Pre-nursing Path
Nurses are an integral part of the healthcare profession whose duties can vary depending on the healthcare setting and specialty. Nurses' primary role is to advocate and care for patients by communicating with physicians, monitoring patients, and administering medication. For more information on becoming a nurse, see the Nursing/Nurse Practitioner section at this link.
If you want a career in nursing, now is the time to start thinking about when to apply. It is recommended that you contact nursing programs immediately to learn about your best path into a nursing program. Students early in their Oswego career may look to transfer to a nursing program before completing their Oswego degree. Oswego students well along towards earning their bachelor's degree should consider finishing the Oswego degree and applying to an accelerated Bachelor's of Nursing program (B.S.N.). There are also accelerated B.S.N. programs that lead into Nurse Pracitioner (N.P.) programs.
Course Requirements
These are the courses at SUNY Oswego that are recommended you complete to prepare for nursing school requirements (note, there is some variation in course requirements for nursing programs, so be sure to check the requirements of the programs you plan on applying to):
| Course Requirements | SUNY Oswego Course | Notes |
| One Year of Biology | Bio 120 and either Bio 340 or Bio 370 |
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| One year of General (Inorganic) Chemistry | Che 111 (113 lab) and Che 212 (214 lab) |
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| One semester of Microbiology | Bio 310 |
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| One year of Human Anatomy and Physiology | Bio 305 and 306 |
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| One semester of Nutrition | Hsc 315 | |
| One Year of English | Eng 102 and either Eng 203, 204, 302, or 304 |
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| One year of Psychology | Psy 100 and 320 | |
| One semester of statistics | Mat 158 or Mat 179 |