UT Arlington's BSN, offered through the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, sits inside a university that produces more registered nurses than any other institution in Texas — a genuine scale advantage for clinical placements, faculty depth, and regional healthcare employer connections across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. For applicants comparing UTA Nursing against other US BSN programs, the pitch is a Carnegie R1 research university with a test-optional, GPA-driven admissions process, tuition well below private-university levels, and direct access to one of the largest healthcare markets in the country.
This guide walks through exactly what it takes to get into UTA's BSN program — acceptance rate realities, cost, requirements, English-test rules, and what graduates go on to do.
Acceptance Rate: What UTA Actually Publishes
UTA does not publish a College of Nursing-specific acceptance rate. What we know, grounded in UTA's own data:
- UTA's overall undergraduate acceptance rate runs at approximately 88%, reflecting UTA's test-optional admissions model — applicants with a 3.25+ GPA are guaranteed admission without submitting SAT/ACT scores at all, and others go through individual holistic review.
- Nursing (BSN) programs nationally, including at large public universities like UTA, commonly involve a secondary, capacity-limited review beyond general university admission, driven by clinical placement capacity and faculty-to-student ratios in clinical rotations — a well-established pattern across US nursing education generally. UTA's published materials do not break out a BSN-specific figure to confirm the exact degree of additional selectivity at UTA specifically.
- UTA's guaranteed-admission GPA threshold (3.25+) and test-optional policy apply at the point of general university admission; the College of Nursing and Health Innovation may apply further program-specific review once a student seeks formal entry into the BSN clinical sequence, though UTA's public admissions data doesn't detail this second-stage process in the same depth as its general freshman criteria.
Bottom line: treat the 88% university-wide figure as a ceiling, not a guarantee, for the BSN specifically — nursing programs typically carry additional, capacity-driven selectivity beyond general admission, though UTA does not publish a specific number to quantify it.
Fees and Cost of Attendance
UTA publishes an estimated total cost of attendance for international undergraduate students rather than breaking tuition out separately on its public pages:
| Cost Item | Amount (USD/year) |
|---|---|
| Total estimated cost of attendance (undergraduate) | $42,706 |
This figure bundles tuition, mandatory fees, and estimated living expenses; UTA does not publish an itemized tuition-only breakdown in its general international admissions materials. Notably, Nursing programs at UTA, like Engineering, often carry differential tuition rates above the university baseline, reflecting the additional clinical instruction and lab costs of nursing education — applicants should run UTA's Tuition Estimator tool for a program-specific figure rather than relying solely on the general undergraduate estimate. UTA's application fee is $75.
For the full four-year BSN, total cost of attendance using the general published estimate runs roughly $165,000-$175,000 before any scholarships, though the actual figure may be higher given Nursing's typical differential tuition.
Admission Requirements
UTA's BSN is entered through UTA's standard international first-year application, with additional College of Nursing and Health Innovation review for formal entry into the clinical sequence. Based on UTA's published undergraduate requirements:
- Common Application or ApplyTexas application
- Official secondary school transcripts (evaluated via FCSA for non-US institutions)
- English proficiency test scores if native language is not English
- Financial statement form with supporting documentation for I-20/visa purposes
- Application fee or approved fee waiver
- Minimum 3.25 GPA (4.0 scale) for guaranteed admission (any class rank); applicants below this threshold can submit SAT (1130-1250) or ACT (23-26) scores, or undergo individual holistic review
Priority deadlines: February 15 for Fall, October 15 for Spring, and April 1 for Summer entry. Because Nursing is a capacity-limited program, applying by the priority deadline is particularly important for BSN applicants specifically.
How to Get Into UTA's BSN Program
-
Clear the 3.25 GPA guaranteed-admission threshold if possible. Since UTA's general admission is test-optional and GPA-driven, hitting this threshold removes SAT/ACT submission from the equation entirely and gives the clearest, most predictable path into the university before the College of Nursing's own program-specific review.
-
Build a strong science and math transcript specifically. Nursing coursework is heavily science-based (biology, chemistry, anatomy); a transcript that demonstrates strength in these subjects specifically, not just a high overall GPA, better positions you for the College of Nursing's program-level review.
-
Apply by the priority deadline, not just before the final cutoff. Given clinical placement capacity constraints common to nursing programs generally, early, complete applications are especially valuable for capacity-limited majors like Nursing.
-
Confirm the College of Nursing and Health Innovation's specific program-entry requirements directly. Because UTA's public admissions data details general freshman criteria more thoroughly than nursing-specific clinical-sequence entry requirements, verify directly with the College of Nursing whether additional steps (secondary application, minimum course grades, etc.) apply beyond general UTA admission.
-
Clear the English-proficiency bar comfortably. Nursing is a clinical, communication-intensive field — patient interaction and clinical team communication place a premium on strong spoken and written English well beyond the bare admissions minimum.
English Proficiency Requirement (IELTS/TOEFL)
UTA's undergraduate-level English proficiency policy applies at entry to the BSN:
- IELTS: minimum 6.5 overall, recommended 7.0
- TOEFL: minimum 79 overall, recommended 90
- Duolingo English Test: minimum 100 (the 105 engineering-specific threshold does not apply to Nursing)
- PTE Academic: not listed among UTA's officially accepted undergraduate English tests as of research date — confirm directly with UTA admissions before relying on a PTE score
- Waiver: required only if your native language is not English; scores should generally be less than two years old
UTA does not publish a Nursing-specific English-proficiency threshold above the general undergraduate minimum, but given the clinical, patient-facing nature of nursing training, aiming meaningfully above the floor (IELTS 7.0+/TOEFL 90+) is a more realistic real-world target than the bare admissions minimum. UTA's GPA-based "conditional admission" track is an academic safety net, not an English-proficiency bridge — it does not lower or bypass the IELTS/TOEFL requirement, and UTA has no dedicated Intensive English Program or INTO/Navitas-style partnership. For general context on UTA's broader admissions picture, see University of Texas at Arlington: Acceptance Rate, Fees, IELTS/TOEFL Requirements & How to Get In.
Career Outcomes
UTA does not publish BSN-specific employment or salary outcomes. What we can point to as the best available context:
- Undergraduate 6-year graduation rate (university-wide): ~52% — not Nursing-specific, and likely understates Nursing outcomes given the program's structured, cohort-based clinical sequence, but UTA doesn't publish a separate Nursing graduation rate to confirm
- Top recruiters (university-wide undergraduate): Lockheed Martin, Texas Health Resources, American Airlines, Raytheon (RTX), AT&T, and Bell Textron — of this list, Texas Health Resources is the directly Nursing-relevant employer; the rest reflects UTA's broader engineering/aerospace/finance recruiting base rather than healthcare specifically
- No graduation rate, employment rate, or average starting salary figure specific to the BSN is published by UTA
UTA's College of Nursing and Health Innovation maintains deep clinical partnerships across the DFW metroplex, giving students substantial hands-on clinical exposure before graduation, and the region's large healthcare employer base (including Texas Health Resources) provides a strong regional pipeline — though UTA doesn't publish NCLEX licensure pass rates or BSN-specific placement statistics in its general outcomes data. Prospective applicants should request this information directly from the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
FAQ
Does UTA publish a specific acceptance rate for the BSN? No. UTA doesn't publish a College of Nursing-specific acceptance rate. The 88% university-wide figure is a starting reference only — nursing programs nationally, including at large public universities, typically carry additional capacity-driven selectivity that UTA's public data doesn't quantify.
Is the SAT or ACT required for UTA's BSN program? No, UTA is test-optional. Applicants with a 3.25+ GPA are guaranteed general university admission without SAT/ACT; those below that threshold can submit SAT (1130-1250) or ACT (23-26) or undergo holistic review.
What IELTS or TOEFL score do I need for UTA's BSN? The general undergraduate minimum applies: IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 79. Given the clinical, patient-facing nature of nursing, aiming meaningfully above this (IELTS 7.0+/TOEFL 90+) is a more realistic real-world target than the bare minimum.
How much does UTA's BSN cost? UTA publishes a bundled total estimated cost of attendance of $42,706/year for international undergraduates, though Nursing programs, like Engineering, often carry differential tuition above the university baseline — confirm the program-specific figure with UTA's Tuition Estimator.
Does UTA offer conditional admission for Nursing applicants? UTA's conditional-admission track is GPA-based and academic in nature; it does not lower or bypass the English-proficiency requirement, and there is no dedicated English-bridge program for Nursing or any other UTA program.
What career outcome data does UTA publish for BSN graduates? UTA doesn't publish BSN-specific graduation, employment, or salary data. Texas Health Resources appears among UTA's broader list of top recruiters as the clearest Nursing-relevant employer; NCLEX pass rates and BSN-specific placement data should be requested directly from the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.