Learn more about the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Nursing at UA Little Rock.

Application Process – Associate of Applied Science (AAS) 

The application process is two-part. The applicant must apply to UA Little Rock and the School of Nursing (SON). 

  1. UA Little Rock Application: Deadline – First Friday of Spring Semester. View the UA Little Rock Academic Calendar
    1. Applicants to the UA Little Rock School of Nursing AAS program must be fully admitted to UA Little Rock prior to submitting a nursing application.
    2. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the UA Little Rock Office of Admissions and Records with an official transcript from every school attended after high school.
      1. Applicants taking courses during the open application period must provide the UA Little Rock Office of Admissions and Records with an official transcript showing ‘In-progress’ work. These documents must be received by Admissions/Records before being eligible to apply. 
      2. Post-baccalaureate applicants must provide an official transcript from every university/school attended. 
    3. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide evidence of required immunizations and/or test scores, when applicable. 
    4. If the applicant has not been in classes at UA Little Rock for two (2) or more years they must reapply to UA Little Rock. 
    5. Failure to submit all required documentation and be fully admitted to the University, by the stated deadline, will result in automatic denial into the School of Nursing. 
  2. School of Nursing Application:
    1. The application window is December 15 – January 31 each year to start nursing classes the following summer semester. 
    2. Applicants must attend a Pre-Admission Information Session hosted by the School of Nursing prior to applying for the AAS program. 
    3. Applicants must submit the correct application online for the AAS program.
      1. AAS in Nursing Traditional RN application 
      2. LPN to RN application
      3. Paramedic to RN application 
    4. Applicants must indicate which program (listed above) when applying. Applicants who fail to complete the correct application will be processed for the Traditional RN Option. 
    5. Applicants must use UA Little Rock issued Workday Identification Number and an UA Little Rock issued email address when filling out the application. Any applications submitted without a UA Little Rock email will not be processed. 
    6. Applicants who have ever attended or who are currently attending UA Little Rock must have a cumulative UA Little Rock GPA of 2.0 or higher. GPAs from other colleges/universities are not included in the ranking process. 
    7. Applicants must have a calculated required AAS General Education course GPA of 2.6 or higher. GPA in required core courses is based solely on the courses completed at the time of application. For breakdown of how AAS General Education course GPA is calculated, see Calculation of Required AAS General Education GPA header. 
    8. Applicants must have completed these courses or their equivalents with a “C” or better by the time of application in order to be considered:
      1. ENGL 10103 (Composition 1) 
      2. MATH 11003 or MATH 11103 (College Algebra OR Quantitative and Mathematical Reasoning) 
      3. and 4 credit hours of Anatomy and Physiology: BIOL 24004 or BIOL 24104 or BIOL 23394 with a “C” or better by the time of application in order to be considered. 
    9. Additional Requirements for Licensed Practical Nurse Applicants:
      1. Have successfully completed by the time of application MATH 11103 or MATH 11003, ENGL 10103, ENGL 10203, PSYC 20043 or SOCI 10103, and BIOL 24004/24104 or 23394 (or their equivalents for transfer students). Successful completion of one of the following: CHEM 10544 Fundamentals of GOB Chemistry or its equivalent or a higher level chemistry course (excludes CHEM 10004 Chemistry & Society), BIOL 20194 Microbiology, or US History core requirement. 
      2. Be a graduate of a state board of nursing approved LPN or LPTN program. Have a current, unencumbered LPN or LPTN license in the State of Arkansas or mutual recognition licensure recognized by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing Nurse Licensure Compact, and 
      3. Have proof of active employment (minimum of 1,000 hours) as an LPN/LPTN over the last 2 years. Volunteer work is not considered active employment. Submit an employment verification letter with the application. Employment verification letter must be on official letterhead and must include either the number of hours worked by the applicant OR a statement that the applicant has worked a minimum of 1,000 hours over the past 24 months. Applicants who work as an LPN or LPTN in more than one facility may submit more than one employment verification letter if all worked hours total a minimum of 1,000 hours over the past 24 months. 

        OR
      4. Completed the AAS core course requirements listed above. 
      5. A new LPN/LPTN graduate who has the authorization to test for LPN licensure is eligible for conditional admission to the LPN/Paramedic-to-RN option. After successfully completing the NCLEX-PN will be eligible for admission into the LPN/Paramedic-to-RN Option. LPN or LPTN licensure must be obtained prior to entering nursing courses with a clinical component. 
      6. Meet advanced placement testing and work experience requirements: Less than 12 months after LPN/LPTN graduation: No testing required for admission to LPN/Paramedic-to-RN option. 
      7. Greater than 12 months after LPN/LPTN graduation: No entry testing is required if during the past 24 months have had at least 1,000 hours of nursing employment. Employment verification letters must be provided with the application. LPN/LPTNs who graduated greater than 12 months who have not had at least 1,000 hours of nursing employment must complete the Elsevier HESI LPN-ADN Entrance Exam. Exam results will show areas of weakness as remediation materials. LPNs/LPTNs are strongly encouraged to complete all remediation materials
    10. Additional Requirements for Paramedic Applicants:
      1. Have successfully completed by the time of application MATH 11103 or MATH 11003, ENGL 10103, ENGL 10203, PSYC 20043 or SOCI 10103, and BIOL 24004/24104 or 23394 (or their equivalents for transfer students). Successful completion of one of the following: CHEM 10544 Fundamentals of GOB Chemistry or its equivalent or a higher level chemistry course (excludes CHEM 10004 Chemistry & Society), BIOL 20194 Microbiology, or US History core requirement. 
      2. Be a graduate of a paramedic program affiliated with an accredited college or university. 
      3. Hold current certification from the Arkansas Department of Health as an Arkansas Paramedic and be currently registered as a paramedic with the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. 
      4. Have proof of active employment as a paramedic for a minimum of 1,000 hours over the last 24 months. Volunteer work is not considered active employment. Submit employment verification with the application. The employment verification letter must be on official letterhead and must include either the number of hours worked by the applicant OR a statement that the applicant has worked a minimum of 1,000 hours over the past 24 months. Applicants who work as a Paramedic for more than one entity may submit more than one employment verification letter if all worked hours total a minimum of 1,000 hours over the past 24 months. 
      5. Paramedics who do not have proof of a minimum of 1000 hours of active employment over the last 24 months must complete the Elsevier HESI EMS-ADN Entrance Exam. Exam results will show areas of weakness as remediation materials. Paramedics are strongly encouraged to complete all remediation materials to improve their chances of success in the nursing program.

Applicants with Transfer Credits 

UA Little Rock Transfer Services evaluates all transcripts and reviews all transfer courses when processing university applications. View the UA Little Rock Transfer Equivalency Guide.

Transfers From Other Nursing Programs Who Have Completed Nursing Courses 

These Applicants must submit the following to the School of Nursing Director: 

  1. A letter requesting consideration for transfer. The letter must indicate the level of the transfer request and the reason for the request; 
  2. Copies of all transcripts; 
  3. A letter from the previous nursing program indicating the Applicant is eligible to return to the program; and 
  4. Applicants who have failed or withdrawn from more than one (1) nursing course, from any nursing institution or school, within the last three (3) years of the open application cycle are not eligible for consideration into the UA Little Rock nursing program. 
  5. Course descriptions of nursing courses that were completed for college credit. 

US History or American National Government 

All Applicants who receive a degree in Arkansas must complete a US History or Political Science course with a grade of “C” or better. This is a state requirement that cannot be waived. 

Academic Clemency 

Upon re-entering UA Little Rock after a separation from any college or university of at least 2 years, an Applicant may request clemency at the Office of Admissions and Records. Any academic clemency request must be resolved and entered into Workday by the SON application deadline for the application to be processed. For more information, view the UA Little Rock Academic Clemency Policy.

Calculation of Required AAS General Education GPA 

A minimum of a 2.6 required general education GPA is required to enter the applicant pool for the nursing program. The following guidelines are used to calculate AAS General Education GPA: 

  1. The highest grade in AAS General Education courses will be recorded. Example: If the applicant has a “C” in Psychology and a “B” in Sociology the “B” will be recorded on the worksheet. 
  2. Classes in which applicants received credit by examination (CLEP, AP, ACT, SAT) will show as waived on the worksheet (WV). These courses are recorded and calculated as an “A”. Grades by examination must be posted at UA Little Rock to receive credit. This requires a Collegeboard transcript be sent to Testing Services.
  3. Grades for applicants who receive a course waiver for a course will be recorded as an “A”. 
  4. Students who completed Honors Composition will have a grade of “A” calculated for ENGL 10103 or ENGL 10203. 
  5. “D” and “F” grades in required AAS general education courses are recorded and calculated. 

Calculation of Required AAS General Education Quality Points 

A minimum required AAS General Education course Quality Points of 36 or greater is required to enter the applicant pool. The following guidelines are used to calculate Quality Points:

  1. For each AAS General Education course completed, the point value of the letter grade received is multiplied by the number of credit hours (Point value for grades: A = 4 points, B = 3 points, C = 2 points, D = 1 point and F = 0 points). 
  2. The total quality points are calculated by adding all individual course quality points together. 

Ranking Applicants 

All applicants must meet the following requirements to be eligible: 

  • Fully admitted to UA Little Rock (Workday ID number & UA Little Rock email) 
  • Completed AAS program application with all required documents 
  • Minimum UA Little Rock GPA of 2.0 
  • Minimum required AAS General Education course GPA of 2.6 
  • Minimum of 36 quality points of completed AAS General Education courses 
  • Completed with a grade of “C” or better in MATH 11003 or MATH 11103 and ENGL 10103 or their equivalents 
  • Completed with a grade of “C” or better in Anatomy and Physiology BIOL 24004 or BIOL 24104 or BIOL 23394 
  • LPN/Paramedic-to-RN applicants -See Additional requirements required for School of Nursing application 

Required Documents 

Applicants are responsible for providing all documentation to the UA Little Rock and SON. All official transcripts are to be sent to the UA Little Rock Admissions office. Other required documents including letter of good standing for re-entry students, licenses or certification for LPN/Paramedics, or verification of 1000 hours worked for LPN/Paramedics must be delivered to the SON in person, via the U.S. Postal Service, or via email to [email protected]. 

Required documents will only be accepted if sent to [email protected]. If an applicant needs to send letters of good standing and/or work hour verifications via email, only emails sent by the facility/organization representatives will be accepted. Letters of good standing and work hour verification forms sent via email by the applicants will not be considered. Documents received after the deadline will only be accepted if postmarked by application deadline.

All documents must be sent to:

AAS Nursing Admissions Committee 
Pat Walker Center for Nursing Education 
University of Arkansas at Little Rock 
2801 S. University Avenue 
Little Rock, AR 72204

Admission Communication

All applicants must communicate using the assigned UA Little Rock email address. The SON admissions committee will not respond to outside email accounts (gmail, aol, yahoo, etc.). If a prospective student is having difficulty with their UA Little Rock email account, they are encouraged to reach out to UA Little Rock IT services. 

AAS Placement Process

Once a year, the SON awards placement in both the Traditional RN and LPN/Paramedic-to-RN program to beginning courses during the Summer 2 (5-weeks) session. For specific course start dates please refer to the UA Little Rock Academic Calendar. Based on the ranking criteria, applicants will be awarded placement in the AAS program as follows: 

  1. First Round: Applicants with the highest calculated GPA for both programs will be awarded first round placement. Applicants who meet all requirements and do not receive a first round acceptance letter will be placed on a waitlist. 
  2. Second Round: After review of open program placements, waitlist applicants with the next highest GPA will be sent acceptance letters. 
  3. Third Round (if applicable): If AAS program placements allow, waitlist applicants with the next highest GPA and applicants who are on the waitlist awaiting Spring Grades will be sent acceptance letters. 

Acceptance/Denial/Waitlist letters will be sent via the Nursing-Admissions email account by or on the following dates: 

  • First Round: Mid-March 
  • Second Round: Last business day of March 
  • Third Round (if applicable): Mid-April 

It is the responsibility of the applicant to accept or decline AAS program placement by date/time listed in acceptance email. Failure to accept placement in the program, by stated deadline, will result in AAS program placement being rescinded. 

Due to the large volume of applications, the SON admission committee cannot provide individual explanations to those who are not admitted. All denial letters will have a list of criteria that were not met which contribute to not receiving placement in the AAS program.

COVID-19 Vaccine Statement

UA Little Rock and the UA Little Rock School of Nursing do not require potential or current students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for admission into the institution or admission into a program of interest. Additionally, potential and current students are not required to report their COVID-19 vaccination status as part of the application process for the University or program of interest.

However, clinical facilities may request COVID-19 vaccination status or require COVID-19 vaccination for any person assigned to their clinical facilities. Students may be required to demonstrate proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as outlined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and/or facility policy, in order to attend clinical experiences at some facilities. Upon request, in order to attend a clinical experience, students must provide proof of vaccination status. 

Clinical facilities that require COVID-19 vaccinations for all persons providing care at their facilities will be noted prior to students signing up for clinical rotations. Clinical facilities may change their COVID-19 vaccination requirements after students have signed up for clinical rotations. Consequently, UA Little Rock and the UA Little Rock School of Nursing cannot guarantee placement at an alternate clinical facility if the students do not meet COVID-19 requirements after signing up for clinical rotations. 

UA Little Rock and the UA Little Rock School of Nursing cannot guarantee placement at any clinical facility or that a student will be placed and accepted at the facility of the student’s choice. Failure to complete the required course outcomes and clinical experiences outlined in the program curriculum may result in a delay in program completion or inability to complete the program. 

Inclement Weather 

In the event of inclement weather resulting in UA Little Rock campus closure, the SON Admissions Committee will meet to determine if an extension will be granted for applications/documents. Information regarding extension to application/document deadline will be communicated via Nursing-Admissions email and on the UA Little Rock School of Nursing website.

New Student Orientation

Applicants who are accepted into the AAS program are required to attend a New Student Orientation. The New Student Orientation will be scheduled in the weeks leading up to the start of the summer semester. Specific dates/times will be announced via the Nursing-Admissions email after final acceptance letters are sent out.

Re-Application

UA Little Rock SON does not keep denied application documents after the current admission cycle closes. Applicants who are re-applying to the program are required to complete a new application and provide updated documents, if applicable.

Re-Entry

Applicants who were unsuccessful in a separate nursing program must provide a letter of good standing to be eligible for the AAS program. Applicants who have failed or withdrawn from more than one (1) nursing course, from any nursing institution or school, within the last three (3) years of the open application cycle are not eligible for consideration into the UA Little Rock nursing program. Applicants who have been dismissed from a nursing program for professional misconduct or who cannot produce a letter of good standing will not be eligible for the AAS program. 

Applicants who were unsuccessful with any one (1) nursing course, at any nursing institution or school, in the last three (3) years will be classified as a re-entry student. 

Current students who were unsuccessful with any UA Little Rock School of Nursing Traditional RN or LPN/Paramedic-to-RN course will follow the re-entry policy located in the Student Policy and Procedure Manual (SPPM) and course exit interview documents.

AAS Academic Advising

Applicants who are accepted into the nursing program will be assigned to an Academic Advisor. The Academic Advisor will correspond via email throughout the rest of the spring semester. The AAS Academic Advisor is responsible for lifting advising flag holds and assisting students with registration details for upcoming nursing courses.

Important Contacts 

  • School of Nursing; AAS Academic Counselor 
    Jonathan Hamilton 
    Pat Walker Center for Nursing; NURS 303C 
    501-916-5177 
    [email protected] 
  • College of Business, Health, and Human Services; Pre-Nursing Advisor 
    Carolyn Fonville 
    Pat Walker Center for Nursing; NURS 303A 
    501-916-5173 
    [email protected] 
  • UA Little Rock Admissions Office 
    Student Service Center; Room 219 
    Phone: 501-916-3127 
    Fax: 501-916-3128 
    [email protected] 
  • Office of Transfer Student Services 
    Student Service Center; Room 218 
    Phone: 501-916-3273 
    Fax: 501-916-3168 
    Email: [email protected] 
  • Office of Records and Registration 
    Student Service Center, 218 
    Phone: 501-916-3110 
    Fax: 501-916-3168 
    [email protected] 
  • UA Little Rock Testing Services 
    Student Services Center; Room 315 
    Phone: 501-916-3198 
    Fax: 501-916-3096 
    [email protected] 
  • College of Business, Health, and Human Services: Dean’s Office 
    Reynolds Building; Dean’s Suite 304 
    501-916-3356 
    [email protected] 

Student Support and Resources