Last Updated: October 3, 2026
Program Overview
UCF’s second-degree BSN admits one summer cohort each year in Orlando, with a four-semester nursing sequence and transfer-dependent research and elective requirements.
The University of Central Florida offers a full-time accelerated pathway for applicants with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree. The sequence runs summer, fall, spring and a second summer—approximately 16 months—with classroom learning, skills laboratories, simulation and clinical training.
The Orlando nursing program is based in Lake Nona. Students must be physically located in Florida throughout enrollment; moving outside Florida can prevent continuation even when individual courses use online components.
Accreditation and Licensure
UCF’s baccalaureate nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The degree prepares graduates to apply for the NCLEX-RN and Florida licensure; applicants must meet the board’s other eligibility requirements.
ABSN Admission Summary
Academic and Entrance Exam Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field from a regionally accredited institution, completed before the nursing program begins.
- A minimum 3.0 overall undergraduate GPA, as calculated by UCF.
- An ATI TEAS composite score of at least 78%, with all four test sections completed.
- Up to three TEAS attempts per calendar year, with at least 30 days between attempts.
- C or higher in each required prerequisite; the current detailed admissions instructions allow seven of eight completed when applying, with the final course completed before the program starts.
- Admission is competitive and limited access; meeting the minimums does not guarantee selection.
Prerequisites — Eight Courses, 27 Credits
- CHM 1032 General Chemistry or an approved physical/life science (3); chemistry is strongly encouraged.
- MCB 2004C Microbiology with lab (4).
- ZOO 3733C Human Anatomy (4) and PCB 3703C Human Physiology (4), or an approved complete anatomy-and-physiology I/II sequence with labs.
- PSY 2012 General Psychology or SYG 2000 Introduction to Sociology (3).
- STA 2014 or STA 2023 Statistics (3).
- DEP 2004 Developmental Psychology/Human Growth and Development (3).
- HUN 3011 Human Nutrition (3).
Transfer coursework from private or out-of-state institutions may require an equivalency petition. Complete the same anatomy/physiology sequence and obtain approval for any substitute science course; approval is not automatic.
Application and Final Deadline
The annual nursing application window is January 1–15 for summer entry. January 15 is the final nursing deadline, including the required TEAS documentation; this pathway does not have separate fall or spring entering cohorts.
- Apply to UCF Undergraduate Admissions early enough to receive university admission and complete transcript evaluation before the nursing deadline.
- The College recommends starting the university application about three months before the nursing deadline; that planning date is not the final nursing deadline.
- Submit the separate online nursing application during January 1–15 and provide the required TEAS results.
- Arrange official transcripts and course-equivalency review well in advance.
- UCF generally issues nursing decisions several weeks after the application window closes.
The College of Nursing admissions instructions distinguish university admission from selection into the accelerated nursing cohort.
After Acceptance
- Complete required background screening, drug testing, health documentation and immunizations.
- Maintain the required CPR/BLS certification and health insurance.
- Arrange transportation to classes, laboratories and assigned clinical sites.
- Complete clinical compliance and placement-platform requirements before attendance.
Curriculum
UCF’s program-specific plan for cohorts starting summer 2026 contains 57–62 nursing credits. It includes 56 fixed credits, either three-credit Nursing Research or an approved one-credit accelerated research seminar, and one three-credit elective unless its petition is approved.
The semester tables follow the current Second Degree BSN curriculum plan. Corresponding official UCF catalog descriptions explain the course content; general course offering labels do not establish the accelerated semester sequence.
Required Courses and Credits
First summer — 14 credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 3065 — Health Assessment | 2 | Health histories and systematic assessment of patients, using findings to inform nursing decisions. |
NUR 3065L — Health Assessment Lab | 1 | Applying patient-assessment concepts and examination techniques in supervised learning. |
NUR 3125 — Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice | 3 | Disease mechanisms and the use of pathophysiologic knowledge in nursing care. |
NUR 3028 — Essentials of Nursing Practice | 3 | Nursing-process reasoning, scientific principles and evidence-based foundational care, including long-term care. |
NUR 3028L — Essentials of Nursing Practice Lab | 1 | Laboratory development of technical nursing skills using scientific and evidence-based principles. |
NUR 3755L — Essentials of Nursing Practice Clinical | 2 | Clinical application of foundational nursing skills and the nursing process in long-term care. |
NUR 3616 — Health Promotion Across the Lifespan | 2 | Promoting health and preventing illness for individuals and families in community settings across the lifespan. |
Fall — 15 credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 3816 — Professional Nurse Seminar | 1 | Professional roles, practice standards, ethics, legal responsibilities and current nursing issues. |
NUR 3145 — Pharmacology for Nursing Practice | 3 | Drug-therapy principles and their application to safe nursing practice. |
NUR 3225 — Nursing Care of the Adult I | 3 | Biopsychosocial nursing care for individuals and families with health risks, acute illness and chronic conditions. |
NUR 3225L — Nursing Care of the Adult I: Clinical Practice | 2 | Supervised application of adult-care concepts for patients with acute or chronic health needs. |
NUR 3445 — Nursing Care of Families | 4 | Family-centered care addressing health promotion, ongoing health needs and illness during childbearing and childrearing. |
NUR 3445L — Nursing Care of Families Clinical | 2 | Applying family-nursing concepts in clinical care of childbearing and childrearing families. |
Spring — 12 fixed credits, plus research and any elective
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 4227 — Nursing Care of the Adult II | 4 | Advanced adult nursing for patients and families facing unstable, acute or life-threatening conditions. |
NUR 4227L — Nursing Care of the Adult II: Clinical Practice | 3 | Clinical care in acute settings, including unstable, surgical and life-threatening patient conditions. |
NUR 4535 — Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing | 3 | Mental-health promotion and nursing approaches to psychiatric illness prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. |
NUR 4535L — Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical | 2 | Clinical implementation of psychiatric interventions across mental-health promotion, treatment and recovery. |
Final summer — 15 fixed credits
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 4829 — Accelerated Transitioning into Professional Practice as a Leader | 3 | Leadership and management principles for the beginning professional nursing role. |
NUR 4945L — Nursing Practicum | 5 | Developing nursing expertise in an area of practice selected collaboratively by the student and faculty. |
NUR 4637 — Public and Community Health Nursing | 3 | Population-focused nursing and public-health systems that deliver care to communities. |
NUR 4637L — Public Health Nursing Clinical | 1 | Applying public-health nursing concepts and findings from the companion community-assessment course. |
NUR 4847 — Clinical Reasoning, Judgment, and Preparation for Nursing Practice | 3 | A specialized-topic capstone integrating clinical reasoning, NCLEX-RN preparation and transition into nursing practice. |
Research requirement — choose the approved course, not both
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 3165 — Nursing Research | 3 | Appraising, analyzing and interpreting nursing research to support evidence-based practice. |
NUR 3167 — Accelerated Nursing Research Seminar | 1 | Intensive analysis of nursing research and practice problems through systematic investigation. Available only after APG approval of a previous research course; it replaces NUR 3165. |
One elective requirement — spring or final summer
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR elective — Approved nursing elective | 3, unless waived | Complete one approved three-credit elective in spring or the final summer unless the APG Committee approves a petition. Do not count the elective twice. |
The APG Committee must approve prior research coursework before a student uses NUR 3167 instead of NUR 3165. The elective may be taken in spring or the final summer, or omitted only after an approved petition; it is one requirement, not an elective in both semesters.
Without those approvals, the plan contains 62 credits: 56 fixed credits, three research credits and three elective credits. The one-credit research option reduces that to 60; an approved elective waiver reduces either plan by three credits. The published 57–62-credit range therefore reflects individual preparation.
Progression, Honors and Graduation
Admission’s 3.0 minimum differs from the enrolled-student progression rules: maintain at least a 2.5 UCF GPA and a 2.5 nursing GPA, and earn C or higher in required nursing courses or S where the course uses satisfactory grading. The degree also requires UCF residency and total-credit requirements; consult the assigned degree audit for accepted prior coursework.
Eligible students may pursue Honors Undergraduate Thesis with faculty guidance. The published eligibility standards include a 3.5 nursing GPA, 3.2 cumulative GPA, at least 60 completed credits and 12 graded upper-division UCF credits; directed research and thesis work are additional honors requirements, not required courses for every accelerated student.
Clinicals and Simulation
The sequence starts with assessment, skills-laboratory practice and foundational clinical care, then advances through adult, family and psychiatric nursing, public health and a final practicum. Simulation supports preparation for patient-care assignments.
NUR 4945L Nursing Practicum develops expertise in a practice area selected with faculty. NUR 4847 is a separate clinical-reasoning capstone addressing specialized nursing topics, NCLEX-RN preparation and transition to entry-level practice.
- Clinical placements and schedules are assigned according to program and affiliate requirements.
- Plan for travel throughout the Orlando region and for clinical hours beyond the classroom timetable.
- Course credits and catalog contact-hour fields do not establish a verified total of direct patient-care hours.
Tuition and Required Fees
At UCF’s published 2026–27 undergraduate rates, Florida-resident tuition is $105.07 base tuition plus a $44.20 tuition differential, or $149.27 per credit. The full 62-credit plan produces estimated tuition of $9,254.74; this is the comparable tuition figure used in Quick Facts.
- Other required resident per-credit fees: $63.01 × 62 = $3,906.62. Tuition plus these fees is $13,161.36.
- Approved lower-credit plans: at 57–60 credits, resident tuition is $8,508.39–$8,956.20; corresponding tuition and per-credit fees total $12,099.96–$12,736.80.
- Nonresident full-plan estimate: $795.75 per credit in tuition/differential/nonresident tuition × 62 = $49,336.50, plus $5,909.84 in other per-credit charges, for $55,246.34 combined.
- The commonly displayed $212.28 resident per-credit amount includes tuition and fees; it is not tuition alone.
These estimates apply current rates across the nursing plan, exclude prerequisites and living expenses, and assume no repeated or excess-credit charges. Later academic-year rate changes may increase actual costs; approved course substitutions or waivers change the number of billed credits.
The College’s 2026–27 BSN expense sheet lists additional nursing costs beyond standard university charges:
- Background screening $99, drug screen $60, medical compliance tracker $50 and AHA CPR approximately $45.
- Skills kit approximately $200, stethoscope $150, uniforms $225 and shoes $50–$150.
- LEAP/RN $165, clinical-placement platform $40, estimated clinical lab fees $351, books/materials $2,600 and ATI testing resources $950.
- Annual fit testing approximately $30; other identification, watch, equipment and computer costs vary.
The program page also identifies semester equipment charges; confirm how these relate to the cost sheet’s laboratory estimate before adding them twice. Review current UCF tuition rates and the BSN expense sheet for the distinction between university fees, nursing expenses and personal costs.
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