The V-CARE nursing pathway is designed for military medics and corpsmen to earn a baccalaureate nursing degree and enter the workforce as registered nurses.
The USF College of Nursing created the Veteran to BSN (V-CARE) pathway for service members and veterans who have completed training as Army and Air Force medics and Navy corpsmen. V-CARE is a student-centered program tailored to each veteran, acknowledging and recognizing the education and training that each student brings. V-CARE shortens the time to degree completion while maintaining the academic rigor, clinical quality, and high NCLEX pass rates for which USF College of Nursing is known.
This pathway was created in 2013 with the Veterans to Bachelor's grant support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). V-CARE fills the need for those veterans who wish to pursue BSN coursework and continue their health care careers as nurses.
Like all our pre-licensure pathways, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing through the V-CARE nursing pathway provides graduates with the career opportunities of a registered nurse. The degree enables graduates to take the NCLEX-RN nurse licensure examination, and graduates of our program consistently exceed state and national averages in first-attempt pass rates. Our graduates are making an impact in hospitals in the Tampa Bay region, throughout the state of Florida, and beyond.
In addition to the hospital setting, career opportunities also exist in research, education, community and public health, government service, international health, and more. The degree also opens doors for the pursuit of graduate studies in nursing – MSN, DNP and PhD.
Accreditations - Visit our Accreditation page to learn more.
The V-CARE nursing pathway is 5 consecutive semesters and is meant for students who have completed nursing prerequisite courses and university general education requirements. This is a full-time, limited-access nursing pathway and is structured sequentially. Admission is competitive. Admissions are determined on the basis of the availability of sufficient qualified faculty, laboratory and classroom facilities, and clinical teaching resources. To view our competitive undergraduate nursing pathway statistics, please click here.
Visit the online Undergraduate Catalog, select the appropriate catalog year, choose the College of Nursing, and select Admissions Requirements for more information.
All admitted nursing students are required to complete a background check, immunization verification, drug screening, and more. Additionally, students will be required to provide proof of current health insurance. Admitted students will be provided with the steps to complete this process. It is important to note that most states require a social security number to take the NCLEX and/or to be issued a registered nurse license.
Applicants who have attended, but not completed, another registered nursing program must provide a letter of good standing from the Dean of Nursing, or their appointed designee, that addresses the potential for success in a BSN program, safety in providing nursing care, interpersonal communication skills, and other information the campus director deems important. This letter should be uploaded to the NursingCAS application before submitting. Prior enrollment in another nursing program and/or nursing course failures may impact your admission decision.
Do you still have questions? Please attend an information session to learn more about the V-CARE nursing pathway or sign up for a nursing admissions advising session with one of our nursing admissions advisors!
The V-CARE nursing pathway is 5 consecutive semesters and admits once a year to the fall semester only.
For information about curriculum, please consult the Undergraduate Catalog.
Please review the College of Nursing Student Handbook for details on progression, policies, and standards for admitted nursing students.
Please follow these steps to be considered for the V-CARE nursing pathway. Applicants that do not meet all admission requirements and deadlines will not be considered.
For technical questions regarding your NursingCAS account, please contact NursingCAS at 617-612-2880 or nursingcasinfo@nursingcas.org. Please refer to the Application Deadlines tab for reference if you do not see your desired term of entry in NursingCAS.
Note: The V-CARE nursing pathway is a limited-access program and requires both admission to the university and an application to the College of Nursing through NursingCAS. Admission to the university is not a guaranteed admission to the College of Nursing. Applicants must meet all minimum admission criteria, be officially admitted to USF for the correct term of entry and have a “verified” NursingCAS application by the nursing application deadline to be considered for admission to the desired nursing pathway. Any deviation from the posted criteria will cause the applicant to be ineligible for admission.
The College of Nursing will evaluate prerequisite coursework after the USF Office of Admissions has determined course transferability to the university and posted the official results in DegreeWorks, which requires all official transcripts to be processed by the USF Office of Admissions. For questions regarding the status of your university application and transcript processing please call (813) 974-3350 or email at admissions@usf.edu.
DegreeWorks can be found by logging into your OASIS account and clicking the link under the “Student” tab. Access DegreeWorks using your activated USF NetID. If you do not have a NetID, you will first need to activate it. Please view the Online Tutorial for Activating Your USF Net ID.
Do you still have questions? Please attend an information session to learn more about the V-CARE nursing pathway or sign up for a nursing admissions advising session with one of our nursing admissions advisors!
September 1 | USF application becomes available |
December 1 | USF application priority deadline |
December 1 | NursingCAS application opens |
January 10 | Official transript submission priority deadline* |
February 1 | NursingCAS application closes |
February 1 | USF transfer application completion deadline |
February 15 | NursingCAS application “verified” status deadline |
March 1 | Bull Nurse Virtual Interview Assessment deadline |
March 1 | Admission to USF deadline |
TBA | Nursing Orientation |
*Transcripts submitted to USF Admissions after this date are not guaranteed to be processed before the nursing application deadline passes. This may cause ineligibility.
Nursing orientation is mandatory for all undergraduate students. Students who do not complete orientation will forfeit their seat in the program.
Note: Please read the Admission Requirements and Application Process sections carefully. Applicants will be deemed ineligible for admission to the V-CARE nursing pathway if any portion of the process is not satisfied by the posted deadlines. Admission to the College of Nursing is not rolling at the undergraduate level. Once the nursing application deadline passes all eligible applicants will be evaluated. Please contact USF Undergraduate Admissions regarding your university application. USF Office of Admissions cannot expedite processing for any student for any reason. We encourage military applicants to connect with the USF Office of Veteran Success. They can provide additional resources related to admissions, veterans benefits, and other support services.
Do you still have questions? Please attend an information session to learn more about the V-CARE nursing pathway or sign up for a nursing admissions advising session with one of our nursing admissions advisors!