ABS Program

The Accelerated Bachelor of Science (ABS) program is for second-degree students who already possess a bachelor's degree outside of nursing. In just 12 months (May to May) of full-time study, ABS graduates are fully prepared to take the state board NCLEX licensing exam to become a registered nurse (RN).

The accelerated option offers the undergraduate nursing curriculum as an intensive, full-time, 12-month program designed for the mature, highly motivated, career-minded student who has already completed an undergraduate and/or graduate degree in a field other than nursing.

How to Apply

Minimum requirements must be met for admission into the Accelerated BS option; however, it is expected successful applicants will exceed these basic requirements.

• A minimum of a 3.0 overall undergraduate GPA as well as at least a 3.0 GPA in the nursing prerequisite courses.
• At least four of the prerequisite courses must be completed at the time of application while all prerequisites must be completed by the time the program starts in May. Admission will be granted on a space available basis.

• The following average overall and nursing prerequisite GPAs of those admitted for 2012 illustrate the competitive nature of undergraduate admissions in nursing at UB:       

  • Accelerated Program: 3.52 and 3.70, respectively (72 students admitted, 196 applied)
  • Traditional Program: 3.65 and 3.75, respectively (80 students admitted, 327 applied)

Complete both of the following applications:

1. SUNY Application or UB Re-entry Application
2. School of Nursing Application

SUNY Application:

• Apply to UB as early as possible since the School of Nursing cannot review your ABS application until your SUNY or UB Re-entry application is completed and all transcripts have been received. We recommend you complete your SUNY application no later than September 15.
• On the SUNY application use #1143 for the curriculum code and #20 for the campus code.

School of Nursing application:

• Applications for the ABS program are available starting August 15.
• The deadline to apply is October 1 to begin the following May.