Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Apply to Nursing

To join this program, you must apply for admission. This extremely competitive program accepts up to 40 students every fall term. Applicants are selected through a point-based system. Competitive applicants have prerequisites completed by the end of fall term before the application deadline and have some healthcare experience.

Applications are processed through a service called Nursing Centralized Application Service, or “NCAS”. Students apply and submit all supporting application documents, including transcripts from all colleges attended, directly to NCAS.

Questions? Attend an information session or contact us.

How to apply

1. Apply to PCC

   Applying to PCC is free and only takes a few minutes. Complete this step as soon as possible so you can start using PCC resources.
   Apply to PCC
   

   Application timeline

   For a detailed admission timeline, see below on this page.

   Term you want to start	Apply to Nursing
   Fall 2026	December 2, 2025 – February 16, 2026 at 8:59pm PST

2. Take prerequisites

   All prerequisites must be passed with a grade “C” or higher. Pass/No Pass grades are not accepted. To meet the minimum GPA requirement, applicants need a 3.0 GPA in prerequisite courses. There are 45 required prerequisite credits – see more in the admissions guide.

   • At least 30 prerequisite credits must be completed by the end of fall term before applying.
   • The remaining 15 credits must be completed by the end of spring term after applying.
   • These prerequisites must be current within the last 7 years:
     • BI 231: Anatomy & Physiology I (complete by the end of fall term before applying)
     • BI 232: Anatomy & Physiology II
     • BI 233: Anatomy & Physiology III
     • BI 234: Microbiology
     • FN 225: Nutrition
     • PSY 215: Human Development
     • MTH 95: Intermediate Algebra or higher, or placement into Math 111Z. If using placement scores to meet math competency, you’ll upload your test scores with your application. See more about using math placement test scores.
   • Additional prerequisites:
     • WR 121Z and 122Z: English Composition I and II
     • 6 credits of Social Science electives
     • Additional general education electives, if needed to meet 45 credits. See the list of electives for the AAS degree here: General Education electives.

3. Build application to earn points

   The first phase of the application process is based on a 52-point scale, which looks at the following areas. See details about the point system in the admissions guide.

   • Academic points:
     • Prerequisite GPA
     • Science GPA
     • Completion of a prior degree
     • Enrollment history at PCC
     • Support course completion
     • Completion of all 45 prerequisite credits by the end of fall term before applying
     • Completion of Anatomy & Physiology I, II, and III by the end of fall term before applying
   • Alternate status points – for applicants who were offered a seat or waitlisted in the previous application cycle
   • Experience points – see application materials for details
     • Healthcare credentials: earn points for professional credentials
     • Healthcare experience: earn points for paid or unpaid healthcare experience
     • Service members: earn points for U.S. Military service, AmeriCorps, or Peace Corps

4. Apply to the nursing program

   The application process has three phases.

   1. Phase I: selection criteria
      Submit your NCAS application by the February deadline. Based on phase I point totals, the top 80-100 applicants will be invited to phase II. Applicants will be notified by email.
   2. Phase II: Essay responses, HSRT exam, resume, and letter of interest
      In phase II, the following materials are evaluated to determine who will advance to phase III.
      • Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT): applicants will be invited to take part in the HSRT. Read more about the HSRT on the Insight Assessment FAQ page under the Testing and Administration section. The exam takes about 1.5 hours. For more info, see How to Prepare and Top 10 Critical Thinking FAQ’s.
      • Required application materials: essay question responses, letter of interest, and resume. See application materials for details.
   3. Phase III: selection and requirements
      In phase III, you are offered a seat in the program. You’ll complete the following requirements before beginning the program. Do not attempt to meet these requirements before being offered a seat in the program. Detailed information on phase III immunization, CPR, criminal background checks, and drug screen can be found by reviewing the requirements for clinical and field education.

5. Submit transcripts

   PCC requires applicants to submit official transcripts from all colleges attended, including PCC, directly to NCAS. Send transcripts at least two weeks before the application deadline. Do not wait until you have submitted your NCAS application to send your transcripts to NCAS. See more about submitting required transcripts.

6. Pay fee

   NCAS application fee: $65. Fee is paid directly to NCAS and is non-refundable.

Admission timeline: Fall 2026

• Late August 2025: Start Building the Common Nursing Application Pieces
  • Create a Nursing CAS (NCAS) account at nursingcas.org
• December 1, 2025: PCC Nursing Application Opens in NCAS
  • Applicants are able to add PCC as a program in NCAS
• February 16, 2026: Nursing Application Deadline
  • Applicants must electronically submit their official transcripts, healthcare work experience forms, supporting license/credential documentation, resume, letter of interest, essay responses and submit the NCAS $65 application fee by February 16, 2026, at 8:59pm PST/11:59pm EST deadline
  • Apply as early as possible and track your application process through the NCAS “Check Status” tab
• Early April, 2026: Phase II Notifications
  • Top scoring applicants will receive phase II invitations and confirm participation for the HSRT
• Mid-Late April, 2026: Phase II
  • Top scoring, qualified applicants are invited to sit for the HSRT while their resume, letter of interest, and essay responses are reviewed by nursing faculty
• Mid-May, 2026: Official Seat Offer Notification
  • Top scoring applicants in Phase II will be offered a seat in the nursing program
• June 12, 2026: First Mandatory In-Person Orientation
  • Mandatory in-person orientation #1 will take place at the Sylvania campus and the phase III completion resources and timeline will be reviewed. Please hold the entire day.
• September 11, 2026: Second Mandatory In-Person Orientation
  • Second mandatory in-person orientation. Please hold the entire day.
• September 21, 2026: Start of the Full-Time Program
  • Additional timeline details can be found on page 8 & 9 of the Admissions guide.

Computer Literacy

Nursing students must be computer literate. Applicants must be proficient in word processing, spreadsheets, data entry, internet use, email, and basic computer terminology. We do not require proof or documentation of computer literacy. It is the applicant’s responsibility to be prepared to use computers before starting the program.

About OCNE

PCC is a member of the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE). This is a statewide coalition of nursing educators and programs. OCNE schools have the same prerequisites and comparable application processes for students. OCNE schools include OHSU, PCC, Umpqua Community College, Southwestern Oregon Community College, Rogue Community College, Clackamas Community College, Mount Hood Community College, Columbia Gorge Community College, Clatsop Community College, and Blue Mountain Community College.