School of
Nursing and Health Studies

Nursing and Health Studies

Home / Academics / BSN Accelerated
There are a variety of different academic paths to achieve a BSN degree.

Applications for the Fall 2025 Cohort are now CLOSED.
The application for the Fall 2026 Cohort will become available later this year.

Our five semester Accelerated BSN program is carefully designed to allow students with a previous bachelor’s degree to complete a BSN in less time than a traditional program, but with opportunities for school-life balance.  If you don’t already have a bachelor’s, please consider visiting our Pre-Licensure (traditional) BSN program page.

Advantages of completing your Accelerated BSN with the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies (SoNHS):

  • In less than two years, Accelerated students complete 1,050 clinical hours, the most in the Kansas City region.
  • Due to the extensive amount of clinical hours completed, clinical partners consistently report that UMKC BSN graduates are “job ready” for success as a new graduate nurse.
  • Clinical courses are enhanced with experiences in our state of the art experiential learning spaces, including a nursing skills laboratory and high-fidelity simulation center.
  • Daytime classes allow for more school-life balance by freeing up your evenings and weekends.
  • In 2017, demand from our clinical partners contributed to permission from the Missouri State Board of Nursing to increase enrollment in the Accelerated BSN program.
  • Click here to view our BSN Mission, Student Learning Outcomes and Competencies

 

Accelerated BSN Pre-Requisites

Prerequisite courses must be completed by the end of spring semester the year you apply:

  • N120 Anatomy & Physiology I (4) & N160 Anatomy & Physiology II (4) or Equivalent course(s) (Anatomy and Physiology separately is ok, courses must total 8 credits to be accepted)
  • CHEM 115 (4) & CHEM 115L (1) or Equivalent Chemistry w/lab course
  • BIOL 112 Microbiology (3) or equivalent Microbiology course (no lab required)
  • CHEM 206 Human Nutrition (3) or equivalent Nutrition course
  • N252 Human Growth and Development (3) or equivalent Human Lifespan Development course

 

Additional Requirements:

(Admission to Pre-Nursing (nursing undeclared) does not ensure admission to the Clinical Major.)
  • Chemistry w/lab, Anatomy and Physiology w/lab and Microbiology must not be more than five years old.
  • CUM GPA 2.75 or higher (3.5 or higher is recommended) comprised of all UMKC and transferred coursework
  • UM System GPA of 2.75 or higher (if applicable) comprised of all UM System courses (UMKC, MU, UMSL, MO, S&T)
  • A minimum grade of B- is required for each prerequisite course.
  • Bachelor’s degree in any subject
  • Resume or CV
  • Personal Statement Essays: Prompts will become available when the application is open between November 1-January 31
  • Exploring the Nursing Profession Documentation

    Please use the following form to document and upload:

    • Minimum 30 hours required of direct human patient interaction experiences completed in a healthcare setting.
    • Hours must have been completed in the two years prior to the BSN application submission.
    • Documentation can include paid work, volunteer, and/or educational training experiences.
    • Examples: volunteer experiences in a skilled nursing or hospice facility, clinical hours completed for CNA/LPN/Paramedic certification, or a hospital volunteer program, etc.
    • Shadowing experiences with a nurse that provides direct patient care are accepted.
    • The following are NOT accepted: veterinary care, pharmacy technician experience, or hospital transporter as an example, as these do not include direct patient interaction.
Apply generally to UMKC first under Health Sciences-Accelerated.
The clinical supplemental is completed after the general application between November and January each year (you have until May to complete the pre-reqs).
If you plan on taking any pre-reqs at another college, visit the course equivalency page, or check with a BSN advisor to be sure your courses will transfer. If you will be taking classes at a school other than UMKC, you will need to have official transcripts sent to the UMKC Admissions Office as soon as grades are posted.

 

Sample Plan of Study

BSN Accelerated Sample Plan of Study

 

Who makes a strong candidate:  

The committee looks at the Pre-Req GPA (3.5 or higher is recommended, 2.75 is required) and cumulative GPA (2.75 required, but 3.5 or higher is recommended-this is all courses ever taken, including repeated courses), UM System GPA (if applicable) must also be a minimum 2.75. The GPA for consideration will be an average of the pre-requisite and cumulative GPA. In addition, a personal essay, as well as 30 hours of Direct Patient Interaction Documentation from the past two years (such as CNA, hospice volunteering, or nursing home volunteering) is required.

Our unique clinical experience offers:

  • The opportunity for extensive clinical experience in adult medical-surgical, pediatric, obstetric, mental health, community health, leadership, and critical/emergency care nursing.
  • A 300 hour final semester capstone/internship experience in one of the aforementioned specialty areas.
  • Interactions with diverse patients in urban and suburban settings within agencies and hospitals that are privately-owned, publicly-owned, and teaching institutions.
  • Optional weekend clinical experiences based on individual student preference.

Highlights of completing your Accelerated BSN with the UMKC community of learners:

  • All Kansas residents receive in-state tuition through UMKC’s Kansas Rate.
  • Residents of 15 regional Midwestern states receive discounted tuition through UMKC’s Heartland Rate.
  • Be part of a community that values respect, inclusivity, integrity, excellence, innovation, and health.  Read more about the SoNHS Statement of Values and the UMKC Statement of Values.
  • Attend one of only 18 universities in the country located within a dedicated Health Sciences District where Nursing and Health Studies, Dentistry, Medicine, and Pharmacy share a single, walkable campus, fostering exceptional interprofessional student learning opportunities.
  • Get involved in student life activities centered around your personal interests.

                 Pursuant to Section 335.066, RSMo, of the Missouri Nursing Practice Act (http://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=335.066), completion of the
    BSN PL or BSN AT programs do not guarantee eligibility to take the licensure examination.

Take a Virtual Tour - SoNHS & Health Science District

Loading...

120 students are accepted every Fall semester into the clinical program (approximately 70 Pre-Licensure & 50 Accelerated). Although every application year fluctuates, we anticipate an average of 200 applications each year between PLBSN & ATBSN.

Our clinical program begins every Fall semester, in August.

Five semesters - 2 Fall semesters, 2 Spring and 1 Summer. Students will complete 1200 clinical hours upon graduation. Please see the sample plan of study under "Resources" above.

The application process is holistic application process. The committee reviews the GPA, written , reference forms and healthcare hours. This will begin in the Spring, shortly after the January 31st deadline. After great consideration the committee will prepare 3 letters: acceptance, wait-list, and deny. Students who receive an acceptance letter will have the Summer to prepare for the Fall program start, and those who receive a wait-list letter may be called at a later date if one of our 100 students does not accept their seat in the program. 

The program is around 90 credit hours including pre-requisites (which are around 22 hours) and 68 hours in the program. The tuition cost per credit hour can be found on the Cashier's website. Multiply the amount per credit hour by 68 for major requirements (or 90 if calculating pre-requisites as well). Of those 68 credit hours, 23 are associated with lab/clinical and are assessed an additional Clinical Lab Fee, so you'll also need to multiply that fee by 23 and add the final amount calculated there to the first amount you calculated for the 68 (or 90) credit hours. Additional resources are available below.

Affordability Net Price Calculator  Cost of Attendance Estimator  Cashier's website (Tuition by program)

Although it is not required to be certified, we ask that prospective students complete 30+ hours of healthcare experience (preferably with patient interaction) through paid or volunteer experience. These can aid in acceptance but are not required.