Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Arizona nursing prerequisites online are possible for some courses, but your programme decides. The Arizona State Board of Nursing approves programmes under A.R.S. 32-1606; it does not rule on where you took a prerequisite. Pima Community College's LPN to ADN pathway, for example, wants A&P I and II with a B or better plus college maths and writing with a C. Ask your programme in writing first.
The Arizona State Board of Nursing approves nursing programmes under A.R.S. 32-1606, and each programme sets its own prerequisites; Pima Community College's LPN to ADN pathway lists 4 prerequisite courses, a B or better in both A&P courses, and grades posted on the Pima transcript before you apply.
The rule asks for Programme-set; Pima LPN to ADN lists 4 prerequisite courses (MAT 142 or higher, BIO 201, BIO 202, WRT 101) plus Accuplacer Reading and the NLN entrance exam. The legal source is A.R.S. 32-1606.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who approves programmes | Arizona State Board of Nursing, A.R.S. 32-1606(B) | [1] |
| Who sets prerequisites | Each programme, such as Pima or Maricopa | [2] |
| A&P grade (Pima LPN to ADN) | B or better in BIO 201 and BIO 202 | [2] |
| Maths and writing (Pima LPN to ADN) | MAT 142 or higher and WRT 101, C or better | [2] |
| Entrance test (Pima LPN to ADN) | Accuplacer Reading and the NLN entrance exam | [2] |
| Outside credit (Pima) | Officially evaluated and posted before you apply | [2] |
Arizona State Board of Nursing (programme approval); each Arizona nursing programme, such as Pima Community College or Maricopa Community Colleges (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 Arizona State Board of Nursing (programme approval); each Arizona nursing programme, such as Pima Community College or Maricopa Community Colleges (prerequisites and transfer credit).
Matches the topic of BIO 201; NCCRS-recommended only, so ask whether your programme would evaluate 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 about the lab separately.
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; Pima wants a B or better.
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 →
Written composition is on most Arizona lists, such as WRT 101 at Pima.
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Statistics is common general education in RN to BSN plans; ask the university.
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 →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 your Arizona 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 |
| Maricopa Community Colleges (county resident) | $97 per credit hour | A&P I and II (about 8 credits): about $776 before fees and 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 | Check first that your programme would consider the course | 15 Nov 2026 |
Maricopa or Pima credit is already on an Arizona transcript. Online credit needs the extra transcript step, an evaluation and a written yes from the programme. If the answer is no for a science, take it at your community college.
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 Arizona nursing programme in writing whether it would evaluate each course, including each online lab, before you enrol.
Arizona has no single state list of nursing prerequisites. The Arizona State Board of Nursing approves programmes under A.R.S. 32-1606, and each college writes its own list. Pima Community College in Tucson publishes one of the clearest, for its LPN to ADN pathway for licensed practical nurses.
Before applying, Pima asks for an Accuplacer Reading score, MAT 142 or a higher maths course with a C or better, BIO 201 and BIO 202 Human Anatomy and Physiology with a B or better in each, WRT 101 with a C or better, and the NLN nursing entrance exam taken through Proctor360. Every grade must already be on the Pima transcript when you apply.
Pima's page states no age limit on the sciences. Other programmes may set one, so ask before you rely on an older course.
General education is where outside credit is most often considered: composition, statistics, college maths and introductory psychology. The sciences are harder. A programme can decline an online lab or recommended credit for A&P even when the topic matches.
Be clear about what UPI Study does not have. The catalog has no Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology. Anatomy and Physiology I and II, with their labs, are NCCRS-recommended only, at 3 credits for each lecture and 2 for each lab. Courses you cannot find here belong at your community college.
A UPI Study certificate on its own is not a college transcript. The route is via a college transcript: a partner college such as TESU or UoPeople, which consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit, places the credit on its transcript, and that transcript goes to your Arizona college for evaluation.
Because Pima wants outside credit evaluated and posted before you apply, start early. Leave weeks, not days, between the transcript request and the application window. Keep the programme's written reply with your application papers.
Maricopa Community Colleges run concurrent enrolment pathways that pair an associate degree in nursing with a university BSN at ASU or NAU. Those plans lean on general education, which is also the main gap for many working RNs finishing a BSN.
For RN to BSN students the question is the university's, not the board's. Send the university the list of general education courses you still need and ask which outside credit it would evaluate, then study only those.
Sometimes. Each Arizona programme decides, not the Board of Nursing. General education such as composition, statistics and psychology is the most likely fit. Sciences such as A&P with labs are where programmes most often say no to online or recommended credit. Ask the programme in writing, naming the course and the college that would transcript it, before you enrol.
No. Under A.R.S. 32-1606 the board approves nursing programmes and sets the approval process by rule. Each programme sets its own prerequisite list and decides what outside credit it will evaluate. That is why the written answer you need comes from the nursing programme or its college, not from the board.
For the LPN to ADN pathway, Pima asks for a B or better in BIO 201 and BIO 202 Human Anatomy and Physiology, and a C or better in MAT 142 or higher and WRT 101. The grades must be on the Pima transcript before you apply, so outside credit has to be evaluated and posted first.
Anatomy and Physiology I and II and their labs on UPI Study are NCCRS-recommended only: 3 credits for each lecture and 2 for each lab. Some programmes look for ACE in particular, so name NCCRS in your written question and ask whether the programme would evaluate it via a college transcript.
UPI Study has no Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology. Arizona programmes often list some of these, either before you apply or inside the programme. Take them at your community college. UPI Study also cannot provide clinical hours or nursing courses, which only an approved programme can give.
Maricopa lists $97 per credit hour for county residents in 2026-27, so A&P I and II at about 8 credits is about $776 before fees and books. UPI Study PRO is $99 a month for every course. Compare only after your programme confirms in writing that it would evaluate the online course.
Ask your programme first; then study only the courses it said it would consider.