Nursing, B.S.

Admission Criteria-4 Year Traditional Program

Acceptance into the  4-year Traditional Nursing program requires the following:

• Minimum High School GPA of 85%

• High School Science and Math grades 80 or higher taken in 9th-11th grades 

• Math- three years, including algebra 

• Science-three years, including biology and chemistry 

• English-average grade of 78 or higher taken in 9th-11th grades (minimum two English classes required) 

• High School Transcript 

• Personal Statement (200-500 word statement about why you want to become a nurse)

Application deadline for the Fall semester is February 1st. Applications received after February 1st will be considered only if there is available space. Students applying for acceptance to the 4-year Traditional program are able to apply with the Mercy University Undergraduate Application or the Common Application.

Admission Criteria - Accelerated Second Degree Nursing

1. BA or BS degree from an accredited college or university

2. GPA of 3.0 or above is preferred.

3. Grade of C+ or better in all Nursing prerequisites: A&P II with Lab, Human Development or Psychology, and Microbiology.

4. Applicants with international education are required to have their earned credits evaluated by NACES to be comparable to United States standards.

5. Personal Statement (500 word essay)

6. One Personal Reference

Admission Criteria - Transfer Students

Acceptance into the transfer Traditional Nursing program requires the following:

1. GPA 2.8 or above

2. Has C+ or higher in all pre-req courses

3. Personal statement that contains proper grammar and sentence structure and address the topic

4. Applications for students transferring into the Traditional Nursing program are accepted every Fall and Spring.

Clinical Requirements

All students must complete the following before starting clinical. Copies of these documents/clearances must be submitted electronically to the Clinical Placement Coordinator by the specified due date for facility onboarding requirements.

No one is allowed to begin clinical without the following:

1. Current CPR for Health Care Personnel from American Heart Association

2. COVID vaccination and Booster

3. Immunization titers - MMR, Hepatitis B (antibody and antigen), Varicella

4. Hepatitis C antibody test

5. Annual Flu vaccine

6. TdAP/TD vaccination

7. Annual health assessment form (physical examination)

8. Annual N-95 mask fitting

9. TB Blood Test or PPD (chest x-ray for a positive PPD)

10. Background check 

11. Drug screen

12. Fingerprints - Depending on agency requirements

13. Health insurance - Depending on agency requirements

14. Any other agency requirements

Program Dismissal Review

In cases which a student has been dismissed from the Traditional Nursing Program, the student may request a dismissal review when they believe that extenuating circumstances affected their academic performance in the program. The student must follow the School Dismissal Review Policy found in the nursing student handbook. Students dismissed for a second time will not be allowed to appeal to the Program Director, Assistant Dean, or Associate Dean for reinstatement, nor are they permitted to reapply to their nursing program.

Complaints That Fall Outside the Realm of Due Process

The School of Nursing is committed to meeting its mission as it relates to serving our students, potential students, staff, faculty, adjunct faculty, clinical faculty and the public consumer of nursing services. To that end, we are committed to ensuring that exceptional complaints for which there is no established University, School or program policy or procedure are considered and resolved in a timely, fair, consistent and equitable manner.

Procedure: Complaint to the Program:  Complaints should be addressed to the Dean through the online form located here. 
If the Dean is the subject of the complaint, the complaint should be addressed to the Provost.

Program Policies

Internal Transfer Policy

For current Mercy University students who wish to change their major to Nursing, they must go through the Internal Transfer process. Students who wish to change their major to Nursing have to have all pre-requisites completed with the minimum passing grade of C+ (course, course, course, course, course/course, and course) and have filled out a Nursing Interest Form with their PACT Mentor. Students will be reviewed for admission every Fall semester, with their interest form having to be submitted by June 1st before the term they are seeking to change their major. Space permitting, seats for Spring may be available on a limited basis.

The School of Nursing will review all interest forms submitted and notify students who have been admitted to complete a Change of Major form with their PACT Mentor. If a student is not chosen for the current Fall, they would be eligible to apply again for the following Fall semester in the next academic year. If accepted, students must be aware that it will take three years upon being accepted to complete the Traditional Nursing program.

Readmission Program Policies

• The reentry policy applies to students with Mercy University nursing credits who seek to reenter the Mercy University nursing program.

• The admission policy applies to students dismissed from other nursing programs.

• Applicants with a history of past violations of the Mercy University code of student conduct that may jeopardize patient safety, or the reputation of the School of Nursing may be disqualified.

• Reentry or admission is only offered once. (i.e. if a student has applied and was not granted readmission, they cannot seek readmission a second time). If a student is dismissed a second time from the nursing program, they may not reapply.

• Readmission to the nursing program is not guaranteed.

Re-entry Policy: Mercy University Students

A student academically dismissed from the nursing program at Mercy University may apply for reentry. The student seeking re-entry must initiate the process within two semesters of leaving the nursing program.

Students must meet all the current admission criteria to be considered for re-entry to the nursing program.

Admission policy: Nursing transfer students

A student dismissed from another nursing program for academic reasons may apply for admission to the nursing program at Mercy University. Applicants must meet the current admission requirements at Mercy University.

Nursing courses must be a grade of C+ or higher to transfer. The program will accept up to 6 credits in transfer for the courses listed below (courses must be taken within the last 5 years).

• Nursing Research

• Informatics

• Health Policy

Students dismissed from another nursing program will need to submit additional information, see below.

Where to apply

Students seeking re-entry will need to apply directly to the nursing program by emailing the School of Nursing email at schoolofnursing@mercy.edu.
Students seeking admission as a nursing transfer student will need to apply to the Office of Admissions.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking reentry or admission as a transfer nursing student must submit additional information.

The applicant must:

• Submit a personal statement addressed to the Readmission Committee requesting re-entry or admission to the nursing program for a specific semester and year. The Readmission committee is composed of nursing faculty, an admissions counselor, and a PACT advisor. The personal statement should contain all the following information:

  • Detailed explanation of the factors that contributed to the nursing program dismissal.

  • Discussion of your academic readiness to resume the nursing program.

  • Outline of your plans to achieve academic success.

  • Submit two letters of recommendation supporting admission to the program. If the applicant was dismissed from a nursing program that was not Mercy University, one letter of recommendation must be from the program from which you were dismissed. The letter should address the reason for dismissal.

Nursing Course Transfer

Mercy University will accept some nursing course(s) taken at accredited nursing programs and accredited colleges or universities. To evaluate courses, students must submit applicable course syllabi and have a grade of C+ or higher in the transfer course. The School of Nursing will only accept up to 6 transfer credits for the courses listed below. Courses taken must be within 5 years of starting the program and must be weighted at 3 credits or more.

• Contemporary Topics

• Nursing Research

• Informatics

• Health Policy

School of Nursing Withdrawal Policy

Students may withdraw from one Nursing (NURS) course as per the Student handbook.

• Students must withdraw during the designated withdrawal period.
• A student may withdraw from a NURS course only once throughout the nursing program.
• Students are required to withdraw from all components associated with a NURS course [i.e., didactic, clinical and/or lab]. The withdrawal from all components associated with an NURS course will be considered a total of one withdrawal.

Professional Licensure

To obtain professional licensure, please check with the appropriate licensing body in the state where you intend to practice. For additional information and detailed requirements, please refer to the specific program of interest on the “School Resources” section of the Mercy University NC-Sara webpage.