Practice Builds Confidence
Nursing
Become a Health Care Hero
Nursing is one of the most challenging and rewarding careers. It’s also one of the most in-demand. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of our heathcare workers. They’re heroes!
Study Nursing at Western and join the most compassionate leaders in healthcare who are passionate about health promotion, health equity and social justice. Learn impeccable bedside manner from your award-winning professors who want to share their experiences with you.
There’s space for you to learn and make mistakes in the clinical skills lab and simulation suites on campus before treating real patients during practice placements. When you graduate, you’ll be ready to write the RN-licensing exam and begin your career.
Ask A Student!
From operating rooms to mental health centres to long-term care facilities, Canada needs nurses like you.
Study Nursing at Western to become a Registered Nurse (RN) through our four-year collaborative program with Fanshawe College, or take advantage of our 19-month or 22-month fast-track programs for students with previous university and/or practical nursing experience.
In the classroom, you learn to think like a nurse – theory, research methodologies, ethical and legal aspects, public policy, health equity and more. In our state-of-the-art clinical labs and simulation suites, you practice the act of nursing, with hands-on training in an immersive learning environment.
Two learning paths. Two locations. Unlimited possibilities. If you have a heart for helping, get ready to make an impact in one of the most rewarding careers available.
Western's Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing offers four ways to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree:
Western-Fanshawe Collaborative BScN: Four-year program that qualifies graduates to apply for registration as a professional nurse, in partnership with Fanshawe College.
Regular Stream: Compressed Time Frame BScN: 19-month course of study designed for students who already hold a university degree or have completed at least two years of university study.
RPN Stream A: Compressed Time Frame BScN program: 19-month course of study to prepare RPN graduates for careers as Registered Nurses (RN).
RPN Stream B: Compressed Time Frame BScN program: 22-month course of study to prepare experienced RPN graduates for careers as Registered Nurses (RN).
Western-Fanshawe Collaborative BScN
Apply to the School of Nursing:
- First-year class size = 150-165
- OUAC Code = ENW (for Western site), ENF (for Fanshawe site)
- Required Courses:
- Minimum 70% in each of:
- English, ENG4U
- Biology, SBI4U
- Chemistry, SCH4U
- And minimum 70% in one of:
- Functions and Applications, MCF3M
- Functions, MCR3U
- NOTE: Grade 11 3U and/or 3M level courses may be required as prerequisites (however, they will not be used in the calculation of the admission average)
- These grades are minimum requirements and do not guarantee admission
- Minimum 70% in each of:
- Average Guideline: Mid to High 80s
- Averages reflect Ontario high school students
- Remember, these are guidelines only
- Admission to Western is competitive – achieving an average in the suggested range does not guarantee admission
- You must take the Casper test
- The last Casper test date is March 4, 2025
- You don't need the 'Snapshot' portion (an extension of the Casper test)
- If you do not meet the Grade 11 Math requirement, you will need a minimum of 70% in one Grade 12 U level Math course
Study the details on School of Nursing admission.
Compressed Time Frame BScN
Apply to the School of Nursing:
- First-year class size = 265
- OUAC Code = ENS
- Three streams available:
- Regular Stream
- RPN Stream A
- RPN Stream B
Regular Stream Compressed
- Required University-Level Courses:
- 60% in each of:
- 1.0 credit in human physiology or equivalent
- 0.5 credit in anatomy
- 0.5 credit in introductory statistics
- 60% in each of:
- Average Requirements: A minimum 75% (3.0 GPA) in your most recently completed 10.0 university-level full-course equivalents
- Admission to Western is competitive – achieving the minimum average does not guarantee admission
- If courses are repeated within the last 10.0 credits you completed, we'll use both attempts in your admission average
Study the details on School of Nursing admission.
RPN Stream A (Compressed Time Frame)
- You must have RPN registration and be in good standing with the College of Nurses of Ontario
- You must have completed a Practical Nursing program from an accredited College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario
- Admission may be opened to graduates of other Practical Nursing programs in future years
- Average Requirements: A minimum 75% (3.5 GPA) in the Practical Nursing Diploma Program and 65% in 5.0 full degree courses at a recognized university
- Admission to Western is competitive – achieving the minimum average does not guarantee admission
Study the details on School of Nursing admission.
RPN Stream B (Compressed Time Frame)
- You must have RPN registration and be in good standing with the College of Nurses of Ontario
- You must have completed the equivalent of two years of full-time RPN experience (3,640 hours) in Canada
- You must have completed an accredited two-year Practical Nursing Diploma program from a Canadian college
- Average Requirements: A minimum 75% (3.5 GPA) in the Practical Nursing Diploma Program
- Admission to Western is competitive – achieving the minimum average does not guarantee admission
Study the details on School of Nursing admission.
High-Tech Learning
You’ll start your training in our Clinical Skills Lab and move on to hands-on practice in our Simulated Education Suite.
Practice Placements
You'll have learning opportunities across a variety of urban, community and rural settings in southwestern Ontario.
Sample courses:
Explore Your Spaces
WHY WESTERN?
100+
years of nursing expertise
740+
hours spent in practice placements during degree
90%
of graduates who go on to become registered nurses in acute care hospital settings
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Immersive Learning in the Simulated Education Suite
Take a look at Western’s state-of-the-art healthcare teaching facility that fully recreates an acute care hospital setting.
Check the Nursing admission requirements for your curriculum.