Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Tennessee nursing prerequisites are set by each programme. Nashville State's LPN to RN pathway, for example, asks for 27 credit hours first, including A&P I and II, Microbiology and Statistics with a C or better, a 2.8 GPA on those hours and an ATI TEAS score of Proficient. Ask your programme in writing before you take a course online.
The Nashville State Community College LPN to RN Bridge Program page (read 15 Nov 2026) asks for 27 required credit hours before applying, including BIOL 2010, BIOL 2030, BIOL 2230 and MATH 1530 with a C or higher, a 2.8 GPA on those 27 hours, ATI TEAS at Proficient and an active, unrestricted PN licence.
The rule asks for Set by each programme; Nashville State LPN to RN: 27 credit hours, C or better in the 15 hours of science and maths, 2.8 GPA. The legal source is Nashville State Community College LPN to RN Bridge Program page.
| Item | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hours before applying | 27 required credit hours, all complete | [1] |
| Core science and maths | BIOL 2010, BIOL 2030, BIOL 2230 Microbiology, MATH 1530 Statistics; C or higher | [1] |
| General education | ENGL 1010, PSYC 1030, a humanities elective, plus one more from a short list | [1] |
| GPA and exam | 2.8 GPA on the 27 hours; ATI TEAS at Proficient | [1] |
| Licence | Active PN licence with no restrictions, checked with the Tennessee Board of Nursing | [1] |
| Time limit | Science within five years recommended, not required | [1] |
Each Tennessee nursing programme, such as Nashville State Community College; the Tennessee Board of Nursing licenses nurses 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 Each Tennessee nursing programme, such as Nashville State Community College; the Tennessee Board of Nursing licenses nurses.
Covers BIOL 2010 content; NCCRS-recommended, and the lab question must be asked.
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 →
Covers BIOL 2030 content; ask about the lab too.
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 →
Close to MATH 1530 Introduction to Statistics.
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 →
Close to ENGL 1010.
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Close to PSYC 1030.
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 →
A possible humanities elective; ask the programme.
Self-paced online Principles of Philosophy course (Philosophy 200). 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 | Three courses in 1-2 months: about $336-$435 | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month | General education only; check with your programme first | 15 Nov 2026 |
Prices checked 15 Nov 2026. Community college tuition in Tennessee may be lower for some adults; ask the college about current tuition and aid.
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's admissions office 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.
Tennessee's community colleges and universities each publish their own nursing prerequisites, grade and GPA rules, entrance exam and time limits. The Tennessee Board of Nursing licenses nurses; which courses count before you start is the programme's decision.
So start with the current list from the programme you want, then check each course you plan to take against it, by course number.
Nashville State Community College publishes a clear list for its LPN to RN pathway. Applicants must already be admitted to the college and must finish 27 required credit hours before applying. The GPA is worked out on those 27 hours only, and it must be 2.8 or higher.
The 15 hours of core science and maths need a C or higher. Nashville State recommends, but does not require, that the sciences were taken within the last five years. Applicants also need ATI TEAS at Proficient, unless they graduated from a TCAT within three years of the LPN exit exam.
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. A&P and Microbiology are where you are most likely to hear no, so ask about them first, and ask about the lab separately from the lecture.
English, psychology, statistics and humanities are where recommended credit is most often considered, along with RN to BSN general education. Because Nashville State counts the GPA across all 27 hours, also ask how an outside course's grade will be counted.
27 credit hours: ENGL 1010, PSYC 1030, a humanities elective, one more general-education course, and BIOL 2010, BIOL 2030, BIOL 2230 and MATH 1530 with a C or higher. Check the current page before you plan.
Nashville State recommends, but does not require, sciences taken within the last five years for its LPN to RN pathway. Other Tennessee programmes set their own rules, and some require recent sciences, so ask each one.
Each programme decides which courses meet its prerequisites. The board licenses nurses and, at Nashville State, is where your PN licence is checked. Ask the programme about a specific course or lab.
Only if your programme agrees. Ask in writing about each course and lab format before you pay. General education is the most likely to be considered; online science labs are the most likely to be refused.
We do not offer Microbiology, Nutrition, Lifespan Psychology, Organic Chemistry or Pharmacology. Nashville State's list includes Microbiology and lets you choose Nutrition or Lifespan Psychology, so take those at a college the programme approves.
A 2.8 GPA worked out on the 27 required hours, and ATI TEAS at Proficient. The exam is waived for TCAT graduates within three years of their LPN exit exam.
Ask your nursing programme in writing first whether it will count the course.