Nursing and Health Professions
Advance your nursing skills to keep pace with the changing demands of health care.
At a Glance
- Program: Master of Science in Nursing
- Audience: Graduate students
- Format:
- Online (available for nursing administration and education tracks)
- Face-to-face (all tracks)
- Hybrid (all tracks)
- Off-campus cohorts
- Next Start Date: Summer 2023
- Cost: $710 per credit for 33 credits of master’s courses. (Students in the nursing informatics track pay IU’s per-credit tuition for 24 credits at Immaculata and Penn State’s per-credit rate for 9 credits at Penn State Great Valley.)
- Time to Completion: About 3 years, while working full-time
Earn your M.S.N. and become a nurse leader equipped to guide nursing care and improve patient outcomes. Gain a foundation in theory, health care policy and research through this 33-credit program. Work with inspiring mentors to solve real-world challenges in health care.
Expand your job mobility, professional network and opportunities for higher earnings. Choose from tracks in:
- Nursing administration
- Nursing education
- NEW: Nursing informatics
(In partnership with Penn State Great Valley’s Graduate Certificate in Analytics for Managers program)
Program Highlights
- Attend classes as part of a cohort, which creates a professional learning community to enhance student interaction and support.
- Hone your knowledge and skills through mentorship from preceptors in practicums. You will complete a clinical practicum that focuses on trends in a nursing specialty area, and a practicum related to your track in the program.
- Analyze and reflect on a nursing practice issue in your capstone course, and present your research to a professional audience.
Nursing Administration Track
Lead and Engage
The evolving health care industry requires strong leaders to respond to clinical, organizational and fiscal challenges. This track prepares nurse administrators with:
- Strong communication skills
- Financial knowledge
- Personnel management
- Organization theory
- Negotiation skills
- Business acumen
In the administration practicum, focus on professional development, quality outcome management, and legal, regulatory and ethical issues in relation to selected administrative functions of nurse administrators. Each student will develop competencies of a nurse administrator under the guidance of a preceptor, who holds a minimum of a master’s degree in nursing. You will be prepared to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Certified Nurse Executive Exam.
Opportunities and Outcomes
Career Outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects to see high growth for managers of health services in the coming decade, and these professionals earn a median salary of $101,340.
Nursing Education Track
Touch the Future–Teach!
Combining adult learning theory with hands-on teaching experiences, this track prepares you with instructional skills and mastery of content to teach future nurses or current practitioners in academic settings or professional settings in health care systems.
In the education practicum, examine the theory and methods of effective classroom and clinical teaching in nursing, and gain experience as a nurse educator. You will be prepared to take the National League for Nursing Certified Nurse Educator Exam.
Opportunities and Outcomes
Career Outlook
More nurse educators are needed to help train new professionals to address the nursing shortage. Nursing schools are working to make space for more students to meet high demand for new nurses.
NEW: Nursing Informatics Track with Graduate Certificate in Analytics for Managers
Integrate nursing science with data analysis to manage and communicate data that enhances nursing practice and improves patient care.
Through an innovative partnership, Immaculata University’s Master of Science in Nursing Informatics is offered in conjunction with Penn State Great Valley’s Graduate Certificate in Analytics for Managers. Earn two credentials to diversify your skills: a graduate certificate in analytics for managers through Penn State Great Valley and an M.S.N. from Immaculata University.
Opportunities and Outcomes
Career Outlook
More health care organizations are using electronic health record systems, increasing the need for specialists who can understand and interpret the data to make informed clinical decisions. According to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, common job titles include:
- Nurse informaticist
- Nursing informatics specialist
- Nursing informatics clinician
- Clinical nurse informatics specialist
- Chief nursing informatics officer
- Perioperative informatics nurse
Alumni Spotlight
Abigail Benbow ’21 M.S.N. maintains a positive outlook on her work as a nurse at Chestnut Hill Hospital. Read more.
Admission Requirements
To apply for the M.S.N. program, you must hold a baccalaureate degree in nursing from an NLNAC or CCNE accredited school or its equivalent. You may be eligible to apply if you are a registered nurse who holds a bachelor’s degree in a field other than nursing.
Please submit the required application materials for Immaculata University’s master’s programs, as well as:
- Current résumé
- Current R.N. license
- Minimum GPA of 3.0 preferred; applicants with a GPA of less than 2.8 must submit acceptable scores on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Nursing informatics track students must submit additional materials to Penn State Great Valley:
- Penn State graduate application
- Official transcripts from each undergraduate and graduate school attended
Financial Aid
The M.S.N. program qualifies for federal financial aid. Apply through Immaculata for loans. Immaculata University will facilitate all financial aid, including the semesters nursing informatics students are enrolled at Penn State Great Valley.
R.N. to M.S.N. Bridge Program (For R.N.s who hold a non-B.S.N. degree)
If you are an R.N. who graduated from an accredited nursing school with a non-nursing baccalaureate degree, you must meet B.S.N.-equivalent competencies in nursing leadership, research, and community health. These competencies may be validated through a professional portfolio (a three-credit course) or collegiate coursework after admission. Immaculata’s R.N. to M.S.N. bridge program allows you to complete the B.S.N.-equivalent competencies that demonstrate knowledge foundational for M.S.N. study.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Critically seek, evaluate, and develop an expanding knowledge of nursing.
- Use leadership abilities, moral and ethical principles, and professional standards to guide one’s own nursing practice and that of others.
- Impact nursing practice through scientific inquiry and the dissemination of research findings.
- Integrate concepts, models, and theories from nursing science and related disciplines into advanced nursing practice.
- For nursing informatics students:
- Integrate an advanced understanding of nursing science, computer science, information science and data analytics into advanced nursing practice.
- Demonstrate competence in management of health care data to improve patient care.
Required Curriculum
This 33-credit MSN program consists of the following:
- General Core (3 credits)
- Nursing Concentration (15 credits)
- Specialization Core (15 credits)
Prerequisite
NURS 500 Professional Portfolio (for non-nursing bachelor’s admits) (3 credits)
General Core (3 credits)
GEN 503 Interpersonal Relations (3 credits)
Nursing Concentration (15 credits)
- NURS 621 Role Development for Advanced Nursing Practice (3) -OR- NURS 623 Role Development for Nursing Informaticists (3)
- NURS 625 Health Care Policy and Politics (3)
- NURS 640 Advanced Health Assessment (3)
- NURS 655 Nursing Research (3)
- NURS 690 MSN Capstone (3)
Nursing Administration Track
- MML 603 Managing Organizational Effectiveness (3)
- NURS 670 Nursing Administration (3)
- NURS 672 Financial Management of Health Care Organizations (3)
- NURS 681 Clinical Practicum (3)
- NURS 684 Administration Practicum (3)
Nursing Education Track
- NURS 645 Advanced Pathopharmacology (3)
- NURS 660 Seminar for Nurse Educators I (3)
- NURS 661 Seminar for Nurse Educators II (3)
- NURS 681 Clinical Practicum (3)
- NURS 683 Education Practicum (3)
Nursing Informatics Specialization Core (15 credits)
- NURS 630 Statistical Analysis for Managerial Decision (BUSAD 801) (Penn State) (3)
- NURS 631 Data Visualization (DAAN 871) (Penn State) (3)
- NURS 681 Clinical Practicum (3)
- NURS 686 Nursing Informatics Practicum (3)
- NURS 632 People Analytics (BUSAD 843) (Penn State) (3); -OR- NURS 633 Driving Business Success with Marketing Analytics (MKTG 811) (Penn State) (3)
Accreditation
The master’s degree program in nursing at Immaculata University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.
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