Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Maine nursing prerequisites are set by each nursing programme, not by one state list. Under 32 MRSA section 2153-A, the Maine State Board of Nursing prescribes curricula and standards and approves programmes. The University of Maine, for example, asks transfer applicants for biology with lab, chemistry with lab, anatomy and physiology with lab or nutrition, and composition, each with a C or better. Confirm any online course in writing first.
Under 32 MRSA section 2153-A, the Maine State Board of Nursing may prescribe curricula and standards for nursing education programs and approve the programs that meet them; it does not publish a prerequisite list, so each programme decides which prerequisite credit it counts.
The rule asks for Set by each programme; University of Maine external transfers: 15 credits in five named prerequisites (or 14 with the nutrition option). The legal source is 32 MRSA section 2153-A.
| Item | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who approves programmes | Maine State Board of Nursing, under 32 MRSA section 2153-A | [1] |
| Who sets prerequisites | Each programme; the statute lists no prerequisite courses | [1] |
| UMaine transfer prerequisites | Biology with lab, chemistry with lab, A&P with lab or nutrition, composition | [2] |
| UMaine minimum grade | C (77 percent) or better | [2] |
| UMaine time limit | Preferred within 5 years; after that at the school's discretion | [2] |
| UMaine repeats | More than 2 repeated STEM courses, including withdrawals, makes you ineligible | [2] |
Maine State 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 Maine State Board of Nursing (approves programmes); each nursing programme for admission and transfer credit.
Ask whether it meets a Fundamentals of Chemistry prerequisite (UMaine BMB207, 3 credits).
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 →
Ask whether it meets a chemistry lab prerequisite (UMaine BMB209, 1 credit); online lab acceptance varies.
Self-paced online Chemistry Lab course (CHEM 111L). NCCRS recommends 1 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; ask whether the programme counts an online 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 →
Ask whether it meets a College Composition prerequisite (UMaine ENG101).
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Lecture only: UMaine's Basic Biology needs a lab, which UPI Study does not offer, so ask first.
Self-paced online Intro to Biology 1 course (Biology 100). 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 |
| 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 kits, 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 Maine State Board of Nursing approves nursing education programmes. Its powers in 32 MRSA section 2153-A let it prescribe curricula and standards for programmes that prepare people for licensure, approve programmes that meet them, and place a programme on probation or withdraw approval if it falls short. The statute does not name any prerequisite courses.
So a community college associate degree, a University of Maine System BSN and an RN to BSN can each ask for different courses, grades and time limits. The programme you apply to is the one whose answer counts.
The University of Maine School of Nursing published these rules for external transfer applicants, checked 2026-11-15:
UPI Study's Chemistry and Chemistry Lab, A&P I and its lab, and English Composition I line up with the names on lists like the University of Maine's. 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 biology lab, so it cannot cover a Basic Biology with lab prerequisite on its own. 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. The University of Maine reviews courses outside its equivalency tool from the syllabus, so ask how your programme would treat each transcript before you start.
RN to BSN programmes admit nurses who already hold a licence and add upper-level nursing courses plus any general education still missing. Those general education slots, such as statistics, composition, social science and humanities, are where outside credit is most often considered. Ask each programme for a written transcript review before you take anything.
Each programme sets its own. The University of Maine, for example, asks transfer applicants for Basic Biology with lab, Fundamentals of Chemistry with lab, Anatomy and Physiology with lab or Introduction to Food and Nutrition, and College Composition, each with a C or better. Get the current list from your own programme.
Sometimes. The board's statute leaves prerequisites to each approved programme and does not say where a course 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 University of Maine prefers prerequisites completed within 5 years of applying. After 5 years it is at the School of Nursing's discretion whether to count them, so ask before you decide whether to retake a course.
The board approves programmes and sets standards; 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.
A C, which the University of Maine treats as 77 percent, or better in each prerequisite. Applicants with more than 2 repeated STEM courses, including withdrawals, are not eligible, so plan each science course carefully.
UPI Study has no Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology course, and no biology lab. If your programme lists any of these, take them at a college your programme names.
Chemistry with lab, A&P with labs, English Composition, Statistics and Psychology, once your programme agrees in writing to count them.