical site requirements)
- Annual health update and screening required in the final semester
Transportation requirement:
- Clinical facilities are primarily located in Rochester, 16 miles east of campus
- Students must have a valid New York State driver’s license and access to their own car — carpooling to all sites is not always possible and is the student’s responsibility
Uniforms:
Students are advised on uniform arrangements and costs after acceptance; uniforms must be purchased before the program begins.
Progression standard:
Students must achieve and maintain a minimum exam average of 75 and an overall course grade of 75 in each nursing course for continued progression. All degree requirements must be completed within five years of beginning the clinical major.
Curriculum
Sixty nursing major credits are distributed across four consecutive terms — Summer 1, Fall, Spring, Summer 2. The program launches in mid-May every year. Clinical courses pair with every nursing theory course across all four terms, beginning with Foundations of Professional Practice in Summer 1.
A two-part Medical-Surgical Nursing sequence (NUR 346/347 and NUR 350/351) runs through Summer 1 and Fall respectively. Critical Care Nursing (NUR 442/443) is a distinctive feature — a dedicated critical care clinical course not offered as a standalone in most comparable ABSNs reviewed.
Prerequisite Overview
Nine prerequisites required — all four sciences need labs, B or better; five non-sciences need C or better. StraighterLine, Sophia, and online science prerequisites are not accepted. See the admission summary above for the full list.
Course Descriptions
Summer Semester 1 — entry term (16 cr.):
NUR 328 – Math for Safe Medication Administration (1 cr.) — foundational medication math and dosage calculation skills required for safe pharmacological practice throughout the program
NUR 342 – Foundations for Professional Practice (3 cr.) — introduces core nursing concepts, professional practice standards, ethics, and the nursing process; establishes the professional and scientific foundation for all subsequent clinical courses
NUR 343 – Foundations for Professional Practice Clinical (1 cr.) — supervised clinical application of foundational nursing skills in real patient care settings from the first summer term
NUR 344 – Health Assessment (2 cr.) — systematic physical and psychosocial assessment across the lifespan; develops the comprehensive assessment toolset applied in every subsequent clinical rotation
NUR 345 – Health Assessment Clinical (1 cr.) — hands-on clinical assessment practice
NUR 346 – Medical-Surgical Nursing I (3 cr.) — nursing care for adults with common acute and chronic health conditions; first of a two-course medical-surgical sequence; clinical reasoning applied across acute care settings
NUR 347 – Medical-Surgical Nursing I Clinical (2 cr.) — supervised inpatient patient care aligned with adult health I content
PRO 310 – Research: Process and Critique (3 cr.) — evidence-based practice, nursing research processes, and critical appraisal of research literature; the program’s scholarly inquiry foundation
Fall Semester (16 cr.):
NUR 321 – Introduction to Pharmacology (3 cr.) — drug classifications, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safe medication administration applied to nursing practice across patient populations
NUR 348 – Childbearing Family and Women’s Health (3 cr.) — perinatal nursing across the reproductive continuum — antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care; women’s health and newborn nursing
NUR 349 – Childbearing Family and Women’s Health Clinical (2 cr.) — supervised maternal-newborn clinical experience
NUR 350 – Medical-Surgical Nursing II (3 cr.) — advances adult health nursing into more complex, multi-system conditions; second installment of the medical-surgical sequence
NUR 351 – Medical-Surgical Nursing II Clinical (3 cr.) — supervised clinical experience for complex adult health conditions; escalating acuity and patient care responsibility
NUR 360 – Nursing Care of the Older Adult (2 cr.) — gerontological nursing assessment and care across settings; a dedicated standalone elder care course reflecting the growing demand for gerontological competency
Spring Semester (15 cr.):
NUR 440 – Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing (3 cr.) — bio-psycho-social approach to nursing care for patients with mental health conditions across the lifespan; therapeutic communication and evidence-based mental health nursing
NUR 441 – Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing Clinical (2 cr.) — supervised mental health clinical experience
NUR 442 – Critical Care Nursing (3 cr.) — advanced nursing care for patients in critical care and high-acuity settings; a dedicated critical care course not offered as a standalone in most ABSN programs reviewed; prepares graduates for ICU and trauma center employment
NUR 443 – Critical Care Nursing Clinical (3 cr.) — supervised critical care clinical immersion; the program’s most advanced and complex clinical experience
PRO 451 – Issues in Leadership and Management (3 cr.) — nursing leadership theory, management principles, quality improvement, health policy, and the professional nurse’s leadership role
NUR 478 – Problem Solving in Nursing I (1 cr.) — applied critical thinking and clinical problem-solving; NCLEX preparation and case-based integration of program content
Summer Semester 2 — final term (12 cr.):
NUR 444 – Community Health Nursing (2 cr.) — public health nursing frameworks, social determinants of health, health promotion and disease prevention at the community and population level
NUR 445 – Community Health Nursing Clinical (2 cr.) — community-based clinical placements including local school district nursing and public health settings
NUR 446 – Pediatric Nursing (3 cr.) — nursing care for children from infancy through adolescence across developmental stages; family-centered care and evidence-based pediatric nursing
NUR 447 – Pediatric Nursing Clinical (2 cr.) — supervised pediatric clinical experience
NUR 495 – Senior Nursing Seminar (3 cr.) — capstone synthesis course integrating learning across all four terms; NCLEX preparation and professional role transition from student to practicing registered nurse
More curriculum details available in the program catalog: SUNY Brockport ABSN Catalog
Clinicals
Clinical rotations begin in Summer 1 — the opening term includes both Foundations Clinical (NUR 343) and Medical-Surgical Nursing I Clinical (NUR 347), placing students in real patient care settings within weeks of the May start. All clinical sites are in the Rochester area, approximately 16 miles east of campus.
Named clinical partners:
- Rochester Regional Health — one of Western New York’s major health systems; multiple hospital and healthcare facilities across the Rochester region
- University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) — Rochester’s flagship academic medical center; major academic research hospital providing advanced clinical learning experiences
- Oak Orchard Health — a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) serving rural and underserved communities in Monroe, Orleans, Niagara, and Genesee counties; distinctive community and migrant health clinical exposure
- Local Area School Districts — school nursing clinical placements for community health rotations; provides clinical experience in a non-hospital setting unavailable at most ABSN programs in this review
Clinical structure:
- Every nursing specialty course carries a paired clinical section running simultaneously — theory and patient care advance together across all four terms
- Clinical specialties: foundations, adult health I and II, maternal-newborn and women’s health, psychiatric/mental health, critical care, community health, and pediatrics
- Clinical scheduling: majority of sites are in Rochester — students must drive themselves; 16-mile commute each way from Brockport campus; valid NYS driver’s license and personal vehicle required
Facilities — Lathrop Hall:
- Multiple simulation rooms; 12-bed fundamental lab; 8-bed assessment lab; 32-seat computer lab
- Full-time lab coordinator and instructor alongside nursing faculty
- Expansion underway in Hartwell Hall (6,000 sq. ft., expected Fall 2027): two additional 10-bed skills labs, a multipurpose room, four additional simulation and debriefing rooms
Key outcome data:
- 100% of graduates employed full-time within six months of graduation — working in trauma centers, community hospitals, schools, occupational health, hospice, and in-home care
- Graduates admitted into SUNY Brockport’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) — the first DNP at a SUNY comprehensive university
Tuition
Estimated total program cost: ~$15,000–$19,000 in-state (tuition + fees)
SUNY Brockport charges flat annual undergraduate tuition of $7,070 for NY State residents for the fall + spring academic year. Summer semesters are typically billed at a per-credit rate. The ABSN’s 59 nursing credits run across two summer terms (28 credits total) and one academic year (31 credits).
| Term | Credits | Estimated In-State Tuition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Summer 1 (entry) | 16 cr. | ~$4,912 | Per-credit rate ~$307/cr. |
Fall | 16 cr. | ~$3,535 | Half of $7,070 annual rate |
Spring | 15 cr. | ~$3,535 | Half of $7,070 annual rate |
Summer 2 (final) | 12 cr. | ~$3,684 | Per-credit rate ~$307/cr. |
Total tuition (est.) | 59 cr. | ~$15,666 | |
Fees (est.) | ~$3,364 | ~$841/semester × 4 | |
Total tuition + fees | ~$19,030 | In-state estimate |
Summer per-credit rates at SUNY Brockport are not explicitly published in available materials — the $307/credit estimate is derived from the annual rate. Confirm exact summer tuition with SUNY Brockport Business Services before financial planning.
Out-of-state: Annual tuition is $14,560 (out-of-state) vs. $7,070 (in-state). The out-of-state premium for the full program could push total costs to $30,000+.
Additional costs:
- Books, course materials, supplies: ~$912/year
- Transportation to Rochester clinical sites: student responsibility (personal vehicle required)
- Uniforms: purchased before the program; cost advised after acceptance
- Health clearance and immunizations: student-funded
At ~$19,000 in tuition and fees for New York State residents, SUNY Brockport is among the most affordable ABSNs reviewed in this entire compilation — comparable to UMMC Mississippi (~$19,845) and significantly less expensive than every private program reviewed in New York.
See the official tuition page for more details: SUNY Brockport Tuition & Costs
Accreditation
SUNY Brockport’s School of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), ccneaccreditation.org, and registered with the New York State Department of Education. SUNY Brockport is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Graduates are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN licensure examination.
The ABSN is also a pathway into SUNY Brockport’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) — the first doctoral nursing program in the SUNY comprehensive sector — for graduates pursuing advanced practice careers.