Last Updated: October 14, 2026
Program Overview
USM’s 15-month accelerated nursing degree begins in May and combines mainly in-person study in Portland with CNA eligibility halfway through and a final 168-hour precepted practicum.
The University of Southern Maine offers an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing for applicants with a previous bachelor’s or higher degree. The full-time program spans four semesters, from May through the following August.
The current accelerated-program catalog specifies 66.5 major credits. Most learning is in person; USM describes online options as limited to a couple of courses across the full sequence.
Students can become eligible for CNA certification halfway through the program. This provides an additional credentialing opportunity, although the program does not guarantee accommodations for employment schedules.
Accreditation
The nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the Maine State Board of Nursing. Graduates are prepared to apply for the NCLEX-RN and meet the board’s other licensure requirements.
Admissions Requirements
- A bachelor’s or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution, completed before enrollment.
- A minimum GPA of 3.0 from the most recently earned degree.
- Completion of the required prerequisites with C or better before the May start.
- The university application, official academic records, accelerated-nursing supplemental form and nursing essay.
- Ability to meet nursing clinical health and background-check requirements before enrollment.
Courses taken after the degree was awarded do not change the degree GPA used for admission. Meeting the minimum requirements does not assure acceptance into the competitive cohort.
Application Deadline and Start Term
Applications open in June, and all application materials must reach USM by October 1 for the following May start. USM says decisions are sent by early January.
As of this October 14, 2026 update, the regular deadline for May 2027 has passed. Under the published annual schedule, the next regular application window would open in June 2027 with an October 1, 2027 deadline for May 2028; those future-cycle dates remain subject to USM’s confirmation.
Prerequisites may be in progress at application, provided they are successfully completed before the program begins. Use the official accelerated nursing admissions checklist and supplemental essay instructions.
Prerequisites and Supportive Courses
- Statistics.
- Anatomy and Physiology I: a lab is not required for admission.
- Anatomy and Physiology II: a lab is not required for admission.
- Microbiology with lab.
Required prerequisites need C or better. USM does not award transfer credit for online science labs; approved college-level courses must come from a regionally accredited college or university.
Pathophysiology and Human Nutrition are supportive courses rather than initial admission prerequisites. USM strongly recommends completing at least one before enrollment; completing either before October 1 earns an additional admissions-evaluation point for that course.
Curriculum
The 2026–27 accelerated nursing catalog lists four semesters of 17, 17, 16.5 and 16 credits, totaling 66.5. Assessment and fundamental skills lead into adult, mental-health and family nursing, then community care, leadership, research and completion courses.
The tables below group courses by subject. The catalog’s first-term plan lists a 3-credit Pathophysiology or Human Nutrition slot; prior coursework and the individual academic plan determine remaining supportive-course requirements.
Students take both reproductive-health and child-health lecture/lab pairs across the middle semesters. The catalog lists a choice of one matching 2-credit specialty clinical, so the two clinical options below should not both be added to the 66.5-credit total.
Required Courses and Credits
Supportive coursework: the catalog lists one 3-credit slot
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
BIO 345 — Pathophysiology | 3 | Physiological, genetic, biochemical and environmental mechanisms of noninfectious disease. |
NUR 252 — Human Nutrition | 3 | Nutrition across the lifespan and the factors that shape food practices and attitudes. |
Assessment, medications and nursing foundations
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 270 — Introduction to Professional Nursing, Leadership, and Ethics | 3 | Nursing history and roles, professional standards, advocacy, communication and ethical principles. |
NUR 300 — Health Assessment | 2 | Collecting and interpreting physical, psychological, social and cultural assessment data across the lifespan. |
NUR 301 — Health Assessment Lab | 1 | Practicing interviews and physical examinations, then analyzing findings and developing nursing diagnoses. |
NUR 302 — Pharmacology | 3 | Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, major drug categories, therapeutic uses and adverse reactions. |
NUR 306 — Fundamental Nursing Arts and Sciences | 3 | Foundational nursing therapeutics and use of the nursing process as a clinical problem-solving method. |
NUR 307 — Fundamentals in Nursing Lab | 2 | Developing basic nursing skills and safe patient care through laboratory practice. |
Adult and mental health nursing
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 313 — Intermediate Nursing Skills and Simulation Lab | 1 | Intermediate clinical skills, communication and judgment through laboratory and simulated patient scenarios. |
NUR 323 — Adult Health Nursing I Lecture | 3 | Nursing assessment and interventions for adults and older adults experiencing health problems. |
NUR 325 — Adult Health Nursing I Clinical | 4 | Applying adult nursing knowledge and clinical judgment in supervised patient-care settings. |
NUR 329 — Mental Health Skills and Simulation Lab | 0.5 | Practicing mental health nursing skills and responses in simulated clinical situations. |
NUR 330 — Mental Health Nursing | 3 | Mental health concepts, psychiatric conditions and nursing approaches to promotion, maintenance and recovery. |
NUR 331 — Mental Health Nursing Clinical | 2 | Applying psychiatric nursing concepts in mental health settings with emphasis on therapeutic care. |
NUR 413 — Advanced Nursing Skills and Simulation Lab | 1 | Building advanced psychomotor skills and professional nursing competencies in laboratory and simulation work. |
NUR 423 — Adult Health Nursing II Lecture | 3 | Evidence-based interventions for complex and high-acuity adult illnesses, including ethical care and coordination. |
NUR 425 — Adult Health Nursing II Clinical | 4 | Prioritization, problem solving and therapeutic interventions for adults with complex needs in acute care. |
Child and reproductive health: lecture/lab pairs plus one matching clinical
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 421 — Reproductive and Sexual Health Nursing | 3 | Reproductive health across the lifespan, pregnancy and childbirth, high-risk conditions and family-centered care. |
NUR 418 — Reproductive Health Skills and Simulation Lab | 0.5 | Communication, assessment and clinical reasoning for childbearing families through simulated scenarios. |
NUR 427 — Child Health Nursing | 3 | Health promotion and common childhood conditions, considering development, family, heredity and social circumstances. |
NUR 417 — Child Health Skills and Simulation Lab | 0.5 | Practicing child and family care through demonstrations, role play, simulation and debriefing. |
NUR 422 — Reproductive and Sexual Health Nursing Clinical — option | 2 | Supervised care before, during and after childbirth, responding to the health needs of individuals and families. |
NUR 428 — Child Health Nursing Clinical — option | 2 | Applying prevention and nursing care concepts with children and families in clinical settings. |
Community care, leadership and completion
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 356 — Community and Public Health Nursing | 3 | Epidemiology and major population health issues at community, state, national and global levels. |
NUR 321 — Health-Related Research | 3 | Understanding research methods, critiquing health research and applying findings to professional practice. |
NUR 341 — Community and Public Health Service Learning | 2 | Working with community partners to assess needs, build prevention strategies and evaluate local interventions. |
NUR 429 — Clinically Applied Pharmacology | 3 | Using medication knowledge in complex simulated situations, evaluating effects and reducing patient risk. |
NUR 470 — Advanced Professional Nursing, Leadership, and Ethics | 3 | Leadership, organizational analysis, change, quality improvement and the nurse’s care-management responsibilities. |
NUR 480 — Practicum/Care Management Seminar and Clinical | 3 | An intensive final clinical experience developing prioritization, organization, decision making and communication. |
NUR 489 — Role Transition to Professional Practice | 1 | NCLEX-RN preparation, clinical decision making, test-taking skills and strategies for reducing examination anxiety. |
NUR 490 — Capstone in Nursing | 1 | Creating and presenting a scholarly project that analyzes research on a clinical topic, with reflection on professional nursing education. |
Progression and Completion
The accelerated major requires C+ or better in its listed courses and a minimum major GPA of 2.75. The final clinical practicum and the separate scholarly nursing capstone provide different opportunities to synthesize learning.
Clinical Experience
USM assigns clinical and practicum placements; students may not arrange their own sites or instructors. Placements are typically within about a one-hour drive of the Portland campus.
The final practicum involves 168 hours alongside an RN preceptor, following the assigned nurses’ shifts. That figure describes the final practicum, not all clinical hours in the degree.
Students typically attend classes and clinical activities five days per week. Classes usually fall between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.; common clinical shifts are 7 a.m.–3 p.m. or 3 p.m.–11 p.m., with some weekend options.
USM’s simulation facilities include hospital and home settings and virtual-reality learning. Clinical schedules are assigned around educational needs and cannot be guaranteed to fit outside work commitments.
Tuition and Costs
Estimated Maine-resident tuition: $24,605 for 66.5 credits at the published 2026–27 School of Nursing Differential Tuition Level 3 rate of $370 per credit. This current-rate estimate excludes prerequisites taken separately and assumes all 66.5 catalog credits are billed at USM.
- Maine residents and Canadian students: 66.5 × $370 = $24,605 estimated tuition.
- Eligible NEBHE students: 66.5 × $646 = $42,959 estimated tuition.
- Other nonresidents: 66.5 × $1,086 = $72,219 estimated tuition.
At the current mandatory fee rates, add $7,514.50 for 66.5 credits: comprehensive $96, technology $11 and student activity $6 per credit. Estimated tuition plus these fees is $32,119.50 for residents, $50,473.50 for eligible NEBHE students and $79,733.50 for other nonresidents.
New undergraduate degree students also pay a one-time $200 enrollment fee. Books, nursing supplies, health clearances, transportation and living costs are additional.
The official per-credit rate table supplies the nursing rates. USM lists Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont residents as eligible for its accelerated nursing NEBHE Tuition Break, subject to its eligibility rules.
Approved transfer credits can reduce billed credits, while additional supportive coursework or future tuition increases can raise costs. The estimate holds 2026–27 rates constant across the four-semester sequence; rates take effect after the summer term and can change during the program.
Because this is a second bachelor’s degree, aid eligibility differs from first-degree study. Review federal loan eligibility and other funding options with Student Financial Services before enrolling.
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