Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Alabama nursing prerequisites online are possible for some courses, but each programme decides. Alabama community college ADN programmes typically ask for BIO 201 and BIO 202 (A&P I and II), Microbiology, English Composition, college algebra and psychology, with math and science completed within five years. The Alabama Board of Nursing approves programmes under Ala. Admin. Code chapter 610-X-3; it does not choose your prerequisites. Ask your programme in writing first.
Alabama has no single statewide prerequisite list: the Board of Nursing approves each prelicensure programme under Ala. Admin. Code r. 610-X-3-.02, and each programme sets its own prerequisites, for example Trenholm State asks for 10 general education courses with every BIO and MTH course finished within 5 years of the application deadline.
The rule asks for Programme-set; a typical Alabama ADN asks for about 10 general education courses, with BIO and MTH within 5 years. The legal source is Ala. Admin. Code r. 610-X-3-.02.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who approves programmes | Alabama Board of Nursing, Ala. Admin. Code chapter 610-X-3 | [1] |
| Who sets prerequisites | Each programme (example: Trenholm State ADN) | [2] |
| Science time limit (example) | MTH and BIO within 5 years of the deadline | [2] |
| Minimum grades (example) | C or higher; 2.50 GPA overall and in general education | [2] |
| Entrance test (example) | ACT 18 or TEAS 58, no more than 3 years old | [2] |
Alabama Board of Nursing (programme approval); each Alabama nursing programme (prerequisites and transfer credit) decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each nursing programme sets its own prerequisite list, its own time limits for science courses and its own rule on which credits it takes. Read the programme's published list first and ask its admissions office in writing before you enrol in any course.
UPI Study does not yet offer Microbiology with lab, Nutrition or Lifespan Development. Our courses carry no clinical hours, and they do not clear a deficiency for a board of nursing.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Alabama Board of Nursing (programme approval); each Alabama nursing programme (prerequisites and transfer credit).
Matches the topic of BIO 201; NCCRS-recommended, so ask whether your programme considers it.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology I course (Biology 211). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
The online lab that goes with A&P I; ask first, because some programmes require an in-person lab.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology I Lab course (Biology 211L). NCCRS recommends 2 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Matches the topic of BIO 202, the second science most Alabama ADN lists ask for.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology 2 course (Biology 212). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
The online lab for A&P II; same written question as the first lab.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology 2 Lab course (Biology 212L). NCCRS recommends 2 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Often asked for in RN-to-BSN completion; a general education course, not a nursing science.
Self-paced online Principles of Statistics course (Statistics 101). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
General psychology appears on many Alabama BSN and RN-to-BSN plans.
Self-paced online Introduction to Psychology course (Psychology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; once a partner places the credit on its transcript, that college transcript is what you send to the Alabama nursing programme.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Jefferson State Community College (in-state) | $196 per credit hour | BIO 201 + BIO 202 (8 credit hours with labs): about $1,568 before books | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine | $99 a month plus a one-time fee per course | Monthly membership plus each course fee; check the course page | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month, $299 for 4 months or $799 a year | Two courses at a time; check that your programme considers the course | 15 Nov 2026 |
Community college credit is already on a college transcript; online credit needs the extra transcript step and a written yes from the programme. If your programme says no to online science, the community college is the right choice.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask your Alabama nursing programme in writing whether it would consider each course, including the online labs, before you enrol.
Trenholm State in Montgomery is a fair example of a public Alabama community college ADN. Its list has ten items: BIO 103 Principles of Biology, BIO 201 and BIO 202 Anatomy and Physiology, BIO 220 Microbiology, ENG 101, MTH 100 or higher, PSY 210 Human Growth and Development, a speech course, a humanities elective (ethics preferred) and an orientation course.
Every prerequisite must already be on the transcript with a C or higher when you apply. Courses in progress do not count. You also need a 2.50 GPA overall and in the general education courses, and an ACT of 18 or a TEAS of 58 taken within three years.
The five-year limit is the rule that catches most returning students. At Trenholm State every BIO and MTH prerequisite must be completed within five years of the application deadline. If your A&P is older, you will need to retake it whatever its source.
This is where an online A&P course can help, if your programme agrees. Ask about the lecture and the lab separately, because a programme can consider one and refuse the other.
In Alabama, as in most states, recommended credit is most often considered for general education rather than the nursing sciences. RN-to-BSN completion plans at public universities ask for statistics, composition, social science and humanities, and these are the courses where a transcript from a partner college is most likely to be reviewed.
For the sciences, many programmes want the course from a regionally accredited college. Credit that a partner college places on its own transcript is the route to ask about.
Some, if your programme agrees. Alabama programmes set their own prerequisite lists, and each one decides whether an online course or online lab counts. Ask the nursing office in writing, naming the course and the college that will transcript it, before you enrol. General education is the easiest place to start.
Often five years. Trenholm State, for example, requires every BIO and MTH prerequisite to be completed within five years of the application deadline. Other Alabama programmes publish their own limit, so check the sheet for the programme and term you are applying to.
No. The Board approves nursing education programmes under Ala. Admin. Code chapter 610-X-3. Each programme then sets its prerequisites, grade rules and transfer policy. Your programme's nursing office is the place to ask about a specific course.
It varies. Trenholm State asks for a 2.50 cumulative GPA and a 2.50 GPA in the required general education courses, with a C or higher in each prerequisite. Many Alabama programmes also rank applicants by grades, so a higher grade can matter.
No. UPI Study does not offer Microbiology, and Trenholm State lists BIO 220 Microbiology as a prerequisite. Plan to take it at a college. UPI Study covers A&P I and II with labs, Chemistry, Statistics and Introduction to Psychology.
Jefferson State charges $196 per credit hour in-state for 2026-27, tuition and required fees together. BIO 201 and BIO 202 are usually four credit hours each with lab, so about $1,568 before books. Prices at other Alabama community colleges are similar but check yours.
Ask your programme first; then study only the courses it said it would consider.