Last Updated: October 2, 2026
Program Overview
A 15-month, primarily daytime ABiN in Danbury, with a May start, selected online courses and a 135-hour final nursing practicum.
Western Connecticut State University’s Accelerated Bachelor’s in Nursing serves applicants with a prior bachelor’s degree. The program runs from the first summer session through the following summer, combining classroom study, lab practice and clinical rotations.
Applicants need a completed bachelor’s degree and a minimum 2.7 GPA. All prerequisites and degree confirmation must be completed by December before the May cohort. Science courses must be within ten years and have in-person labs; hybrid sciences may be considered, but fully online sciences are not accepted.
Admission Requirements
Applicants need a completed bachelor’s degree in any field and a minimum 2.7 GPA, with the overall academic record reviewed alongside prerequisite completion. Science prerequisites must be no more than ten years old.
- Anatomy & Physiology I and II (C+ or higher)
- One organic and one inorganic chemistry course (C+ or higher)
- Microbiology (C or higher)
- Health and Nutrition (C or higher)
- Elementary Statistics or Biostatistics
- Writing Intensive II
- Introduction to Sociology
- Introduction to Psychology
- An Oral Communications course
Before classes begin, students submit a current health form, TB screening, required immunizations (MMR, varicella, hepatitis B, Tdap, COVID-19 series and booster), and Basic Life Support CPR certification. Clinical agencies may require additional background checks, drug testing, or fingerprinting.
Application Dates
The 2027 ABiN application is available through January 2, 2027 at 12:59 p.m. The department states that candidates are notified in February and attend mandatory orientation in March before the May start.
Curriculum
The ABiN program page lists 60 nursing credits, beginning with assessment and fundamentals and progressing through adult, specialty and community nursing to a final practicum. The table follows that pathway’s published sequence and credit values.
Required Courses and Credits
First summer — Session I
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 105 — Medication Math | 1 | Build dosage-calculation skills and practice safe medication preparation in an asynchronous online course. |
NUR 201 — Health Assessment | 3.5 | Collect health histories, perform physical assessments across the lifespan and interpret findings through classroom and lab practice. |
NUR 205 — Fundamentals of Nursing | 3.5 | Develop foundational nursing concepts and practical care skills for individuals, families and communities. |
First summer — Sessions II–III
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 226 — Pathophysiology and Pharmacology I | 3 | Connect disease mechanisms with medications, adverse effects, patient education and nursing considerations. |
NUR 235 — Clinical Practice I | 5 | Apply the nursing process to adult and older patients with chronic illness in supervised clinical and lab learning. |
Fall
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 227 — Pathophysiology and Pharmacology II | 3 | Extend knowledge of disease processes, drug actions and safe treatment of patients with more complex needs. |
NUR 255 — Clinical Practice II | 6 | Plan, deliver and evaluate nursing interventions for medical-surgical patients through clinical and lab practice. |
NUR 327 — Community Health Nursing | 5 | Study population health, prevention and risk reduction in diverse community settings. |
NUR 361 — Nursing Research | 3 | Critique research and examine how evidence informs nursing practice, policy and education; offered online in the ABiN plan. |
Winter intersession
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 300 — Mental Health Nursing | 4 | Apply psychiatric nursing concepts, therapeutic communication and holistic interventions with clinical experience. |
Spring
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 224 in ABiN plan — Pediatric Nursing | 3 | Provide family-centered care for children with acute and common health problems, supported by classroom, lab and clinical learning. |
NUR 335 — Clinical Practice III | 8 | Integrate clinical judgment and complex care in acute medical-surgical and critical-care settings. |
Second summer — Session I
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 323 — Maternal-Newborn Nursing | 3 | Provide family-centered care to mothers and newborns, integrating clinical and lab learning. |
Second summer — Sessions II–III
| Course | Credits | What you study |
|---|---|---|
NUR 374 — Leadership and Management in Nursing Practice | 3 | Study leadership, delegation, team communication, care systems, quality improvement and patient safety online. |
NUR 475 — Nursing Practicum | 6 | Integrate nursing knowledge and professional roles in a final practicum with NCLEX preparation. |
The 2026–27 nursing catalog identifies Pediatric Nursing as NUR 324 with 3.5 credits, Maternal-Newborn Nursing as 3.5 credits, and Clinical Practice III as 7 credits. Students should follow their cohort’s approved registration plan for these courses; the table retains the ABiN page’s pathway listing.
Students must earn C or better in nursing courses, Microbiology and Human Nutrition. The program requires a medication-math test score above 85% when moving between the first summer sessions, and a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA for graduation. The 120-credit degree also includes accepted prior coursework; it is not 120 new nursing credits.
Clinical Training
Students gain hands-on clinical experience in healthcare facilities across Connecticut, beginning in the first summer session and continuing through the capstone practicum. Rotations span acute care, maternal-child, pediatrics, community health, and mental health nursing, supported by simulation-lab practice.
Students provide their own transportation to clinical sites and must maintain current CPR certification throughout. The program closes with NUR 475’s 135-hour practicum and an integrated NCLEX-RN preparation program.
Tuition
Estimated full-program tuition is $16,055 for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey residents, applying the 2026–27 rates to the ABiN page’s 60-credit course sequence. This tuition-only estimate excludes university, nursing and other fees; it is not a university-issued program quote.
- Full-time fall/spring: $6,700.50 per term including listed university fees for CT/NY/NJ residents; tuition alone is $3,499. The national rate is $5,249 tuition and $8,450.50 with listed fees.
- Part-time fall/spring: $292 tuition + $344 general fee + $8 activity fee per credit, plus $40 transportation, $16 writing-center and $60 registration per term. The posted 11-credit example totals $7,200 before nursing fees.
- Winter 2027 and summer 2027: $636 per credit in intersession course charges plus $60 registration per assessment. WCSU’s linked fee definitions identify the course fee as part-time tuition plus the general fee: $292 tuition + $344 general fee per credit at current rates.
- Nursing lab fees: $500 per full-time semester or $40 per part-time credit; NUR 475 has an additional $600 course fee.
- Other costs: $200 orientation, $50 application, books, uniforms, health clearance, insurance and clinical transportation.
The tuition calculation uses one 17-credit full-time fall term at $3,499, an 11-credit part-time spring at $292 per credit, and 32 intersession credits at the $292 tuition component: $3,499 + (43 × $292) = $16,055. For other U.S. residents, the higher $5,249 fall tuition rate gives $17,805; part-time and intersession rates are the same by residency.
The same sequence produces $34,252.50 in tuition, university fees and intersession course charges before intersession registration, nursing and other fees: $6,700.50 + $7,200 + (32 × $636). That includes $18,197.50 in university/general fees above tuition. Nursing lab fees, the $600 NUR 475 fee, registration assessments, orientation and application charges are additional. The ABiN page and current catalog differ on several course credits, so this current-rate estimate follows the pathway’s published sequence; the approved cohort registration plan can change the bill. Rates may rise before the second summer.
Confirm the cohort’s billed credit distribution and session registration fees. Rates may rise before the second summer. On-campus housing and meals are separate: published 2026–27 examples include a $4,466-per-semester standard double and a $3,304 meal plan, with additional housing-related charges.
Accreditation and Outcomes
The baccalaureate nursing program at Western Connecticut State University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the Connecticut Board of Regents and the State Board of Nursing. Graduates are eligible to apply to the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing — or boards in other states — to sit for the NCLEX-RN and pursue professional nurse licensure.
Other Nursing Programs at WCSU
Beyond the ABiN, WCSU offers a traditional BSN, an RN-to-BS online program, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and an Ed.D. in Nursing Education.