Accelerated Nursing Programs in Georgia: Fast-Track Online & Campus ABSN Degrees

Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University offers an Achieving Curriculum Expeditiously (ACE, fast-track) BSN program where students take 123 credit hours in four semesters of study. During this time, students are required to study at the school’s Atlanta-based campus and take coursework that covers pharmacology, nursing care basics, assessments, and nursing leadership. Students learn how to provide care for specific types of patients, such as children, adolescents, and adults of different age groups, as well as those who have specific health challenges. After completing coursework, students participate in a 180-hour practicum to get hands-on experience at a healthcare facility.

To be admitted into the ACE BSN program, applicants should have at least a 3.30 GPA in the science prerequisite courses and take the Test Essential Academic Skills exam. When applying, students should submit an essay about a healthcare topic, one professional recommendation letter, and one academic recommendation letter.

The accelerated BSN degree program at Kennesaw State University takes four semesters to complete and includes coursework on topics like adult health, mental health, cardiovascular, community health, and parent-child nursing, nursing research, and leadership. Students are also required to complete the school’s general education program, which includes classes designed to enhance students’ mathematics, science, written communication, critical thinking, and reading comprehension skills. At the end of their studies, students will complete clinical requirements to learn how to apply the concepts covered in their courses to a real-world patient care setting.

The program’s admission requirements include successfully completing the science and mathematics prerequisite courses, such as statistics, algebra, chemistry, and anatomy and physiology with at least a C average; earning at least a cumulative 3.0-grade point average; and taking the ATI TEAS Entrance Exam with a minimum score of 78.

Georgia Southern University’s Waters College of Health Professions offers an accelerated BSN program that helps students acquire numerous skills that will help them throughout their careers, such as the ability to use knowledge of nursing principles to provide safe and responsible patient care; understand how healthcare policies, ethics, and regulations influence the services nurses provide; and integrate liberal arts and sciences coursework to nursing practice. Specific classes that students in this program take include health assessment, adult health nursing, comprehensive pharmacology, and professional nursing practice, and then they move on to their hands-on training.

In order to enter the program, students should have already earned admission into Georgia Southern University; have a 3.2 GPA in math and science prerequisites, like anatomy and physiology, microbiology, statistics, and lifespan development; participate in an interview with the nursing department; and earn a minimum of 75 on the HESI Admission Assessment (A2) Exam.

Mercer University offers an online accelerated BSN program that takes 12 months to complete. To help students succeed, the school ensures that they have as much access to faculty members as their on-campus counterparts, so professors make themselves available through emails, phone calls, and texts. As students receive this support, they take coursework on the fundamentals of nursing, pharmacology, mental health nursing, and adult nursing science. Then students move on to their nursing practicum, which provides the hands-on training they need to understand how their online courses apply to the world of nursing.

In order to be admitted into Mercer University’s program, prospective students must complete the prerequisite classes that include statistics, microbiology, nutrition, abnormal psychology, and anatomy and physiology; have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0; earn a 76 on the Test of Essential Academic Skills; and submit an admissions essay and resume.

Emory University offers an ABSN program that takes three semesters to complete. Online classwork familiarizes students with nursing concepts, trends, and issues, as well as strategies for providing nursing care in a responsible and ethical manner. In addition to online work, students participate in a capstone course on campus that includes nursing simulations and a review to help them pass the licensing examination. From there, students move on to their intensive clinicals that focus on simulated learning, assessments, nursing skills, and hospital-based clinical rotations.

In order to apply to this program, prospective students should complete prerequisite classes in math and science, submit transcripts from the school where they earned their bachelor’s degree, and submit a resume.