With a master’s degree in nursing, you’ll be qualified to work as a nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, certified clinical nurse specialist, or certified nurse anesthetist. In addition, you can pursue a master’s degree in nursing administration or a master’s degree in nursing education, which prepare you for careers in management and teaching, respectively. This type of advanced degree means that you’ll not only have more job options, but you’ll also make more money, receive better benefits, and have more offers from which to choose when you start applying for jobs.

But are all of these benefits worth the time it takes to get the master’s degree in nursing?

You can actually get started with a career in nursing fairly easily, with just an associate’s degree, which only takes about two years to complete. At this point, however, you’ll only qualify for entry-level positions under the supervision of other nurses, and your job tasks will be extremely limited. You can then go on to get your BSN –- Bachelor of Science in nursing –- if you want to expand your career possibilities. To get your BSN from scratch, it takes about four years of full-time education (around 40 hours per week), or about two years of full-time education if you already have your associate’s degree. Every student is different; if you take extra classes and go to school over the summer, you could complete your degree more quickly, while if you go to school part-time so you can work or take care of a family, getting a BSN may take five or six years.

Once you have a BSN, you qualify to enter a master’s program in nursing, though many nurses choose to get some hands-on experience in a hospital or private practice first. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, a full-time master’s degree program in nursing takes between 18 and 24 months to complete, if you go through the program uninterrupted. For many nurses, however, that’s a luxury that can’t be afforded, so it is a better choice to go to school part-time while working at a healthcare facility.

This is often the better choice for two other reasons as well. First, your practical skills as a nurse won’t get rusty while you’re in school, since you’ll still be working with patients every day. If you attempt to get a master’s degree while working, many health care organizations will also pay for your education, as long as you commit to continuing to work for them upon completion. It’s a great way to go to school for free.

Before you can qualify for a master’s program, you’ll need to be a licensed RN, and most graduate programs require scores from the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT). If you haven’t taken these tests, you may need additional time between your BSN graduation and the start of your MSN program to study and register. Nurses who want to specialize for their master’s degree, but haven’t with their BSN may also need to take some lower-level undergraduate courses to qualify. For example, nurse anesthetists have to have upper-level biochemistry courses before they qualify to start a master’s degree program with an emphasis on nursing anesthetist.

MSN - Adult Nursing MSN - Clinical Nursing MSN - Nurse Midwifery MSN - Women's Health More...	University of Cincinnati — The University of Cincinnati's online nursing programs knows no geographic bounds. Cinci offers several online master's degree programs in nursing, including MSN in clinical nursing, MSN in adult nursing, MSN in nurse midwifery, MSN in nursing administration, MSN in psychiatric health nursing, and MSN in women's health. Students of these programs are required to be BSN holders with some nursing experience.
RN to MS in Nursing MSN - Informatics MSN - Education MSN - Leadership BSN to MS in Nursing	Walden University — Walden University provides nurses with the unique opportunity to advance their careers through master's programs for registered nurses. Specialties include informatics, education, leadership and a general course to help you acquire the knowledge to educate nursing students, staff and patients-and prepare for current and future career opportunities. Walden also offers several BSN to MSN programs.
MS in Nursing MSN - Health Education MSN - Informatics MSN - Health Administration MSN - Healthcare Mgmt	University of Phoenix — The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of registered nurses with baccalaureate-degree preparation. Coursework covers advanced nursing content and process, as well as leadership skills, teaching experience and the ability to manage health care systems. Areas of specialty within their MSN program include health education, informatics, health administration, and healthcare management.
Dual Degree: MSN/MBA MSN - Nurse Education MSN - Nurse Leadership	Grand Canyon University — Earn your dual master's degree in business and nursing, along with specialties in clinical care, education, family nurse practitioner, or nursing leadership at Grand Canyon University's college of nursing and health sciences. Each course can provide you with the skills and techniques you need to become the best in your field.
RN to BSN to MSN MSN - Psychiatric Nurse MSN - Clinical Trials MSN - Adult Acute Care More...	Drexel University — The RN to BSN to MSN track offered by Drexel University is a cutting-edge program that allows students to work on their bachelor's degree while simultaneously pursuing their master's. Students enrolling in this program must be a licensed registered nurse with some prior college experience, perhaps an associate's degree. MSN programs offered: adult acute care, adult psychiatric and mental health, clinical trials research, contemporary nursing faculty, innovation and intra/entrepreneurship in advanced nursing practice, and nursing leadership in health systems management.
MSN - Nurse Education	Graceland University — The 40-credit MSN nurse educator program from Graceland University is CCNE accredited, with online courses lasting eight weeks per session. The curriculum, which includes courses in advanced health assessment, education technology, and issues in nursing education, is designed with the working RN in mind, as students are able to complete the degree from home after hours.
MS in Nursing	Liberty University — Learn how to provide expert clinical care and related health care services to individuals, families and groups of people across the lifespan in a variety of acute care and community settings through Liberty University's Master of Science in Nursing program. Liberty University incorporates core Christian values into all of their degree offerings in order to provide all students a thorough academic and spiritually enriching program of study.
MS in Nursing	Saint Xavier University — For nurses looking for a more advanced role in the workplace, consider the online MSN degree program from Saint Xavier University, which offers a Clinical Nurse Leader focus. Graduates of this program will be prepared to critically assess patient data and treatment options as well as coordinate with doctors and other nurses.
RN to MSN MSN - Informatics MSN - Case Management MSN - Leadership MSN - Infection Prevention	American Sentinel University — For registered nurses looking for further advancement in their careers, the RN to MSN degree programs offered by American Sentinel University offer the learning experience required to advance in nursing informatics, case management, organizational leadership, infection prevention, and more. Students of this program complete 21 undergraduate credits plus 36 graduate-level credits to obtain their degrees.
MS in Nursing MSN - Nurse Administration MSN - Nurse Education	Kaplan University — Earn your M.S. in Nursing with a specialty in nurse administration or nurse education with an online degree from Kaplan University. The Master of Science in Nursing is also a foundation for future doctoral studies, and these online programs makes it easy for you to keep working while you study.
MSN - Nurse Educator MSN - Nurse Educator Bridge	Capella University — The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs from Capella University Online are geared toward BSN graduates currently working as registered nurses (RNs). They offer MSN - Nurse Educator and MSN - Nurse Educator Bridge programs. For those wishing for a flexible and affordable plan to take their nursing careers to the next level, Capella is a very sound choice.
MSN - Nurse Administration MSN - Nurse Education	Norwich University — Norwich University offers master's in nursing degree programs in nurse administration and nursing education. Graduates of each of these programs will be well skilled in healthcare communication, critical thinking, and nursing leadership. Both programs consist of 36 credit hours of online coursework divided into six online seminars.
MS in Nursing	Benedictine University — Benedictine offers an MS in Nursing program that prepares students with the expert nursing knowledge and skill they will need to become specialized nurse practitioners in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinical care units, and doctors' offices.
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