Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Maryland nursing prerequisites are set by each school, not by the state. The Maryland Board of Nursing approves programmes under COMAR 10.27.03; schools such as UMSON want Chemistry, Microbiology and A&P I and II taken within 10 years. UPI Study's A&P, Chemistry and Statistics courses can help only if your programme agrees in writing first.
Maryland has no single state prerequisite list: under COMAR 10.27.03 the Maryland Board of Nursing approves nursing education programmes, and each programme sets its own prerequisites, for example UMSON's rule that Chemistry, Microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology I and II be completed within the last 10 years.
The rule asks for No state credit count; set by each programme (UMSON: core sciences within 10 years). The legal source is COMAR 10.27.03.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who approves programmes | Maryland Board of Nursing, under COMAR 10.27.03 (Nursing Education Programs) | [1] |
| Science time limit (UMSON) | Chemistry, Microbiology, A&P I and II within the last 10 years; waived for actively licensed nurses | [2] |
| Online labs (UMSON) | Online courses must include a lab component, which can also be completed online | [2] |
| Grades and GPA (Towson BSN) | C or higher in every prerequisite; 3.0 cumulative GPA; science and math within 10 years; TEAS Proficient or higher | [3] |
| Where outside credit fits best | General education for RN-to-BSN completion: statistics, composition, social science, humanities | [2] |
Maryland Board of Nursing (programme approval); admissions offices of each Maryland nursing school, such as the University of Maryland School of Nursing and Towson University (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 Maryland Board of Nursing (programme approval); admissions offices of each Maryland nursing school, such as the University of Maryland School of Nursing and Towson University (prerequisites).
A&P I lecture, NCCRS-recommended; pair it with the lab if your programme wants a lab science.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology I course (Biology 211). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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The online lab that goes with A&P I; ask first whether your programme takes 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 →
A&P II lecture for programmes that list both halves, as UMSON and Towson do.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology 2 course (Biology 212). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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Chemistry I; UMSON counts Chemistry among the sciences that must be under 10 years old.
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 appears on Towson's prerequisite plan and on most RN-to-BSN lists.
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 →
Psychology is a standard prerequisite and a common general education course.
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; a partner college can review your courses and, if it awards credit, list them on its own transcript, which you then send to your Maryland 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 |
| Community College of Baltimore County (in-county tuition) | $124 per credit hour, academic year 2026-27, plus fees | $992 in tuition if your A&P I and II with labs add up to 8 credits, before fees and books | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine membership | $99 a month plus a fee per course (English Composition I: $79); lab kits not included | Membership plus a course fee for each science; it lists Microbiology and Nutrition, which UPI Study does not offer | 15 Nov 2026 |
The cheapest route is the one your programme takes. A community college course is on a college transcript from day one; any online route only saves money if the school agrees in writing before you start.
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 Maryland nursing programme's admissions office in writing whether each named UPI Study course, including any online lab, would meet a listed prerequisite via a college transcript, before you enrol.
The University of Maryland School of Nursing, part of the University System of Maryland, publishes a clear recency rule: Chemistry, Microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology I and II must have been completed within the last 10 years. The rule is waived for nurses who hold an active licence, which matters for RN-to-BSN students.
UMSON also says online courses are fine for these prerequisites as long as they include a lab component, and the lab can be online too. Its FAQ names CLEP, AP and IB scores as ways to meet some prerequisites. It does not mention ACE or NCCRS recommendations, so a student who wants to use them has to ask the admissions office directly and get the answer in writing.
Towson University's catalog sets a C or higher in every nursing prerequisite, a 3.0 cumulative GPA, science and math prerequisites completed within 10 years of applying, and no more than two attempts at any prerequisite. Applicants also sit the TEAS and need a Proficient score or higher.
The Towson plan lists Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs, Essentials of Microbiology, Allied Health Chemistry I with lab, statistics, human development and nutrition. Three of those (Microbiology, human development and nutrition) are not in the UPI Study catalog today, so a Towson applicant would still take them at a college.
Most Maryland ADN students start at a community college. At the Community College of Baltimore County, county residents pay $124 per credit hour for 2026-27 whatever the format, and other Maryland residents pay $246. Those prices put a real number on the choice: a college science course is already on a college transcript, while any online alternative needs the school's written yes first.
Maryland also lets ADN students begin BSN coursework early through associate-to-bachelor's dual admission routes between community colleges and universities. If you are on one of those routes, ask both schools in writing before you add any outside course, because each may count it differently.
Each Maryland school sets its own list. Most ask for Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs, Microbiology with lab, Chemistry, Statistics, Psychology and English Composition. UMSON wants the core sciences within 10 years; Towson wants a C or higher in each prerequisite, a 3.0 GPA and a TEAS score. Check your own programme's current sheet.
Sometimes. UMSON says online courses must include a lab component, which can also be online. Other Maryland programmes may want an in-person lab or a course from a regionally accredited college. Ask the admissions office in writing, naming the exact course and lab, before you enrol.
At UMSON, Chemistry, Microbiology and A&P I and II must be within the last 10 years, waived for actively licensed nurses. Towson also uses 10 years for science and math prerequisites. Community colleges set their own limits, so check the current admissions page of each school you apply to.
No. The Maryland Board of Nursing approves nursing education programmes under COMAR 10.27.03. The prerequisite list, grade minimums and which outside credit counts are set by each school's nursing admissions office, so that office is the one to ask in writing.
UMSON's FAQ names CLEP, AP and IB scores as routes for some prerequisites and says nothing about ACE or NCCRS recommendations. That is not a yes. If you want to use an NCCRS-recommended or ACE-recommended course, email UMSON admissions and get a written answer before you enrol.
At the Community College of Baltimore County, county residents pay $124 per credit hour for 2026-27 and other Maryland residents $246, plus fees. Eight credits of A&P with labs would be about $992 in tuition for a county resident before fees and books.
Ask your programme in writing first, then take A&P I and II with labs, Chemistry and Statistics at your own pace.