LPN to Associate Degree Nursing Bridge Admission Requirements - Spring

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 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. 

The Spring 2025 LPN to ADN Bridge program application closed on Oct. 1, 2024.

Nursing applicants must complete all developmental English and/or math courses with a grade of C or better. 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. 

Students must score a 73 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 Spring 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 prior to 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 prior to the program’s start.

A 2.5 cumulative GPA is required in the prerequisite general education courses listed below.

• 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)

Grades of “Pass” or “Satisfactory” do not affect the GPA calculation. All completed general education 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 general education courses used to determine cumulative GPA will not be eligible until the grades have been replaced with a grade of C or better.

To calculate your cumulative GPA, use the GPA Calculator at www.minnesota.edu/gpa-calculators/gpa-calculator-advanced-standing.

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).

Calculate grade point average for certain courses:

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. HSRT-AD Overall score - those with the highest scores will be awarded a seat.
2. HSRT-AD Analysis score - will be used only if a tie-breaker is needed.
3. 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 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 highest on the waiting list.

Each student who has submitted a complete admissions file by a posted deadline will receive an email from the college 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. 

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/general-computer-requirements.

An active, unencumbered practical nursing license is required to start the LPN to ADN Bridge program. (This does not include NURS 2410 Role Transition, which is taken prior to the start of the core Nursing courses.)

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.

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

Accepted Nursing students are required to upload into Castle Branch a cleared Minnesota Department of Human Services background study by December 1 to be eligible to start classes in the spring. 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 the students’ ability to complete the program.

Accepted Nursing students are required to have a cleared National Background Check by December 1 to be eligible to start classes in the spring, 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 initial 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 the students’ ability to complete the program.

Students are required to upload a completed Health Division Health Form into Castle Branch by December 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 health care 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 in order to successfully complete the course(s). Clinical partners may choose not to permit students with restrictions 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/program-and-degrees/nursing/accepted.

Proof of immunizations (including 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.

Health forms, supporting documentation, American Heart Association BLS (CPR) documentation and evidence of LPN licensure are required to be uploaded to Castle Branch by December 1 to be eligible to start classes in the spring. Information on Castle Branch will be sent to all accepted Nursing students.