Anatomy and Physiology I
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 →MontanaNursing
Which Montana nursing programmes take online A&P labs? How to ask before you enrol
By the team. Checked 15 Nov 2026.
The short answer
No public list says which Montana programmes count an online anatomy and physiology lab for nursing. Each school decides. MSU lists A&P I and II with lab from a regionally accredited institution, and MSU-Northern needs both with lab plus Microbiology by application. Email your programme in writing, naming the course and its lab, before you enrol.
What the admission pages say
Montana programmes describe A&P as lecture plus lab, and the wording matters for an online lab. Montana State University's traditional BSN lists BIOH 201 and BIOH 211, Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab, among its prerequisites. A&P I must be one of the three sciences done by the time you apply. Every prerequisite needs a C- or better, and the courses must come from a regionally accredited institution.
MSU-Northern's 2026 ASN application asks for A&P I with lab as one of four courses in its extracted GPA, and for A&P II with lab and Microbiology with lab to be finished when you apply. Neither school's page says whether an online lab counts.
Why the lab question is harder than the lecture question
A lecture course is judged mostly on content and level. A lab is judged on what you actually did: models or dissection, slides, measurements, and how the work was checked. Many programmes have a view on that which is not written on the admission page. Some count online labs from a regionally accredited college; others want a campus lab. Asking is the only way to know.
UPI Study's A&P labs are separate 2-credit online courses, NCCRS-recommended, next to 3-credit lecture courses. A programme that lists A&P with lab as one course may count the pair, count only the lecture, or count neither. There is also the grade: MSU-Northern says CLEP and AP grades do not count in its admission GPAs, so ask how credit without a letter grade would be treated.
Who to ask
Write to the office that reviews transfer work for your programme, not to a general enquiries line. Useful contacts are:
- The college of nursing's advising or admissions office.
- The registrar, which evaluates transcripts for credit and articulation at MSU-Northern.
- The nursing department office, which handles course substitution forms after admission at MSU-Northern.
- Your academic adviser, if you are already a student there.
An email you can send
Keep it short and specific. Subject: Prerequisite question for [programme, term]. Then: I plan to apply to [programme] for [term]. Before I enrol, could you confirm in writing whether these courses would meet your Anatomy and Physiology with lab prerequisite via a college transcript? Anatomy and Physiology I, 3 credits, NCCRS-recommended, plus Anatomy and Physiology I Lab, a separate 2-credit online course; the same pair for A&P II. The credit would be reviewed and recorded by a college that considers recommended credit. Would it count in your admission GPA, and what time limit applies?
Save the reply with your application papers. If they ask for a syllabus, send it.
If the answer is no
Take A&P at a Montana college, in person or online through that college. The course will carry a letter grade on a college transcript, which matters at both programmes because they rank on GPA. You may still use online courses for general education such as Statistics or Psychology, if the programme agrees to those.
If the answer is yes
Ask the programme which college transcript it needs to see. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit, and each sets its own rules and fees. The credit reaches your programme via a college transcript, so leave time for that review before the deadline. UPI Study does not offer Microbiology with lab, Nutrition, Lifespan Development, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology. No course here gives clinical hours, and none is a remedy for a deficiency the Montana Board of Nursing has named.
What to ask in writing
Before you enrol
Ask your Montana 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, and how it would count in the admission GPA, before you enrol.
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.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Questions people ask
does msu count online anatomy and physiology labs
MSU's traditional BSN page does not say. It lists A&P I and II with lab, wants a C- or better, and asks for prerequisites from a regionally accredited institution. Ask the MSU College of Nursing in writing, naming the course, its credits and that the lab is a separate online course, before you enrol.
is a 3-credit a&p lecture plus a 2-credit lab the same as a&p with lab
Not automatically. Some programmes add the two and count them as one course with lab; others want a single course or a campus lab. UPI Study sells the 3-credit lecture and 2-credit lab separately, both NCCRS-recommended. Ask your Montana programme in writing how it would treat that split.
does credit without a letter grade count in montana nursing gpa
Often not. MSU-Northern's 2026 ASN application says CLEP and AP grades do not count in either of its admission GPAs. Recommended credit can also arrive without a letter grade. Ask your programme in writing how such credit would count before you rely on it.
Courses that fit
ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, studied online at your own pace.
Anatomy and Physiology I 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 →
Anatomy and Physiology 2
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 →Start when you have it in writing
Ask your programme in writing first, then take only the courses it agrees to consider.
Sources
- Montana State University College of Nursing: Traditional BSN (official)3.0 GPA in prerequisite courses; C- or better; no more than two retakes (a W counts); three of five sciences done by application, including A&P I; prerequisites completed within the last 15 years; prerequisites from a regionally accredited institution; all pre-nursing coursework can be done elsewhere; list includes A&P I and II with lab, Microbiology with lab, General Chemistry with lab, Organic and Biochemistry with lab, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Human Nutrition, Statistics, College Algebra, Writing I and II. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- MSU-Northern: Associate of Science in Nursing application 2026 (official)2.50 selective cumulative GPA with a C or higher (C- not enough); 2.85 extracted GPA from College Algebra, A&P I with lab, College Writing I and General Chemistry with lab; Kaplan admissions exam 65% dated this academic year; A&P II with lab and Microbiology with lab done by application; CLEP and AP grades do not count in either GPA; value points for a current LPN, EMT or CNA licence; transfer work within 5 years included in review for major courses, 15 years for general education. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.