Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Oregon nursing prerequisites are set by each programme, not by the Oregon State Board of Nursing, which approves programmes under OAR chapter 851, division 21. OHSU's 3-year BS asks for 28 quarter credits including A&P with lab, Microbiology and Nutrition taken within seven years. Ask your programme in writing before using any online course.
The Oregon State Board of Nursing approves nursing programmes under OAR chapter 851, division 21, and each programme sets its own prerequisites: OHSU's 3-year BS asks for 28 quarter (19 semester) prerequisite credits with sciences taken no more than 7 years before the start date, and PCC's nursing programme asks for 45 prerequisite credits.
The rule asks for 28 quarter / 19 semester credits (OHSU 3-year BS); 45 credits (PCC). The legal source is OAR chapter 851, division 21.
| Requirement | What the programme says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who approves programmes | Oregon State Board of Nursing, OAR chapter 851, division 21 | [1] |
| OHSU 3-year BS prerequisites | 28 quarter / 19 semester credits; 3.0 prerequisite GPA; C- or better each | [2] |
| OHSU science time limit | A&P, Microbiology and Nutrition no more than 7 years before start | [2] |
| PCC nursing prerequisites | 45 credits; 30 done by end of fall term; C or better; 3.0 GPA | [3] |
| PCC time limit | Sciences, Nutrition, Human Development and MTH 95 within 7 years; 2020 is the last year for the 2027 application | [3] |
Oregon State Board of Nursing (programme approval); each nursing programme (admission and 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 Oregon State Board of Nursing (programme approval); each nursing programme (admission and prerequisites).
Lecture half of the A&P series; NCCRS-recommended for 3 credits.
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 →
Online lab paired with A&P I; NCCRS-recommended for 2 credits. Ask about online labs first.
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 →
Second half of the A&P series.
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 →
Fits the writing requirement at 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 →
Often asked for RN to BS and some transfer paths.
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 →
A common social science elective.
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 →Thomas Edison State University (TESU), University of the People and Newlane University are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; a nursing programme still decides for itself whether it takes that credit for a prerequisite.
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 |
| Portland Community College, resident tuition | $143 per credit plus $11.60 per credit in fees | A&P I-III alone (12 quarter credits): about $1,855 before lab fees | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine | $99 a month plus $79 per course; lab kits extra | Four courses in 3-4 months: about $613-$712 before lab kits | 15 Nov 2026 |
Prices checked 15 Nov 2026. A community college course posts on that college's transcript directly; an online course only helps if your programme reviews it. Check that first, then compare cost.
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.
Email your nursing programme's admissions office and ask, in writing, whether it will review an ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended course, and an online lab, for the exact prerequisite before you enrol.
OHSU's 3-year Bachelor of Science in nursing runs at campuses in Portland, Ashland, Klamath Falls, La Grande and Monmouth. Its prerequisite page asks for 28 quarter credits, or 19 semester credits, and a prerequisite GPA of at least 3.0. Each course needs a C- or better, and OHSU says prerequisites can be taken at any accredited college or university.
Fall 2027 deadlines listed on the admissions page are 15 Feb 2027 for Portland and the priority date for the other campuses, with a final date of 15 Apr 2027 for Ashland, Klamath Falls, La Grande and Monmouth.
Portland Community College lists 45 prerequisite credits for its nursing programme: Anatomy and Physiology I, II and III, Microbiology, Nutrition, Human Development (PSY 215), English Composition I and II, MTH 95 or higher and social science electives. Thirty of the 45 credits, including A&P I and the math course, must be done by the end of PCC's fall term.
The sciences, Nutrition, Human Development and MTH 95 fall under a 7-year expiry. For the 2027 application, PCC says the oldest year it will count is 2020. Each course needs a C or higher, and the prerequisite GPA must be at least 3.0. PCC also notes that students planning to move on to OHSU take Statistics (STAT 243Z).
The two programmes above ask for prerequisites from accredited colleges, and neither page says it reviews ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit for the nursing sciences. That makes the honest answer for most Oregon applicants simple: online courses help most where a college will post them on its own transcript and your programme then reviews that transcript.
General education and social science electives, such as composition, statistics and psychology, are where recommended credit is most often considered, especially in RN to BS completion. For A&P with lab, ask the programme before you start; for Microbiology and Nutrition, UPI Study has no course, so plan to take those at a community college.
Each programme sets its own. OHSU's 3-year BS asks for A&P with lab, Microbiology with lab, Nutrition, lifespan human development, two writing courses, social science electives and Math 95 or higher, 28 quarter credits in all. PCC asks for 45 credits covering similar courses.
OHSU says anatomy and physiology, microbiology and nutrition must be taken no more than seven years before your intended start date. A time limit waiver form exists. PCC uses a similar 7-year limit and names 2020 as the oldest year for its 2027 application.
Sometimes. OHSU says prerequisites can come from any accredited college. An online course from a college can work; an ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended course helps only if a college posts it and your programme reviews it. Ask the programme in writing before you enrol.
No. The board approves nursing education programmes under OAR chapter 851, division 21, and licenses nurses. Admission requirements, including which prerequisites count, the grade needed and where the courses can be taken, are set by each programme, so the programme's own page and admissions office are where to check.
OHSU asks for a C- or better in each prerequisite and a prerequisite GPA of at least 3.0. PCC asks for a C or higher in each course and a 3.0 prerequisite GPA, using the most recent grade if you repeat a course.
Not yet. UPI Study offers Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs, Chemistry, Statistics, Psychology and English, but no Microbiology with lab, Nutrition or Lifespan Development. Oregon programmes list all three, so plan those at a college.
Ask your programme in writing first, then take only the courses it said it will review.