Nursing Transfer Requirements

What We Look For

We want your application to showcase your academic achievement and your potential to be a compassionate nurse. Although there is no precise formula for the ideal application, there are a few components that we look for.

Academic Excellence

Nursing is an intense course of study, requiring heavy focus. While our minimum eligibility GPAs are 3.0 (Sacramento campus) and 3.3 (San Francisco campus), we’re typically looking for students who have exceptional academic performance in all of their college courses and have excelled beyond the minimum requirements that are outlined in the Eligibility and Prerequisites section below.

Our BSN program is designed for students seeking their first bachelor’s degree, with a preference for students who have most recently attended a community college. If you already have a bachelor’s degree and are interested in nursing at USF, you should consider our Master's Entry - Clinical Nurse Leader (MEO), MSN program instead.

Cares for Others

We ask for a personal statement and a nursing short answer question. For the Sacramento program, we ask additional specific questions regarding your interest in working with veterans. These essays factor heavily into our selection process.

Your written responses are your opportunity to speak to us in your voice and share details that grades and scores cannot. You should demonstrate how you’re a good match with our program and the nursing profession.

To get a sense of who you are outside of the classroom, you also have the option to upload a resume. This gives you a chance to share anything else you want us to know, such as volunteer or work experience, or personal involvement. There are no set expectations for volunteer hours or expertise.

Transfer Nursing Admission Statistics

As a highly selective program, we have far more applicants than spaces available each term. Here are transfer admission statistics from past years:

San Francisco Admission Statistics

Sacramento Admission Statistics

How to Apply

If you meet eligibility, you’re ready to apply! USF uses a single application for the transfer nursing process. For both programs and both terms, applicants should:

1. Submit a transfer student application (select "Undergraduate Transfer" when starting the application) with the non-refundable application fee by the application deadline. We do not accept the Common App for the transfer BSN program.
2. In the application, select your program: “Nursing” for San Francisco or “Nursing (Veterans Affairs Partnership Program)” for Sacramento
3. Thoroughly answer the required personal statement and short answer questions.
4. Submit separate transcripts from all colleges or universities previously attended, whether course credit was awarded or not. These records should be sent directly from the registrar's office to our Office of Admission.
5. If you intend to apply for need-based financial aid, you must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

We do not require or review the TEAs test. Letters of recommendation are not accepted.

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Eligibility and Prerequisites

Admission to USF’s BSN programs is highly selective. To be considered for admission, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Be seeking your first bachelor’s degree (students who already have a bachelor’s degree should apply to USF’s Master's Entry - Clinical Nurse Leader (MEO), MSN program)
2. Have completed at least 30 semester or 45 quarter units of college coursework
3. Have earned a minimum cumulative college GPA of 3.0 for our Sacramento program and 3.3 for our San Francisco program.
4. Be in good academic and disciplinary standing
5. Have the following courses completed or in progress with a grade of B or better within the past seven years:
   • Microbiology with lab
   • Anatomy with lab*
   • Physiology with lab*
   • General or Introductory Psychology*
   • Introduction to Statistics (applies only to Sacramento applicants)
   • Introduction to Sociology (applies only to Sacramento applicants)
6. Spring San Francisco applicants and ALL Sacramento applicants: Have completed at least seven Core Curriculum classes by the time you apply (they can be listed as "in progress" on your transcript).

*For the anatomy and physiology course requirements, if your college teaches the course as a sequence, we expect that you will have completed the entire two-semester sequence; for example, Anatomy and Physiology I + Anatomy and Physiology II. For the General or Introductory Psychology requirement, USF will accept an AP exam score of 4 or higher within the last seven years instead of a graded college course.

By the time you apply to USF, you should have these prerequisite courses completed or listed as "in progress" on your transcript. If you are admitted while these courses are in progress, your offer of admission is conditional upon completing these courses with a grade of B or better. Note, you are welcome to retake prerequisites for a higher grade, but we will take note of the re-attempts.

Remember, meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee your admission; it just makes you eligible for consideration to the program.

Transfer Nursing Dates and Deadlines

The application opens in August each year. We review all applications at the deadline. You do not get priority for submitting early, so we recommend carefully working through your application rather than rushing. Late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed but will be offered consideration for the following term.

Fall Application Dates (San Francisco & Sacramento)

All students will receive an update on their admission status in early April. We will continue to make offers to candidates until we have reached our capacity.

Spring Application Dates (San Francisco & Sacramento)

All students will receive an update on their admission status in mid-December. We will continue to make offers to candidates until we have reached our capacity.
*You may be asked to respond to your offer in an abbreviated timeframe to ensure successful completion of all next steps for your enrollment. Your admit letter will clearly outline your deadline to accept your offer.

Transfer Credit Evaluator

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See which courses you can transfer and how they’ll apply to certain degrees at USF. This evaluation is unofficial, but it will help you estimate your time on campus.

International students: This tool only evaluates credit from U.S.-based institutions. For more information about transferring credit from international schools, please contact international@usfca.edu.

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