<p>I have two kids; son is awaiting decision letters and daughter is a sophomore. My daughter is very interested in nursing but wants to be able to take some non-science related college classes such as art history, photography, sociology, and so forth. Her question is: if she enters a "direct entry" nursing program or is a declared "nursing major" (is there such a thing?) at college will she have the latitude to also take electives just for fun and broadening her horizons? Thanks.</p>
<p>Most nursing programs are very tight and allow for few, if any electives. They will have humanities requirements, but usually they are quite specific about which classes you have to take. If you visit the nursing page of a school’s web site, you’ll be able to find a sample curriculum and it will let you know about electives. There’s quite a variety out there! Here’s a few examples (the 3rd one is Villanova):</p>
<p>[Baccalaureate</a> Curriculum Plans | University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing](<a href=“http://www.nursing.pitt.edu/academics/undergraduate_curriculum.jsp]Baccalaureate”>http://www.nursing.pitt.edu/academics/undergraduate_curriculum.jsp)</p>
<p>[University</a> of Delaware I College of Health Sciences I School of Nursing - Traditional Undergraduate Program](<a href=“http://www.udel.edu/nursing/undergraduates/traditional.html]University”>University of Delaware I College of Health Sciences I School of Nursing - Traditional Undergraduate Program)</p>
<p>[Curriculum</a> Traditional Four Year](<a href=“M. LOUISE FITZPATRICK COLLEGE OF NURSING | Villanova University”>M. LOUISE FITZPATRICK COLLEGE OF NURSING | Villanova University)</p>
<p>Also, she can expand her choices by getting some AP credit in some basic required classes. Nursing programs may or may not let you place out of some key classes like Anatomy or Chemistry, but they should let you place out of Intro to Psychology, Sociology, English Composition, etc. She could take a class at your local community college too to free up some room in her college schedule.</p>
<p>I agree with greenwich, although schools do vary signficantly in the number and scope of degree prereqs that fall outside the nursing program. There do not seem to be as many electives as with other majors. If a school lists 15 credits for a semester, your kid might consider whether adding another class as a fun elective is do-able or not too. Be wary though. Sometimes those fun classes require more work than expected. One of my kids had an honors seminar in a subject that was really intriguing, and then found himself doing more work for the 1 credit seminar than for his 4 credit calculus class. </p>
<p>D met many of her general ed requirements before starting college, as greenwich suggested. By doing this, taking a little heavier course load and planning to add summer school classes, she has been working with her advisor to add either a second major or minor to her nursing degree (business or accounting - and she says her business classes are actually harder than her nursing classes).</p>
<p>Most colleges allow a student to take an extra class each semester to audit. That can work out well for subjects you are interested in, because you don’t have to do the work, you just enjoy the lectures. You also can skip the class when your other classes have deadlines.</p>
<p>Thank you for the information! I have a daughter who wants to “do it all”, which is a good thing, but it makes for a slightly more complicated college search. Although she’s wanted to be a nurse forever, as we enter the college search years I am finding that there is a lot for us to learn about choosing the right place for her.</p>
<p>I’m currently a freshman nursing major at a direct-entry school (UCLA). While there won’t be much room for extra classes junior and senior year, our GE system has a tremendous amount of choices. There are a few categories you need to fulfill, but you get to pick what to take from a lengthy list. Last quarter I took a class on classical music, and this quarter I’m taking a class on world religions. If you’re looking at west coast, I would definitely consider UCLA!</p>
<p>I believe you will find that the nursing programs that have more electives also have fewer clinical hours. So clinical hours are critical to know what you are doing on your first job. Everything is a tradeoff.</p>