Drake University
Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) · Des Moines, IA · school's own site (opens the school's website in a new tab)
ActiveIn personlast verified Oct 2026
Prerequisites
The courses Drake says you need before you start, as published on its own pages. Credits, labs, and minimum grades are shown where the school states them.
- 01Combined Anatomy & Physiology (one course)Anatomy and Physiology · HSCI 125/L and 141/L; or BIO 018/L and 1292 courses totaling 8 credits including labs. Either separate anatomy and physiology or both semesters of a combined A&P sequence. PHAR 125 may replace HSCI 125.
source · drake.edu
“A complete year course sequence in anatomy (one semester) and physiology (one semester) is required. Students may take a combined anatomy/physiology sequence, but they must take both semesters in order to fulfill the requirement. Labs are required.”
credits8labrequiredmin gradeC - 02General PsychologyGeneral Psychology · PSY 001
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester introductory course in psychology is required. This course must fulfill the prerequisite to allow students to take courses in developmental and abnormal psychology. A lab is not required.”
credits3labnomin gradeC - 03Lifespan / Human Growth & DevelopmentDevelopmental Psychology · PSY 041, HSCI 146, or PSY 042 and 044A child/adolescent plus adult development pair is accepted if both courses are taken.
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester course in human development across the lifespan is required. Students may take a combined course sequence in child and adolescent development and adult development and aging, but they must take both courses in order to fulfill the requirement. A lab is not required.”
credits3labnomin gradeC - 04MicrobiologyMicrobiology · BIO 103/LA course intended for health care majors is recommended.
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester course in microbiology is required. A course intended for health care majors is recommended. A lab is required.”
credits4labrequiredmin gradeC - 05General ChemistryGeneral (Inorganic) Chemistry · CHEM 001 and 003, or 002 and 004
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester course in general (inorganic) chemistry is required. A lab is required.”
credits4labrequiredmin gradeC - 06StatisticsStatistics · HSCI 060, PSY 011, or STAT 071
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester course in general statistics is required. Business statistics, psychology statistics or biological science statistics courses are accepted.”
credits3min gradeC - 07EthicsEthics or Sociology · SOC 001 or Values and Ethics AOISociology is accepted instead of ethics. Non-traditional courses can be submitted for syllabus review.
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester course in ethics or sociology is required. Students may submit non-traditional ethics or sociology courses for syllabus review.”
credits3min gradeC - 08NutritionNutrition · BIO 032 or PHAR 126
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester course in nutrition is required. A course intended for health care majors is recommended. A lab is not required.”
credits2labnomin gradeC - 09English CompositionWriting · FYS or Written Communication AOI
source · drake.edu
“A one-semester course in college-level English writing or composition is required. Students may submit discipline-specific writing courses for syllabus review.”
credits3min gradeC
Minimum prerequisite grade
C or higher
source · drake.edu
“Students must earn a grade of C or higher in order to fulfill prerequisite courses”
Prerequisites in progress Not published. Confirm with the school. Our two readings of the page disagreed (“Applicants may apply while completing prerequisites; all must be done by the end of the summer term before entry” vs “Courses may be in progress at application; all must be completed by the end of the summer term before entry”), so we are not publishing a value yet.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Do prerequisites expire?
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
GPA and grades
Minimum cumulative GPA for admission
No minimum; 3.0 (NursingCAS-calculated) is considered competitive
A 3.0 GPA is competitive, not required.
source · drake.edu
“No minimum GPA is required, although 3.0 (as calculated in NursingCAS) is considered competitive”
Science GPA Not published. Confirm with the school.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Is there an entrance exam?
Entrance exam Not published. Confirm with the school.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Where can courses be taken?
Community college credit
Maximum of 66 credit hours from all 2-year institutions combined
source · drake.edu
“Students may transfer in a cumulative maximum of 66 credit hours from all 2-year institutions they have attended.”
Online labs Not published. Confirm with the school.
Pass/fail prerequisites Not published. Confirm with the school.
AP / credit by exam Not published. Confirm with the school. Our two readings of the page disagreed (“AP scores of 4 or higher can fulfill prerequisites; the handbook also allows CLEP and IB” vs “AP score of 4 or higher needed to fulfill a prerequisite”), so we are not publishing a value yet.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Application deadlines and start dates
Upcoming cycles Drake publishes. A date without a year on the school's page is noted rather than guessed.
Fall cohortRolling admissionPriority deadline is printed as December 1 with no year, so it is not recorded as a date. Admission is rolling until the class is full. The program starts in fall: the handbook says a drug screen is completed 'prior to entering the program in the Fall'. All prerequisites must be finished by the end of the summer term before entry; no year is given.
source · drake.edu
“Priority Admission Deadline is December 1. Applications must be verified and an interview must be completed by this date to have priority consideration.”
NursingCAS Not published. Confirm with the school. Our two readings of the page disagreed (“Yes” vs “NursingCAS, including Drake-specific questions”), so we are not publishing a value yet.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Cost
Tuition and fees as the school publishes them. Living costs vary; the source link has the full table.
Tuition
$800 per credit hour
Listed under 'Other Undergraduate Tuition' in the 2026-2027 summary, which runs summer 2026 through spring 2027. Students only completing the ABSN pay per credit; 3+1 dual-degree students are billed differently. Fees are separate.
source · drake.edu
“Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) | $800 |”
Application fee Not published. Confirm with the school.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Other requirements
What the school asks for beyond courses and scores.
Degree / credit requirement
At least 70 undergraduate credit hours; a prior bachelor's degree is not stated as required
The handbook says the Drake Curriculum is not required of students with a previous bachelor's degree.
source · drake.edu
“Complete at least 70 credit hours of undergraduate coursework”
Interview
Required: a virtual interview with ABSN faculty
To get priority consideration, the interview must be completed by the priority deadline.
source · drake.edu
“Complete a successful virtual interview with ABSN faculty”
Drake-specific questions
Required Drake-specific questions in NursingCAS
source · drake.edu
“Complete the required Drake-specific questions within the NursingCAS application”
Shadowing / experience
Nursing shadowing is helpful but not required; work experience is considered
source · drake.edu
“Prior shadowing in a nursing setting is helpful, but not required.”
- Official transcripts from all colleges attended must be sent to NursingCAS.
source · drake.edu
“Request official transcripts from all colleges you have attended to be sent to NursingCAS”
- A criminal background check is required before starting the program.
source · drake.edu
“All nursing students are required to submit a criminal background check prior to starting the ABSN program.”
- A 10-panel drug screen through a college-selected vendor is required before entry. Employment or independent screens are not accepted.
source · drake.edu
“ABSN students will complete a chemical drug screen prior to entering the program in the Fall.”
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Good to know
What the school says about the program that is not a requirement: how it selects, how many it admits, what to expect.
Format
On campus with select hybrid courses; full-time
source · drake.edu
“On campus with select hybrid courses”
Start term
Fall
The fall start is inferred from the 3-semester sequence and from the handbook's reference to 'entering the program in the Fall'.
source · drake.edu
“The Drake ABSN program is a 12-month, 3-semester program, including fall, spring, and summer terms.”
Career/vocational transfer credit cap
Maximum of 16 career/vocational technical transfer credits
source · drake.edu
“Nursing students are awarded a maximum of sixteen credits of career/vocational technical transfer coursework.”
Nursing transfer credit
Nursing transfer credits are not accepted
source · drake.edu
“Nursing transfer credits within the ABSN program will not be accepted. All coursework must be completed within the Drake ABSN Program.”
General electives
40 semester credit hours of general electives
Students completing developmental psychology need 37 credits of general electives.
source · drake.edu
“40 semester credit hours in general electives are required; Drake requires students to complete a minimum of 70 credit hours of undergraduate coursework.”
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Sources
Every page we read for Drake, with when we last checked it. Tier 1 is the program's own pages; tier 2 the nursing school's general pages; tier 3 university-wide pages.
- Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, ABSN | Drake Universitytier 1 · program page · checked Oct 14, 2026
- Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Admission | Drake Universitytier 1 · how to apply · checked Oct 14, 2026
- ABSN Program Vision and Mission | Drake Universitytier 1 · how to apply · checked Oct 14, 2026
- Tuition and Fees | Drake Universitytier 1 · tuition · checked Oct 14, 2026
- https://www.drake.edu/cphs/documents/absn-student-handbook.pdftier 1 · pdf · checked Oct 14, 2026PDF text truncated (48 pages)
Open questions we're still checking
- The December 1 priority deadline has no year, and no application open date or final deadline is published.
- It is unclear whether the 70 credit hours must be complete at application or by program start.
- The application fee, recommendation letters, entrance exam, course age limit, online lab policy, and pass/fail policy are not published.
- The pages do not say whether a C- meets the C minimum.
- The direct NursingCAS application URL is not given.
- No final application deadline or application-open date is published; only a priority deadline of December 1 (no year) and rolling admission.
- The application fee is not published.
- No direct NursingCAS portal URL is given.
- It is not stated whether a C- satisfies the C minimum.
- Course age limits, online lab policy, and pass/fail policy are not published.
- Two readings of the page disagreed on partial_completion: Applicants may apply while completing prerequisites; all must be done by the end of the summer term before entry | Courses may be in progress at application; all must be completed by the end of the summer term before entry.
- Two readings of the page disagreed on credit_by_exam: AP scores of 4 or higher can fulfill prerequisites; the handbook also allows CLEP and IB | AP score of 4 or higher needed to fulfill a prerequisite.
- Two readings of the page disagreed on uses_nursingcas: Yes | NursingCAS, including Drake-specific questions.
Something wrong here? Report an error
ABSNcheck summarizes requirements that schools publish on their own websites, with a link to each source and the date we last verified it. Schools change requirements, sometimes contradict themselves, and make individual decisions. Results show whether you meet published minimums; they are not an admission decision or a guarantee, and are not official advice from any school. Always confirm requirements with each program before you apply or enroll in a course.
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