Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Nursing prerequisites online for Colorado students only help if your programme takes them. The Colorado State Board of Nursing approves programmes under C.R.S. 12-255-118; each school sets its own list. Front Range Community College wants A&P I with lab, Microbiology with lab, English, Human Growth and Development and Nutrition, sciences within 10 years. Ask your programme in writing first.
The Colorado State Board of Nursing approves nursing education programmes under C.R.S. 12-255-118 and 3 CCR 716-1 Chapter 2, and each programme sets its own prerequisites; Front Range Community College, for example, requires its science prerequisites to be completed no more than 10 years before admission with a C or higher.
The rule asks for Programme-set; FRCC sciences within 10 years, C or higher, 3.0 GPA. The legal source is C.R.S. 12-255-118.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who approves programmes | Colorado State Board of Nursing, under C.R.S. 12-255-118 and 3 CCR 716-1 Chapter 2 | [4] |
| FRCC application prerequisites | Biology Foundations, A&P I with lab, English Composition I or II, Human Growth and Development | [1] |
| FRCC in-progress prerequisites | Microbiology with lab; a nutrition course | [1] |
| FRCC grade and age | C or higher, 3.0 GPA, sciences within 10 years | [1] |
| FRCC transfer credit | Must already be on the FRCC transcript when you apply | [1] |
| CU Nursing traditional BS | Anatomy, physiology, microbiology, statistics, chemistry, psychology, nutrition and more; one lecture with lab; C or better | [2] |
Colorado State Board of Nursing (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations); each nursing programme for its own prerequisites 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 Colorado State Board of Nursing (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations); each nursing programme for its own prerequisites.
A&P I lecture; NCCRS-recommended; ask whether your programme takes 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 matching online lab; many programmes want 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 →
Statistics appears on CU Nursing's list and most RN-to-BSN plans.
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 is on CU Nursing's prerequisite list.
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 →
English Composition is on both the FRCC and CU lists.
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
General Sociology is on CU Nursing's prerequisite list.
Self-paced online Introduction to Sociology course (Sociology 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; check their own transfer pages, then ask your nursing programme whether it would take that college's transcript.
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 |
| Colorado community college (Pueblo Community College, in-state with COF stipend) | $183.75 per credit hour | About $2,205 for four 3-credit courses, before fees and lab charges | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month | General education courses for $99 a month, then a college transcript step | 15 Nov 2026 |
For science prerequisites with labs, the community college route often costs more but is the one most Colorado programmes already know. Save outside credit for the courses your programme has agreed to in writing.
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 Colorado nursing programme in writing, course by course, whether it would take each UPI Study course via a college transcript, including any online lab, before you enrol.
FRCC's Westminster campus associate degree in nursing lists four courses you must finish before the application term: Biology Foundations, Human Anatomy and Physiology I with lab, English Composition I or II, and Human Growth and Development. Microbiology with lab and a nutrition course may still be in progress when you apply.
Every prerequisite needs a C or higher, with a 3.0 GPA across them, and all science prerequisites must be no more than 10 years old at admission. FRCC also uses the HESI A2 entrance exam with an 80 percent average.
On transfer, FRCC is direct: credit from another college must already show on your FRCC transcript when you apply, and evaluation can take up to 30 days after the registrar has the official transcript.
The CU Anschutz College of Nursing traditional bachelor's pathway lists a longer set: anatomy, physiology, microbiology, statistics, general chemistry, college algebra, sociology, general and developmental psychology, cultural studies, English composition, creative arts, nutrition and two more humanities or social science courses. One science lecture must have a lab, and each course needs a C or better.
The CU Bridge route has its own transfer limit: most courses are taken at CU Denver, with up to 9 prerequisite credits transferred in. That makes the order of your courses matter. Ask the college which prerequisites you may bring in before you take any of them elsewhere.
Science age limits vary by school. FRCC uses 10 years at admission. Other Colorado programmes use shorter windows or none on their public page, so check the page for your exact programme and admission term.
Online labs are the point most often refused. Neither FRCC's nor CU's page says it takes online lab credit, so treat an online A&P lab as unknown until your programme answers in writing.
Each programme sets its own. Front Range Community College asks for Biology Foundations, A&P I with lab, English Composition and Human Growth and Development, plus Microbiology with lab and Nutrition that may be in progress. CU Nursing's bachelor's list adds statistics, chemistry, sociology, psychology and more. Check your own programme's current page.
Some programmes take online general education courses, and fewer take online science labs. Neither FRCC's nor CU Nursing's page says it takes online labs. Ask the programme in writing, course by course, before you enrol in any online prerequisite, and keep the answer.
It depends on the school. Front Range Community College requires science prerequisites to be completed no more than 10 years before admission. Other programmes use different windows, so check the current page for your exact programme and admission term before you rely on older courses.
No. The Colorado State Board of Nursing approves nursing education programmes under C.R.S. 12-255-118 and its Chapter 2 rules. The programme itself decides which prerequisite courses, labs and transfer credits it takes for admission.
We cannot say they will; FRCC decides. FRCC requires transfer credit to be on its own transcript when you apply, so a course would first need to reach a college transcript and then be evaluated by FRCC. Ask FRCC nursing admissions in writing before you enrol.
Pueblo Community College lists $183.75 per credit hour in state with the COF stipend, so four 3-credit courses are about $2,205 before fees and labs. UPI Study PRO is $99 a month for every course, but use it only for courses your programme has agreed to in writing.
Get your programme's written answer first, then start with Statistics, Psychology and English.