Five Top Online Masters in Nursing Programs

There are not a lot of online MSN programs for the clinical specialties associated with the degree.  You will find two listed here however; with a little effort from the MSN student completion of the necessary practicum for a clinical MSN should be possible even with a remote academic institution.  The balance of the programs listed here offer advanced practice nursing degrees for nurse management, nurse administrator and nurse educator professional opportunities.  Most MSN degrees take a year to complete full time, but few working RNs can study full time which is why the flexible online format works so well for this degree.  Sequential course modules make the process simple, flexible and manageable. Find Masters in Nursing Online today.

1. Western Governors University offers the MSN as an online option for nurses who are licensed and have completed a bachelor of science in nursing.  The MSN in Nursing Leadership and Management is meant for nurses who would like to take a leadership and possibly management role in a clinical setting.  The MSN in Nursing Education provides the teaching and training skills for clinical and classroom settings.  Both degrees are also available as a RN to MSN option, for nurses who hold an active license and either an associate’s degree in nursing or a diploma from an accredited training program.  This course of study takes students straight to the MSN degree.  The curriculum is presented over the course of six month terms; a student’s status is measured by a series of exams given throughout the term.
2. Kaplan University has a Master of Science in Nursing program available online in two areas of specialization.  The program is for RNs who have completed a bachelor’s degree in nursing.  The MSN in Nurse Educator prepares nurses for a teaching role in a clinical setting or as professional educators, should they wish to leave active practice.  The MSN in Nurse Administrator prepares nurses to take a management position within a healthcare institution or in an associated industry such as health insurers.  The program is sixty three to sixty eight credits, depending on whether the student opts for a thesis to complete the degree or chooses to pursue a non-thesis track.
3. Benedictine University offers the MSN online with six areas of concentration from which the student can choose a career track.  The areas of focus include Public Health, Health Education, Administration, Leadership, Management & Finance, Disaster Management, and Health Policy.  The online program is offered in sequential courses, each of which takes six weeks.  The format allows nurses to keep working while they study, and complete the program in eighteen to twenty four months.  Courses are three credits; twenty four credits are devoted to core courses and the remaining twelve credits to elective courses in the area of specialization.  Students may select one of the six specializations or create a focus of their own by choosing their own electives.
4. Liberty University has two online Master of Science in Nursing degrees, both of which are accredited by the CCNE.  The MSN in Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist or Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist is offered as an accredited clinical degree requiring a practicum with the requisite supervised clinical training hours.  It is up to the student to clear the academic program with the state licensing agency and to identify an acceptable site for completing the practicum.  The MSN in Nurse Educator also requires a practicum, although with less stringent requirements.  Nurse educators are trained to teach nursing students or working RNs in diverse educational settings.
5. Capella University offers the Master of Science in Nursing for nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and for nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field.  The sole specialization option is the MSN in Nurse Educator, which is the program designed to train nurses to teach the next generation of nurses.  Many RNs who earn this specialization work as teachers for the necessary continuing education classes required of every RN.  The MSN in Nurse Educator Bridge program is for working RNs who hold a bachelor’s degree unrelated to nursing; the curriculum covers all of the essential nursing courses included in the BSN that are not covered in an associate’s program and completes the MSN as well.

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