English Composition 1
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →WashingtonNursing
RN to BSN in Washington: the general education credits you can finish online
By the team. Checked 15 Nov 2026.
The short answer
RN to BSN general education in Washington is set by each programme. The UW BSN worksheet shows the categories Washington universities use: English Composition, a writing course, math or logic, Statistics, social science and arts and humanities credits. Online ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses may fit some of these, but only if your programme agrees in writing and the credit arrives via a college transcript.
What general education means for a Washington BSN
A licensed RN going back for a BSN usually has the nursing coursework already. What is often missing is general education: writing, reasoning, statistics, social science, arts and humanities, and electives to reach the university's credit total. Each RN to BSN programme publishes its own list, and we did not confirm a specific RN to BSN list for this page.
The UW School of Nursing BSN prerequisite worksheet, updated October 2024, is a clear public example of the categories a Washington university uses. It is the list for the BSN itself, not for an RN to BSN completion track, so use it to understand the categories and then read your own programme's list.
The categories on the UW BSN worksheet
The worksheet groups prerequisites into areas with quarter credit minimums. It says a 2.0 is the minimum grade in each course, that there is no expiration date for prerequisite courses, and that applicants need at least 90 quarter credits before the start date, with electives filling any gap.
- Written communication: English Composition (5 quarter credits) plus a writing course or a second composition course.
- Reasoning: college-level math or philosophy logic, plus Statistics covering descriptive and inferential statistics.
- Social sciences: 15 quarter credits, including Lifespan Growth and Development.
- Arts and humanities: 15 quarter credits.
- Natural sciences: six courses and 28 quarter credits, including Organic Chemistry, Microbiology with lab and Nutrition.
- Electives to reach a total of 90 quarter credits.
Which online courses to ask about
General education is where online ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses are most often considered, because these areas are broad and less tied to a lab. That is a reason to ask, not an answer. Possible courses to raise with your programme include English Composition I and II, College Algebra, Principles of Statistics, Introduction to Sociology and a humanities course on critical thinking.
The gaps stay the same as for the pre-licensure prerequisites. UPI Study has no Lifespan or Developmental Psychology, no Nutrition, no Microbiology and no Organic Chemistry. If your RN to BSN programme still needs any of those, plan them at a college. UPI Study is not accredited and has no nursing courses or clinical hours.
How the credit gets to your programme
A recommendation from ACE or NCCRS is advice to colleges. The credit counts only after a college evaluates the course and lists it on its own transcript, and your programme then reviews that transcript. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit. Ask them how they would evaluate each course and how many credits they would post before you start.
Watch credit size. Washington universities count quarter credits. A common conversion, the one Highline College publishes, is quarter credits equal semester credits times 1.5, so a three semester credit course equals 4.5 quarter credits. If a category asks for 5 quarter credits, ask whether 4.5 meets it.
What to ask, and what it costs
Email your RN to BSN advisor with a short table: the requirement, the course you plan to take, the college that would list it, and the credits. Ask for a yes or no on each row and keep the reply. Ask too whether the programme has a residency rule on how many credits must come from the university itself, since that can limit outside credit.
For comparison, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges sets a 2026-27 resident lower-division tuition ceiling of $1,697 for a 15-credit quarter, rates varying slightly by college. Online options cost less per course, but only for courses your programme agreed in writing to review.
What to ask in writing
Before you enrol
Ask your Washington nursing programme in writing whether it would evaluate each course, including each online lab, before you enrol, and keep the reply.
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
Do RN to BSN programmes in Washington take online general education courses?
Each programme decides. Ask your RN to BSN advisor in writing about each course, name the college that would list the credit, and get a yes or no on each before you enrol.
How many credits does the UW BSN expect before the start date?
The UW BSN worksheet asks for at least 90 quarter credits before the start date, with 74 to 81 credits of listed prerequisites and electives filling the rest. RN to BSN tracks publish their own totals.
Is Statistics part of general education for a Washington BSN?
On the UW BSN worksheet, Statistics sits in the reasoning area and must cover descriptive and inferential statistics with at least a 2.0. Check your own programme's list for its version.
Courses that fit
ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, studied online at your own pace.
English Composition 2
Self-paced online English Composition 2 course (ENG 102). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
College Algebra
Self-paced online College Algebra course (Math 111). 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 first; then study only the courses it said it would consider.
Sources
- UW School of Nursing: BSN prerequisite courses worksheet (updated October 2024) (official)No expiration date for prerequisite courses; 2.0 minimum grade in each; 3 natural sciences at a 3.0 cumulative GPA or 4 at 2.8 to apply; 6 natural sciences and 28 quarter credits (General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, A&P I, A&P II, General Microbiology with lab, Nutrition); Statistics, Lifespan Growth and Development, English Composition; 74-81 prerequisite credits and 90 quarter credits before the start date; formal audit at application. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- Highline College: Registered Nurse, AAS information packet 2025-26 (official)Nine prerequisite classes from a regionally accredited college or university, at least 4.5 credits and a 3.0 grade each (2.7 for math), at most 3 attempts; all done by the application deadline; prerequisite classes do not have a time limit; quarter credits = semester credits x 1.5; recommends completing biology and chemistry sequences at one institution; the 1-year LPN-RN programme is no longer offered. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- SBCTC: Tuition and fees (official)2026-27 resident lower-division tuition ceiling of $1,697 for a 15-credit quarter and $5,092 for a 45-credit year; rates vary slightly by college. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.