For years nurses have been returning to school to get a bachelor’s degree after working as RNs with an ADN or a Diploma. Today there is a distinct trend towards advanced practice nursing degrees which have become an option for nurses without a BSN. Many nursing schools offer RN to MSN programs for nurses without a bachelor’s degree of any sort as well as for nurses with a baccalaureate in another field. The RN to MSN compresses the academic nursing courses that complete a BSN with the advanced practice, graduate level nursing courses. RNs who have no BSN can move through the academic requirements leading to a Masters in Nursing at an accelerated pace, while maintaining a professional career.
1. Walden University (**Highly Recommended) has an online RN to MSN degree that is offered with some interesting areas of specialization not often found in distance learning MSN programs. The concentration options include Nursing Education, Nursing Informatics, and Nursing Leadership & Management. The informatics option is a career track in a rapidly growing medical area of specialization.
2. Sacred Heart University (**Highly Recommended) designed an online RN to MSN degree that combines the BSN and MSN program so that students need take only eight masters level courses instead of twelve. This accelerated program results in the completion of both degree, with an MSN in one of three specializations: Clinical Nurse Leader, Patient Care Administration, and Nursing Education.
3. Gonzaga University (**Highly Recommended) has designed the online RN to MSN program for nurses with an associate’s (ADN) degree in nursing. There is a ten course bridge section that leads to the advanced practice, graduate level courses. The areas of concentration offered in this program are Nursing Educator, and Health Systems Leadership.
4. South University offers a fully accredited online RN to MSN degree that combines the curricula for the BSN and the MSN into a program that nurses can complete completely online while continuing to work. The forty seven credit hour curriculum leads to a MSN in Nurse Educator, offering a career track in classroom or clinical teaching.
5. Grantham University offers the RN to MSN degree with 21 credit hours of undergraduate study and 36 credit hours of graduate study. Applicants must have at least two years’ work experience. Areas of concentration for the MSN include Case Management, Nursing Education, Nursing Informatics, or Nursing Management & Organizational Leadership.
6. Loyola University of New Orleans Online offers an RN to MSN Bridge program for nurses who have earned a bachelor’s degree in a field unrelated to nursing. This is a six credit, two course preparation program for the MSN curriculum to follow. The two courses are Population Health, and Issues in Professional Nursing. The online MSN degree specializes in Healthcare Systems Management, which covers a variety of Nurse Leadership careers.
7. University of Delaware has opened up a distance learning program that includes a RN to MSN degree incorporating completion of both the BSN and the Masters in Nursing. The accelerated program compresses the two degrees so that students move quickly through the undergraduate requirements into the advanced practice nursing studies. Specialization options include adult health, nursing of children, and health services administration.
8. Western Governors University has two academic areas of concentration for the RN to MSN graduate nursing option. The choices are Nursing Education, and Nursing Management/Leadership which is also commonly known as a Nurse Administrator specialty. Both programs require a capstone project and a forty hour practicum.
