Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Massachusetts nursing prerequisites are set by each school. The Board of Registration in Nursing approves programmes under 244 CMR 6.00. UMass Boston's accelerated BSN wants A&P I and II and Microbiology at 4 credits each with lab, C+ or better, within 10 years, lecture and lab taken together. Ask your programme in writing before using any online course.
Massachusetts has no single state prerequisite list: under 244 CMR 6.00 the Board of Registration in Nursing approves nursing education programmes, and each programme sets its own prerequisites, for example UMass Boston's accelerated BSN, which asks for A&P I, A&P II and Microbiology at 4 credits each with lab, C+ or better (B or better from spring 2028), within the last 10 years.
The rule asks for No state credit count; set by each programme (UMass Boston accelerated: 4-credit lab sciences within 10 years). The legal source is 244 CMR 6.00.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who approves programmes | Board of Registration in Nursing, under 244 CMR 6.00 (M.G.L. c. 112, s. 81C) | [1] |
| Lab sciences (UMass Boston accelerated) | A&P I, A&P II, Microbiology: 4 credits each, with lab, within 10 years | [2] |
| Grades (UMass Boston accelerated) | C+ or higher for 2027 intakes; B or higher from spring 2028; prerequisite GPA 3.3 | [2] |
| Lecture and lab (UMass Boston accelerated) | Must be taken together; not through separate courses or institutions | [2] |
| A&P time limit (Bunker Hill) | BIO-203 A&P I and Lab within 10 years of the application deadline; C or higher | [3] |
Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (programme approval); admissions offices of each Massachusetts nursing school, such as UMass Boston and Bunker Hill Community College (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 Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (programme approval); admissions offices of each Massachusetts nursing school, such as UMass Boston and Bunker Hill Community College (prerequisites).
A&P I lecture, NCCRS-recommended; check first, because some schools want lecture and lab as one 4-credit course.
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 online lab for A&P I, a separate 2-credit course; ask whether a separate lab counts.
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.
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 →
Statistics is on UMass Boston's list and on 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 →
Intro Psychology is the only social science UMass Boston takes from spring 2028.
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 →
Intro Sociology is an option at UMass Boston for summer and fall 2027 and a common general education course.
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; a partner college can review your courses and, if it awards credit, list them on its own transcript for your Massachusetts programme to review.
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 |
| Bunker Hill Community College (Massachusetts resident) | $289 per credit for fall 2026 and spring 2027, fees included | $2,312 for two 4-credit A&P courses with lab (8 credits), before books beyond the per-credit charge | 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 |
At $289 a credit, Massachusetts community college science is not cheap, but it is on a college transcript from day one. An online route saves money only for a course 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 Massachusetts nursing programme's admissions office in writing whether each named UPI Study course, including a separate online lab, would meet a listed prerequisite via a college transcript, before you enrol.
UMass Boston publishes one of the most detailed prerequisite tables in the state. For summer and fall 2027 intakes, A&P I, A&P II and Microbiology need a C+ or higher, a lab and completion within the last 10 years; Human Growth and Development and Nutrition need a C+; Statistics and Intro Sociology or Intro Psychology need a C. From spring 2028 the lab sciences, Human Growth and Development and Nutrition move to a B or higher, and only Intro Psychology counts for the social science slot.
Two more rules shape the online question. The lecture and lab must be taken together, not through separate courses or institutions, and no prerequisite may be pass/fail. Prerequisites must be finished by the deadline, with nothing in progress. AP Statistics and AP Psychology count with a 4 or higher; CLEP and IB do not.
Bunker Hill's Registered Nursing programme asks for BIO-203 Anatomy/Physiology I and Lab taken within 10 years of the application deadline, and every prerequisite grade must be a C or higher. Its catalog applies the same 10-year limit to the A&P and Microbiology sequence before the clinical courses begin.
For a Massachusetts resident, Bunker Hill lists $289 per credit for fall 2026 and spring 2027, which already includes course, technology and book fees. That is a useful benchmark when you compare any online option.
Many online providers, UPI Study included, sell the A&P lecture and the A&P lab as two courses. Some Massachusetts programmes, UMass Boston's accelerated BSN among them, say the lecture and lab must be one course from one place. If your programme has that rule, a split online lecture and lab will not fit it, whatever the credit recommendation.
Other programmes do not say. That silence is not a yes. Put the question plainly in your email: would a 3-credit NCCRS-recommended lecture and a separate 2-credit lab, on a college transcript, meet the A&P I with lab prerequisite?
Each Massachusetts school sets its own list. Common items are A&P I and II with labs, Microbiology with lab, Statistics, Psychology or Sociology, Human Growth and Development, Nutrition and English. UMass Boston's accelerated BSN wants the lab sciences at 4 credits each within 10 years; Bunker Hill wants A&P within 10 years and a C or higher.
Only if your programme agrees. UMass Boston's accelerated programme says lecture and lab must be taken together, not as separate courses or from separate places. Other schools differ. Ask admissions in writing, naming the exact course and lab, before you enrol.
UMass Boston uses 10 years for A&P I, A&P II and Microbiology. Bunker Hill Community College uses 10 years from the application deadline for A&P I and Lab. Other schools set their own limits, so check the current admissions page for the term you apply to.
No. The Board of Registration in Nursing approves nursing education programmes under 244 CMR 6.00. The prerequisite list, grade minimums and which outside credit counts are set by each school's nursing admissions office, so that is the office to ask in writing.
No. UMass Boston's accelerated nursing page says CLEP and IB credit cannot be used. AP Statistics and AP Psychology count with a score of 4 or higher. For other outside credit it points applicants to Transferology and an equivalency request, so ask in writing first.
Bunker Hill Community College lists $289 per credit for Massachusetts residents for fall 2026 and spring 2027, including fees. Two 4-credit A&P courses with lab would come to about $2,312. Other community colleges set their own rates.
Ask your programme in writing first, then take the courses it agrees to at your own pace.