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Beginning your career can start today, on your time and schedule. Allowing you to take your prerequisites to apply toward an associate’s degree in nursing, this certificate is ideal for those interested in pursuing a nursing career in a virtual, Christ-centered community while balancing work, life, and other commitments.
Introducing
Locked-In Tuition.
Our Locked-In Tuition program guarantees you’ll pay the same price for your entire certificate program.
About the Program
Nursing is a great calling for anyone looking to care for patients in a variety of settings. Through our online Pre-Health Professions Certificate, you can take the prerequisite courses needed to fulfill the requirements to enter an associate degree in Nursing (ADN) program or other healthcare-related undergraduate program in Texas. This program also significantly improves your success in transferring into a nursing program upon completion. This certificate will help you get into the workforce sooner, regardless of whether you have little or no college credit.
Program Structure
ALL THE DETAILS ON YOUR CERTIFICATE
Throughout the certificate, you will take the necessary courses required of applicants for most Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs in Texas. Within three semesters, the program features coursework related to the various science credits needed to excel in an associate’s degree program, including anatomy, physiology, and microbiology, along with social science coursework, such as composition, psychology, and human growth and development. The focus of this certificate is to prepare you to serve and lead in your careers and communities while simultaneously developing a patient-care mindset.
Required Hours
33-42 hours
16 Months
Cost: $395/Hour with $600 resource fee per semester
Example Coursework
Biology: Human Perspective
Introductory Chemistry
Anatomy & Physiology
Introduction to Ethics
UPCOMING START DATES
January 14, 2025
March 11, 2025
Curriculum and Format
Complete Your Pre-Nursing Courses Online
Helping you become the health professional you want to be, ACU’s online Pre-Health Professions Certificate program is designed to equip you to enter any nursing program in Texas. In the program, you will learn a variety of skills and information to further expand your knowledge of the nursing field:
- Identifying and explaining anatomical structures of and physiological processes that occur within the body, including exploring musculoskeletal, nervous, endocrine, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and genitourinary systems.
- Understanding how to use professional language and medical terminology to communicate clearly and ethically with patients, physicians, and other healthcare professionals.
- Discussing the physical, social, and cognitive domains in relation to biological, cognitive, moral, and psychosocial development.
Refine and broaden your career opportunities in a shorter time frame with this certificate. It is a fantastic solution to meet your needs as a student, maximize your time and education, and ultimately prepare you to earn an ADN at any program in the state.
Meet the Program Director
Dr. Kristy Williams, Pre-Health Professions Certificate
Dr. Kristy Williams is a highly accomplished nursing professional with extensive experience across a range of healthcare disciplines, including Cardiac Critical Care, Hospital Administration, Public Health, and nursing education. She holds an Associate Degree in Nursing (2000), a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and both a Master’s in Nursing and a Master’s in Health Administration. In 2015, she earned her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP).
Her nursing career has been marked by a deep commitment to education. Since 2010, she has taught undergraduate and graduate students, focusing on cultivating the next generation of nursing professionals. She is passionate about the impact of nursing education and values the opportunity to work in a university setting where she can integrate her faith into her teaching practice, offering both guidance and prayer to her students.
Dr. Williams currently resides in North Carolina with her husband and daughter.
SPOTLIGHT
As a former nurse herself, Dr. Kristy Williams understands the uphill battles nurses and students are met with daily. Hoping to continue growing ACU Online’s programs within the College of Health & Human Services, Dr. Williams has her eyes set on the future and is eager to get started as the newest program director for the Certificate in Pre-Health Professions
ACU Named Among America’s Top Online Colleges by Newsweek
For the fourth consecutive year, Abilene Christian University has been named one of America’s Top Online Colleges for 2025. The award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.
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Our world needs qualified, competent, service-oriented individuals in this industry now more than ever. In light of this, the question then just becomes: what kind of healthcare career should I pursue?
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According to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies, the demand for registered nurses will increase by 38.8% while the supply will only grow by 30.5%. In 2023, over 250,000 people were employed in the state of Texas as registered nurses with an average salary of $79,000. However, in Texas – as elsewhere throughout the U.S. – there remains a significant and critical need for nursing professionals.
To be considered for admission, students must:
- Submit official high school and/or college transcripts.
- Complete the online program application accompanied by a non-refundable processing fee
- Submit a 250-word (minimum) purpose statement addressing your career goals and which nursing school(s) or health-related program you intend to apply to once you complete the certificate.
Students are not required to submit ACT or SAT test scores.
The Success Pathway includes six courses (three courses that are part of the Pre-Health Professions Certificate and three that are additional). Students will take these courses in this sequence and must earn a B or better to continue in the program:
- Term 1: UNIO 101 and PSYO 120
- Term 2: UNIO 102 and BIOO 120
- Term 3: HCAD 111 and MAWO 123
Students can bypass the three additional courses in the Success Pathway (UNIO 101, UNIO 102, HCAD 111) by submitting the following test scores or grades:
- ACCUPLACER
- Arithmetic ≥276 AND Reading ≥263
- TSI (Texas Success Initiative)
- TSI (before 1/11/21): Mathematics ≥350 AND Reading ≥351
- TSIA2 (after 1/11/21): Mathematics ≥950 AND ELAR ≥945
- SAT
- Math ≥440 AND
- Reading and Writing (new SAT) ≥500 OR Critical Reading (old SAT) ≥470
- ACT
- Math ≥17 AND English ≥19
- Previous College Credit
- For Arithmetic: Any college-level math course (at the level of MATH 120 or above) with a grade of B or higher
- For Reading: Any of the following college courses with a grade of B or higher:
- English composition course
- Psychology course
- Philosophy or Ethics course
- History Course
- Literature Course
- Government Course
Abilene Christian University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Ga. 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of ACU.
Abilene Christian University enjoys a strong national reputation as one of the leading private Christian universities in the west and southwest, indicated by various ratings (such as U.S. News and World Report and other reports).