ASCEND

CURRICULUM

Students enter ASCEND in the fall or spring at Blinn and co-enroll at Texas A&M to complete their BSN courses.

Blinn ADN Fall Entry

Application Deadlines

Applicants for the ASCEND program must be enrolled in their first, second or third semester of the Blinn ADN Program. Texas A&M School of Nursing prerequisites and verification of Blinn ADN are required for ASCEND admission. Students begin taking Texas A&M courses during the summer term.

Texas A&M entry term	Summer
Application opening date	Step 1: NursingCAS Nov. 1	Step 2: ApplyTexas Jan. 1
Application deadline	Nursing CAS Jan. 15	ApplyTexas March 1
First class day	May
Mandatory orientation	May

 

Prerequisite Coursework

Courses may be in progress during the application cycle; however, all courses must be completed by the first class day. See below for a list of required courses. All courses are subject to approval by the School of Nursing when the student applies for admission.

In addition to the required prerequisites listed below, students receiving a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University must satisfy the coursework requirements of the Texas A&M University Core Curriculum. All prerequisite coursework must be completed by the first class day with a minimum grade of "C."

By the application deadline, applicants must have completed a minimum of 40 prerequisite course credit hours of the 59 hours required. Of those 40, 12 credit hours must be from the following Nursing Science courses: Lifespan Psychology (3), Nutrition (3), Statistics (3), Chemistry (4), Anatomy & Physiology (8), and Microbiology (4).

Students may repeat prerequisite courses, however, grades earned from both the first and the second attempts will be used to determine the final GPA. Any additional attempts will not be considered. If a grade of "C" is not earned within 2 attempts, the student will not be eligible for admission.

Nursing Science courses are in italics.

 

Subject	Course Name	Texas Common Course Number	Semester Credit Hours	TAMU Course
Communications	Composition, Technical Writing, Public Speaking	Any two courses from core list	6	See TAMU Core Curriculum
History 1	US History I or TX History	HIST 1301 or 2301	3	HIST 105 or 226
History 1	US History II or TX History	HIST 1302 or 2301	3	HIST 106 or 226
Government	Federal Government	GOVT 2305	3	POLS 206
Government	TX Government	GOVT 2306	3	POLS 207
Social and Behavioral Science	General Psychology	PSYC 2301	3	PBSI 107
Creative Arts	Art, Dance, Music, Drama, or Theater	Any acceptable course from core list	3	See TAMU Core Curriculum
Language, Philosophy and Culture	Intro to Ethics or Intro to Philosophy	PHIL 2306 or 1301	3	PHIL 111 or 251
Science	Introductory Biology	BIOL 1406 or 1413	4	BIOL 111 or 107
Psychology	Developmental Lifespan Psychology	PSYC 2314	3	PBSI 227
Statistics	Statistics	MATH 1342	3	STAT 201
Math2	See footnote below		3	See TAMU Core Curriculum
Nutrition	Nutrition	BIOL 1322	3	NFSC 202, 203, or 222
Science	Anatomy & Physiology I	BIOL 2401	4	BIOL 319 or VIBS 305
Science	Anatomy & Physiology II	BIOL 2402	4	BIOL 320 or VTPP 423
Science	General/Introductory Chemistry I with lab	CHEM 1405/1105 or 1411	4	CHEM 101 and 111
Science	Microbiology	BIOL 2420 or 2421	4	BIOL 206, 351, or VTPB 405

 ¹ Two history courses are required, one of which may be dedicated to Texas history.

² Students applying from other Texas public institutions may take up to three hours of math which meet that institution's core curriculum requirements. Out-of-state or private university applicants must have three hours of math from the Texas A&M Core Curriculum.

Admission Criteria

Applicants for the ASCEND program must fall under the following conditions: 

• Enrolled and attending their first, second or third semester in the Blinn ADN Program 
• Earned a minimum of a 3.0 GPA in Texas A&M School of Nursing prerequisite, nursing science and Blinn ADN coursework 
• Verification of good standing in Blinn ADN Program, signed by the appropriate official

Repeated Course Policy

Students may repeat prerequisite courses, however, grades earned from both the first and a second attempt will be used to determine the final GPA. Any additional attempts will not be considered. If a grade of "C" is not earned within 2 attempts, the student will not be eligible for admission.

When deciding to repeat a course, consider the impact the course will make on your GPA. Courses from the Nursing Science prerequisites (Nutrition, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Chemistry, Statistics, Anatomy & Physiology, and Microbiology) may make an impact on your GPA when repeated, versus courses repeated that are non-nursing science prerequisites (i.e. English, History, etc.). For example, repeating Biology where one earns a “C” the first attempt and an “A” the second attempt, may not significantly impact the prerequisite GPA since this calculation includes all grades for completed prerequisite coursework. Applicants must consider the time and cost of repeating courses as it can be difficult to greatly improve one’s GPA.  

Please visit How to Calculate GPA  for assistance in determining your prerequisite coursework and nursing science course GPA.

Admissions Decisions

All applicants will be notified of admission decisions via the Texas A&M Applicant Information System (AIS) in March.

 

Application Requirements

1. NursingCAS application and nonrefundable application fee
2. Completion of prerequisite coursework with a minimum GPA of 3.0 by the first class day
3. Minimum of 3.0 GPA in Blinn ADN fall and/or spring semester(s)
4. Verification letter of admission/good standing from the Blinn ADN program by the application deadline
5. Official transcripts from each institution attended sent to NursingCAS; this includes Texas A&M University, if applicable
6. ApplyTexas application and nonrefundable application fee as required for students not currently enrolled at Texas A&M University or for currently enrolled students who will earn their first degree prior to nursing (complete this upon notification through NursingCAS)
7. International applicant credentials (if applicable)