"I enjoyed being able to have small classes and faculty instructors who seemed genuinely interested in my educational experience. From the wonderful faculty I learned what it means to be a nurse and how to provide exceptional care while keeping safety a priority."
- Jessica Reyes-Roberson, Class of 2007

Information for a Second Degree Nursing Student
someone who has already earned a bachelor's degree in a different field and now wants to become a nurse

The majority of the nursing students at Columbia College of Nursing and Mount Mary College are considered second degree or transfer students. These students bring work and life experiences to the classroom making it a unique learning environment. The average nursing student at Columbia/Mount Mary is 24 years of age.

Many students can transfer a significant amount of general education credits into the required nursing curriculum which gives students the opportunity to complete nursing courses in just four semesters. Each student will be evaluated based on their previous educational experience. Students should schedule an appointment with the Nursing Admission Counselor to discuss our generous transfer credit policy.

Students who have an undergraduate degree in a science or health related field may be able to accelerate their degree progression because of their previous educational background.

See the curriculum and graduation requirements.

Affordable Tuition

Tuition is competitive with other local private colleges. Columbia/Mount Mary is committed to helping students achieve their goal of financing a college education. In conjunction with federal and state programs, there are many opportunities available to students. Find out more.

The Nursing Program is open to both male and female students and now offers the option of direct admission into the program.

Admission to the Nursing Program

There are two admission points to the nursing program: direct and standard admission. All students must first apply and be accepted to Mount Mary College. At time of acceptance to Mount Mary College, students will either be directly admitted into the nursing program, or admitted to Mount Mary College as a pre-nursing student. Pre-nursing students apply to the nursing program under the standard admission policy as a current student in their last semester of non-nursing coursework. All applications are evaluated individually using the criteria outlined below.

Direct Admission Information

Second Degree Students should have the following:

• cumulative college GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Grades from multiple colleges will be calculated into one comprehensive cumulative GPA.
• grade of C or better in all essential behavioral and natural science courses. These courses must have been completed within the last seven years.
• No less than a grade of C in more than one essential science course

Directly admitted students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and meet Direct Admission progression requirements in order to continue in the Nursing Program.

Standard Admission Information

Pre-nursing students who seek to enter the nursing program must apply prior to March 1 for entry in the fall term and October 1 for entry in the spring term. The application and requirements (also outlined below) to the nursing program are online at www.ccon.edu.

To be considered for admission to the nursing program, students must meet the following criteria:

• cumulative college GPA of 2.8 or greater on a 4.0 scale. Grades from multiple colleges will be calculated into one comprehensive cumulative GPA.
• successful completion with a C or better in all essential behavioral and natural science courses. These courses must be completed within seven years from the time the student begins nursing coursework.
• fulfill core and graduation requirements of Mount Mary College. See Mount Mary's undergraduate bulletin for details.
• meet the residency requirement of at least 16 non-nursing credits completed at Mount Mary College.

See the comprehensive admission policy handout.