DTA/MRP Prerequisites : Tacoma Community College

New Admission Process Update (revised 4.24.24)

Tacoma Community College’s Nursing program is committed to reducing barriers for students to earn a nursing degree and is still developing a more equitable and holistic admission process. We thank you for your patience as we navigate this complex process. All future updates will be placed on this website once they have been finalized and implemented.

We have are very pleased to announce that beginning with the next application cycle, starting on June 1, 2024:

The Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) exam will NO LONGER be required for admission to the traditional RN and the LPN to RN programs.
The CNA (NAC) certified nursing assistant credential will NO LONGER be required for admission to the traditional RN program. LPNs will still be required to have an unencumbered LPN license for the LPN to RN program application.
Please note that applicants with specific healthcare experience and/or credentials (such as CNA/NAC, MA, EMT, RT, etc.) may receive additional points in the new scoring system, however the CNA/NAC credential is no longer mandatory.
Retakes or repeats for ANY pre-requisite course will NO LONGER carry a penalty such as deduction of points in the new scoring system. There continues to be no time limit on the age of prerequisite courses.
The following prerequisites are required:

NOTE: The only changes to prerequisites are the added additional options for Communication courses.

Completion of the courses listed below with a 'B' or higher. There are no attempt or expiration date rules.

ENGL& 101 (English Composition I)
CHEM& 121 (Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry or CHEM& 161 (General Chemistry w/lab I)
BIOL& 241 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I)
BIOL& 242 (Human Anatomy and Physiology II)
BIOL& 260 (General Microbiology)
PSYC& 200 (Lifespan Psychology)

Completion of the courses listed below with a 'C' or higher. There are no attempt or expiration date rules.

ENGL& 102 (English Composition II: Argument and Persuasion) or ENGL& 103 (English Composition III: Writing about Literature) or ENGL& 235 (Technical Writing)
CMST& 210 (Interpersonal Communications) or CMST 320 (Professional and Organizational Communication) or CMST& 220 (Public Speaking) or CMST& 101 (Introduction to Communications) or CMST 110 (Multicultural Communications)
Nutrition 250 (Nutrition in Health Care) or NUTR& 101
PSYCH&100 (General Psychology)
BIOL&160 (General Cell Biology). BIOL& 211 (Majors Cellular) or BIOL& 222 (Introduction to Cellular & Molecular Biology) may also be used to meet this requirement.
NOTE: If you are a Tacoma Community College student and have taken a higher-level Biology class, you can contact Ken Cushman to arrange taking a challenge exam for BIOL&160 credit.
MATH&146 (Statistics)
Humanities - 5 credits (Choose from the Approved Humanities Distribution List.

Revision of the new scoring system and our final admission process are still in process, so we ask your continual patience as we develop a more equitable admission process.

APPLICATION CYCLE DATE CHANGE UPDATE:
All prerequisite coursework must be complete, and all official transcripts must be to our college before the application deadline. We ask that you please don't apply to the nursing program until you have completed all prerequisite courses. There will be no exceptions to this. 

To accommodate students that are finishing prerequisites in the summer quarter, we will be separating the Fall/Winter application cycle in to two cycles moving forward. We will now have three 2-year program application cycles and one LPN to RN application cycle per year as follows:

2-Year Students

Fall (Starts in September)

- The application is open from June 1-July 1.

Winter (Starts in January):

- The application is open from August 1-September 1.

Spring (Starts in April):

- The application is open from Dec 1-Jan 1

LPN to RN Students:

Winter (Starts in January):

- The application is open from July 1-Oct. 1

Jillian T. Edwards, DNP, MN, BSN, ARNP, FNP-BC, RN
Associate Dean of Nursing
Tacoma Community College

Nursing Program Prerequisites

Before applying to the Associate of Nursing DTA/MRP program, students must complete thirteen prerequisites.

Be sure to check immunization requirements and other essential requirements for nursing to make sure you're eligible to work in health care.

Prerequisites - Courses that require a grade of 'B' or higher

Completion of the courses listed below with a 'B' or higher. There are no attempt or expiration date rules.

Factored Prerequisite Course Number	Factored Prerequisite Name	Prerequisite(s) to Factored Prerequisite
CHEM& 121*	Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry	Proficiency in Algebra
BIOL& 241	Human Anatomy and Physiology I	BIOL& 160 with a minimum grade of C and (CHEM& 121 with a minimum grade of C or CHEM& 140 with a minimum grade of C or CHEM& 161 with a minimum grade of C)
BIOL& 242	Human Anatomy and Physiology II	BIOL& 241 with a minimum grade of C
ENGL& 101	English Composition I	Completion of the English Directed Self Placement Tool
PSYC& 200	Lifespan Psychology	PSYC& 100 with a minimum grade of C and ENGL& 101 with a minimum grade of C or concurrent enrollment
BIOL& 260	General Microbiology	CHEM& 121 with a minimum grade of C (or higher-level chemistry course with a minimum grade of C) and (BIOL& 160 with a minimum grade of C or BIOL& 222 with a minimum grade of C)

*Chem& 121 is recommended, but will allow Chem&161 if you have already taken it. (2 attempt rule as stated above still applies)

ASSIGNING GRADE VALUES TO ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEST SCORES. The college awards credit to students who have tested in AP courses coming out of high school. Test scores received by students will be used to calculate a grade point value as follows:

Numerical Grade	AP Testing Score
4.0	5
3.0	4

Prerequisites - Courses that require a grade of 'C' or higher