LPN to Associate Degree Nursing Bridge Admission Requirements - Fall
Start: Fall 2025
Location: Fergus Falls and Wadena campuses
Application deadlines
Priority review: March 15, 2025
Continuous review: March 16 through May 15, 2025
Thank you for your interest in Minnesota State Community and Technical College’s LPN to Associate Degree Nursing Bridge program. This program is for licensed practical and vocational nurses who are seeking to become registered nurses. Students are awarded 11 prior learning credits for completing their practical nursing degree and licensure. Eligible applicants will complete a 2-credit transition course prior to joining ADN students in the second year of the ADN program on the Fergus Falls or Wadena campus. The role transition course is offered during the summer semester.
- Starting Fall 2025, previous M State Practical Nursing graduates can streamline consideration into the LPN to ADN Bridge program. See admission criteria below to review eligibility criteria.
- Acceptance into the nursing program is competitive. Admission is based on the selective eligibility criteria below. Meeting the criteria does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Please review this information carefully.
- To apply to this program you must hold a current, unencumbered practical nursing license at the time of application review.
- Curriculum information is available at LPN to Associate Degree Nursing Bridge.
We are pleased you are considering M State and look forward to receiving your application. We strongly encourage you to discuss the admission and program requirements with an academic advisor on the campus you plan to attend. For assistance in reaching an advisor, please call 877.450.3322 or email info@minnesota.edu.
M State’s Nursing admission requirements are subject to change to ensure the quality of the program.
Admission
To be considered for an M State Nursing program, students must be accepted to M State. The application for the Nursing program is separate. You must be accepted to M State to access the LPN to ADN Bridge program application.
New to M State - Follow the admissions checklist at Admissions.
Returning to M State - Submit an online application for admission at Admissions. If you have attended another college since you last attended M State, you will also need to request that 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 onto 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.
The LPN to ADN Bridge program application must be submitted for an applicant to be considered for the program. The eligibility criteria must be read and understood prior to applying. You must be accepted to M State to access the program application.
LPN to ADN Bridge program application
If you experience issues logging in to the application, please contact logan.schmidt@minnesota.edu.
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 Placement Testing.
Eligibility Requirements - M State PN graduates within past 10 years
M State PN graduates who earned their degree within the past 10 years (Fall 2015 through Fall 2024) must meet the following eligibility criteria.
Please note: The HSRT-AD entrance exam is not required if you earned your PN degree from M State within the past 10 years.
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 better before starting the 2-credit transition course.
English 1101 College Writing is a prerequisite and must be completed with a grade of C or better to start the program.
If you have coursework in progress, you can submit the LPN to ADN Bridge program application to maximize your chance of being accepted into the program. Students may be conditionally accepted while courses are in progress, but courses must be completed before the program’s start.
The following prerequisite courses were completed as part of M State's Practical Nursing program.
- BIOL 2260/2261 Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Lab
- BIOL 2262/2263 Human Anatomy and Physiology II and Lab
- ENGL 1101 College Writing
- PSYC 2222 Lifespan Development
The following courses are additional prerequisites for the LPN to ADN Bridge program. They must be completed with a grade of C or better prior to the start of fall semester.
- BIOL 2267/2268 Medical Microbiology and Lab (4 credits)*
- CHEM 1100 Fundamental Concepts of Chemistry (includes a chemistry lab)
All completed prerequisite courses must have an earned grade of C or better. Students who have earned a grade of less than C (D, F, FN or FW) in any of the prerequisite courses will not be eligible until the grades have been replaced with a grade of C or better.
*The program requires four credits of Microbiology and lab. Applicants requesting to transfer 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.
The five-year recency requirement in select biology courses does not apply to the LPN to ADN Bridge program.
The general education courses listed above are prerequisites for all core NURS courses except NURS 2410 Role Transition. Students may be conditionally accepted into the program with prerequisite courses in progress. Students who have been conditionally accepted prior to the completion of this requirement will become ineligible for the program if minimum requirements are not met prior to the start of the program.
PLEASE NOTE: Program-required general education courses must be completed with a grade of C or better before or during the semester in which they appear in the program plan. Students who do not meet this expectation will not be permitted to continue taking NURS courses and should work with an advisor to create a Revised Plan of Study (RPOS).
An active, unencumbered practical nursing license is required at the time of application review.
*We will verify state licensure at the time of application review.
Eligibility Requirements - Non-M State PN graduates or M State PN graduates over 10 years
Students must meet the following eligibility criteria.
Students must earn an overall score of 70 percent or higher on the HSRT-AD.
HSRT-AD scores expire one year after the test date. HSRT-AD scores must be valid at the time of the application deadline.
Applicants are allowed to take the HSRT-AD up to two times for the Fall 2025 application cycle. If taking the test for a second time, applicants must wait two weeks (14 calendar days) between test attempts.
The HSRT-AD must be taken at an M State campus. For more information, including special accommodations, exam dates and how to register, visit HSRT Exam.
All eligible nursing program applicants are ranked by their HSRT-AD overall score.
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 better before starting the 2-credit transition course.
English 1101 College Writing is a prerequisite and must be completed with a grade of C or better to start the program.
If you have coursework in progress, you can submit the LPN to ADN Bridge program application to maximize your chance of being accepted into the program. Students may be conditionally accepted while courses are in progress, but courses must be completed before the program’s start.
The following courses are prerequisites for the LPN to ADN Bridge program. They must be completed with a grade of C or better prior to the start of fall semester.
- 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 (includes a chemistry lab)
All completed prerequisite courses must have an earned grade of C or better. Students who have earned a grade of less than C (D, F, FN or FW) in any of the prerequisite courses will not be eligible until the grades have been replaced with a grade of C or better.
*The 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.
The five-year recency requirement in select biology courses does not apply to the LPN to ADN Bridge program.
The general education courses listed above are prerequisites for all core NURS courses except NURS 2410 Role Transition. Students may be conditionally accepted into the program with prerequisite courses in progress. Students who have been conditionally accepted prior to the completion of this requirement will become ineligible for the program if minimum requirements are not met prior to the start of the program.
PLEASE NOTE: Program-required general education courses must be completed with a grade of C or better before or during the semester in which they appear in the program plan. Students who do not meet this expectation will not be permitted to continue taking NURS courses and should work with an advisor to create a Revised Plan of Study (RPOS).
An active, unencumbered practical nursing license is required at the time of application review.
*We will verify state licensure at the time of application review.
Selection process
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.
Eligible students are awarded seats in the following order:
- Previous M State Practical Nursing graduate within the past 10 years
- HSRT-AD Overall score
- HSRT-AD Analysis score - will be used only if a tie-breaker is needed.
- HSRT-AD Inference score - will be used only if an additional tie-breaker is needed.
If there are more eligible applicants than available seats by the priority review, eligible applicants will be placed on the waiting list according to their program application date (for previous M State PN graduates) or highest HSRT-AD Overall score (for non-M State PN graduates and M State PN graduates over 10 years). If a seat in the program opens, it will be offered to the student highest on the waiting list.
Each student who has submitted a complete admissions file by a posted deadline will receive an email from M State indicating whether they are accepted into the program, placed on the program waiting list or currently ineligible for the program. Please be sure to provide your current email address on your program application.
Applicants will be notified of their application status within 30 days after the application deadline.
Additional program requirements for accepted students
Correspondence from the college will provide more information regarding the following, but Nursing program applicants are encouraged to consider these requirements before applying.
All nursing students are required to have a laptop computer. The cost will be in addition to the cost of tuition, fees and books. Learn what you'll need for this program at Computer Requirements.
Students are required to upload official documentation of American Heart Association Basic Life Support certification into CastleBranch by July 1 to be eligible to start NURS courses in the fall. Certification must include a hands-on component.
Accepted nursing students are required to upload into CastleBranch a cleared Minnesota Department of Human Services background study by July 1 to be eligible to start classes in the fall. A $54.50 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 the students’ ability to complete the program.
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 after acceptance to the program. The cost of the initial background check is $47. 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 the students’ ability to complete the program.
Students are required to upload a completed Health Division Health Form into CastleBranch by July 1. The form will be emailed upon acceptance into the program.
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. Nursing program technical standards are available at Accepted Nursing Students.
Proof of immunizations (including yearly influenza vaccination) is required by clinical facilities. Conscientious objectors may not be able to complete clinical courses at the discretion of the clinical facilities.
If you experience any issues with the application, please call 877.450.3322 or email info@minnesota.edu.
