Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Kentucky nursing prerequisites are set by each nursing programme, not by the state. Under 201 KAR 20:320 the Kentucky Board of Nursing approves each curriculum plan, and the nursing faculty is responsible for it. The University of Kentucky RN-BSN, for example, needs 120 credit hours, with 30 of the last 36 at UK. Confirm any online course with your programme in writing first.
Under 201 KAR 20:320, the Kentucky Board of Nursing approves each prelicensure programme's curriculum plan while the nursing faculty develops and revises it; the rule does not say where a prerequisite must be taken, so each programme decides which transfer credit it counts.
The rule asks for Set by each programme; UK RN-BSN: 120 credit hours to graduate, 30 of the last 36 at UK. The legal source is 201 KAR 20:320.
| Item | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets prerequisites | Each programme's nursing faculty; the board approves the curriculum plan | [1] |
| RN programme length | At least two academic years, may include prior articulated credits | [1] |
| Practical nursing programme length | At least one academic year | [1] |
| UK RN-BSN graduation | 120 credit hours; 30 of the last 36 at UK; 40 clinical hours | [2] |
| UK RN-BSN admission | Nursing programme at a regionally accredited institution; 2.0 GPA; clear licence | [3] |
Kentucky Board of Nursing (approves programmes); each nursing programme for admission 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 Kentucky Board of Nursing (approves programmes); each nursing programme for admission and transfer credit.
NCCRS-recommended, 3 credits; ask whether it can stand in for the programme's A&P.
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 →
NCCRS-recommended lab, 2 credits; online lab acceptance varies by programme.
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 →
NCCRS-recommended, 3 credits.
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 →
Ask whether your programme lists a general chemistry course.
Self-paced online Chemistry I course (Chemistry 111). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Statistics is a common general education course in BSN degrees.
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 →
Social science general education many programmes 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 →TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; the nursing programme decides what it counts from that college 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 |
| KCTCS (Kentucky resident) | $198 per credit hour plus $8 mandatory fee | 13 credits: $2,678 | 15 Nov 2026 |
A cheaper course only saves money if your programme agrees in writing to count it. Lab fees, application fees and the transcript college's fees are extra.
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 nursing programme's admissions office in writing which courses it will count, at what grade and from which college transcript, before you enrol.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing does not publish one prerequisite list for the state. Its curriculum rule, 201 KAR 20:320, makes the nursing faculty responsible for developing and revising the curriculum, and the board approves each programme's curriculum plan. That leaves admission prerequisites, and the transfer credit that meets them, to each programme.
So a KCTCS associate degree programme, a university BSN and an online RN-BSN can all ask for different courses. Start with the list from the programme you plan to apply to.
Lists differ, so treat these as questions to ask, not a fixed list:
UPI Study's A&P I and II carry NCCRS credit recommendations, with separate lab courses, and its Statistics, Psychology and Chemistry courses can fill general education slots if a programme agrees. UPI Study has no Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology course. Take those at a KCTCS college or another college your programme names.
UPI Study courses count only via a college transcript. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Some programmes, such as the UK RN-BSN, look at whether a college is regionally accredited, so ask how your programme treats each transcript.
RN-BSN programmes admit nurses who already hold a licence and then need general education and electives to reach the degree total. The University of Kentucky's online RN-BSN needs 120 credit hours to graduate, with 30 of the last 36 hours at UK, and its transfer center can review a transcript for UK Core general education before you apply. Ask for that review first, in writing.
Each programme sets its own. Under 201 KAR 20:320, the nursing faculty is responsible for the curriculum and the Kentucky Board of Nursing approves it. Lists often include A&P with labs, microbiology, chemistry or statistics, psychology and English, but get the current list from your programme.
Sometimes. The board's rule lets programmes offer distance learning courses that meet the same standards, but it does not say where prerequisites must be taken. Ask your programme in writing whether it counts an online course or lab before you enrol.
The board approves programmes; it does not rule on individual prerequisites. Each programme decides what transfer credit it counts. UPI Study courses reach a programme only via a college transcript, such as one from TESU or UoPeople, so ask the programme first.
The University of Kentucky RN-BSN needs 120 credit hours to graduate, with 30 of the last 36 hours taken at UK and 40 clinical hours that can be done locally. It is offered 100 percent online for RNs with an associate degree or diploma in nursing.
A minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale for all college work, plus graduation from an accredited nursing programme at a regionally accredited institution and a clear, unencumbered licence at the time of application.
UPI Study has no Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology course. If your programme lists any of these, take them at a KCTCS college or another college your programme names.
A&P I and II with labs, Statistics and Psychology, once your programme agrees in writing to count them.