Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Rhode Island nursing prerequisites are set by each programme, not the state board. The board, under 216-RICR-40-05-3, approves programmes and licenses graduates who pass the NCLEX. CCRI's associate degree, for example, asks for anatomy and physiology, Composition I and General Psychology with a C or better, sciences no older than six years.
Under 216-RICR-40-05-3, an RN applicant in Rhode Island completes a Board-approved basic professional nursing education programme and passes the NCLEX; prerequisites are set by each programme, and CCRI's associate degree asks for anatomy and physiology, ENGL 1010 and PSYC 2010 with a C or better, two attempts each, with sciences no more than 6 years old at application.
The rule asks for Set by each programme; CCRI: A&P sequence, Composition I and General Psychology, C or better, sciences under 6 years old. The legal source is 216-RICR-40-05-3.
| Item | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| State licence | Board-approved programme plus NCLEX; official transcripts from the school | [1] |
| Programme general education | English communication, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences | [1] |
| CCRI prerequisites | A&P I (or anatomy plus physiology), ENGL 1010, PSYC 2010, C or better | [2] |
| CCRI time limit | A&P and physiology no more than 6 years old at application | [2] |
| CCRI attempts | Two attempts; then a five-year wait | [2] |
| CCRI entrance test | HESI A2: 80% reading and math, 75% vocabulary and grammar | [2] |
| CCRI LPN-to-RN | Active LPN licence, 1,000 hours in 5 years, HESI 850, NURS 1061 | [3] |
Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education (Department of Health); each nursing programme, such as Community College of Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education (Department of Health); each nursing programme, such as Community College of Rhode Island.
A&P I is a prerequisite in most Rhode Island programmes; ask first whether an online course counts.
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 →
Lab component; some programmes refuse online labs, so ask in writing.
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 is needed before or during the first semester at CCRI.
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 →
Matches the Composition I prerequisite.
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Matches the General Psychology prerequisite, if the programme approves it.
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 →
Often needed for RN to BSN completion.
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 →Thomas Edison State University (TESU), University of the People and Newlane University are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit. Each nursing programme still decides for itself, so ask it in writing.
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 |
| StraighterLine | $99 a month plus $79 per course | Four courses in 2-3 months: about $514-$613 | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month | General education only; check science lab options with your programme | 15 Nov 2026 |
Prices checked 15 Nov 2026. Ask your programme which source it will take before you pay; a cheap course is wasted if the programme will not count it.
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.
Before you enrol, email the nursing programme and ask in writing whether it will count the named course and lab, posted via a college transcript, toward its prerequisites, and keep the reply.
Rhode Island's Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education works under 216-RICR-40-05-3. It approves basic nursing education programmes and licenses graduates who pass the NCLEX. It sets the content an approved programme must cover, including general education in English, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences, but it does not set each school's prerequisite list or rule on where a course was taken.
So each programme decides. Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island each publish their own lists, grades and time limits. Read the current list for the programme you want before you plan any course.
CCRI's associate degree admission guidelines list Human Anatomy and Physiology I (or Human Anatomy plus a stand-alone physiology course), Composition I and General Psychology, each with a C or better. Each prerequisite is limited to two attempts. The anatomy and physiology courses cannot be more than six years old when you apply, and transferred A&P courses need approval from CCRI's Biology Department Chairperson.
CCRI also asks for a 2.7 GPA and the HESI A2 exam, with 80% in reading and math and 75% in vocabulary and grammar. Its guidelines say credit through AP, CLEP, challenge exams or prior learning assessment is recognised. They do not mention online labs, so ask.
Many nursing programmes are cautious about online science labs and about ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit in the sciences. Some refuse them. Others review each course. That is why the single most useful step is a short email to the nursing office before you enrol, naming the course, the lab format and how the credit will reach them.
General education such as composition, psychology and statistics is where recommended credit is most often considered, especially for RN to BSN completion. Even there, the programme decides.
CCRI's associate degree guidelines list Anatomy and Physiology I (or anatomy plus physiology), Composition I and General Psychology, each with a C or better and two attempts, plus a 2.7 GPA and the HESI A2 exam.
At CCRI, A&P and physiology courses cannot be more than six years old at the time of application. Other Rhode Island programmes set their own limits, so check each one you apply to.
No. Under 216-RICR-40-05-3 the board approves programmes and licenses nurses. Each programme sets its own prerequisites and decides which courses and sources it will count. The board does approve the programmes themselves and checks their curriculum, so choose a programme on the board's approved list.
Only if that programme agrees. CCRI sends transferred A&P to its Biology Department Chairperson, and some programmes refuse online labs. Ask the nursing office in writing before you enrol. Keep the reply with your application papers.
CCRI uses the HESI A2 for its associate degree, with 80% or better in reading comprehension and math and 75% in vocabulary and grammar. Its LPN-to-RN option uses the HESI LPN-to-RN exam with a score of 850 or higher.
We do not offer Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology. Take those at a college your programme approves, and check its time limits. CCRI's LPN-to-RN Pharmacology I, for example, is a CCRI course you meet by challenge exam or a prior grade.
Ask your nursing programme in writing first whether it will count the course and lab.