Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Find your calling as a professional, compassionate healthcare leader.

Nursing students in the simulation lab examining an IV line and simulation patient.

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Degree

Bachelor

Length

4 years

Faculty/School

Faculty of Health and Social Development

Why study Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UBC Okanagan?

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) prepares you for a professional licensure as a registered nurse. You will be qualified to practice safe, quality, evidence-informed health care to promote, sustain and restore health.

Over the course of your four-year degree, you will acquire foundational knowledge across the nursing scope of practice, including relational practice. Through laboratory learning, simulation, and practicums, you will practice and consolidate your clinical knowledge and skills.

In spring 2024, our students had a 100 per cent pass rate for the NCLEX—the world’s premiere licensure exam—the highest in Canada and the United States. Moreover, UBC Okanagan and Vancouver nursing programs are ranked 13th in the world according to QS World University Rankings.

The program is accredited by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives and the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.

Degree Options

The School of Nursing offers three programs:

* Note: Program options include possible summer terms starting after year two, and three different trajectories to degree completion.

 

Sample Courses

These are examples of courses you can enrol in during your studies. To plan your academic journey, please visit the academic calendar.

NRSG 101 — Nursing Lab Practice I
NRSG 111 — Foundations of Health
NRSG 112 — Introduction to the Profession of Nursing I
NRSG 120 — Introduction to Nursing Research
NRSG 123 — Relational Practice
NRSG 126 — Health and Healing
NRSG 136 — Nursing Practice I

NRSG 201 — Nursing Lab Practice II
NSRG 220 — Pharmacology in Nursing I
NRSG 226 — Health & Healing II
NRSG 228 — Community Health
NRSG 229 — Mental Health in Nursing
NRSG 238 — Nursing Practice in Community

NRSG 301 — Nursing Lab Practice IV
NRSG 310 — Palliative Approach to Chronic Illness
NRSG 328 — Health of the Childbearing Family
NRSG 329 — Child Health
NRSG 336 — Nursing Practice in Medical Settings
NRSG 337 — Nursing Practice in Surgical Settings
HINT 320 — Global Health

NRSG 422 — Leadership
NRSG 424 — Primary Care Nursing I
NRSG 431 — Capstone Acute Care Preceptorship
NRSG 438 — Community Health Nursing Preceptorship
NRSG 439 — Global Health Practicum
NRSG 440 — Research Preceptorship

Explore customized Program Plans designed to support your journey to graduation and beyond.

Careers and Outcomes

UBC degrees are respected by employers around the globe. Program graduates will have the skills to pursue a career in a variety of fields like,

  • Critical care nurse
  • Emergency nurse
  • Hospice/palliative care nurse
  • Labour and delivery staff nurse
  • Neonatal nurse
  • Nephrology nurse
  • Nurse educator
  • Nurse executive
  • Oncology nurse
  • Orthopaedic nurse
  • Perioperative nurse
  • Psychiatric or mental health nurse
  • School nurse
  • Staff nurse
  • Women’s health nurse practitioner
  • Private practice specialty nurse

Admission, Fees, Applying

You could soon be studying at one of the world’s top universities. Be sure to review the content below to prepare for attending UBC Okanagan.

Nursing student in Africa making shea butter with an African partner.

Experiential Learning

Expand your horizons while studying abroad, conducting meaningful research, or working in the community with your UBC colleagues.

Learn more about Co-op, Go Global and Undergraduate Research Awards opportunities at Experiential Education.

  • Specialty pathways: apply for 420-hour internship with an Interior Health specialty unit during your fourth year, in addition to the 240-hour final practicum on the same unit. Specialty pathways include the Emergency Department, Perioperative, Perinatal and Critical Care.
  • Nursing Practice in Community (NRSG 238): practice alongside community health nurses working with community groups. You will draw on principles of social determinants of health to engage in evidenced-informed community assessments, health promotion/illness prevention activities, and health teaching.
  • Global Health Practicum (NSRG 439): engage in an immersive global health experience, focusing on the application of global health and cultural safety competencies in either Ghana or Zambia, or in a remote community in BC or the Yukon, such as Haida Gwaii or Whitehorse through a global health practicum.
  • Research Preceptorship (NRSG 440): Under the supervision of a research faculty member, undertake a project in one of the School of Nursing research themes.

 

Global and Close-Knit

At UBC Okanagan, you gain all the benefits of attending a globally ranked, top 5% university while studying in a close-knit learning community. 50% of graduates, from all across the globe, choose to stay in the region.

Discover the Okanagan

A diverse natural region with sandy beaches, beautiful farms, vineyards, orchards and snow-capped mountains, the Okanagan is an inspirational landscape perfect for those seeking leisure or outdoor adventure.

UBC's Okanagan campus borders the dynamic city of Kelowna, a hub of economic development with a population of more than 150,000 people— the fourth fastest-growing population in Canada.