University of Saskatchewan Nursing admission requirements: the pre-professional year, then a ranked BSN application

USask's Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is a four-year degree. Year 1 is a pre-professional year of university courses. Years 2, 3 and 4 are nursing courses, labs and clinical practice. USask says plainly that you cannot begin this program directly from high school.

At USask, you take Year 1 in the College of Arts and Science. Choose the Nursing Prep pathway on your application to show you plan to apply to nursing. You can also take Year 1 at the University of Regina, several Saskatchewan regional colleges, or a school in another province, as long as the courses transfer to USask.

Nursing Prep does not lead to a degree on its own, and it does not guarantee you a nursing seat. If you change your mind, or don't get in, you can stay in Arts and Science and work toward another degree.

From Ontario, USask's requirements tool lists one required course to enter Arts and Science: Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U) or Advanced Functions (MHF4U). You can be admitted with a math deficiency, but you then need a plan with an adviser to clear it. Without the math, your statistics options in Year 1 shrink.

The prep courses have their own high school prerequisites. USask asks for Grade 12-level biology and Grade 12-level math, and strongly recommends Grade 12-level chemistry. In Ontario terms, that points to SBI4U, a 4U math, and SCH4U. That mapping is ours, so confirm it with USask. Plan your Grade 11 and 12 courses with our course planner.

From Saskatchewan, the requirements tool for Nursing Prep lists Foundations of Mathematics 30 or Pre-Calculus 30, with Pre-Calculus 30 encouraged for science students. A math deficiency can be allowed here too.

The Nursing page lists the high school courses you need to take the prep courses: Biology 30, Chemistry 30 (recommended), and Foundations of Math 30 or Pre-Calculus 30, Math B30 or Math C30. The Nursing page marks the math as recommended, while the Nursing Prep page lists Grade 12-level math as a prerequisite. Ask USask which applies to you.

To get into Arts and Science for the prep year, USask lists a 70% minimum admission average for both Ontario and Saskatchewan students. USask builds that average from five marks: one English, one math and three other approved subjects. Check yours with our Top 6 average calculator, then keep an eye on your best five.

For Years 2 to 4, your high school marks no longer count. Admission is ranked on your average across the ten pre-professional courses. You need at least 60% to be considered, but USask says the competitive average may be higher. USask does not publish the competitive average, and we won't guess one. See our USask acceptance rate page for what the school does publish.

If you aren't admitted, you can raise your average or repeat courses and apply again the next year. USask uses your highest mark on a repeated course.

USask's Nursing page lists no personal essay, interview or Casper test for standard applicants. Seats are decided on your pre-professional average. USask says Canadian or international residency is not considered.

Some applicants send extra items. Students who took nursing courses elsewhere in Canada send a Program Reference Form. Students with a past faculty action write a letter. You may need to prove your English. For the 16.6% of seats set aside for Indigenous candidates, you must complete USask's membership and citizenship verification.

When you apply to Nursing, you pick a first-choice site. Options are Saskatoon, Prince Albert, or a distributed site in Île-à-la-Crosse, La Ronge, Lloydminster, Muenster, North Battleford, Swift Current, Weyburn or Yorkton. Applicants are ranked by average within their first-choice site. You can also name alternate sites.

Early admission offers 150 seats across Saskatchewan. You need at least five of the ten prep courses finished by December. USask uses your five best marks, and you must prove you are registered in the rest. An early offer is revoked if your ten-course average drops below 60% or you don't finish the courses. Lloydminster is not part of early admission this year.

You can be admitted with one unfinished prep course from a set list. USask counts it as 50% in your average, and you must finish it by the end of December of your first nursing year.

If you start Nursing Prep in September 2027, the Nursing Prep page lists a July 15, 2027 deadline for Canadian students, with documents due August 1, 2027. International students apply by May 1, 2027. You would then apply to Nursing in your first year, for a September 2028 start in Year 2.

USask's Nursing page shows conflicting dates. Its early admission section lists December 15, 2026 to apply and January 15, 2027 for documents. Its Important dates box still shows the 2025-26 cycle, with a regular deadline of April 30, 2026. The College of Nursing's parents page gives a March 31 regular deadline. Your Nursing application date falls in a later cycle, so confirm it with USask before you apply.

Either way, every prep course must be done by April 30 if you want to start Year 2 that September.

A sample prep year at Saskatoon includes BIOL 120, NUTR 120, SOC 112, an English course and PHIL 133 in the fall. Winter adds NURS 120 Human Anatomy for Nursing, PSY 121, HIST 195, STAT 244 and GEOG 130. Learning communities like FLEX run nursing groups for first-year students.

Years 2 to 4 cover nursing theory, simulation and clinical practice. USask says over half of student contact hours happen in labs or clinical settings. Full-time students finish in three years. Part-time study is allowed, but you must finish within six years of entering the College of Nursing.

The BSN is accredited by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing and approved by the College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan. To work as a registered nurse, you then pass the NCLEX-RN and register with a provincial regulator.

USask's BSN pages don't list a co-op option. Hands-on work comes through clinical practice in hospitals and community agencies, built into the degree.

You may need to go to labs or clinical placements outside your home site in any year. It depends on space, placements and teachers.

Before you start, budget for entry requirements. USask estimates $800 to $1,000 for a criminal record check, CPR and AED training, mask fit testing, lifting training, shots, uniforms and a working laptop.

For 2026-27, USask estimates $8,449 in tuition for Canadian students in the Nursing Prep year, plus $1,331.66 in student fees and $1,500 for books. International students see $40,894 in tuition.

For Year 2 of the BSN, the estimate is $9,980 in tuition for Canadians, plus $1,483.56 in fees and $1,500 for books. International students see $48,305. That estimate includes spring term classes. Our own math: the prep year plus Year 2 comes to $18,429 in tuition alone for a Canadian student. Ontario students can check OSAP for aid.

Graduates who work in some rural or smaller communities may qualify for federal or Saskatchewan student loan forgiveness. USask lists up to $30,000 federal and up to $20,000 provincial over five years.

Nursing Prep students start in Arts and Science, a direct-entry college. So you are considered automatically for a $5,000 USask Entrance Scholarship once you apply and send your transcript. USask gives 600 of these a year, based on admission average. Offers go out by email starting in late April.

Best and Brightest Entrance Scholarships are worth up to $40,000 over four years. To be considered, apply for admission by December 1 and then fill in the award application in PAWS. The College of Nursing says $447,743 in awards went to its students in 2025.

USask's Saskatoon residences offer rooms on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply as soon as applications open. You don't need an offer of admission to apply. Residence includes Faculty in Residence and a Counsellor in Residence.

Housing for Years 2 to 4 depends on your nursing site. The College of Nursing says housing and meal plans differ by campus and site.

The College of Nursing has a page for parents. It says the first year helps students adjust to university and living on their own. The courses also count toward other degrees if your child changes plans.

Your child applies twice: to Arts and Science in Grade 12, then to Nursing in first year. The second step is ranked on university marks, so steady first-year grades matter most. Each step has its own deadline. College of Nursing advisers book appointments with families and students.