Online Prerequisites for Health Professions FAQs

No, there are no major educational requirements for taking your prerequisite courses with us. When you apply for our prerequisite courses, you are granted access to our Student Information System (SIS) as a non-degree seeking student. This allows you to enroll in our prerequisite courses without having to provide transcripts or meet any other major requirements. The only exception to this is that if you wish to enroll in our Biochemistry with Lab course, we will require proof of you having taken a Chemistry with Lab course prior to assisting with enrollment.

Each college and university will have policies and procedures about how it will evaluate transcripts from your previous work. Each prerequisite course completed at Hopkins will be displayed on a Johns Hopkins School of Nursing transcript, which will list the name of the course, the credits earned for the course, and the grade that you achieved. 

We advise that you contact each school or university that you are considering to research its particular requirements and if our courses will be acceptable for its program. In particular, we urge you to specifically ask about virtual labs and if the school that you are considering will accept virtual labs as part of its entry requirements. If they request a course description or sample syllabi, both can be found for all courses on our prerequisite homepage.

We offer all six prerequisite courses required for the JHU MSN: Entry into Nursing, 100% online. For a complete list of prerequisite courses required for entry in to the program, please see the requirements section on the MSN: Entry into Nursing Practice website.

Please note: If you intend to transfer courses from another institution to JHSON to fulfill your prerequisite requirements, you will need to send your transcripts and a course description to our Admissions Office at [email protected] so that they may evaluate the course(s) and determine transferability. 

Students have the opportunity to take prerequisite courses three times in an academic year — all seven courses are offered once a semester, during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Exact course dates are located on our prerequisite homepage.

Both the application and registration in SIS will only allow a student to apply for/enroll in courses for the semester that is currently upcoming.

Fall semester (Sept-Nov): Application/registration opens in June, closes in August

Spring semester (Jan-Mar): Application/registration opens in October, closes in January

Summer semester (May-July): Application/registration opens in February, closes in May

The online prerequisite courses are instructor-led, 11-week courses that are delivered entirely online using the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). They are delivered in an asynchronous weekly format, meaning you do not need to be online at a specific day or time, but there are weekly deadlines for assignments. So while you are not constricted by very tight daily deadlines, all assignments for each module will need to be submitted before the next module begins.

The courses are structured so that each week of the course is a module of content typically consisting of required reading, a multi-media lecture presentations, a discussion board activity, and a quiz on that particular week’s content (with exams taken throughout the course). Additionally, lab courses incorporate a virtual lab activity and will have additional assignments to assess student mastery and application of the information.

No. All courses can be completed online. The virtual lab component for all of our courses that include a lab can also be completed 100% online without any need to have materials shipped to or from your home.

Most students find that 7 credits in any given semester is a manageable course load. Students may enroll in up to three (3) courses per semester, but should not enroll in more than two (2) lab courses at the same time due to the student workload associated with these courses. Each week, students should plan to devote about 7-10 hours for every non-lab course that they attempt and 10-15 hours for every virtual lab course. Estimated hours are variable to each individual’s learning pace and prior knowledge of the content, and are also likely to be affected by an individual’s dedication to other work-life commitments.

Our lecture and lab components are bundled as one 4-credit class and, at this time, are not offered separately.

You do not need to apply or be accepted to a degree program in order to take a prerequisite course with us. The prerequisite application is different from the applications for our degree programs, and students who complete it are provided with Johns Hopkins student accounts that list them in our system as non-degree seeking students with the School of Nursing. First-time prerequisite students will need to submit an online application form for the next available semester.  If you are a returning student and haven’t taken coursework in the last six months, you will also need to submit the prerequisite online application form.  After the application is reviewed, those students will receive an email within 24 hours which contains their JHED ID and login information.

Prospective students who already have a JHED ID but do not have a student history at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing will also need to submit an application, but will not receive an email with a JHED ID, as they already have one. Those students should be able to login to the Student Information System (SIS) after the 24 hour period has passed.

Because students who take our prerequisite courses are enrolled as non-degree seeking students, you do not need to provide this type of documentation. We do require a SSN as part of the application, but that is to assist us with verifying a student’s identity. If you do not have a SSN, you will be assigned a temporary ID after submission of your application which enables set-up of your login credential to register for courses.  Once your application is submitted and approved, within 48 to 72 hours you will receive an email with JHED ID information and your temporary ID so you can register for the courses through our Student Information System (SIS).

As for other considerations to make, the main concern would be your Internet speed. The course materials do require a high-speed Internet connection that is reliable and consistent. If you use a VPN, you will need to ensure that it allows access to Canvas as well as the third party applications that host our lab materials. Secondly, all course materials are in English, thus students should have a firm grasp of written and spoken English. We ask that you familiarize yourself with the American Psychological Association (APA) writing guidelines as all work submitted for the course should properly cite reference materials and resources. Please watch these video tutorials produced by Purdue OWL if you are not familiar with APA formatting.

First, check any spam or trash folders in your account to be sure that the email was not automatically filtered out of your inbox. It should be sent to you within 24 hours of submitting your application. If you do not find the email with your JHED ID there, please request support through SEAM’s online form.

Once you have received your JHED ID and setup your account in My JH, you can login and register for up to three (3) online courses (and no more than two (2) labs per semester) through the Johns Hopkins University Student Information System (SIS).  Registration for each semester is available as follows:

Fall semester (Sept-Nov): Application/registration opens in June, closes in August

Spring semester (Jan-Mar): Application/registration opens in October, closes in January

Summer semester (May-July): Application/registration opens in February, closes in May.  Registration closes on May 20, 2024.

Tuition is due at time of registration.  If you are receiving any sort of financial assistance (via military benefits, Americorps, tuition remission, etc.) which results in you not paying for your courses first-hand as you register, please request support through SEAM’s online form.

The cost per credit is $350.00. As such, each 3-credit course is $1050.00 and each 4-credit course is $1400.00. All courses also have required textbooks and other materials which will need to be purchased in order to complete coursework. More information on required materials can be found on the Prerequisite Course Textbook Purchasing website.

You must pay online at the time of registration. The online system will allow you to pay by credit card or e-check.  For specific questions regarding payment please request support through SEAM’s online form.

When you are enrolled in just our prerequisite courses, you are enrolled as a non-degree seeking student and therefore are ineligible for federal student aid via the FAFSA at this time. Financial aid for prerequisite courses must come from private sources. Private sources include private student loans or third-party tuition aid such as that from an Americorps benefit or employer tuition assistance.

For more information on using Americorps benefits, employer tuition assistance, or other third-party tuition aid, please request support through SEAM’s online form.

Note: If you are receiving some sort of financial assistance in paying tuition costs for your course, you must inform the Student Accounts through SEAM’s online form after registering for courses so that they can make note of this in your record and ensure that you will not be dropped due to nonpayment.

Students may fund their courses through military assistance/GI Bill only if they have applied to an SON degree program and the prerequisite course(s) they are taking are required for admission. Students receiving military assistance/GI Bill will be given additional time for payment to post before they are withdrawn (2 weeks past registration).

For more information on using your military benefits toward tuition costs for our prerequisite courses, please request support through SEAM’s online form.

Unfortunately, a payment plan is not available.

To withdraw from a course, please request support through SEAM’s online form.  

Prior to Week 5 of the course there is no notation of the drop on your permanent record.  If you drop from Week 5, a “W” will be noted on your transcript.  Starting with Week 8, should you drop a “WP” or “WF” will be posted to your record based on your performance in the course to date.

The refund schedule is as follows:

Week 1*:  Student can drop with 100% refund

Week 2*:  Student can drop with 50% refund

Week 3 and Week 4*: Student can drop with 25% refund

Week 5 and beyond:  Student can drop, no refund and “W” will be posted to record

Week 8 and beyond: Student can drop, no refund and “WP” or “WF” will be posted to record

*Note: For refund purposes, all prerequisite courses run from Tuesday through Monday.

All required course materials for our prerequisite courses can be found on our Prerequisite Course Textbook Purchasing website. Additionally, once you are granted access to your courses (which occurs one week prior to the beginning of the semester), more information on course materials can be found in the syllabus and throughout the course. While some materials can be purchased through any verified seller, others will need to be purchased directly from the links provided in order for students to have the appropriate access to materials. All textbooks are also offered for purchase as both hardcopy and electronic versions – for students registering late or international students who may experience a delay in shipment, we encourage the purchase of electronic textbooks. While there may be leniency in the first week of the course, extensions will not be granted beyond the first week due to delayed course materials.

You will complete the required laboratory component of the course through online simulations and accompanying assessments that test your application of knowledge. Lab instructions and assignments can be accessed online through the classroom and/or the particular lab product website used for the course. The virtual lab sessions consist of simulations, animations, and videos, allowing you to explore key concepts of the course and complete the experiments and exercises online.

Note: If you would like to attend a virtual tour of our classrooms to see more about the functionality of the lab simulations in our courses, review the Prerequisite Events section found on our main Online Prerequisites for Health Professionals website. We typically offer 1-2 virtual tours in the two months leading up to the beginning of a new semester.

To withdraw from a course, please request support through SEAM’s online form.  

Prior to Week 5 of the course there is no notation of the drop on your permanent record.  If you drop from Week 5, a “W” will be noted on your transcript.  Starting with Week 8, should you drop a “WP” or “WF” will be posted to your record based on your performance in the course to date.

The refund schedule is as follows:

Week 1*:  Student can drop with 100% refund

Week 2*:  Student can drop with 50% refund

Week 3 and Week 4*: Student can drop with 25% refund

Week 5 and beyond:  Student can drop, no refund and “W” will be posted to record

Week 8 and beyond: Student can drop, no refund and “WP” or “WF” will be posted to record

*Note: For refund purposes, all prerequisite courses run from Tuesday through Monday.

No. The module for a particular week will open on Monday and the course content will be available for you to complete during the week. Unless otherwise noted within the course syllabus, assignments are due at 11:59 PM ET on the date listed in the course schedule and syllabus.

If you have a disability and may require accommodation in this course, please contact Student Disability Services to discuss your specific needs.

Yes. Your instructor will guide you through each week of the course, primarily through course announcements, discussion board posts, and email communication.

If you are currently taking a course and need to verify your enrollment, you can log into our Student Information System at https://sis.jhu.edu.  Then, click on the Registration link on the toolbar, select “My Class Schedule” from the drop down menu, and then select the option “Printable Confirmation for Enrollments.”  You may also select the “My Grades” screen and download an unofficial transcript.

Once you’ve finished the course and the grade has been submitted, you can also request an official transcript (paper or electronic) – more information on making this request can be found on the Transcripts section of our website. Each prerequisite course completed at Hopkins will be displayed on a Johns Hopkins School of Nursing transcript, which will list the name of the course, the credits earned for the course, and the grade that you achieved.

Please take a look at our Welcome Packet for information related to the technical aspects of using Canvas. If you experience any issues with the third-party applications used in the course, you can reach out to Prerequisite Support at [email protected]. For issues related to your JHED ID or Canvas login and access, contact SON Help Desk at 410-614-8800 or email [email protected].