Students come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and we welcome the benefits that a diverse student body brings not only to the college but ultimately to the profession of nursing. In particular, students who have served in the U.S. military bring a perspective that helps us best understand and care for the needs of their fellow veterans. Because we believe so strongly in the diversity of our student body, our holistic admission process looks at each individual applicant as just that—an individual. 

Holistic admission is a competitive and thorough process that considers not only a critical evaluation of grade point averages and test scores, where applicable, but also includes two letters of recommendation, proof of military service, and a completed essay form submitted by the applicant describing the personal attributes and experiences that they feel would support their admission. This entire package is what the Undergraduate Admission Committee uses to determine which students will best fit the program. 

Complete a request for information to immediately receive a link to a pre-recorded information meeting. It is strongly suggested that you view the appropriate information meeting, which covers admission requirements and program curriculum in detail, prior to applying for admission. You are invited to attend a live question and answer session after viewing a pre-recorded session.

Steps to Apply to the College of Nursing

• Step 1: Apply to WSU and the College of Nursing 
• Step 2: Submit supplemental material
• Step 3: Academic requirements and prerequisite courses 
• Step 4: Submit official transcripts
• Additional information and important dates

Step 1: Apply to WSU and the College of Nursing

To be eligible to apply to the BSN for Veterans pathway, you must be a United States military veteran entering professional nursing for the first time. Applying to the College of Nursing is a two-step process. You must first apply and gain admission to Wayne State by December 1. You should apply as a transfer student and select Nursing (Pre-Nursing) as your major. Following admission to Wayne State, you must then apply directly to the College of Nursing via the online secondary application and select the VBSN for Veterans pathway, which opens in August. The deadline to apply to the BSN for Veterans pathway and submit all required documents is February 15.

Step 2: Submit supplemental material

When completing the College of Nursing Secondary Application, applicants must also include supplemental materials, which can be uploaded to your Appstatus page. Failure to submit all supplemental materials will result in your application not being reviewed. These materials include: 

• Application Fee: VBSN students DO NOT have to pay the $50 nursing application fee. Please disregard this requirement on your AppStatus page.
• Essay Questions: Applicants must submit answers to the following three questions. Each response is to not exceed 250 words. Upload a completed College of Nursing Application BSN Essay Form to your application.
  1. Describe a leadership experience that you have had (i.e., work, school, team) and/or led an initiative/ campaign to generate change and/or interest and discuss what you learned from this experience. Personal attributes of a leader include inquisitiveness, ambition, empathy and problem-solving abilities. Include a description of the leadership qualities that you possess and how they will assist you with success in the nursing program.
  2. The College of Nursing's mission statement states:
         We create and translate knowledge and educate a diverse student body prepared to excel as clinicians,
         scholars and leaders who improve health in local and global communities.
     How does your passion for nursing align with the mission of the CON?  Describe any experiences that you have had with diverse groups of people (or people who are different from you in some way). What did you learn from this experience?
  3. Courage, resiliency, and an ability to overcome adversity are important characteristics for success in the College of Nursing. Describe a time when you were faced with a difficult situation. How did these traits contribute to successfully achieving your goals?
  4. Describe how your Healthcare or military experiences have contributed to your desire to become a nurse.
• Prerequisite Course Verification: Applicants must provide information detailing earned grades, term taken, and additional information if courses are being transferred to WSU. Please upload a completed VBSN Prerequisite Verification Form to your application. See Step 3 below for prerequisite requirement details.
• Proof of Military Service: VBSN students are to upload proof of military service under the "Healthcare Related Service Experience Form" requirement in the application portal. Acceptable documents are a Discharge Certificate (DDFm214) or a current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES).
• (2) Letters of Recommendation: Two (2) letters for recommendation from either an academic or health care professional attesting to your ability to excel in a rigorous professional nursing program. The letter of recommendation should be initiated to the recommender through your application portal. Recommenders will be provided instructions on how to upload their recommendation letter via the portal. Please be sure to have your recommender include your WSU Access ID (ex. Ab1234) on the letter and indicate that you are a BSN for Veterans candidate.

Step 3: Academic requirements and prerequisite courses     

Applicants for the BSN for Veterans pathway must have a minimum 3.0 GPA (based on prerequisite courses only), and a minimum grade of "C" or higher in all prerequisite courses. All prerequisites must be completed by June 1. Prerequisite courses may not be older than 14 years by the application deadline. For 2023 cohort, courses taken prior to June 2009 will not be accepted. SI/CI requirements will not expire.

Any AP credits or official scores for the ACT/SAT or CLEP exam must be sent to and received by the College of Nursing no later than June 1. AP, ACT/SAT, and CLEP scores older than 14 years at time of application deadline will not be accepted.

If the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is required, the minimum accepted scores for the college are: 101 total score with a minimum of 25 in Listening, 25 in Reading, 25 in Writing and 26 in Speaking.

Prerequisite courses

• BIO 1510/11 – Basic Life Mechanisms
• BIO 2270+2271 or BIO 2200 – Microbiology
• BIO 2870 – Anatomy & Physiology
• CHM 1060 – Survey of General Chemistry (Inorganic)
• PSY 2410 – Health Psychology or PSY 2400 – Developmental Psychology*
• NFS 2030 – Nutrition and Health
• NUR 2030 – Pathophysiology**
• Social Inquiry (SI)***
• Cultural Inquiry (CI)***

*You may choose either course. However, if a grade below "C" is earned in one course and you take the other in order to meet the requirement, it will count as a repeat.

**Equivalent transfer courses will only be accepted from 4-year institutions with an accredited nursing program or professional health program (ex. OT, PT, Medical School).

***SI and CI courses can be met by completing or transferring in equivalent courses listed on the Inquiry Course Group Requirements page. SI and CI courses are exempt from the seven-year expiration policy.

Prerequisite Transfer Guide

The College of Nursing evaluates courses from other institutions based on guidelines and requirements established by the College. These evaluations take precedence over evaluations by other departments or the university transfer credit department. Please note: prerequisites taken at another institution must transfer to WSU exactly as the courses listed above.

• College of Nursing Prerequisite Transfer Guide - BSN
• Transfer Credit Evaluation

Step 4: Submit official transcripts

Applicants who are transferring courses from another institution and have not yet had official transcripts sent should request official transcripts be sent to admissions@wayne.edu or have them mailed to:

Wayne State University
Transfer Credit Evaluation
P.O. Box 02759
Detroit, MI 48202-0759

BSN for Veterans applicants can visit the following websites to request official military joint service transcripts:

• Joint Service Transcripts (JST) request
  • View a video demonstration about how to request JST. 
• Community College of Air Force (CCAF) transcript request (requests must be made separately from JST).

Additional information and important dates for the 2023 cohort 

All updates and communications from the College of Nursing will be sent to the Wayne State University email account. It is important to check this account regularly for updates regarding registration and other information. After applying, applications can be monitored by checking the AppStatus page. Contact us at  nursinginfo@wayne.edu if there are any discrepancies. Prerequisite courses are manually entered on the AppStatus page, however it is the responsibility of the applicant to verify the AppStatus page accurately reflects their academic history.

Important dates