Train Alongside Medical Students in Downtown New Orleans
What separates Tulane’s accelerated BSN is the company you keep while learning. Simulations run alongside Tulane medical students, and clinical rotations spread across hospitals and community sites throughout New Orleans – an academic-medicine setting most second-degree programs can’t match.
The structure is hybrid: 60 nursing credits over four consecutive semesters, with online didactic coursework paired with in-person labs, simulation, and 720 clinical hours.
Designed for students who already hold at least 60 transferable undergraduate credits, it compresses pre-licensure preparation into roughly 16 months.
NCLEX readiness is built into the sequence, and graduates leave prepared to step into clinical practice and pursue advanced study down the line.
Admission Requirements
Admission is built around prior academic work and a competitive prerequisite record. Applicants need at least 60 undergraduate credits from an accredited institution, a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and a 3.0 GPA across prerequisite courses, plus completion of the SoPA core curriculum and the program’s technical standards.
A video submission is part of the application, and anyone previously enrolled in a nursing program must submit a letter of academic good standing.
Two admission tracks are available — the SoPA track and the NTC track — each with its own requirements and tuition details on the program site. Conditional admission may be granted to applicants with no more than three in-progress prerequisites, only one of which may be a science course.
Prerequisite Coursework
The program requires 25 credit hours of prerequisites, each completed at an accredited institution within 10 years of applying and earned with a C or higher. A course may be repeated once; earning a C- or below twice in the same course results in ineligibility.
- Anatomy and Physiology I & II with labs (8 credits)
- Microbiology with lab (4 credits)
- Chemistry with lab (4 credits)
- Nutrition (3 credits)
- Statistics (3 credits)
- Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
Tulane accepts up to 60 transfer credits from accredited institutions. Foreign coursework must be evaluated by WES, and non-native English speakers must demonstrate language proficiency.
Curriculum
The 60-credit nursing core blends theory, clinical decision-making, and patient-care technology, moving from pathophysiology and foundations through specialty practice and a culminating preceptorship. Online coursework is interactive, while labs, simulation, and clinicals deliver the hands-on side.
NRSG 3205 Foundations of Nursing Practice Practicum/LAB
Provides hands-on practice in core nursing skills through lab and simulation. Students build clinical reasoning, technical competence, and safe, person-centered care.
NRSG 3210 Adult Health Assessment
Covers comprehensive adult assessment, including physical, mental, emotional, and social health. Students learn history-taking and systematic evaluation skills.
NRSG 3215 Adv Skills & Health Assessment Practicum/LAB
Offers supervised practice in advanced nursing skills and adult assessment. Emphasizes clinical judgment, communication, professionalism, and patient-centered care.
NRSG 3350 Community Immersion Preparation
Prepares students for community engagement through cultural competence, ethics, and basic public health skills. Includes BLS, first aid, disaster readiness, and reflection on social justice.
NRSG 3010 Integrated Pathophysiology & Pharmacology for Nursing Practice
Explores disease processes and medication management in nursing practice. Emphasizes genetics, lifespan factors, patient safety, and evidence-based interventions.
NRSG 3400 Adult Health Nursing
Focuses on nursing care for adults, especially older adults, across diverse settings. Emphasizes health promotion, illness management, clinical judgment, and ethical care.
NRSG 3450 Adult Health Practicum
Provides clinical experience in adult and older adult care. Students apply assessment, intervention, and evaluation skills in real-world and simulated settings.
NRSG 3500 Psych Mental Health Nursing
Introduces psychiatric-mental health nursing across the lifespan. Emphasizes prevention, treatment, therapeutic relationships, and holistic care for mental wellness.
NRSG 3550 Psych/Community Mental Health Practicum
Offers supervised experience in mental health care settings. Students apply therapeutic communication, interventions, and interdisciplinary collaboration in recovery-focused care.
NRSG 4000 Nursing Research and Evidence-based Practice
Introduces nursing research methods and evidence-based practice. Students learn to evaluate evidence and apply findings to clinical decision-making.
NRSG 4400 Complex Adult Health Nursing
Focuses on care for adults with complex or life-threatening conditions. Emphasizes advanced assessment, clinical reasoning, and evidence-based management.
NRSG 4450 Complex Adult Health Practicum
Provides advanced clinical experience with complex adult and older adult patients. Students strengthen assessment, prioritization, and interdisciplinary care skills.
NRSG 4500 Population and Community Health Nursing
Explores community health principles and the nurse’s role in promoting population wellness. Focuses on social determinants, health education, and care for diverse groups.
NRSG 4550 Community Immersion Practicum
Immerses students in community-based nursing care. Emphasizes health promotion, disease prevention, cultural sensitivity, and reducing health disparities.
NRSG 4600 Pediatric Nursing
Covers nursing care for infants, children, and adolescents with acute or chronic needs. Focuses on growth, development, family-centered care, and health promotion.
NRSG 4650 Pediatric Nursing Practicum
Provides clinical experience in pediatric care settings. Students apply assessment, intervention, and communication skills in caring for children and families.
NRSG 4700 Maternal-Newborn Nursing
Introduces nursing care during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Emphasizes physiologic changes, high-risk conditions, and culturally responsive family care.
NRSG 4750 Maternal-Newborn Nursing Practicum
Offers supervised clinical experience in maternal-newborn care. Students apply nursing knowledge in prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum settings.
NRSG 4800 Management & Leadership in Nursing
Introduces leadership and management concepts in nursing practice. Topics include teamwork, communication, quality improvement, decision-making, and organizational systems.
NRSG 4950 Nursing Generalist Seminar & Preceptorship
Culminates the program with transition-to-practice preparation. Students synthesize knowledge, strengthen leadership and clinical judgment, and prepare for NCLEX-RN.
The degree is awarded after 120 total credits — 60 transfer credits plus the 60 nursing program credits.
More detail is available on the Tulane nursing curriculum page.
Clinical Experience
Clinical training is in-person and spans hospitals and community settings across New Orleans, with 720 clinical hours over the program. Before live rotations, students build skills in the simulation lab and practice in hospital-like environments — including simulations conducted alongside Tulane medical students, reinforcing the team-based care the program is built around.
The hybrid model pairs that hands-on work with online didactic coursework, accommodating students from a range of academic and professional backgrounds.
Tuition
Estimated cost is about $68,600. At $1,083 per credit hour, the 60 nursing credits run $64,980 in tuition, with roughly $3,600 in mandatory fees (academic support, student activity, and campus health) across four semesters.
The full degree totals 120 credits, but 60 of those transfer in from prior study, so students pay Tulane only for the 60-credit nursing core. For a private-university accelerated BSN, that places it in the premium range.
Tuition varies slightly by admission track; see the official program site for current SoPA- and NTC-track rates.
Accreditation and Outcomes
Graduates are prepared to sit for the NCLEX-RN and enter practice as registered nurses, with NCLEX preparation integrated throughout the curriculum. A Tulane BSN also lays groundwork for graduate study, including MSN, DNP, or PhD pathways, and opens roles across specialties such as emergency, pediatric, surgical, community health, and hospice nursing.