Integrated Nursing Pathway Admissions Requirements and Application Process

We consider two grade point averages during the review of applications: prerequisite GPA and overall GPA.

A minimum 3.0 prerequisite GPA is required. The prerequisite GPA calculation includes the highest grade attempts for courses included on transcripts at the time of application.

Due to the competitive nature of our programs, we strongly suggest a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Note that the cumulative GPA calculation includes all previous course attempts from regionally accredited institutions, regardless of the year courses were completed. Grade forgiveness and repeat/delete policies are not honored.

Please contact a member of our admissions team if you have questions.

Your application must be complete, fees must be paid and supporting documents must be received before the deadline in order to be considered for admission. View the Application Deadlines page for important dates regarding this program.

The $60 application fee is charged by and paid to NursingCAS; have a credit card for payment.

All applicants to the College of Nursing must meet the minimum requirements outlined in the Technical Standards.

Within your NursingCAS application, you will be asked to upload a 500-word essay which responds to the following writing prompt.

• Given your personal background, describe your interest in nursing and what makes you special or unique?

Essay guidelines: the content of the essay will be used in the scoring/evaluation of your application. Essays needs to be written in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced with one-inch margins.

Below are the classes required to apply for the Integrated Nursing Pathway. All prerequisites listed below must be completed prior to the end of the spring semester in which the student is applying for the program (and within 10 years of the application deadline). A grade of C or better is required for each prerequisite course (grades of C- or below are not accepted). To review accelerated credit (AP/IB/CLEP) guidelines, scroll down to the Transfer Credit Requirements section within the Additional Requirements heading.

• General College Biology with lab (BIO 111 or equivalent)
• English Composition I (ENG 121 or equivalent)
• College Algebra (MAT 121 or equivalent)
• Introduction to Sociology (SOC 101 or equivalent)
• Introduction to Chemistry (with lab) (CHE 101 or equivalent)
• General Psychology (PSY 101 or equivalent)
• Introduction to Statistics (MAT 135 or equivalent)
• Human Nutrition (HWE 100 or equivalent)
• Fine Arts (Theory/Non-Performance) one course. Refer to the partner campus associate degree requirements for Arts and Humanities

All INP students are required to complete a total of 60 semester credits (or 90 quarter credits) from a regionally accredited institution. You may take a maximum of 18 semester credits (12 quarter credits), the semester before you start the program. Of these 18 semester credits (12 quarter credits), only one course can be from Anatomy, Chemistry, Physiology, or Microbiology.

Prospective students are encouraged to speak with an INP advisor at the Community College of Aurora, Community College of Denver, or Red Rocks Community College Arvada for information on associate degree options.

All applicants must submit two letters of reference. One academic is required. References are submitted as part of the NursingCAS application process.

All applicants are required to upload a CV/Resume as part of the application process.

Selected applicants are required to attend Interview Day if they wish to proceed with the admissions process. Interview dates are included on the Home Page of the Integrated Nursing Pathway NursingCAS application.

Students invited to complete the interview process may also be required to complete a spontaneous writing sample.

All required transcripts and/or AP/IB/CLEP score reports must be received by the application deadline. Official transcripts must be submitted directly to NursingCAS from all institutions an applicant has attended. All score reports for AP/IB/CLEP credits are submitted directly to the University of Colorado College of Nursing.

Prerequisite Credit

Prerequisite credit may be accepted by the University of Colorado if:

• It has been earned at a regionally accredited college or university.
• A grade of C (not C-) or better has been attained.
• It is not vocational-technical or remedial course work.

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

• Only specific prerequisites may be met using AP credit; view the INP AP Credit Transfer Guide.
• The minimum score shown is required to transfer the AP credit to meet prerequisites.
• The official transcript (score report) from the College Board is required to show the score(s) earned. This document needs to be sent directly to the University of Colorado College of Nursing.
• To ensure that your official score report is received by the College of Nursing, please request that the College Board mail the document to:

University of Colorado College of Nursing
Office of Admissions
13120 E. 19th Avenue, Mailstop C288-6
Aurora, CO 80045

International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit

• Only specific prerequisites may be met using IB credit. View the INP IB Credit Transfer Guide.
• The minimum score shown is required to transfer the IB credit to meet prerequisites.
• Instructions for ordering your IB diploma are available through on the IB Requesting transcripts and certificates page.
• To ensure that your official score report is received by the College of Nursing, please request that the International Baccalaureate program mail the document to:

University of Colorado College of Nursing
Office of Admissions
13120 E. 19th Avenue, Mailstop C288-6
Aurora, CO 80045

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Credit

• Only specific prerequisites may be met using CLEP credit; view the CLEP Credit Transfer Guide.
• The minimum score shown is required to transfer the CLEP credit to meet prerequisites.
• The official transcript (score report) from the College Board is required to show the score(s) earned.
• To ensure that your official score report is received by the College of Nursing, please use the following school code when ordering the report from College Board: 5281.

Pass/Fail Credit

• Standard Policy for Prerequisite Requirements - For the College of Nursing, courses taken on a Pass/Fail (P/F) or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis may not be used to fulfill prerequisite requirements.
  • COVID-19 Exception for Prerequisite Requirements - The CU College of Nursing's strong recommendation is that students choose to have standard grades listed on their transcript and not the Pass/Fail grade option. However, for courses completed in Spring 2020 only, Passing (P) or Satisfactory (S) grades may be accepted to fulfill prerequisite courses, provided the P or S indicates that the student has earned a C grade or higher. For GPA calculation purposes, an approved P or S course grade will be converted to the lowest score associated with the P or S by the sending institution (e.g. a C grade will be calculated as a 2.0). For spring 2020 grades only, the student, via the sending institution, will have the option of submitting the underlying/actual grade earned, e.g. A, B, etc., which will be used in the GPA calculation for review purposes. There will not be a cap to the total number of prerequisite credits that may be taken on a P/F or S/U basis for spring 2020 coursework, provided that the aforementioned criteria are satisfied.
• Standard Policy for Academic Electives - The College of Nursing will accept up to 6 credits of P/F or S/U courses in transfer to fulfill Academic Electives, provided the P or S indicates that the student has earned a C grade or higher. Academic Elective credits may be needed for applicants to reach the minimum 60 semester credits required to transfer into the Traditional Pathway program.  

Foreign Transcripts and Study Abroad Credits

Transcripts for all foreign (non-study abroad) coursework must be submitted directly to the University of Colorado College of Nursing for evaluation through the Office of International Affairs. Transcripts for study abroad coursework from a non-U.S. institution may be required depending on how foreign coursework is posted on the domestic (receiving institution) transcript. If all course information (course title, credits hours and grades) is posted to the domestic transcript, applicants do not need to submit a separate transcript from the study abroad institution. If any course information is incomplete, or the grades are posed as Pass/Fail, a transcript for the study abroad coursework will need to be submitted directly to the University of Colorado College of Nursing Office of Admissions & Student Affairs.

Applicants who were previously enrolled in another nursing program (prerequisite courses excluded) are required to submit as part of the NursingCAS application a letter of good standing from the previous school indicating that the student left in good academic standing.

Due to the clinical nature of the nursing profession, all students must meet the following communication standards, as outlined in the Technical Standards of our Student Handbook:

1. A student must be able to communicate clearly and effectively in English with clients, teachers and all members of the health care team. Written and oral communication must use standard, professional medical terminology.
2. He/she must communicate with clients clearly and effectively in English to elicit information regarding history, emotional status and activity, and to perceive nonverbal communications.
3. Communication includes speech, hearing, reading, writing and computer literacy.
4. A student must be able to clearly and effectively report in English to members of the health care team. Additionally, students must be able to relay appropriate information to clients, as well as teach, explain, direct and counsel a wide variety of individuals.
5. In some instances the student will be required to provide clear, direct communication in English during highly stressful, crisis situations. These skills necessitate a strong command of the English language and prompt, timely interpretation of pertinent patient data.
6. Students must be able to communicate online in a timely, professional manner, e.g., enter an electronic medical record immediately after the patient visit.

If your primary language is not English, or if you are an International Student, you will need to demonstrate required English language proficiency by meeting one of the following criteria:

1. You are a citizen of a country whose official language is English including Australia, Belize, Botswana, Canada (except Quebec), Commonwealth Caribbean, Ghana, United Kingdom, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
2. You have obtained a total score of at least 560 on the paper-based TOEFL and 50 or above on the Test of Spoken English (TSE); a score of 83 on the Internet-based TOEFL with 26 or above on the spoken English section. For other minimum subscores see internationaladmissions.ucdenver.edu. The College of Nursing TOEFL Exam Code is 3377. Be sure to use this code when registering for the exam to ensure that we will receive the results.
3. You have obtained a total score of 6.5 on IELTS with a minimum speaking subscore of 8. Official IELTS scores must be sent directly to the College of Nursing.
4. You have graduated from the University of Colorado Denver’s ESL Academy.
5. You have graduated from a US/UK accredited school abroad with English as the medium of instruction.
6. You have earned a Bachelor’s degree in the U.S. or you have successfully completed a minimum of 2 semesters of full-time study in a master’s program at an accredited institution in the U.S.

*For non-international applicants whose primary language is not English (i.e. permanent residents), there may also be an opportunity to complete an English language evaluation to demonstrate language proficiency. Candidates may be identified and contacted during the application cycle if proof of English language proficiency is required.