Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Louisiana nursing prerequisites are set by each nursing programme, not by the state board. Under LAC 46:XLVII.3517, each programme publishes its own admission standards, and placement by previous education follows its parent institution. LSU Health New Orleans, for example, asks for 37 prerequisite hours, a 3.0 GPA and B- or better in sciences. Confirm any online course with your programme in writing first.
Under LAC 46:XLVII.3517, each Louisiana nursing education degree program sets and publishes its own admission standards, and placement by previous education must be consistent with its parent institution, so each programme decides which prerequisite credit it counts.
The rule asks for Set by each programme; LSU Health New Orleans traditional BSN: 37 prerequisite hours, 16 of them done before applying. The legal source is LAC 46:XLVII.3517.
| Item | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets prerequisites | Each programme publishes its own admission standards | [1] |
| Curriculum content | Behavioral, biological, mathematical, nursing and physical sciences | [1] |
| Practical nursing programme | At least 1,500 clock hours: 700 theory, 800 clinical | [2] |
| LSU Health New Orleans BSN | 37 prerequisite hours; 3.0 GPA; B- in sciences; HESI A2 80 percent | [3] |
| LSU Health New Orleans RN to BSN | One year; unencumbered Louisiana licence; nursing associate degree or diploma | [4] |
Louisiana State Board of Nursing (approves RN programmes); Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (practical nursing); 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 Louisiana State Board of Nursing (approves RN programmes); Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (practical nursing); each nursing programme for admission and transfer credit.
Matches a named LSU Health New Orleans prerequisite; ask how your programme treats the transcript.
Self-paced online College Algebra course (Math 111). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
A named prerequisite at LSU Health New Orleans and most programmes.
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Ask whether it meets a General Psychology prerequisite.
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 →
Ask whether it meets a General Chemistry prerequisite; science grades usually need a B- or better.
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 →
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 →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 |
| Sophia Learning monthly plan | $99 a month | Self-paced general education with ACE recommendations; the same written check with your programme applies | 15 Nov 2026 |
A cheaper course only saves money if your programme agrees in writing to count it. Lab fees, application fees, the HESI exam 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 Louisiana State Board of Nursing approves RN programmes, but it does not publish one prerequisite list. Its rule for nursing education degree programs, LAC 46:XLVII.3517, has each programme establish and publish its own admission standards, and makes placement by previous education consistent with the programme's parent institution. Its curriculum rule, section 3521, only says the undergraduate curriculum draws on behavioral, biological, mathematical, nursing and physical sciences.
So a community college associate degree, a university BSN and an RN to BSN can each ask for different courses. Practical nursing programmes sit under a separate board, the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners.
The traditional BSN at LSU Health New Orleans published these admission rules, checked 2026-11-15:
UPI Study's College Algebra, English Composition I, Chemistry and Introduction to Psychology line up with the names on lists like LSU Health New Orleans', and its A&P I and II carry NCCRS credit recommendations with separate lab courses. UPI Study has no Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology course. It also has no general biology lab course for science majors. Take those at a 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. LSU Health New Orleans asks for transcripts from all regionally accredited colleges you attended, so ask how your programme treats each transcript before you start.
RN to BSN programmes admit nurses who already hold a licence. LSU Health New Orleans runs a one-year RN to BSN in which a nursing associate degree or diploma from an accredited college fulfils the pre-nursing courses, and the general education it needs is taught within the programme. Other Louisiana RN to BSN programmes may leave more general education to transfer credit, so ask each one for a written transcript review.
Each programme sets its own under LAC 46:XLVII.3517. LSU Health New Orleans, for example, asks for 37 prerequisite hours, including College Algebra, English Composition I, General Biology with lab, General Chemistry and General Psychology before applying. Get the current list from your own programme.
Sometimes. The board's rules leave admission standards to each programme, and they do not say where a prerequisite must be taken. Ask your programme in writing whether it counts an online course or lab, and from which college transcript, before you enrol.
The traditional BSN asks for at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale on prerequisite courses, a B- or better in Biology, Microbiology and Chemistry, and a C- or better in other prerequisites. A failed prerequisite may be repeated only once.
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.
LSU Health New Orleans describes it as a one-year program for RNs with an associate degree or diploma in nursing. It admits in fall, spring and summer, and needs an unencumbered Louisiana licence.
UPI Study has no Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology course, and no general biology lab for science majors. If your programme lists any of these, take them at a college your programme names.
College Algebra, English Composition I, Chemistry, Psychology and A&P with labs, once your programme agrees in writing to count them.