Associate Degree Nursing admission requirements

Start: Fall 2024

Location: Fergus Falls and Wadena campuses

Application deadlines:
Round 1: January 15, 2024
Round 2: March 1, 2024
Round 3: May 5, 2024

 

Thank you for your interest in Minnesota State Community and Technical College’s Associate Degree Nursing program. This page provides updated information you will need to apply to the ADN program offered on our Fergus Falls and Wadena campuses for a fall 2024 start. The M State Nursing programs are designed to prepare qualified students for careers in nursing.

We are pleased you are considering M State and look forward to receiving your application. We strongly encourage you to discuss the admission requirements and program requirements with an academic advisor on the campus you plan to attend. For assistance reaching an advisor, please call 877.450.3322 or email info@minnesota.edu.

ADN admission information: 

Apply to M State

To be considered for an M State Nursing program, students must be accepted to M State. Only accepted students are able to access the Associate Degree Nursing program application.

New to M State - Follow the admissions checklist at www.minnesota.edu/admissions

Returning to M State - Submit an online application for admission at www.minnesota.edu/admissions. If you have attended another college since you last attended M State, you will also need to request your official transcript be sent to the M State Processing Center.   

M State Processing Center
1414 College Way 
Fergus Falls, MN 56537

Students should allow up to six weeks for transfer work to be received, evaluated and entered into their Degree Audit.

Transfer courses will not count toward admission to the program until they have been evaluated by the M State transfer specialist and successfully transferred.

Current M State student - If you are currently attending M State, you will not need to update your application to the college.

Apply to ADN program

The ADN program application must be submitted for an applicant to be considered for the program. Eligibility criteria must be read and understood prior to applying. You must be accepted to M State to access the program application.

Associate Degree Nursing Program Application

Placement testing

Nursing applicants must complete all developmental English and/or math courses with a grade of C or higher. Placement in these courses may be determined by ACT, SAT, Accuplacer assessment or high school GPA. Guided self-placement for students who do not have an ACT, SAT, Accuplacer or high school GPA waiver on file cannot be used for nursing applicants. 

Complete the Accuplacer assessment to determine which, if any, English and/or math developmental courses you need to complete. Sign up for the Accuplacer assessment at www.minnesota.edu/testing

High school status

High school graduates are encouraged to register for college general education courses while they pursue acceptance into the program. Students must graduate from high school prior to starting NURS courses.

Current high school students must complete their junior year before applying and supply a high school transcript with a GPA of 3.00 or higher upon completion of their junior year.

PSEO students are not eligible to take NURS courses.

GED completers need a score of 500 or greater on the GED. Applicants unable to obtain a score report may still apply; eligibility will be based on space availability in the program. Applicants without a GED score report must earn nine college credits (excluding developmental courses) with a grade of C or higher to be considered for admission.

ADN eligibility criteria:

Students must meet the following eligibility criteria. 

Entrance exam

Students must score at the “Proficient” competency level (58.6%) or higher on the Assessment Technology Institute Test of Essential Academic Skills (ATI TEAS).

ATI TEAS scores expire three years after the test date. TEAS score must be valid at the time of the application deadline.

For more information regarding the TEAS, including special accommodations, exam dates and how to register, visit www.minnesota.edu/nursing/entrance-exam

ATI TEAS official results are required and must be completed prior to the application deadline to be considered for the program. Applicants who take the ATI TEAS exam at a site other than M State must request that their test results be sent prior to the program application deadline to M State Processing Center, 1414 College Way, Fergus Falls, MN 56537.

All eligible program applicants are ranked by their TEAS scores.

Math and English requirements

Math scores on the Accuplacer/ACT or high school GPA must place the student into Math 1114 College Algebra or higher. Students testing into developmental math must complete the highest-level developmental course with a grade of C or higher prior to starting the program.

Reading scores on the Accuplacer/ACT or high school GPA must place the student into English 1101 College Writing. Students testing into developmental English must complete the highest-level developmental course with a grade of C or higher prior to starting the program.

Students may be conditionally accepted while courses are in progress, but courses must be completed prior to the program's start. If you have coursework in progress, you can submit the ADN program application to maximize your chance of being admitted into the program. 

GPA requirements

Applicants who have earned nine or more college credits in the following general education courses must have a 2.75 cumulative GPA or higher AND a grade of C or higher in each course: 

  • BIOL 2260/2261 Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Lab (4 credits)*
  • BIOL 2262/2263 Human Anatomy and Physiology II and Lab (4 credits)*
  • BIOL 2267/2268 Medical Microbiology and Lab (4 credits)*
  • ENGL 1101 College Writing
  • PSYC 2222 Lifespan Development
  • CHEM 1100 Fundamental Concepts of Chemistry

While applicants are not required to take all of these courses prior to being accepted, grades in completed courses must average a 2.75 GPA and applicants must earn a grade of C or higher in each course. Students who have earned a grade of less than C (D, F, FN, FW) in any of the required general education courses will not be eligible until the grade has been replaced with a grade of C or higher.

To calculate your cumulative GPA, use the GPA Calculator at www.minnesota.edu/genericgpa.

*Course must have been completed within five years prior to the program start date. For the Fall 2024 program start, the course must have been taken Fall 2019 or later.

The ADN program requires four credits of Anatomy and Physiology I and lab, four credits of Anatomy and Physiology II and lab, and four credits of Microbiology and lab. Applicants requesting to transfer three-credit Anatomy and Physiology I, three-credit Anatomy and Physiology II or three-credit Microbiology from another institution will be required to take a one-credit lab in order to make up the required credit difference and/or lab component.

Applicants who have not earned at least nine general education credits of the courses listed above must meet the following criteria:

  • High school GPA must be 3.00 or higher.
  • Successful completion of one year of high school chemistry and/or biology, OR earn a minimum of 24 on the science portion of the ACT.
  • A grade of C or higher in any completed general education courses required for the program. (These courses are listed above.)

Selection Process:

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Admission to the ADN program

Applicants who meet all requirements for admission will have the greatest chance of being admitted into the program. Students are encouraged to submit the program application even if they are in the process of meeting all the requirements for admission to the program. If the application deadline has passed, check this page to see if applications are still being accepted. 

Eligible students are awarded seats in the following order:

  1. TEAS scores – those with the highest scores will be awarded a seat.
  2. GPA in general education courses used for application review – will be used only if a tiebreaker is needed.

If there are more eligible applicants than available seats by the application deadline, eligible applicants with the highest entrance exam scores will be offered a seat first. Eligible applicants who do not get into the program due to the competition for a limited number of available seats will be placed on the waiting list. If a seat in the program opens, it will be offered to the student with the highest entrance exam score who was eligible to be accepted by the application deadline.

Acceptance notification 

Each student who has submitted a complete admissions file by a posted deadline will receive an email from the college indicating whether they have been accepted into the program, placed on the program waiting list or currently ineligible for the program. Be sure to provide your current email address on your program application. 

Applicants will be notified within 30 days after the application deadline.

Admitted Student Requirements:

Correspondence from the college will provide more information related to the following. However, ADN program applicants are encouraged to consider these requirements ahead of time. 

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Laptop computer

All Nursing students are required to have a laptop computer. The cost will be in addition to the cost of tuition, fees and books. The required computer specifications can be found at www.minnesota.edu/computer-information/associate-degree-nursing.

Nursing Assistant requirement

Students must upload evidence of Nursing Assistant experience to the Student Passport system by July 1 to be eligible to start NURS courses in the fall. The following are means of demonstrating experience:

  • Successful completion of a Nursing Assistant course OR Healthcare Core Curriculum with nursing assistant skill set within the last five years with a minimum grade of C or Pass.
  • Current Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in good standing with a Department of Health Nursing Assistant Registry.

Applicants with health care experience other than CNA who feel that experience is equivalent to CNA may test out by challenging the national nurse aide registry exam, rather than enrolling and completing the Nursing Assistant course. Students are responsible for all costs and fees incurred as part of the test-out process. Students who do not successfully test out will be required to complete a Nursing Assistant course and upload supporting documentation into the Student Passport system prior to the July 1 deadline.

CPR

Students are required to upload official documentation of American Heart Association Basic Life Support certification into the Student Passport by July 1 to be eligible to start NURS courses in the fall. Certification must include a hands-on component.

Minnesota Department of Human Services background check

Accepted nursing students are required to upload into Student Passport a cleared Minnesota Department of Human Services background study by July 1 to be eligible to start classes in the fall. A $30 fee will be assessed for processing the background study and fingerprinting/photo. The process for background studies and fingerprinting will be included with acceptance documents.

Accepted students who choose not to complete the background check OR who do not pass the background check may not be permitted to attend clinical experiences or service learning opportunities. In such cases, the college cannot guarantee alternative learning opportunities, which ultimately will affect students’ ability to complete the program.

National Background Check

Accepted nursing students are required to have a cleared National Background Check by July 1 to be eligible to start classes in the fall, even if they have completed a National Background Check for employment. National Background Checks are completed through a third-party vendor.

Instructions and codes will be provided via official M State email from Joel Hoffman, nursing lab assistant. The cost of the background check is $45.75. Students are responsible for the cost.

Accepted students who choose not to complete the background check OR who do not pass the background check may not be permitted to attend clinical experiences or service learning opportunities. In such cases, the college cannot guarantee alternative learning opportunities, which ultimately will affect students’ ability to complete the program.

Health forms

Students are required to upload a completed Health Division Health Form into the Student Passport system by July 1. If there is a change in a student’s physical or emotional health status, they are required to upload a Change in Health Status Approval Form from a healthcare provider indicating the specific activities in which they can or cannot engage during clinical and/or lab. Students with clinical and/or lab restrictions must be able to meet all associated course outcomes to successfully complete the course(s). Clinical partners may choose not to permit students with restrictions(s) to participate in their facilities, resulting in the students not being able to meet those course outcomes. A list of the nursing program Technical Standards can be found on the Nursing web page at www.minnesota.edu/programs-and-degrees/nursing/accepted.

Proof of immunizations (including a yearly influenza vaccination and COVID vaccination) is required by clinical facilities. Conscientious objectors may not be able to complete clinical courses at the discretion of the clinical facilities.

Student Passport

Health forms, supporting documentation, American Heart Association BLS (CPR) documentation and evidence of NA experience are required to be uploaded to the Student Passport system by July 1 to be eligible to start classes in the fall. Information on Student Passport will be sent to all accepted Nursing students.

If you experience any issues with the application, please call 877.450.3322 or email info@minnesota.edu.

Please be aware that M State’s Nursing admission requirements are subject to change in order to assure the quality of the program.