Nursing, B.S.N.

PBA is known throughout the region for the quality of nursing graduates we produce each year. This is a result of our proven curriculum and exceptional instructors who serve as students’ mentors and bring decades of real-world experience. Other distinctives include:

• Christ-Centered Experience—concepts of faith and biblical principles are at the center of everything nursing students experience.
• Holistic Approach—we strongly believe, and teach our students, that true healthcare involves sociocultural understanding and spiritual encouragement in addition to the physical.
• Advanced Labs and Technology—you will benefit from training with the most advanced nursing lab technologies and patient simulation resources, preparing you to step in and succeed on day one.
• Personalized Learning—you will be guided by expert faculty who bring years of nursing experience at places such as Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center; Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Florida; Good Samaritan Medical Center.

Learn more about your classes and requirements in the course catalog.

See Course Catalog

1. Freshman Direct Admission

High School Students applying for Freshman Direct Admission only need apply to the university and indicate nursing as their major. Admissions will send qualified applicants a link to the web page form with the additional information required. Spots are limited, so early application is encouraged. Those accepted as Freshman Direct Admission students do not need to apply again to the Upper Division as long as they maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.

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2. Guaranteed Admission

Only students who entered PBA as freshman (or directly from high school) are eligible for Guaranteed Admission.

Currently enrolled Palm Beach Atlantic University students who meet the following criteria receive Guaranteed Admission to the Upper Division Nursing Major.

• Started at PBA as first semester freshmen (though you may have brought in hours)
• 3.0 + GPA in required classes
• 3.0 + Science/Math GPA
• TEAS Total Individual Score of 74 +
• Apply and meet all admission criteria by the October 1 deadline

Regular Competitive Admissions Minimum Requirements:

• 3.0 + GPA in required classes
• 2.7 + Science/Math GPA
• TEAS Total Individual Score of 68.7 + (74+ recommended to be competitive)

*GPA is the GPA in required courses, not the overall GPA. This is designed to encourage students to take difficult science classes without fearing that they will hurt their chances of acceptance.

Meeting the minimum requirements is NOT a guarantee of acceptance.

3. Competitive Application Instructions

1. Currently enrolled lower division students will fill out a form on myPBA > Schools > Nursing. (login required)
2. Students transferring directly into the upper division (with an AA or Bachelor’s degree). If not enrolled, apply here.

The following additional elements are required for the application.

1. Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS)
2. Two recommendations are required for transfer students (academic or professional)
3. Transcripts (from all colleges or universities attended)
4. Students applying to lower division (sometimes called “pre-nursing”) simply apply to the university.

Timeframe for Competitive Applications and What to Expect if you are Accepted:

• There are two entry points for the Nursing Program, one in the Fall semester and one in the Spring Semester. 45-50 students will be accepted to form each new cohort which will graduate 5 semesters later.
• There is rolling admission for both Fall and Spring
  • Submitting your application for Spring start by October 1 provides the best chance of acceptance.
  • Submitting your application for Fall start by May 1 provides the best chance of acceptance.
• If you are accepted, you have two weeks to accept or decline
• Students must complete background check, fingerprints, and drug screen by the date indicated in the acceptance letter in order to confirm acceptance.
• All acceptances are provisional, with full acceptance being contingent upon passing the first three nursing courses and completing all other outstanding prerequisite courses.
• If you are new to PBA, then you are required to submit a Health History and Physical to Health and Wellness. All students will be required to comply with our hospital partners’ requirements as presented in the American Databank Compliance Tracker which you will be required to sign up for. This includes, among other things, up-to-date vaccines for MMR, Varicella, Tdap, Hep B and flu (in season)

Guaranteed Admission Requirements:

Only students who entered PBA as freshman (or directly from high school) are eligible for Guaranteed Admission.

Currently enrolled Palm Beach Atlantic University students who meet the following criteria receive Guaranteed Admission to the Upper Division Nursing Major.

• Started at PBA as first semester freshmen (though you may have brought in hours)
• 3.0 + GPA in required classes
• 3.0+ Science/Math GPA
• TEAS Total Individual Score of 74+
•  Apply and meet all above admission criteria by the October 1 deadline of sophomore year.

Regular Competitive Admissions Minimum Requirements:

• 3.0 + GPA in required classes
• 2.75 + Science/Math GPA
• TEAS Total Individual Score of 68.7 +  (74+ recommended to be competitive)

*GPA is the GPA in required courses, not the overall GPA. This is designed to encourage students to take difficult science classes without fearing that they will hurt their chances of acceptance.

Meeting the minimum requirements is NOT a guarantee of acceptance.

Transferring Your A.A. Degree (or prior bachelor’s degree)

• Application to the Upper Division is available for spring and fall start.
• You will need to have your A.A. degree conferred by the beginning of the first semester of Nursing school if you are accepted into the program.
• PBA uses the TEAS exam (Version 6) as its entrance exam . The TEAS may ONLY be taken  three times, with 30 days between exams.
• Application to the Upper Division means that you have completed or are in progress in the following courses:
• General Psychology
• Life Span Development (Human Growth and Development)
• Principles of Chemistry w/ Lab
• Human Anatomy & Physiology I w/ Lab
• Human Anatomy & Physiology II w/ Lab
• Microbiology w/ Lab
• Nutrition
• Statistics

*All but one of these courses must be completed by the time of program entrance. You may still be enrolled in these courses during the application process.

Transfer Nursing Students needing to complete some of the prerequisites at PBA should:

• Apply for admission to the University.
• Submit transcripts
• Make a phone appointment with an Admissions Counselor to go over a basic degree plan

Nursing Opportunities & Outcomes

The School of Nursing has a vast range of opportunities for both our students and our graduates.  From student clubs and organizations to externships and internships, you can get involved!

Learn more

Graduates of the program are ready to sit for the national licensing exam in order to obtain their RN license and begin careers in the various fields of nursing. Many program alumni also pursue a graduate degree. Since our founding, PBA nursing graduates have achieved an average pass rate of 93% on the national licensure exam, and are employed by respected healthcare organizations around the country, some of which include:

• Duke Medical Center
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Cleveland Clinic
• Community Health Clinic of West Palm Beach
• Emory Healthcare of Atlanta
• Florida Cancer Specialists
• Florida Department of Health
• Jupiter Medical Group
• Marcus Neuroscience Institute
• Palm Beach Cardiology
• St. Mary’s Medical Center
• Team Health

Application Exam Scheduling Instructions (TEAS)

Palm Beach Atlantic University is not an official TEAS testing site.  TEAS tests are administered only for currently enrolled lower division nursing or transfer students who have applied to the Nursing Program .

Entrance Exam: Test of Essential Academic Skills Version 6 (TEAS)

Scheduling:

• TEAS exams are limited to currently enrolled PBA students and current applicants only.  If you are not currently a PBA student you may search for testing locations on ATI’s Website
• Enrolled students should go to myPBA>Schools>Nursing to view the latest TEAS schedule.

Before the test:

• Study and prepare ahead of time
• Get a good night’s sleep the night before the test
• Eat breakfast or lunch the day of the test
• Go to www.atitesting.com and create a student account. Bring your login information to the test. (If you do not bring the information to the test, you will have to reschedule!)
• Apply to the Upper Division by going to myPBA/Schools/Nursing and clicking on the Upper Division BSN Program application link

The day of the test:

• Due to COVID the test is currently being proctored remotely by a third party company. For details contact Nursing@pba.edu . Please put TEAS in the subject line

PBA awards over three million dollars in scholarships every year and 97% of PBA undergraduate students receive financial aid.

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