If you're a registered nurse looking to advance your career, DePaul University's Master of Science in nursing program is for you. All courses are available online except clinical hours, which can be completed in your home community.
Students with either a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or diploma and a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field can enter the program and immediately start their graduate coursework. Nurses with the associate degree or diploma start the RN to MS at the bachelor's level before progressing to the MS program. All students graduate with a Master of Science in nursing and a specialty certificate in health administration or health professions education from our partner institution the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.
A DePaul graduate education is designed to prepare you to seize the rapidly expanding career opportunities in the nursing field. Our Master of Science in nursing program allows you to earn the credentials you need to take your nursing career to the next level.
The program:
- Is completed entirely online.
- Builds its curriculum upon your previous education and experience.
- Provides experiences in inter-professional education.
- Allows you to complete clinical requirements locally.
- Is designed to increase your professional opportunities while enrolled.
Program Features
Multiple Entry Points
Required coursework for the Master of Science in nursing degree is dependent on the student's educational portfolio, or point of entry, and is defined by being a Registered Nursing (RN) and possessing one of the following educational credentials:
- A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
- An Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or diploma and a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field
- An Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or diploma
Advance Your Career
Become a leader in your field. Our degree program provides you with the credentials, tools and expertise to become a nurse educator or a nurse administrator. This unique program equips graduates with skills and expertise that open doors for career advancement in a wide variety of acute care, magnet hospital, clinical, community and academic settings. Of recent DePaul nursing graduate students, 84 percent were employed, pursuing further education or not seeking employment or education after graduation.
The RN to MS program prepares students for:
Advanced professional practice and leadership roles in health promotion and illness care.
Continuing academic and clinical education at the post-graduate and doctoral level.
Collaboration and scholarship with others to meet present and future health needs of society.
Flexible Program of Study
The RN to MS program was created for busy working professionals. All academic courses are offered online with 24/7 access to instructional materials. Clinical requirements offer flexibility as well, allowing students to complete coursework in their community through local professional mentor agreements.
With six of your bachelor's degree courses credited toward your master's work, graduation time is shortened by 40 percent. The program can be completed in as little as two years full-time and three years for part-time students, including summers.
RN to MS Curriculum
Our streamlined curriculum emphasizes inter-professional practice and collaborative care in an interactive online-learning environment — reflecting contemporary professional health education.
For Students with a BS in Nursing, or an Associate Degree in Nursing and a Bachelor Degree in a Non-Nursing Field
Core BS in Nursing Coursework (3 courses, 12 quarter hours)
The following coursework is only required for registered nurses who have a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field along with an ADN or diploma. Students can work concurrently on bachelor's degree and master's degree coursework.
- NSG 330: Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice
- NSG 376: Professional Nurse as Community Case Manager
- NSG 377: Practicum
Core MS in Nursing Coursework (10 courses, 40 quarter hours)
- NSG 400: Theoretical Components of Nursing
- NSG 401: Research
- NSG 429: Pathophysiology and Applied Pharmacology
- NSG 431: Family and Community
- NSG 445: Nursing Professionalism, Advocacy and Leadership
- NSG 460: Advanced Health Assessment
- NSG 481: Biostatistics and Applied Epidemiology
- NSG 540: Culture, Ethics and Policy Analysis
- NSG 554: Informatics and Technology Applications
- NSG 598: Graduate Synthesis
Nursing Specialty
Choose either a track in Health Care Administration OR Health Professions Education
Nursing Administration (5 courses, 18 quarter hours)
- NSG 561: Evidence Based Management
- NSG 564: Organizational Behavior and Human Resources
- NSG 565: Strategic Planning and Leadership in Healthcare
- NSG 569: Topics in Healthcare Administration
- NSG 596: Capstone in Nursing Administration (through DePaul)
- NSG 570: Learning Theories
- NSG 574: Classroom Assessment
- NSG 575: Course Development
- NSG 579: Evaluating Clinical Competence
- NSG 597: Capstone in Nursing Education (through DePaul)
- NSG XXX: Portfolio Presentation (through DePaul)
For Students with an Associate Degree in Nursing
This program is designed to enable accelerated completion. Students that do not possess a bachelor's degree (in any field) will complete coursework towards their Bachelor of Science in nursing before completing any graduate or certificate coursework. The bachelor's degree portion of the program includes 10 nursing courses (six are double-credited toward the master's degree), five to seven liberal studies courses (determined by transcript review of work completed beyond the associate degree curriculum).
Students will receive 45 quarter hours of banked portfolio credit for the nursing courses taken at the associate degree/diploma level. Students will receive full credit after completing NSG 330 and NSG 431 with a grade of B or higher. Students must take 60 quarter hours at DePaul to meet residency requirements.
Liberal Studies Program (LSP) Requirements
Students are required to fulfill coursework in the Liberal Studies Program (LSP), which is designed to develop writing abilities, computational and technological proficiencies, and critical and creative thinking skills. Students are required to take one course from each of the following learning domains:
- Arts and Literature
- Philosophical Inquiry
- Religious Dimensions
- Understanding the Past
Additionally, students are required to take LSP 200 (Multiculturalism in the U.S.) and two electives from any LSP learning domain.
- LSP 200: Multiculturalism in the U.S.
- LSP: Arts and Literature
- LSP: Philosophical Inquiry
- LSP: Religious Dimensions
- LSP: Understanding the Past
Core BS in Nursing Coursework (4 courses, 16 quarter hours)
- NSG 330: Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice
- NSG 376: Professional Nurse as Community Case Manager
- NSG 377: Practicum
- NSG 380: Synthesis
Dual-Counted BS and MS Coursework (6 courses, 24 quarter hours)
- NSG 400: Theoretical Components of Nursing
- NSG 401: Research
- NSG 431: Family and Community
- NSG 445: Nursing Professionalism, Advocacy and Leadership
- NSG 460: Advanced Health Assessment
- NSG 540: Culture, Ethics and Policy Analysis
Core MS in Nursing Coursework (4 courses, 16 quarter hours)
- NSG 429: Pathophysiology and Applied Pharmacology
- NSG 481: Biostatistics and Applied Epidemiology
- NSG 554: Informatics and Technology Applications
- NSG 598: Graduate Synthesis
Nursing Specialty
Choose either a track in Health Care Administration OR Health Professions Education
Nursing Administration (5 courses, 18 quarter hours)
- NSG 561: Evidence Based Management
- NSG 564: Organizational Behavior and Human Resources
- NSG 565: Strategic Planning and Leadership in Healthcare
- NSG 569: Topics in Healthcare Administration
- NSG 596: Capstone in Nursing Administration (through DePaul)
- NSG 570: Learning Theories
- NSG 574: Classroom Assessment
- NSG 575: Course Development
- NSG 579: Evaluating Clinical Competence
- NSG 597: Capstone in Nursing Education (through DePaul)
- NSG XXX: Portfolio Presentation (through DePaul)
Apply Today
Get started on the path to career mobility. Review the
admission requirements for the RN to MS program and apply today!