Associate in Pre-Nursing (DTA/MRP)

This degree program is applicable to students planning to prepare for upper division Bachelor of Science, Nursing (Entry-to-practice/basic BSN program or other related allied health field) by completing a broad selection of academic courses. This degree has been agreed upon by the following baccalaureate institutions offering an entry-to-practice/basic BSN program and the community and technical colleges system: University of Washington, Seattle; Washington State University; Northwest University; Seattle University; Seattle Pacific University; Pacific Lutheran University; Walla Walla College. The Washington State University Intercollegiate College of Nursing (WSU-ICN) is a consortium whose members include Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga, and Whitworth. Associate degree transfers to WSU-ICN are admitted through WSU, not through the other consortium institutions. EWU participated in the development of this agreement. Student must contact the potential transfer institutions regarding their choices where the degree allows for student choice in classes and are encouraged to consult an academic advisor.

Degree Requirements

Associate in Pre-Nursing Degree (DTA/MRP) requires at least 90 credit hours in college level courses (numbered 100 or above), a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average, a minimum of 25 credits in residence at Cascadia, and completion of all of the requirements for this degree. Students must complete and submit an application for graduation to Enrollment Services for review and approval before the degree is granted. Students must include the graduation fee payment with the application form.

Students must complete either COLL 101 or COLL 100 within the first 30 credits at Cascadia. This course introduces students to Cascadia’s learning model and sets them up for academic success in college by introducing them to the culture of higher education and to particular ways of knowing and reasoning within the academic disciplines.

(see Foundations for College Success distribution list)

1. Communicating And Thinking Critically (15 credits). Complete the sequence below.
   • ENG 101 College Composition: 5 credits and ENG 102 Writing from Research: 5 credits
   • CMU 150 Multicultural Communication: 5 credits or SOC 150 Social Inequality: 5 credits
2. Global Thinking: 5 credits. One 5 credit course from the Humanities Distribution List designated as CKR.
3. Quantitative or Symbolic Reasoning MATH 135: 5 credits

(see Foundations for College Success distribution list)

No more than 10 credits per discipline area, 5 credits maximum in world languages or ASL. No more than 5 credits of performance/skills classes are allowed.

• Speech 220: 5 credits
• 5 credit course from the Humanities (H) Distribution List
• 5 credit course from Humanities (H) Distribution List designated as CKR

(see Humanities distribution list)

• Psychology 101: 5 credits
• Psychology 206: 5 credits
• 5 credits from a Sociology discipline

(see Social Sciences distribution list)

• Biology 201: 5 credits
• Biology 210: 5 credits
• Biology 211: 5 credits
• Biology 215: 5 credits
• Chemistry 120: 5 credits
• Chemistry 220: 5 credits
• Nutrition 110: 5 credits

(see Natural Sciences distribution list)

Remaining elective credits should be planned with the help of an advisor based on the requirements of the specific baccalaureate institution the student selects to attend. Electives may be selected from any combination of Distribution and Elective Course Lists. No more than 12 credits may be included from the Restricted Electives List.

(see Elective distribution list)

*UW Seattle and Seattle University require 10 credits in quantitative/symbolic reasoning with the additional class in college algebra or pre-calculus (at UW Seattle, a class in Logic also serves for the additional class).

**Northwest University requires Cultural Anthropology and does not accept a course in the sociology discipline as a substitute. Students may be admitted to the BSN without Cultural Anthropology if they agree to complete the course at NU in the summer prior to the junior year.

***Northwest University requires 2 credits of Genetics as well. Students may be admitted to the BSN without Genetics if they agree to complete the course at NU in the summer prior to the junior year.

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Notes on Application to a University or College

1. Admissions application deadlines vary; students must meet the deadline for the university or universities to which they plan to apply for admission to transfer.
2. For admission to nursing as a major it is critical to note that grade point average requirements vary and admission is competitive across programs.
3. Certain schools may have additional “university-specific” requirements that are not pre-requisites to admission to the Nursing major but will need to be completed prior to graduation or, as noted above for NU, prior to commencement of nursing courses. Contact with advisors from individual schools for institutional requirements is highly recommended since this DTA may not meet every institution-specific graduation requirement. NU, for example requires Old Testament and New Testament in the summer prior to beginning nursing classes.
4. Certain schools may have additional “university-specific” requirements for admission to the institution that are not pre-requisites specifically identified in the DTA requirements. UW Seattle, for example, requires 10 credits of a world language if the applicant has not completed two years of a single language in high school; PLU requires a year of a foreign language at the college level, if two years of high school foreign language has not been completed.
5. At the time of application when some of the course work may not yet be completed, UW Seattle requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 for 3 out of the 7 courses or 2.8 for 4 out of the 7.

The Pre-Nursing Associate Degree DTA/MRP:

• Meets the requirements of the statewide Direct Transfer Agreement as it applies to both institutions party to this agreement and other institutions party to the statewide DTA agreement. If admitted to the baccalaureate institution, students will have junior standing. Student seeking admission to public institutions will be given priority in the admission decision for admission to the institution over similarly qualified transfer applicants without a Direct Transfer Associate degree. Admission to an institution does not guarantee admission to a specific program or major.
• Will be issued only to students who have earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00, as calculated by the degree awarding institution. Specific grade requirements vary from course to course and among transfer institutions. Students must check with the transfer institution. Note that admission to the BSN upper division nursing programs is very competitive; therefore, no particular GPA can guarantee admission to any specific nursing program.

Page Last Updated: 6/1/06

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