IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission 2026 | Fee Structure, Admission Process

The IGNOU Post Basic Nursing admission process will start soon for the January 2026 academic session. The programme is offered by the UGC and the Indian Nursing Council (INC). It is a 3-year UG course and its yearly fees is Rs. 23,000. Students who have cleared their 10+2 with working experience or a years Diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) can apply for admissions through official website.

Students must also clear its entrance exam conducted by the University. There will be an application fee and development fee as well, necessary to pay, and the application fee is non-refundable. Through BSCN (PB), IGNOU provides an opportunity to a large segment of in-service nurses to upgrade their knowledge and skills in health department. 

IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission 2026: Highlights

About IGNOU

IGNOU is a Central University, established in September 1985 through an act of Parliament. All the programmes offered by the university (UG/PG/Diplomas/Certificates) are recognised by all members of Institutions of AIU. They are also UGC approved and NAAC ‘A++’ Grade-accredited. It aims to promote and developing distance education in India. IGNOU has emerged as the world’s latest Open University. 

IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Program Overview

Post Basic Nursing (BSc) is a 3 year degree programme for in-service diploma holders, registered nurses and registered midwives. In this programme, candidates learn about in-depth and advanced-level nursing. They learn how to provide required medical care to patients. The maximum duration provided to complete this course is 6 years.

IGNOU has assigned a total of 112 credits for this programme. It has two major components, theory and practice. Theory consists of 11 courses and practical consists of 10 courses. Medium of Instruction in which courses are delivered is English only. BSCN (PB) is imparted through a network of Programme Study Centres (PSC), which are located in Colleges of Nursing, approved from INC. 

IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission 2026

IGNOU offers admission in BSCN (PB) in the January session only. IGNOU Post Basic Nursing admission process will start soon for the January 2026 academic session. Candidates who are fulfilling eligibility criteria can apply by filling out an application form available on official website. Candidates can also apply directly through admission portal. There will be a non-refundable application/registration fee applicable to every student. Admission procedure is online and hassle free. There is a compulsory entrance test that needs to be cleared as University will select students on the basis of entrance test’s result. The expected date of starting admission is 15 December 2025*. There is no minimum or maximum age criteria for admission. 

Eligibility Criteria For IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission 2026

Eligibility Criteria for admission in BSCN (PB) Programme is not general and common as other programmes. Only in-service nurses (registered nurses and registered midwives) who have passed their 10+2 and possess 3 years diploma in GNM with minimum of two years of work experience are  eligible for admission in Post Basic Nursing Programme. Those who are in-service nurses but have passed only class 10th should have a diploma in GNM and minimum 5 years of work experience in this field.

Male Nurses who have not done midwifery in GNM programme must have a certificate in any nursing course of 6-9 month duration. Apart from this, candidates applying should also have a DEB ID while filling application form as it has become mandatory for pursuing any OL or ODL programme. They can easily create a DEB ID through the UGC DEB Student Portal, www.deb.ugc.ac.in/. 

IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission Fees Structure 2026

IGNOU offers BSCN (PB) course in affordable and cost-efficient fees. University has divided its fee structure in three components – Programme fee, development fee, and examination fee. Examination fee is decided later by University. There is also an application fee which is compulsory to pay. Candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/other categories are provided relaxation in application fee. Total Programme fee for 3 years is Rs. 69,000. Fees can be paid through online mode of payment. 

For BSCN (PB) programme, programme fee is not paid during online application submission. Notifications regarding deposition of programme fee will be made later at the time of counselling. Refer to the table below for detailed fee breakage:

IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission Process 2026

Only candidates completing eligibility criteria apply through given procedure:

• Step 1: Go to official admission portal for BSCN (PB) Programme, www.ignounursing.samarth.edu.in/. 
• Step 2: If you are a new user, complete registration process which is compulsory as it creates your credentials (username and password) for further login.
• Step 3: Re-login with your credentials on portal and start filling application form.
• Step 4: Fill form with all required personal details and educational details.
• Step 5: Now upload relevant documents in JPG or PDF format, scanned from your original documents only.
• Step 6: Preview your form, then submit it after paying application fee. Download filled in application form in pdf format and take a printout of it as hard copy will be required at the time of counselling. 

Required Documents For IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission

• 10th marksheet/certificate
• 12th marksheet/certificate
• Work Experience
• Diploma degree in GNM 
• Scanned signature of Applicant
• Latest photograph of Applicant
• Government-issued ID Proof
• Caste certificate (if applicable)

Note: Selected Candidates will be required to carry all these documents in their original state and hard copy of filled application form at the time of counselling.

IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Admission Entrance Test

IGNOU has made it mandatory for every eligible candidate to give an entrance exam conducted on the scheduled date as decided by the University. Exam duration will be two and a half hours. After submitting application form, candidates can download their admit card for the entrance test from IGNOU website or the Portal. Candidates will be provided OMR sheets to give exam. Test will comprise 120 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of 1 mark each. 

Result of entrance test will be upload on IGNOU website. Then candidates who have filled application form have to upload their result on the same portal they used to access form. For the next round which is Counseling and Interview round, candidates will be selected on the basis of marks they have gained in entrance. 

IGNOU Post Basic Nursing Programme Career Scope and Salary

BSCN (PB) Programme opens a wide door of career opportunities for registered nurses. They get opportunities in clinical practice, administration, education, and specialized fields. They can become Critical Care Nurses, Operating Theatre Nurses, Industrial Nurses, Military Nurses, Community Health Nurses, Pediatric Nurses, Healthcare Administrators, Nursing Managers, Nurse Tutors, Clinical Research Associates, and many more. They even get quite decent salary which ranges between INR 5 LPA to INR 11 LPA on average.