Nursing Prerequisites : School of Health Sciences : Simmons College

Men and women applicants may take prerequisite courses at Simmons or any other accredited college or university. There are three options for completing prerequisites:

Complete courses elsewhere and then apply
Complete the prerequisites at Simmons before applying
Apply for provisional admission and complete the prerequisites at Simmons

If you take your prerequisites elsewhere, the Simmons equivalent course descriptions will serve as a guide for evaluating required course content. Please fax the syllabus (not a course description) to the SHS Office of Admission at 617-521-3137 to determine if a specific class will fulfill our requirements. Allow a minimum of 48 business hours for a reply from us.

Scroll down the page or use these links for information about:

Nursing Program Prerequisites
Direct Entry Prerequisites
Prerequisite Equivalent Courses
Completing Prerequisites at Simmons

Nursing Program Prerequisites

Statistics
An undergraduate-level statistics course is a prerequisite to Research Methods (SHS 410). The course should include the following:

Descriptive statistics: mean, median, mode, percent, distribution, normal curve, confidence levels, variance, standard deviation
Correlation: chi square, pearson r
Inference: t-test, ANOVA
Levels of significance
Probability
Parametric vs. non-parametric tests
Hypothesis testing
Types of error

The School of Health Sciences also offers an online course called WEB stats,which will meet the statistic requirement for all SHS programs. To learn more about this course and to register,contact Yolanda Mendez Rainey at 617-521-2518 or ymailto:yolanda.rainey@simmons.edu

Health Assessment
An undergraduate-level health assessment course completed within 5 yers prior to the application deadline is required prior to entering Primary Health Care Nursing I (NUR 560 or NUR 580). Students in the adult concentrations should take an adult assessment course. Students in the parent-child concentrations should take a pediatric assessment course. The course should include the following:

Knowledge and skill in health history interviewing and in the use of the four basic physical examination modalities; and
Successful performance of a complete health history interview and physical examination

Note: Individual consideration is given to applicants with bachelor's degrees in fields other than nursing.

Direct Entry Program Prerequisites

All applicants to the Direct Entry Program in Advanced Nursing Practice must successfully complete program prerequisites before application to the program. Or, applicants may take certain prerequisite courses during the first summer of the first year if they are granted provisional admission. The following prerequisites must be completed for admission. SHS accepts prerequisite courses completed within the past ten years.

Organic Chemistry with lab (one semester)
Inorganic Chemistry with lab (one semester)
Human Anatomy and Physiology with labs (two semesters)
Microbiology with lab (one semester)
Developmental Psychology, birth to death focus (SHS offers a online course-see sidebar of this page)
Basic Statistics (one semester)

Prerequisite Equivalent Courses

Click on a course number to see a description.

Course Name	Course Number
Organic Chemistry with lab (1 sem.)	CHEM 112 or CHEM 114
Inorganic Chemistry with lab (1 sem.)	CHEM 111 or CHEM 113
Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab (2 sems.)	BIOL 231 & BIOL 232
Microbiology with lab (1 sem.)	BIOL 221
Developmental Psychology (1 sem.)	Online course offered by Simmons in summer. Contact Nursing Dept. for more details 617-521-2141
Statistics (1 sem.)	MATH 118

These prerequisites reflect regular fall and spring semester courses offered by Simmons on the undergraduate level through the Dix Scholars office. The science prerequisites are also offered during the first summer semester in an accelerated format during the day (generally from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.) from May until August. Inorganic and Organic Chemistry are combined into one unified Biochemistry course and the two semesters of Human Anatomy and Physiology into one accelerated unit.

If you have other science prerequisites to complete, scheduling a summer Statistics course could be a conflict. You must take statistics before progressing to the nursing courses.

Completing Prerequisites at Simmons

Applicants who wish to complete their undergraduate-level prerequisites at Simmons may register as non-degree students through the Dix Scholars program, our adult continuing education department. Contact the Dix Scholars office at 617-521-2051 or dix@simmons.edu for information about registration times, application procedures, and tuition costs.