Gonzaga's Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Gonzaga Preceptor placement team

Gonzaga's Accelerated BSN is a new 15-month path into nursing for people who already hold a bachelor's degree in another field. The first cohort begins in Summer 2027. Theory courses run online, while labs and clinical rotations take place in person in Spokane, adding up to more than 800 clinical and simulation practice hours.

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15months from the first summer to the last

800+clinical and simulation practice hours

4semesters: summer, fall, spring, summer

The ABSN in brief

The one-credit mismatch between the overview and curriculum pages is minor, but it matters when you plan a budget or a course load. Go by the curriculum page, whose listed courses add up to 65, and confirm the figure with admissions.

Gonzaga Accelerated BSN facts (ABSN web pages and catalog, 2026)
Item	What Gonzaga publishes
Catalog name	Post Baccalaureate BSN (ABSN)
Length	15 months over four semesters: Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits	64 on the overview page; 65 on the curriculum page, where the listed courses total 65
Format	Hybrid: asynchronous online theory; labs and clinicals in person in Spokane
Clinical and simulation hours	Over 800
Clinical areas	Medical-surgical, mental health, pediatrics, obstetrics and population health
First start	Summer 2027, a small cohort (a Gonzaga story says June 2027)
Application deadline	Feb 1, 2027

Who the ABSN is built for

The ABSN is designed for career changers. Applicants need a bachelor's degree in a field other than nursing, a cumulative GPA of 2.5, and a 3.0 across the science and statistics prerequisites the catalog lists.

Prerequisites in the catalog

General Chemistry with lab
Anatomy and Physiology I and II, with labs
Microbiology with lab
Introductory Statistics
Lifespan Growth and Development
Nutrition

Finishing prerequisites well before the February deadline helps twice: once for admission, and again because the program moves quickly from its first week. Gonzaga's traditional BSN takes freshmen only, so for anyone who already holds a degree, the ABSN is the Gonzaga route into nursing.

Semester by semester

Clinical work begins in your very first semester with NURS 331A, whereas the traditional BSN holds NURS 331 until junior year. The fall term carries three clinicals at once: adult foundations, mental health and population health. The final summer is the densest, with obstetric and pediatric clinicals, the NURS 495A Final Practicum and NURS 498A NCLEX preparation all in one term.

Two online university core courses, one in Christian or Catholic traditions and an ethics course, PHIL 301, complete the plan. Gonzaga publishes the 800-hour figure for the program as a whole rather than hours for each course, so each syllabus tells you what that course expects.

ABSN courses by semester (curriculum page, 65 credits)
Semester	In person in Spokane	Online theory and practice courses
1, Summer	NURS 331A clinical, NURS 331AL lab	NURS 110A, 220A, 230A, 310A, 330A
2, Fall	NURS 341A, 361A and 481A clinicals; NURS 341AL lab	NURS 340A, 360A, 480A
3, Spring	NURS 431A clinical, NURS 431AL lab	NURS 342A, 430A, 440A, 450A, 490A
4, Summer	NURS 441A, 451A and 495A clinicals	NURS 494A, 498A

Clinical rotations across Spokane

Gonzaga describes ABSN rotations as running "across Spokane's top regional health systems" in medical-surgical, mental health, pediatric, obstetric and population health care. The program arranges them, as the department does for the traditional BSN.

Spokane's hospitals are in heavy demand as training sites. A July 2026 Gonzaga story on its simulation endorsement notes limited rotation capacity in local hospitals, and the ABSN's 800-hour total counts clinical and simulation practice together. Area hospitals that belong to Clinical Placements Northwest, including Providence Sacred Heart and Holy Family, clear students through CPNW's shared standards. The CPNW clearance and immunizations and health records guides list what to prepare before your first rotation.

How the ABSN compares with the traditional BSN

The two programs share a course architecture: the same Foundations of Practice clinicals, the same specialty populations and the same final practicum under an RN, with an A added to each ABSN course number. What differs is the pace. The ABSN compresses the upper-division sequence into four back-to-back terms with no summer break, so a missed prerequisite or a late clearance document has less room to be absorbed.

Gonzaga's two pre-licensure routes side by side
Item	Traditional BSN	Accelerated BSN
Who enters	Freshmen only	Holders of a non-nursing bachelor's degree
Length	8 semesters, or 9 when clinical seats are short	15 months, four semesters
Credits	127	64 or 65, depending on the page
Format	On campus in Spokane	Online theory; labs and clinicals in Spokane
First clinical	NURS 331, junior fall or spring	NURS 331A, first semester
Published clinical hours	None listed in the catalog	Over 800, clinical and simulation combined
Final practicum	NURS 495 (legacy NURS 468)	NURS 495A

Planning your 15 months

The hybrid format lets you read and complete theory on your own schedule, but labs and clinicals need you in Spokane in every semester, and rotation times follow the hospital's calendar rather than yours. Expect to treat the ABSN as a full-time commitment from the first summer to the last.

Plan the final summer early. NURS 495A places you under a registered nurse, and the traditional BSN's legacy capstone description lets students request a setting, with faculty review deciding the final placement. Ask early whether the ABSN follows the same request process; the final practicum guide explains how the BSN version works.

The final summer stacks obstetrics, pediatrics, the final practicum and NCLEX preparation, so settle the practicum setting you want to request during spring.

Approval and the NCLEX

Washington's nursing board names both Gonzaga's BSN and ABSN options on its approved in-state program list dated August 24, 2026, and CCNE accredits Gonzaga's baccalaureate nursing program through June 30, 2030. NURS 498A in the final term is built around NCLEX-RN preparation. The accreditation guide explains what those approvals mean to clinical sites.

Once you are licensed, Gonzaga's online MSN nurse practitioner tracks are open to RNs who live in one of the ten western states the program admits from, which gives ABSN graduates a clear next step inside the same department.

Where we help ABSN students

Gonzaga arranges your core rotations. Where our placement advisors add the most is the final practicum and the paperwork around it: we help you decide which setting to request, find experienced RNs and units that fit, check each preceptor against Washington's rules and assemble the details faculty review, so your request is ready well before the final summer.

Faculty decide the final placement; we make sure what reaches them is complete and well matched. Tell us your cohort and the setting you have in mind in the form below.

Questions Gonzaga students ask

When does Gonzaga's Accelerated BSN start?

The first cohort starts in Summer 2027, with applications due by Feb 1, 2027. A Gonzaga news story from July 2026 describes the program as set to begin in June 2027. The cohort is small, and the program runs four semesters over 15 months, finishing in the summer of 2028 for that first group.

Is Gonzaga's ABSN online?

Partly. Theory courses are online and asynchronous, but labs and clinical rotations take place in person in Spokane, so plan to be there throughout the program. The hybrid design suits people who want flexibility for reading and coursework while still getting hands-on training in Spokane's regional health systems.

How many credits is the Gonzaga ABSN?

Gonzaga's pages disagree slightly. The ABSN overview says 64 credits, while the curriculum page says 65 and its listed courses add up to 65. The difference does not change the clinical plan, but confirm the figure with admissions before you budget tuition or plan financial aid.

Who arranges ABSN clinical placements?

Gonzaga does. The program organizes ABSN clinical rotations across Spokane's regional health systems, as it does for the traditional BSN. Your own planning matters most at the end, in NURS 495A Final Practicum, where you work under a registered nurse, so ask early how the ABSN handles setting requests for that course.

How many clinical hours are in the Gonzaga ABSN?

More than 800 clinical and simulation practice hours in total, as Gonzaga describes it. The program does not break that figure down by course, and simulation counts inside it alongside time on hospital units and in community settings. Each course syllabus sets out what that course expects from you.

BSNBSN (traditional)Gonzaga's traditional BSN in Spokane: freshman entry, 127 credits, clinical courses year by year, and why clinical capacity stretches some plans to nine terms.BSNBSN final practicum (NURS 495)Gonzaga's BSN capstone, NURS 495 (legacy NURS 468): an RN preceptor, a setting you can request, faculty review of every request, and how to prepare early.CPNWCPNW clearanceHow CPNW (Clinical Placements Northwest) clearance works for Gonzaga nursing students: the hour gate, partner health systems, lead times and CORE.Health recordsImmunizations and health recordsThe immunizations, TB screening, BLS card and health records Gonzaga nursing students keep for practicums, plus site extras like Idaho fingerprinting.CCNENursing accreditationGonzaga nursing accreditation explained: CCNE for the BSN, MSN and DNP through June 30, 2030, WABON state approval, NWCCU, and what clinical sites ask.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Gonzaga's catalog, FAQs, preceptor packets and Department of Nursing pages. Your course, the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.

Gonzaga asks you to find local preceptors first. Let us run that search.

Tell us your Gonzaga program, your practicum course and where you live and can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, certification and site details your Practicum Site Placement Request needs, early in the semester before.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care across the lifespan for NURS 661P to NURS 664P, psychiatric care for NURS 661M to NURS 663M, an agency liaison for the DNP
Credentials, license, board certification and site contact ready for your site request
In Spokane, across Washington or wherever in the ten western states you are licensed

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