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Three Bachelor of Science in nursing students walking towards the BGSU simulation laboratory on our Ohio campus.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Nursing

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Bowling Green State University – one of the best nursing schools in Ohio – opens doors to a dynamic career with growing opportunities and immeasurable personal reward. 

The BGSU School of Nursing is the largest nursing program in northwest Ohio. It prepares tomorrow’s healthcare leaders with the practical skills, advanced knowledge and clinical judgment you’ll need in today’s complex and evolving healthcare environment.

Beyond personal fulfillment, a BSN degree from BGSU offers a practical advantage. Nurses have unparalleled job security, competitive salaries and remarkable flexibility even in times of economic uncertainty. It’s also a profession that rewards continuous learning with clear pathways to advancement and specialized leadership roles.

Why study nursing at BGSU in Ohio?

  • Outstanding faculty. School of Nursing faculty are experts who bring superior knowledge, skills and mentorship to each class, lab and clinical experience. All instructors are committed to preparing you to enter the nursing profession immediately upon graduation.
  • State-of-the-art nursing lab. BGSU nursing students don’t just “see” – they “do.” The 29-bed Nursing Simulation Lab facilitates an innovative curriculum aligning with the latest advancements in healthcare. Develop clinical judgment skills through hands-on instruction in physiological integrity, safety, oxygenation, perfusion, nutrition, elimination, mobility, integument and infection control.
  • Clinical opportunities. Students in the BSN degree program acquire hands-on knowledge by caring for real patients during clinical opportunities. Learn core nursing skills such as physical assessment, wound management and IV management in a variety of settings.
  • Community healthcare partners. The School of Nursing maintains robust partnerships with many Ohio healthcare organizations – such as Mercy Health and ProMedica – to maximize clinical experience opportunities. 
  • NCLEX-RN readiness. Graduates who pass the NCLEX-RN exam are qualified to become licensed registered nurses. Our comprehensive curriculum integrates NCLEX-RN preparation while building clinical judgment, critical thinking and nursing competence. Students benefit from strong faculty support and regular strategic assessments that  allow us to identify and address knowledge gaps early on. 
  • A setup for success. BGSU nursing students work directly with a faculty member and preceptor in their chosen healthcare location to learn the skills to make a successful transition from school to the workforce. 
  • Continuing education. The BGSU School of Nursing offers ongoing education for nurses at all career stages. This includes American Heart Association certifications for CPR and Basic Life Support and continuing education credit with local healthcare agencies. 
  • Online bachelor’s degree in nursing option. BGSU offers an online RN to BSN program for working professionals with a nursing diploma or associate’s degree from an accredited school of nursing. The program offers three annual start dates and asynchronous classes. You log in when and where you want – and complete your degree in as few as three semesters. 

Nearly 100% of nursing students are employed at graduation – and about 3 out of 4 secure conditional job offers months before earning their degrees.

The BGSU nursing program offers innovative teaching strategies to promote clinical judgment skills that assist students in passing the National Licensure Nursing Exam (NCLEX-RN)

My professors are some of the most encouraging and supportive people I’ve ever known. I know their primary role is to educate us, but they go above and beyond.

– Olivia Riggs ’24

Read more about the BGSU School of Nursing’s supportive culture.

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Career – what can you do with a nursing degree?

The world needs exceptional nurses now more than ever. Healthcare systems are evolving, populations are aging and the demand for skilled, compassionate care grows daily. The BGSU BSN degree program – one of the top-rated nursing schools in Ohio – prepares you for a broad range of nursing career options.

Graduates have their pick of specialities within hospitals and clinics. They build rewarding careers working in:

  • Medical-surgical nursing, the cornerstone of hospital care, applying assessment skills while managing diverse patient conditions and recovery processes
  • Labor and delivery units
  • Critical care and emergency medicine, where quick thinking saves lives daily 

Natural leaders may lean toward hospital administration and nursing management positions. 

Beyond traditional hospital settings, BGSU nursing graduates find purpose in positions across the healthcare spectrum:

  • Hospice care, providing compassionate comfort and dignity to patients and families during one of life’s most difficult transitions
  • Long-term care, developing meaningful relationships with patients who require extended support and becoming trusted advocates who enhance daily living 
  • Home care, a great fit if you seek greater autonomy and want to deliver personalized treatment to patients in their homes while fostering independence and quality of life
  • Travel nursing, seizing opportunities to see the country – or even the world



Career paths

  • Hospitals
  • School nursing
  • Speciality clinics
  • Physician offices
  • Pediatric Nursing
  • Teaching
  • Outpatient settings
  • Community nursing
  • Correctional facilities
  • Case management

Quick Facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

View average salaries 

The average median salary for registered nurses with a BSN degree is 58% higher than the average median salary for all occupations.

– U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Curriculum

BGSU School of Nursing faculty members promote experiential learning through innovative, creative, engaging and reflective education in the classroom, simulation lab and clinical settings. Students develop clinical judgment skills to promote safe and quality, person-centered care to diverse populations in healthcare settings from critical care to home and community-based nursing.

Students start this 120-credit hour program with general education courses, covering biology, human nutrition and medical ethics among other subjects. From the first year, you will be introduced to nursing and the different lifespan areas. You will start to understand important topics such as cultural diversity, the human body, communication, professionalism and much more.

Faculty employ various teaching strategies to target each student’s needs since we know each student learns differently. Advisors are available to ensure your success.

At the end of this program, nursing graduates will be able to:

  1. Integrate principles of liberal education in providing care for culturally diverse populations across the lifespan. 
  2. Analyze the role of the nurse leader in quality improvement, interdisciplinary collaboration and communication within an organizational structure. 
  3. Apply evidence in decision-making to improve patient outcomes. 
  4. Use information and healthcare technologies to inform patients and support a safe practice environment. 
  5. Examine quality healthcare through policy, social justice and collaboration with multiple disciplines across diverse populations. 
  6. Evaluate principles of health promotion and disease prevention for individuals, families and communities. 
  7. Integrate professional standards, care, values, ethics, altruism, integrity, resilience, self-well-being and life-long learning. 



A group of nursing students watch a professor take care of a dummy patient

Sample courses

  • Maternal Nursing
  • Critical Care Nursing
  • Medical Surgical Nursing
  • Mental Health Nursing
  • Surgical Nursing
  • Practicum Clinical Experience
  • NCLEX Prep

Admission requirements

  • Submit an online application to the BSN program by May 1 (for fall entry) or Oct. 1 (for spring entry) of your sophomore year (or equivalent). All prerequisite courses and supportive requirements must be completed before the first core nursing course begins.
  • A cumulative GPA of ≥ 3.0 in all college courses
  • A grade of “C” or better in all science courses
  • All applicants are notified by letter of acceptance or rejection.
  • All applicants to the BSN program must achieve a score ≥75 in select categories of the HESI Admission Assessment Exam (this is completed prior to the application deadline to the BSN program).
  • Admission is competitive and is based on a total admission rubric score comprising the student's cumulative GPA, cumulative science + MATH 1150 GPA, and scores on selected components of the HESI A2. (>= 75 on Reading comprehension, Math, and Vocabulary. No minimum score required on Anatomy & Physiology.)
  • The student is responsible for completing a criminal background investigation, TB test, drug screen, health assessment, immunizations and AHA Basic Life Support Certification after acceptance into the nursing major at the student’s expense. Completion is required for the student to start nursing core courses. Information about the Viewpoint Screening service is provided to the student to assist with this process. Must follow the nursing student health policy.

The admission rubric will be used to determine admission to the nursing major. Components of the admission rubric include:

  • Cumulative GPA
  • Science + MATH 1150 GPA
  • HESI A2 Scoring of Reading comprehension, Math, Vocabulary, and Anatomy and Physiology

Total rubric score will be used to determine admission. A total of 80 seats are available for the nursing major in fall, and 40 seats in the spring.

Technical standards are an objective method of ensuring that all applicants meet and satisfactorily maintain the nursing program performance requirements. To ensure that students can meet end-of-course and end-of-program outcomes of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at BGSU, the following technical standards shall be met, with or without reasonable accommodations (student accessibility services). A reasonable accommodation must be documented as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Decisions regarding reasonable accommodation are determined on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration each student’s disability-related needs, disability documentation and program requirements. While the School of Nursing will make every effort to work with students with disabilities to accommodate their disability-related needs, the School of Nursing is not required to provide accommodations that fundamentally alter or waive essential program requirements.

The student must be able to:

  • Provide safe patient care in any healthcare setting.
  • Respond effectively and safely in emergency situations.
  • Communicate effectively in a verbal, written and technological manner with individuals, families, communities, peers and interprofessionally.
  • Speak, hear, observe, read and understand the English language.
  • Have auditory abilities sufficient to auscultate, percuss, hear alarms and various sounds within all healthcare settings, promoting safe care (may be corrected hearing).
  • Have visual ability sufficient to promote safe care in all health care settings and situations (may be corrected vision).
  • Have olfactory ability sufficient to assess various odors that may indicate unsafe situations.
  • Have tactile ability sufficient to perform palpation and various assessments of individuals.
  • Assess patients and monitor health needs.
  • Provide safe, quality health care to all individuals across the lifespan in a variety of health care settings.
  • Function safely in stressful situations.
  • Demonstrate behaviors of compassion, integrity, responsibility, and ethical practices that reflect an evolving identity as a professional nurse.
  • Demonstrate effective emotional status to exercise good clinical judgment skills and knowledge.
  • Meet physical strength and mobility demands of providing care in any healthcare setting.
  • Consistently lift 10 pounds.
  • Lift ≥20 pounds in various situations.
  • Transfer, lift and reposition individuals.
  • Perform CPR.
  • Stand for long periods of time.
  • Move independently in patient rooms to provide safe care.
  • Utilize gross and fine motor skills sufficient to provide safe patient care.
  • Administer medications safely.
  • Use equipment with dexterity to provide safe patient care.
  • Abide by all admission requirements outlined in the Nursing Student Health Policy.
  • The student is responsible to complete a criminal background investigation, TB test, drug screen, health assessment, immunizations and AHA Basic Life Support Certification after acceptance into the nursing major at the student’s expense. Completion is required for the student to start nursing core courses. Information about the Viewpoint Screening service is provided to the student to assist with this process.
  • The School of Nursing will provide and secure students with clinical experiences at a variety of healthcare settings. The School of Nursing will be responsible for finding clinical sites for all students throughout the nursing program.
  • Direct admission is offered to students with a cumulative high school GPA of 3.9.
  • Students must maintain nursing admission requirements to maintain the direct admission seat.
  • Students who fail to meet the requirements necessary to maintain their guaranteed seat in the program can apply through the competitive application process and their admission will be determined based on their rubric score.
  • The deadline to apply for direct admission is Jan. 15, prior to the start of the freshman year at BGSU.  
  • Transfer credit for nursing courses will only be granted if the courses come from a baccalaureate nursing education program accredited by a national nursing accrediting body. The director of School of Nursing will review course descriptions of nursing courses completed at another baccalaureate program to determine which courses are transferable. The student must be enrolled at BGSU for at least two semesters in the nursing major and complete 30 credit hours from BGSU to be granted a baccalaureate degree in nursing.
  • Prospective students who have been honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States, National Guard or a reserve component may transfer credits for military training and experience. Credit will be awarded for any military education or skills training deemed substantially equivalent to courses in the BSN curriculum. The Transfer Evaluation Department will evaluate all military courses to determine credit allocation.
  • The Office of Nontraditional and Military Student Services is available to assist students with prior learning assessment to determine college level equivalency.
  • Military service will be evaluated to identify if the international perspective BGP course could be waived: An international experience, defined as an academic study abroad experience bearing three or more credits or a documented international military deployment of at least 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days. The student is still required to meet the 36 credit hours of BGP course work for graduation.
  • BGSU awards academic credit for completion of Airman Leadership School. The University has approved LMM 1101 Management/Leadership I to fulfill the requirement for Cultural Diversity in the United States. This is an automatic substitution that is handled by the Transfer Evaluation Office.
  • Prospective students who were honorably discharged, within the previous five years, will not be required to take the HESI Admission Assessment examination.  Three seats in the BSN program will be saved for students with military service experience or who are contracted with the ROTC.
  • For students with military service experience or who are contracted with the ROTC, the BSN program will save 3 seats for fall admits and 2 for spring admits.

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The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is part of the School of Nursing in the BGSU College of Health and Human Services.

Updated: 12/04/2025 10:49AM