Nursing Department Program Features
Students can complete this MSN program in a minimum of 24 months of intensive part-time studies.
The MSN program will develop in the BSN prepared nurse the necessary skills to fill leadership, practice, or education roles in a variety of organization. Courses may change without notice, please consult the MSN director for current schedule.
- General Core - 9 credits
GEN 503 Interpersonal Relations (required) 3 Credits GEN 502 Methods of Research (required) 3 Credits *GEN 501 Human Development OR 3 Credits *GEN 505 Adult Human Development OR
3 Credits *Cross-disciplinary Elective (outside of the nursing department) 3 Credits *Student chooses one course with advisement based on academic background, practice, and area of specialization.
- Nursing Concentration - 15 credits
NUR 620 3 Credits NUR 625 Healthcare Policy and Politics 3 Credits NUR 640 Advanced Health Assessment 3 Credits NUR 655 Nursing Research 3 Credits NUR 690 or MSN: Challenges & Solutions
or3 Credits 691 MSN: Challenges & Solutions for Advanced Practice Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses 3 Credits
- Specialization Track - 18 credits
- Nursing-Administration Track
- Nursing-Education Track
- Advanced Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (on hiatus for admissions until September 2006)
Although the students may enter the program at three different starting times during the academic year, courses are scheduled so that all students entering the program during an academic year may take some nursing courses together. The faculty believes that students taking nursing courses together provides graduate nursing students with an opportunity to socialize and come together as a community of adult learners with separate but related professional goals.
The MSN program has a strong foundation in nursing, with interdisciplinary endeavors. The faculty from the Nursing Department build upon the core skills identified by the College of Graduate Studies, to assist the graduate nursing student to assume leadership positions in health care for the 21st century.
The students receive strong faculty advisement as they select nursing and cross-disciplinary electives that will assist them in meeting their professional goals.
Responding to the non-traditional needs of students developed in the undergraduate nursing program, the graduate nursing program is flexible in the delivery of this program, such as block course scheduling and on-line courses.
A final capstone course provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate the critical thinking skills they have developed as a result of the MSN program. During this capstone course students will work with a full-time member of the nursing faculty to:
- Identify a problem from their clinical practicum.
- Develop a proposed method(s) of effectively intervening with individuals with this specific problem which:
- draws from all previous knowledge gathered throughout the MSN curriculum, and
- encompasses principles extracted from inter and cross-disciplinary coursework to provide the nursing faculty with the opportunity to assess the student' ability to assume leadership positions in nursing.