The innovative and student-centered MSN online program from the School of Health Science and Wellness at Northwest Missouri State University gives professional nurses the ability to lead, care, and collaborate across a modern healthcare system for delivery of optimal care. Tracks within the degree are focused on the role of a nurse executive/administration and nurse educator.
$10,500 Total Tuition
In as little as 12 months Program Duration
30 Credit Hours
Taught by experienced, supportive faculty, our advanced nursing courses provide the evidence-based approach you need to provide patients a higher level of expert care. You will learn how to implement evidence-based practice to assist in your role as a nurse administrator or nurse educator. The program will teach you to integrate nursing standards of care and ethics into your daily practice as a graduate nurse. And will build your knowledge of leadership skills, educational methods, and healthcare policy to advance your professional practice.
Program Documents
Graduates of this program will be prepared to:
- Appreciate the impact of culture and diversity within nursing and global health initiatives.
- Assess nursing theories and concepts toward the role of a professional nurse
- Evaluate principles of prevention and health promotion when providing care to individuals, families, and communities
- Influence effective professional communication and collaboration to provide quality client care Interpret research findings that influence evidence-based practice nursing
- Foster a process of lifelong learning in the development of one's self, nursing practice, and the profession
- Develop evidence-based quality improvement initiatives to enhance healthcare outcomes.
- Formulate leadership skills and knowledge of healthcare policy, fiduciary responsibility, and regulatory systems to advance high quality, safe, professional practice
- Examine professional values, ethical, and legal aspects of nursing into one's professional practice
- Integrate health information technology into nursing practice to deliver quality client care
The Northwest Missouri State University Master of Science in Nursing (delivered through distance education) holds pre-accreditation status from the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation, located at 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20037, 202-909-2526. Holding pre-accreditation status does not guarantee that initial accreditation by NLN CNEA will be received.
Northwest Missouri State University, Master of Science in Nursing program is pursuing accreditation from the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA), located at 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20037; phone 202-909-2526. Interested parties are invited to submit third-party comments in writing directly to NLN CNEA, attention Lesleyan Jackson, NLN CNEA Manager, Accreditation Services, no later than April 7, 2021.
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After clicking the "Begin Application" button, utilize these application instructions to help you in the process:
- Choose All Graduate Applicants
- Create a login ID and PIN number
- Choose your application type as: 01. Online Professional Grad
- Enter personal information
- When filling out your application under the planned course of study: Choose the track you want: MSN- Nurse Educator or MSN- Nurse Executive/Administration
- Complete application in full and submit!
Begin Application
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Our MSN online program offers affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition, which is the same for in-state and out-of-state students.
$350 Per Credit Hour
$10,500 Program Tuition
Tuition Breakdown
| Program |
Per Credit Hour |
Per Course Fee |
Per 3-Credit Hour Course |
Per Program |
| MSN |
$350 |
$30 |
$1,050 |
$10,500 |
Important Refund Information
| 1st day of class |
Last date for 100% refund for dropped course |
| 2nd day of class |
Last date for 75% refund for dropped course |
| 3rd day of class |
Last date for 50% refund for dropped course |
| 4th day of class |
Last date for 25% refund for dropped course |
Required Fees:
Application fee: $50
Required fee per course: $30
Graduation fee: $56
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Full Admission
- An official undergraduate transcript from an accredited nursing program showing you have completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 in BSN course work
- Unencumbered United States issued Registered Nursing license
Conditional Admission
- An official undergraduate transcript from an accredited nursing program showing you have completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0-2.4 in BSN course work
- Unencumbered United States issued Registered Nursing license
- Requirements to receive full admission:
- Must earn grade of B or higher in the first two MSN core courses or be subject to suspension for one calendar year.
- First two courses are taken singly and cannot be taken expedited (2 courses at a time)
MSN Student Handbook 
**All students must maintain the required 3.0 GPA through graduate course work as specified in the following policy:
Grade Point Average: Minimum Required for Graduation
- The overall grade point average must be 3.00 (“B”) or above in the major study area. All graduate coursework taken at Northwest must average 3.00 or above, with no more than six hours of “C,” and no hours of “D” or “F”. Transfer credit grades do not apply to calculating the 3.00 GPA in courses taken at Northwest.
You can send your official transcripts directly from the school through the mail or electronically through email if your school issues transcripts electronically. You will want to check with your individual school(s) to see if electronic is an option for you. For applicants who have received their bachelor’s degree from Northwest, your transcripts will be requested for you by the graduate office.
If you are sending your transcript through the mail, you can have your transcripts sent to the following address:
Northwest Missouri State University
Graduate Office
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468
If you are sending your transcript through the email, you can have your transcripts sent to this email address: onlinegd@nwmissouri.edu or gradsch@nwmissouri.edu.
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NURS 01-601 Foundational Concepts for a Nurse Leader
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Nurses are called to be leaders, to serve as change agents, and to practice to the full extent of their education and training in order to advance health across the population (IOM, 2010). This course will explore the foundational concepts of the graduate-level prepared registered nurse and the advanced functions inherent in that role.
NURS 01-602 Nursing Informatics and Technology for the Advanced Nurse
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The nursing profession is transforming, and nurses must be able to use information technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error and support decision making (QSEN, 2019). This course will focus on evaluating information systems and technological resources used in patient care settings to support decisions that promote safe, quality client care.
NURS 01-603 Evidence Based Practice Research Methods
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The nursing profession is challenged with staying abreast of new information influencing nursing practice. Nurses must be able to analyze research methods, and research findings to evaluate its relevance to nursing practice and quality improvement efforts. This course will focus on analyzing quantitative and qualitative approaches to research, data collection methods, data analysis, and the legal and ethical issues of research. Students will apply their knowledge of research to an evidence-based practice initiative.
NURS 01-604 Global Health Systems
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Nurses are committed to advancing health and understand the need for healthcare transcends differences in respect to culture, values, and preferences across the global population (ANA Scope and Standards, 2015). This course will analyze the impact of social, political, and economic influences on the global environment and human health experience.
NURS 01-605 Nursing and Healthcare Policies
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Nurses influence policy to promote health (ANA Scope and Standards, 2015). They must be actively involved in policy development to accelerate the nursing profession and to support the overall health of the population. This course will discuss policy development in healthcare and evaluate nursing’s responsibility in shaping public and private policy.
NURS 01-611 Professional Practice of the Nurse Executive in Healthcare Organizations
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Nursing leaders recognize organizational and systems leadership are critical to the promotion of high quality and safe patient care. Leadership skills are needed that emphasize ethical and critical decision making, effective working relationships, and a systems-perspective (AACN, 2011). This course focuses on the essential competencies nurse executives require to lead within modern healthcare organizations. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-612 Structures and Processes of a Nurse Executive
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The nurse executive needs to understand and manage the financial implications within the healthcare system. This course will focus on reimbursement systems, effective and efficient models of nursing care, and financial policy. Processes for operational and capital budgeting, strategic planning, revenue management, and forecasting will be examined. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-613 Leadership Effectiveness of the Nurse Leader
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Nursing leaders recognize they serve as members and leaders of interprofessional teams in order to communicate, collaborate, and consult with other health professionals to manage and coordinate care (AACN, 2011). They must work to establish a healthy, ethical, and safe workplace environment. This course will focus on relationship-building, human resource management, conflict resolution, change theory, mentorship, coaching, workplace diversity, and shared governance. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-614 Knowledge Management of the Nurse Executive
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Nurse executives are life-long learners. They use the leadership role to establish an organizational culture and processes to promote research innovation and application of research outcomes to practice (AACN, 2011). This course will focus on knowledge translation to practice models, research evaluation and dissemination, IRB requirements, evidence-based practice application, and quality improvement processes. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-615 Nurse Executive/Administration Capstone
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The nurse executive leads, influences, and governs within the healthcare environment to foster a culture of clinical excellence, innovation, transformation, and engagement (ANA, 2016). In this course students will participate in an experiential learning experience with a nurse leader within a healthcare organization. They will apply complex knowledge and skills to address the developing needs of the healthcare system. The student will design an evidence-based, data supported master’s leadership project. Completion of this capstone fulfills the graduate professional development requirement. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-621 Advanced Pathophysiology, Health Assessment, and Pharmacology
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
This course builds upon undergraduate nursing education and practice experience to refine and further develop nursing knowledge and skills related to pathophysiology, health assessment, and pharmacology across the lifespan. The focus is on advanced knowledge and skills needed by nurse educators in both direct- and indirect-care roles. In this course students integrate concepts of pathophysiological processes, physical assessment and diagnostic findings, and pharmacologic management. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-622 Curriculum Development
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The nursing profession is ever evolving; therefore, nurse educators must formulate curriculum that integrates innovation and evidence-based practice findings (Billings & Halstead, 2020). This course will focus on the role of the nurse educator in curriculum development and explore the influence of current education trends, technological integration, theoretical framework, and professional standard alignment. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-623 Instructional Strategies in Learning and Teaching
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Teaching in nursing education is a complex undertaking that utilizes evidence-based practice findings to enhance innovative teaching and learning strategies (Billings & Halstead, 2020). This course will focus on effective teaching and learning methods used in a variety of teaching settings with diverse student needs. Theoretical frameworks of teaching and learning will be discussed. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-624 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
A nurse educator should be prepared to use evidence-based assessment and evaluation methods to measure student learning, and to identify quality improvement efforts across the nursing program. This course will focus on the application of assessment and evaluation methods for outcome measurement in nursing education. Includes an experiential learning experience.
NURS 01-625 Nurse Educator Capstone
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Nurse educators are required to utilize the NLN core competencies to understand how to effectively teach and practice within healthcare and higher education organizations (Halstead, 2019). In this course, students will participate in an experiential learning experience with a nurse educator. The student will apply complex knowledge and skills to address the developing needs of the nurse educator role. The student will design an evidence-based, data supported master’s project focused on the NLN core competencies of the nurse educator. Completion of this capstone fulfills the graduate professional development requirement. Includes an experiential learning experience.
