Nursing

Nursing - Pre-Nursing - DTA-MRP

This transfer degree is intended for students wishing to transfer to nursing programs at a 4-year institution in the state of Washington. If you are interested in completing your nursing training at BTC, please see the Nursing and Allied Health webpages.

Have you always wanted to be a nurse? Are you currently employed in healthcare and want to advance your education and expand your career opportunities? Then BTC’s Associate in Pre-Nursing (Transfer) program is for you!

The Pre-Nursing Direct Transfer Agreement/Major Ready Pathway (DTA/MRP) associate degree is intended for students looking to directly transfer to WA State universities to complete their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Students enrolled in this 90-credit degree program receive instruction in English, psychology, mathematics, and science to prepare them to enter select Washington State four-year pre-licensure Nursing programs as a junior.

Upon completion of BTC’s Associate in Pre-Nursing DTA/MRP degree, students are eligible to transfer to a number of Washington State institutions including University of Washington, Washington State University, Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, and Walla Walla University. Completing this degree does not guarantee admission to any baccalaureate university. Students should meet with a transfer advisor at the institution to which they intend to transfer.

Please note that this degree alone will not make the BTC graduate eligible to sit for the Registered Nurse National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). Graduates will need to complete their BSN degree at a university before they can become a Registered Nurse.

Note: BTC has not made a determination that the Nursing Program curriculum meets educational requirements for licensure/certification outside of Washington State. We encourage students who plan to work out-of-state to check relevant local licensure/certification requirements.

Employment Information

Data are provided on a program (not credential) level

92%1 BTC graduate placement rate (Employment Security Department- WA and OR only)
100%3 BTC graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)
100%3 BTC in-field graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)

This 90-credit program is designed to help prepare the nurses of tomorrow for the changing demands of the healthcare field. As healthcare and employer needs become more complex, more medical facilities such as hospitals, surgical centers, physicians’ offices, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities across Northwest Washington and around the country are requiring nursing staff to have bachelor’s degrees.

$82,846 starting annual wage2
$101,233 average annual wage2
$118,643 potential annual wage2

  • Employment and Wage Data Sources and Information

    1Employment data come from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and reflect WA/OR employment for students enrolled at BTC between 2017-18 and 2019-20. Students are included in the employment rate if they left with a credential. Rates are not shown for programs with fewer than 10 students meeting the above criteria.

    2Whatcom County and WA State wage data come from Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates and reflect 2018-21 employment. Wage data represent occupations that BTC faculty have identified as the most relevant career paths for program graduates. Note that these wages reflect employees with varying educational levels/credentials. For cases in which multiple occupations have been identified by faculty, a weighted percentile is calculated using each occupation’s percentile wage and employment size estimate. Wages are not shown for programs for which occupations do not meet the ESD’s minimum thresholds for publishing. If the program has wage data from the Washington SBCTC that involves shift work, these ESD wages reflect the same number of hours used in the annual wage calculation. Starting wage = 25th percentile, median wage = 50th percentile, wage potential = 75th percentile.

    3Additional employment rates are provided for programs with faculty who maintain their own employment records of students who graduated between 2017-18 and 2019-20 and who were employed within 9 months of graduation. Both overall and in field of study employment rates are included, respectively. For these programs, the format follows: ESD rate / faculty-tracked overall rate / faculty-tracked in-field rate. These additional, faculty-provided rates are particularly important for programs that tend to have graduates employed outside of WA and OR. Note that due to lack of available data, rates may represent fewer than 3 years of graduates.

  • Estimated Program Costs

Tuition Fees and Rates overview page

Entry Information

When Can I Start?

Students interested in the Pre-Nursing DTA Associates Degree program should apply to the college and contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with getting started at BTC. A college application and your score on complete guided self-placement and/or previous transcripts will determine where you begin your course sequence.

Students apply for the Pre-Nursing DTA/MRP by applying online to BTC and indicating Pre-Nursing DTA/MRP as their area of study. There is no additional application process for this degree.

Students seeking credit for completed coursework from other colleges or universities should submit sealed Official Transcript(s) from the prior institution(s) to the BTC Admissions Office for evaluation.

This program accepts students quarterly.

What are the Minimum Entry Requirements?

Placement testing in Reading, Math and Writing. Students with test scores or transcripts from another college should follow the steps for Transfer Students.

Program Application/Forms

Notice About Marijuana Usage

Students who test positive for THC (marijuana, including prescription marijuana) will not be allowed entrance to Nursing and Allied Health programs with clinical components. Drug screening is a requirement of our clinical partner agencies. Although private recreational and medical use of marijuana is legal in Washington state, our clinical partner agencies are governed by federal laws, and marijuana is a prohibited substance at the federal level. If your final drug test results are positive, you will be ineligible to participate in the program that year and will be allowed to reapply to the program 12 months from the date of the positive test.

What are My Next Steps?

1. Apply to BTC and Financial Aid
2. Assess Your Starting Point
3. Advising & Registration
4. Prepare to Attend

 

Classes

Total Program Credits: 90

  • Current Students: Learn how to use this page to register for classes

  • Communication Skills

  • ENGL& 101English Composition I5 CR
  • ENGL& 102English Composition II5 CR

  • Humanities

  • CMST& 220Public Speaking5 CR
  • HIST& 146United States History I5 CR
  • SPAN& 121Spanish I5 CR

  • Physical and Natural Sciences

  • BIOL& 160General Biology with Lab5 CR
  • BIOL& 241Human A & P 15 CR
  • BIOL& 242Human A & P 25 CR
  • BIOL& 260Microbiology5 CR
  • CHEM& 121Intro to Chemistry5 CR
  • CHEM& 131Introduction to Organic/Bio-Chemistry5 CR
  • NUTR& 101Nutrition5 CR

  • Quantitative/Symbolic Reasoning Skills

  • MATH& 146Introduction to Statistics5 CR

  • Social Sciences

  • PSYC& 100General Psychology5 CR
  • PSYC& 200Lifespan Psychology5 CR
  • SOC& 101Introduction to Sociology5 CR

  • Electives

  • ELECTIVE5 CR
  • ELECTIVE5 CR

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of BTC’s Associate in Pre-Nursing DTA/MRP degree, students are eligible to transfer to a number of Washington State institutions including University of Washington, Washington State University, Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, and Walla Walla University.


Note: Admission into many schools is competitive and higher grade point averages and course grades are often required. Completion of the general Pre-Nursing DTA/MRP degree does not necessarily satisfy all transfer requirements; some institutions may have additional course requirements. Check individual schools for the most up-to-date admission requirements and recommendations.

 

Additional university requirements include but are not limited to:

University of Washington

B.S. in Nursing Students transferring to the UW must meet high school core admission requirements, including two years of the same world language in high school or two quarters in college. UW requires an additional Q/SR course: MATH& 141 or AMATH 111 or PHIL& 120 (not offered at BTC). Of the seven pre-Nursing requirements, a minimum 3.0 GPA is required for 3 of the 7 Science pre-requisites, or a 2.8 GPA for 4 of the 7 Science pre-requisites at the time of application (January). Please review class catalog descriptions and speak with an advisor in order to plan your class work. Additionally, UW requires 100 hours of healthcare experience.

Washington State University

Requires curriculum that provides students with an understanding of and sensitivity to human diversity. The Humanities and Social Sciences distribution area provides an opportunity to meet this requirement. For potential choices go to and select UCORE category “DIVR”: https://ucore.wsu.edu/students/categories-and-courses/#DIVR 

Pacific Lutheran University

B.S. in Nursing PLU requires two years of a foreign language in high school or two quarters in college for admission.

Seattle University

Requires 5 additional credits in college algebra or pre-calculus.

Walla Walla University

Second English course must be a research writing course, ENGL& 102 and a course in General Sociology.

Transfer Options

Upon completion of BTC’s Associate in Pre-Nursing DTA/MRP degree, students are eligible to transfer to a number of Washington State institutions including University of Washington, Washington State University, Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, and Walla Walla University. Completing this degree does not guarantee admission to any baccalaureate university.

Please note: students who complete the Pre-Nursing DTA associate degree at BTC are not eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN or to become an Registered Nurse until they complete a BSN degree.

Faculty & Support

Photo of Andrea Olah
Andrea Olah

  • Degrees and Credentials

    Certificate, Professional Technical Education, Washington State

    BS, Biology, Whitworth University

    MS, Environmental Science, Western Washington University

Contacts

If you have questions about this program or want help with the admissions steps to Bellingham Technical College, please email outreach@btc.edu.

Current students wanting academic planning and support, can connect with the program Instructor(s) or email NursingAlliedHealthNav@btc.edu