Psychiatric Nursing (Bachelor of Science Degree Completion)
DOMESTIC APPLICATIONS
Fall 2025: Apply Now!
Overview
The BSPN Degree Completion Program is a part-time, online program designed for practising Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs) who wish to complete their degree. The BSPN Degree Completion Program is a 33 credit program (categories one and two) that prepares students as generalists in the field of psychiatric nursing. The program combines education in advanced psychiatric nursing concepts with associated studies in Arts and Sciences.
Graduates will be able to practice in various professional practice contexts from a broad perspective. In addition, the BSPN Degree Completion Program prepares students for further education such as graduate studies. The study format for the BSPN Degree Completion Program is online learning for required Psychiatric Nursing courses.
Associated studies courses are taken online or in a classroom setting. Students are expected to have sufficient computer skills to manage online learning. Students are required to complete program requirements within six years of admission to the program. Students may request 1- year extension. Since registration can be competitive, register early as there are limited seats in each course.
Admissions Requirements
1. Current practicing RPN license
2. Transcripts from ALL post-secondary institutions attended
3. An attestation letter from the institution that granted your Psychiatric Nursing Diploma. The letter must indicate if any transfer credit was granted by the institution and used towards the diploma, along with a listing of those courses. The letter must also state which (if any) courses on the transcript were NOT used to fulfill the requirements of the diploma.
Admission Categories
Degree Completion admissions are listed under the following three categories:
Category One: Douglas College Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Graduates from 2009 to date (Diploma program completed in the Winter 2009 semester or later)
Category Two: Douglas College Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Graduates Prior to 2009 and Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Graduates from Other Institutions (Douglas diploma program completed in the Fall 2008 semester or prior)
Category Three: Douglas College Advanced Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Program Graduates
Notes:
- Some courses listed in each category have prerequisites. Please check each course in the College Catalogue prior to registration.
- Courses used towards a student's previous diploma may not be duplicated or used towards the BSPN Degree.
- This is considered a part-time program.
Cost
Calculate your tuition and see the approximate cost of taking your program at Douglas College with the tuition & fee estimator. See costs broken down into categories including tuition fees, textbooks, student activity fees, U-Pass and more.
For more information, refer to the tuition fee charts.
Program Requirements
Graduation Requirements
- Successful completion of credits as outlined in category one (33 credits), two (33 credits) or three (15 credits).
- Completion of all course requirement within six (6) years from admission. Students may request 1- year extension.
- A minimum of 15% Residency Requirement (18 credits) must be completed at Douglas College.
- A minimum grade of C+ in all PNUR and associate studies courses for new student admissions or re-admissions from Fall 2017 and beyond. Students admitted prior to Fall 2017 require a minimum C grade in all courses.
- A student may register for the same course for credit a maximum of two times. A student who withdraws after the last day to drop a course without receiving a ‘W’ grade will be considered to have registered.
- A minimum program GPA of 2.00 is required.
Curriculum Framework
Category One: Douglas College Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Graduates from 2009 to date.
(Diploma program completed in the Winter, 2009 semester or later)
| PNUR Required Courses (no course substitutions) | Credit | |
| PNUR 3171 | Family Health Promotion of Psychiatric Nursing Practice | 3.00 |
| PNUR 4575 | Psychiatric Nursing Research | 3.00 |
| PNUR Electives - Choose one PNUR course from list below (no course substitutions) | ||
| PNUR 4574 | Emergency Mental Health Nursing | 3.00 |
| PNUR 4576 | Trauma Informed Process | 3.00 |
| Associated Studies Required Courses | ||
| English Elective (UT) | 3.00 | |
|
BIOL 2401 or 3 credits UT Science |
Introductory Microbioloy for Health Sciences or 3 credits of University Transfer Science course |
3.00 |
|
MATH 1160 or PSYC 2300 or |
Introduction to Statistics or Data Analysis in Psychology or Business Statistics |
3.00 |
|
Psychological Disorders and Treatment |
3.00 | |
|
PSYC 1100 or PSYC 1130 (if not used in Diploma) |
Introduction to Psychology (I) or Lifespan Human Development |
3.00 |
|
An Introduction to Psychology (II) |
3.00 | |
|
Open UT Elective |
University Transfer Elective |
3.00 |
|
Open UT Elective |
University Transfer Elective |
3.00 |
|
TOTAL |
33.00 | |
Category Two: Douglas College Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Graduates Prior to 2009 (Douglas College diploma program completed in Fall 2008 semester or prior) or Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Graduates from Other Institutions
*Important: It is strongly recommended that PNUR 3700 be taken prior to all other PNUR courses.
| PNUR Required Courses (no course substitutions) | Credit | |
| PNUR 3700* | Professional Psychiatric Nursing Concepts | 3.00 |
| PNUR 3171 | Family Health Promotion in Psychiatric Nursing Practice | 3.00 |
| PNUR 4575 | Psychiatric Nursing Research | 3.00 |
| PNUR Electives - Choose two PNUR courses from list below (no course substitutions) | ||
| PNUR 4573 | Psychiatric Nursing of Children and Adolescents | 3.00 |
| PNUR 4574 | Emergency Mental Health Nursing | 3.00 |
| PNUR 4576 | Trauma Informed Practices | 3.00 |
| PNUR 4585 | Psychiatric Nursing in Addictions and Mental Health | 3.00 |
| Associated Studies Required Courses | ||
| English Election (UT) | 3.00 | |
|
BIOL 2401 or 3 credits UT Science |
Introductory Microbiology for Health Sciences or 3 credits of University Transfer Science course |
3.00 |
|
MATH 1160 or PSYC 2300 or |
Introduction to Statistics or Data Analysis in Psychology or Business Statistics |
3.00 |
|
Ethics for Psychiatric Nursing |
3.00 | |
|
PSYC UT Elective |
Psychology University Transfer Elective |
3.00 |
|
Open UT Elective |
Open University Transfer Elective |
3.00 |
|
TOTAL |
33.00 | |
Category Three: Douglas College Advanced Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Program Graduates
| PNUR Required Courses (no course substitutions) | Credit | |
| PNUR 4575 | Psychiatric Nursing Research | 3.00 |
| Associated Studies Required Courses | ||
| English Elective (UT) | 3.00 | |
| PHIL 3125 | Ethics for Psychiatric Nursing | 3.00 |
|
MATH 1160 or PSYC 2300 or |
Introduction to Statistics or Data Analysis in Psychology Business Statistics |
3.00 |
|
Open Elective (UT) |
Open University Transfer Elective |
3.00 |
|
TOTAL |
15.00 | |
Program Guidelines
Program Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
FAQs
We have two intakes per year (Fall and Winter). The first step is to apply to Douglas College. After applying, you will receive an email from the Admissions Officer with detailed instructions regarding your next steps.
The courses required to complete the BSPN are divided into three categories and are dependent upon when and where you completed your Psychiatric Nursing Diploma.
Psychiatric nursing students receive an email with a list of online courses being offered for the upcoming semester. The email is sent one month prior to the beginning of the registration period.
A 15% residency includes a minimum of 6 courses (18 credits) towards your degree completion taken at Douglas College. Category 1 and 3 have already fulfilled the residency requirement as Douglas College Diploma graduates and Category 2 will fulfill the residency by completing all PNUR courses and PHIL 3125 through Douglas College.
It is strongly recommended that Category 2 students take PNUR 3700 prior to all other PNUR courses. The remaining order of courses will depend on course offering and the requirements within your category.
If a student is admitted to the program and does not have high school credit for Foundations of Math 11 or Principles of Math 11 with a minimum grade of C (or equivalent), math upgrading may be required to meet the math prerequisite for registration in PSYC 2300, MATH 1160 or BUSN 2429 (or one of their equivalent courses).
Douglas College offers the Psychiatric Nursing courses online (and PHIL 3125 Ethics for Psychiatric Nursing). The Associated Studies courses (non-Psychiatric Nursing courses) are not offered online at Douglas College on a consistent basis. They can be taken on campus at Douglas College; at a post secondary institution in your community; or through an online university such as Athabasca University or Thompson Rivers Open University (TRU-OL). If you are taking these courses at Douglas College, you will need to confirm that you meet the prerequisites for each course.
If you are planning to take the Associated Studies courses at another post-secondary institution, an Student Success Advisor will be able to confirm if the course you are planning to take elsewhere will transfer to Douglas College as the required course toward completion of the BSPN.
You will receive an email alerting you to log onto the website to check your registration date and time. More details on registering for courses can be found on our Register page. Please note that all courses are not offered every semester, seats are limited in each course and registration is competitive. It is recommended that you register on the date and at the time your registration period begins in order to increase your chances of securing seats in the courses you require.
If you have taken the Associated Studies courses (English, Psychology, Science, Statistics and Open elective) previously and wish to apply to transfer these courses to Douglas College, please forward your official post-secondary transcript along with a Transfer Credit Request form to the Registrar’s Office.
The transfer credit process takes approximately 6 weeks. You may need to send detailed course outlines along with the Transfer Credit Request form.
Please note: Courses that were used to meet the graduation requirements of your Psychiatric Nursing Diploma cannot be used a second time toward graduation of the Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing.
You will receive an email prior to registration each semester outlining which courses are being offered and the corresponding Course Reference numbers (CRN) that you will use during the registration process.
These courses will also be listed under Courses in the Program and Course Catalogue. You can check seat availability in individual courses by clicking on the Schedule tab in each course, and then clicking on the section you are interested in.
Please note that you will not have access to all of the Psychiatric Nursing courses offered. Certain courses are restricted to our daytime degree students. The courses that are designated for the “degree completion students” will have a notation in bold beneath the course (Section Notes).
Associated Studies courses are intended to be broad in scope and to assist the student to gain breadth of knowledge and understanding outside the field of focused study therefore the Open Elective does not include any Psychiatric Nursing, General Nursing, Health Sciences or Medical Sciences courses.
Fran Barlow
Program Support and Services Specialist
barlowf@douglascollege.ca
T 604 777 6406 F 604 777 6500
More Information
Students are expected to have sufficient computer skills to manage online learning.
Note: The Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing Degree Completion Program increased the graduation requirement grade to a C+ in all Degree Completion courses for new admissions and re-admissions from September 2017 and beyond.
Re-Admissions
If a student is not registered in a course at Douglas College for three consecutive semesters (Fall/Winter/Summer), the student must re-apply to the program. For students who re-apply to the program after September 2017, please note the increased grade requirement.
Important Course Planning Considerations
1. Some courses listed in each category have prerequisites. Please check each course in the course catalogue prior to registration.
2. Courses used towards a student's previous diploma may not be duplicated or used towards the BSPN degree.
3. If a student is admitted into the BSPN Degree Completion program and does not have high school credit for Foundations of Math 11 (or equivalent) with a minimum grade of C, Math upgrading may be required to meet the prerequisite for PSYC 2300 or MATH 1160 (or equivalent). If wanting to take BUSN 2429, BC Principles of Math 12 or Pre-calculus 12 with a minimum grade of C is required, or FINC 1231
Sequence of Courses
PNUR courses and PHIL 3125 are offered with limited availability and only during the Fall and Winter semesters. If you are unable to register in a PNUR course in a desired semester, or during the summer, it is recommended that you register in an associated study course during this time. A roll out of PNUR course availability will be provided each semester once you are admitted to the Degree Completion Pathway.
For category two students, it is recommended that you start with PNUR 3700 as this provides the foundation for all other PNUR course work. Note that if you are a Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing Diploma graduate from 2009 to 2018 and beyond or an Advanced Diploma graduate, you do not need this course, so please check your category first.
Transfer Credit
Transfer credit from other educational institutions is not automatically granted. Students must request transfer credit by submitting an official transcript from the educational institution where the course was taken, along with a Transfer Credit Request Form. For detailed and up-to-date information on transferring from one institution, to another institution, see our Transfer Your Credits page. Detailed course outlines of courses taken at a B.C. institution may also need to be submitted before credit can be evaluated. Submission of detailed course outlines will be required for credit evaluation of courses taken outside of B.C. institutions.
Important Transfer Credit Notices:
- Courses that were used to meet the graduation requirements of your Psychiatric Nursing Diploma cannot be used a second time toward graduation of the Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing.
- Transfer credit for Psychiatric Nursing (PNUR) designated courses will not be granted. Only courses in subjects other than PNUR will be evaluated for transfer credit.
- The Registrar’s Office will take a minimum of six weeks to process transfer credit requests.
- All applicants should submit an attestation letter from the institution that granted their Psychiatric Nursing Diploma. The letter must indicate if any transfer credit was granted by the institution and used towards the diploma, along with a listing of those courses. The letter must also state which (if any) courses on the transcript were NOT used to fulfill the requirements of the diploma.
Transfer Credit Request Deadlines
To ensure transfer credit requests are processed in time for your registration, all requests and documentation must be received by:
April 15 for Fall Semester
September 15 for Winter Semester
January 15 for Summer Semester
If you require transfer credit for registration purposes but have been admitted to the College after the deadlines listed above, please contact the appropriate department with your official transcript. You may be able to request a prerequisite override. Overrides are granted at the discretion of the department.
Curriculum Guidelines
Program Curriculum Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester/year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
Career Pathways
Career opportunities include:
- Psychiatric Nurse Educator
- Psychiatric Liaison Nurse
- Leadership and Management Roles