Prerequisites · Labs
Do California Nursing Programs Accept Online Labs?
It depends on the school, and sometimes on when you took the course. Many California RN programs accepted online science labs during the pandemic and have since gone back to requiring in-person labs. Others accept online labs today. Recency limits (how old a science course can be) and repeat rules also vary a lot. Take these rules seriously before you enroll in anatomy, physiology or microbiology. A course that counts at one program may not count at another.
By the SEAPHE Editorial Team
Data from the California Board of Registered Nursing
Online labs and recency, by school
| Program | Lab rule (condensed from the school's wording) | Science recency | Source, checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biola University (BSN) | Yes (in-person lab required for transfer credit) | Not published | source, 2026-10-09 |
| California State University, Fresno (BSN) | Yes (online accepted) | Not published | source, 2026-10-09 |
| California State University, Sacramento (BSN) | Yes (in-class, virtual or online) | None stated (no recency requirement) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Cerritos College (ADN) | Yes (online labs accepted this cycle; on-ground labs required for courses taken Fall 2026 onward / 2028 cycle) | None required; 5-year recency 'highly recommended' (webpage) / 6-year (Spring 2026 info packet); recency earns MSC points | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Chaffey College (ADN) | Not published (online labs Spring 2020+ accepted) | None stated (no recency for Anatomy) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| City College of San Francisco (ADN) | Yes (lab; online labs accepted only Spring 2020-Summer 2022) | Within 7 years at time of enrollment in nursing program | source, 2026-10-09 |
| College of San Mateo (ADN) | Yes (in-person lab) | 5 years (completed after Jan 1, 2022 for Fall 2027) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| College of the Canyons (ADN) | Yes (labs must be in person, effective Feb 2026 cycle) | None stated (no recency policy) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| College of the Desert (ADN) | Yes (w/lab; online/hybrid accepted since Spring 2020 until further notice) | Within 10 years; max two science repeats in last 7 years | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Contra Costa College (ADN) | Yes (in-person) | 5 years (taken after Jan 1, 2022) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Cuesta College (ADN) | Yes (online labs only accepted Spring 2020-Spring 2022) | Within 7 years of application date | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Evergreen Valley College (ADN) | Yes; in-person lab component required (fully online accepted Spring 2020-Summer 2022 only) | None stated (no recency requirement) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Fresno City College (ADN) | Yes (in-person or online labs acceptable) | None stated | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Grossmont College (ADN) | Yes (lab required; should be in person) | Physiology & Microbiology within 7 years; Anatomy within 10 years (only one science course needs to meet recency for all to be accepted) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| LA Trade-Tech College (ADN) | Yes; online labs not accepted (except Spring 2020-Summer 2023) | None stated (no recency requirement) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Long Beach City College (ADN) | Yes (in-person; online science labs not accepted) | Within 5 years prior to application deadline (LVN-RN: 7 years) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Los Angeles Pierce College (ADN) | Yes (in-person) | None stated (program states no recency policy) | source, 2026-10-13 (rechecked) |
| Los Angeles Valley College (ADN) | Yes - in-person lab (online labs accepted only for Spring 2020-Fall 2022) | None stated (no recency requirement) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Merritt College (ADN) | Yes (in-person) | Within 7 years of application | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Modesto Junior College (ADN) | Not published (online science accepted only Fall 2020-Spring 2022) | None stated | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Mt. San Antonio College (ADN) | Yes (online science labs not accepted) | Not older than 7 years at intended entry (changes to 5 years effective June 2027) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Mt. San Jacinto College (ADN) | Yes in practice: in-person lab required (online accepted Spring 2020-Fall 2022; In Class Verification form) | None stated (no recency requirement; most recent eligible coursework used) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Ohlone College (ADN) | Yes (no online labs) | Within 7 years | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Palomar College (ADN) | Yes (in-person) | Within 10 years | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Pasadena City College (ADN) | Yes (documented lab; online labs accepted) | Preferred (not required): sciences within past 5 years | source, 2026-10-13 |
| Pepperdine University (BSN) | Yes (in person) | Not published | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Rio Hondo College (ADN) | Yes (in-person) | Within 7 years | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Saddleback College (ADN) | Yes in practice: lab must be in person (fully online accepted only 2020-2022; hybrid OK if lab in person) | Within 7 years of applying | source, 2026-10-09 |
| San Bernardino Valley College (ADN) | Yes in practice: online labs not accepted (except Spring 2020-Fall 2021) | None stated (repeats not counted; most recent grade used) | source, 2026-10-13 (rechecked) |
| San Diego City College (ADN) | Yes (lab required; online with lab accepted) | None stated (no recency required, per packet) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| San Francisco State University (BSN) | Yes (online lab acceptable) | Within last 7 years (science) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| San Francisco State University (ELM) | Yes (online lab acceptable) | Within last 7 years (science) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Santa Ana College (ADN) | Yes: labs must be in person (online accepted Fall 2020-Fall 2021) | Within last 7 years (no earlier than Fall 2020) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Santa Monica College (ADN) | Yes (lecture + lab; on-ground lab required for courses completed Fall 2022 or later) | Within 5 years at time of application (only one science repeat allowed in that window) | source, 2026-10-13 |
| Santa Rosa Junior College (ADN) | Yes (with lab; online science courses after Summer 2022 not accepted) | None stated as a limit (repetitions within 5 years penalized in formula) | source, 2026-10-13 |
| Shasta College (ADN) | Yes (lab component required; online labs currently accepted, in-person preferred) | 7 years for Anatomy and Physiology (since 2023) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| University of California, Irvine (Master's Entry Program in Nursing, MEPN) (ELM) | Yes (lecture + lab; online accepted) | Within 5 years of applying | source, 2026-10-09 |
| University of San Francisco (BSN) | Yes (in person) | Within past 7 years | source, 2026-10-09 |
| William Jessup University (BSN) | Yes (online labs not accepted) | Within last 4 years before start of nursing courses | source, 2026-10-09 |
Programs not listed either don't state an online-lab rule on the pages we checked or haven't been collected yet. Don't read "not listed" as "online labs accepted." Ask the program.
Repeat rules, by school
Repeating a science course can raise your GPA at one program and cost you points, or make you ineligible, at another.
| Program | Grade and repeat rule (condensed) | Source, checked |
|---|---|---|
| Antelope Valley College (ADN) | Not published (2.5 GPA across BIOL 201/202/204; No more than one repeated science course of the three) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Butte College (ADN) | C or better; science GPA 2.5 (first grades; only one first-repeat grade allowed); all-prereq GPA 2.5 | source, 2026-10-09 |
| California State University San Marcos (BSN) | C (C- not accepted in any separate course incl. labs; max two science courses at B- or less; C- or below repeatable once, grades averaged; A-F only) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| California State University, Fresno (BSN) | C (first passing attempt only; no retakes of passed courses; CR/NC not accepted except AP/IB) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| California State University, Los Angeles (Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing) (BSN) | B on first attempt (B- not accepted; lecture+separate lab grades averaged must be B) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| California State University, Stanislaus (BSN) | C (letter grade); max one science and one non-science repeat | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Cerritos College (ADN) | C or higher (only one prerequisite may be repeated; 2+ repeats for D/F disqualify) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Chabot College (ADN) | C or better; only one C allowed among sciences; earliest grade used if repeated for recency | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Chaffey College (ADN) | Science GPA 2.80 minimum; only one science repeat within last 5 years | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Citrus College (ADN) | C or better each; science GPA 2.5; one repeat in one science within 5 years (W not counted) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| City College of San Francisco (ADN) | C or higher; max one science repeat (D/F/W) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| College of San Mateo (ADN) | C or better; biology GPA 2.5; each course may be repeated once (-2 points per repeat) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| College of the Redwoods (ADN) | C or better (C- not accepted); science GPA 2.5 (no rounding); first-attempt completion earns points | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Concordia University Irvine (BSN) | B- or higher; completed within last 5 years; only two of four sciences may be repeated once | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Contra Costa College (ADN) | B or better in each (min 3.0 each; B- not accepted); repeat once only | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Cuesta College (ADN) | C or better (C- not accepted; Pass = C); science GPA 2.50 (no rounding); repeats -5 each, 3 = ineligible | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Dominican University of California (BSN) | B minimum on first attempt; Prerequisite GPA 3.25 (transfer); repeats to raise GPA disregarded unless taken 5+ years ago | source, 2026-10-09 |
| El Camino College (ADN) | Science GPA 2.5 (first passing attempt used); one substandard science repeat allowed within 7 yrs | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Evergreen Valley College (ADN) | Cumulative biology GPA 2.5 or above (higher grade used for repeats) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Grossmont College (ADN) | C minimum (no P/NP); science GPA 2.5; max one repeat in last 5 years (W counts) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| LA Harbor College (ADN) | C or better; combined science GPA 2.5; only 1 substandard repeat across the 3 sciences | source, 2026-10-09 |
| LA Trade-Tech College (ADN) | C or better; combined A/P/Micro GPA 2.5; one negative-grade repeat across all three | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Los Angeles Pierce College (ADN) | No grade below C; combined 2.5 GPA across Anatomy/Physiology/Microbiology; max one repetition of any (W counts as attempt) | source, 2026-10-13 (rechecked) |
| Los Angeles Southwest College (ADN) | C or better; science GPA 2.5; max one repeat (incl. W) in any science | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Los Angeles Valley College (ADN) | C or better (first attempt of science with C+ used) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Merritt College (ADN) | C or better; core biology GPA 2.5; each repeat (any grade incl. W) deducts from formula score | source, 2026-10-09 |
| MiraCosta College (ADN) | C minimum; science GPA 2.5; max one repetition (repeat after W not counted) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Mt. San Antonio College (ADN) | C (C- from other institutions not accepted); max one repetition | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Pasadena City College (ADN) | C (highest grade used if repeated) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Point Loma Nazarene University (BSN) | C (2.0) minimum; one prerequisite repeat allowed; cumulative GPA 3.0; no online courses | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Rio Hondo College (ADN) | C or better; science GPA 2.5; max one repeat per science | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Riverside City College (ADN) | Science GPA 2.5 minimum (may repeat only one course, one time) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Saddleback College (ADN) | Science GPA 2.8 minimum (no rounding; highest grade used if repeated) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| San Diego City College (ADN) | C or better; science GPA 2.5 (highest grade used if repeated; +/- ignored) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| San Joaquin Delta College (ADN) | Not published as per-course minimum (first passing grade used for sciences; repeats incl. D/F/I/W deduct points) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| San Jose State University (The Valley Foundation School of Nursing) (BSN) | C (letter grade; max two attempts; first attempt used if C or better) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Santa Ana College (ADN) | C or better ("P" allowed Fall 2020-Fall 2021); combined science GPA 2.5; each may be repeated once | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Santa Barbara City College (ADN) | C or better (Pass counts as C; No Pass counts as repeat) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Solano Community College (ADN) | C or better (letter grade recommended; composite score uses Core Biology GPA and repeats) | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Southwestern College (ADN) | Science GPA 2.5 minimum; only ONE repeat of ONE science course | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Ventura College (ADN) | C or better; science GPA 2.5; max one repeat across A/P/Micro | source, 2026-10-09 |
| Weimar University (ADN) | Overall GPA 3.0+; each course C (76%) minimum; only two courses may be repeated more than once | source, 2026-10-09 |
How to use this
- List your target programs first. Then choose where and how to take your sciences. If even one program on your list requires in-person labs, take in-person labs.
- Check recency against your start date. Some limits count back from the application deadline, some from the program start, and some from the application opening date. Look at the exact wording.
- Don't repeat a course until you've read every target program's repeat rule. A grade after a "W" can count as a repeat (LA Pierce College says so explicitly).
- Check where the course was taken. San Bernardino Valley College, for example, doesn't accept science prerequisites from some named private universities or "any other private, for-profit, unaccredited, trade or career college or university" (checked Oct 13, 2026).
Related: Plan your prerequisites · Points calculators · How schools choose students
Common mistakes
- Taking an online lab because it's convenient, then finding that your top choice requires in-person labs.
- Assuming pandemic-era exceptions still apply. Most have end dates.
- Retaking a B to get an A. Some programs use the first grade or count the retake against you.
- Forgetting recency. A course that counts this year may expire before your next application.
Frequently asked questions
Do California community college nursing programs accept online labs?
Some do and many don't. In our records, programs including Long Beach City College, Mt. San Antonio College, Ohlone College and LA Pierce College require in-person labs, while Fresno City College and Pasadena City College accept online labs. Check each school's current page.
How old can my anatomy and physiology be?
It varies: no limit at some programs (LA Pierce College says it has no recency policy), and 5, 7 or 10 years at others. See the table above.
Will a repeated science course disqualify me?
At some programs, more than one repeat makes you ineligible. Others use your highest grade. Read the repeat table and the school's packet.
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Sources
- San Bernardino Valley College, Nursing prerequisites ("Online & Accelerated Sciences", "Repeat Policy"): https://www.valleycollege.edu/academics/pathways/hwa/nursing/pre-requistes.php (checked 2026-10-13).
- LA Pierce College, Nursing application requirements (prerequisite table; "GPA requirements, course repetitions and recency"): https://www.lapc.edu/academics/pathways/stem/nursing/application-requirements (checked 2026-10-13).
- All other rows: school URLs in the tables: as linked (checked 2026-10-09).
Last updated Oct 13, 2026. Figures change every year; check each source for the latest release.