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Northern Illinois University

School of Nursing & Health Studies

B.S. in Nursing Admission

  • Admission to the School of Nursing is limited and competitive and is based upon a comprehensive admission profile including such factors as previous academic performance.
  • Applications are accepted between September 1 and February 15.
  • Students new to the university must apply through the Office of Admissions, specify their major as nursing, and must be admitted to the university by the application deadline of February 15 in order to be considered for admission to nursing.
  • Currently enrolled NIU students must apply at the College of Health and Human Sciences Office (Wirtz, Room 227) or at the School of Nursing, Room 190.

Applicants must successfully achieve a reading comprehension score in compliance with the School of Nursing standards. If you have an ACT reading score of 24 or higher, you must submit an official copy of your ACT Test report.  This report can be obtained by calling (319) 337-1313.  If you plan to take the Accuplacer exam, you must contact the NIU Office of Testing Services at (815) 753-1203 for Accuplacer Reading Exam information. 

Applications to the School of Nursing that do not include either an ACT reading score or an Accuplacer Reading Exam score will not be reviewed.

Students with an earned bachelor or master's degree are exempt from the reading score requirement.

Freshman Applicants

  • All students with fewer than 24 post-secondary credit hours completed by the February 15 application deadline will be considered freshman applicants.
  • Admission will be based on ACT score, high school rank, and reading comprehension score.

Transfer Applicants

  1. All students with 24 or more post-secondary semester hours of credit, whether continuing NIU students or new applicants to the university, are considered transfer students.
  2. Applicants must have completed, by the February 15 application deadline, a minimum of five of the prerequisite courses. Additionally, applicants must achieve a minimum of a C or better in all attempted prerequisite courses.
  3. Admission is competitive and will be based on the applicant's prerequisite GPA and cumulative GPA (including all transfer and NIU course work) and their reading comprehension score .
  4. Admitted students must have all prerequisite courses completed prior to beginning the nursing coursework and may begin in either the fall or spring semester as determined by the School of Nursing.
  5. The nursing program is a five semester program .
  6. Dual Admissions programs