Admission Requirements for Nursing Students

• All official transcripts must be received and reviewed by Admissions
  • Students whose transcripts reflect more than two grades of D or F in the required science courses, or more than one grade of D or F in a nursing course, will not be eligible to enter or continue in the program. 
  • Freshmen: submit high school transcripts and SAT/ACT scores
  • Transfers: all official transcripts should be received and reviewed by admissions

Minimum GPA Requirement

• 3.0 Cumulative for Admission  (Transfer Credits and Dual Credits)
• 3.0 Cumulative from HCU (current Pre-Nursing students)
  • minimum of 12 credits completed at HCU
• 3.0 Cumulative for Required Sciences
  • Anatomy and Physiology I & II, Intro to Microbiology, and Intro to Chemistry

Transfer students must have six hours of electives completed before graduation.

Courses must be completed by April 30 for fall admission and September 30 for spring admission or in progress to be completed by the start of the program.

• ART 2343 or MUSI 1331: Art or Music Appreciation
• ENGL 2315 or 2325: Great Works Literature I or II
• COMM 1323: Rhetoric and Public Speaking
• HIST 2311: Western Civilization I
• HIST 2313, 2323 or HIST 2312: US History to 1877, US History from 1877 or Western Civilization II
• PHIL 1313: Introduction to Philosophy
• ENGL 1313: Composition & Literature I
• ENGL 1323: Composition & Literature II
• CHEM 1404: Introduction to Chemistry**
• BIOL 2404: Anatomy & Physiology I (A&P I)**
• BIOL 2414: Anatomy & Physiology II (A&P II)**
• BIOL 1414: Introduction to Microbiology**
• MATH 1313: College Algebra (or any higher math)**
• PSYC 1313: General Psychology
• PSYC 3313: Human Growth & Development
• PSYC 2301: Statistics for Behavioral Sciences
• GOVT 2313: American and Texas Government
• FYS 1300: Freshman Year Seminar (students with less than 30 credit hrs)
• CHRI 1301: Intro to the Bible***
• CHRI 2373: Christian Theology & Tradition***
  • CHRI 3300: Intro to Bible & Theology (only for students transferring  with 45 hours or more)***
• NURS 3316: Pathophysiology*

*Pathophysiology is an optional pre-requisite and may be offered in the summer at HCU depending on student demand.  If you plan to take it at another institution, you must get the syllabus pre-approved to receive credit.

Transfer students, please see our course equivalency guide to see which credits transfer.

***This course must be taken at HCU.

You may only take ONE of the two offered entrance exams. If you take one and fail it both times, you cannot take the other and submit those scores instead. We will require all of your previous scores. 

TEAS Entrance Exam

• A minimum score of 75% in each of the following subsections is required:

• Only two attempts are allowed to achieve a minimum score of 75% in each of the required areas.
  • The second attempt must be at least 14 days after the first attempt
• A student’s TEAS Exam scores will not be considered if:
  • retesting occurs in less than 14 days
  • the exam is taken more than 2 times, regardless of scores or testing location
  • scores are older than 3 years
• To take the TEAS at HCU contact Testing Services

If the TEAS Exam is not taken at HCU, official scores must be requested from ATI and sent directly to HCU.

HESI A2 Entrance Exam (without Critical Thinking)

• A minimum score of 85% in each of the following subsections is required:

• Only two attempts are allowed to achieve a minimum score of 85% in each of the required areas.
  • The second attempt must be at least 14 days after the first attempt
• The Critical Thinking section is not required.
• A student’s HESI A2 Exam scores will not be considered if:
  • retesting occurs in less than 14 days
  • the exam is taken more than 2 times, regardless of scores or testing location
  • scores are older than 3 years
• To take the HESI A2 at HCU contact Testing Services

If the HESI A2 Exam is not taken at HCU, official scores must be requested from Elsevier and sent directly to HCU.

You will receive your application to the Linda Dunham School of Nursing once you have done the following:

1. submitted all scores and transcripts and have been accepted to HCU
2. finished or will have completed all course requirements with required minimum GPAs by program entry
3. passed all required portions of the TEAS/HESI A2 and submitted your official TEAS/HESI A2 scores
4. applied to the Nursing Program by:
   • April 30 for fall semester entries
   • September 30 for spring entries

Contact Information is as follows:  (Phone number) 281-649-3300  (email) NURSING@HC.EDU