Registered Nurse to Master of Science in Nursing – Nursing Administration online
Become a highly effective nurse leader in a variety of healthcare environments with this CCNE-accredited online master’s in nursing administration program.
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Program Overview
Explore the value our RN to MSN – Nursing Administration online program.
$26,769.50
Total Tuition
20 months
Duration
58*
Credit Hours
In the WP Registered Nurse to Master of Science in Nursing – Nursing Administration online program, you will develop high-demand skills in organizational leadership. This unique online MSN – Nursing Administration enhances the interprofessional business knowledge you need as a nursing administrator through the integration of MBA courses from the Cotsakos College of Business. In addition to business curricula, you will complete embedded RN to BSN courses, after which WP will grant your Bachelor of Science in Nursing, qualifying you for new career opportunities as you continue toward your MSN.
This RN to MSN Nursing Administration online program is designed to be flexible for working RNs and features 100 percent online coursework. Rigorous curriculum is taught by experienced faculty who are committed to your success. As a student, you will complete the theory and practicum course requirements you need to apply for the Nurse Executive, Advanced Certification Examination offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), or the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) administrator certification exams: Certified Nurse Manager and Leader (CNML) and Executive Nursing Practice (CENP).
In addition to the skills you will gain from our online RN to MSN program, you will also be able to:
- Apply advanced knowledge of nursing theories, related sciences and humanities, and methods of inquiry in the delivery of healthcare services
- Develop leadership and communicate effectively using the collaborative approach to improve quality care
- Analyze changes in the healthcare system through the design and implementation of health-related projects that strengthen the outcomes in the healthcare delivery system
- Apply evidence, research, and theory to improve health services
- Apply current health information and technologies to advance the quality and accessibility of care
- Advocate for healthcare policies and systems to improve healthcare
- Analyze systems responses to health and illness to improve the promotion, restoration, and maintenance of health that reflect respect across diverse cultures
- Engage in advanced nursing care to individuals, families, communities, and clinical populations
- Apply advanced knowledge of nursing theories, related sciences and humanities, and methods of inquiry in the delivery of healthcare services
- Develop leadership and communicate effectively using the collaborative approach to improve quality care
- Analyze changes in the healthcare system through the design and implementation of health-related projects that strengthen the outcomes in the healthcare delivery system
- Apply evidence, research, and theory to improve health services
- Apply current health information and technologies to advance the quality and accessibility of care
- Advocate for healthcare policies and systems to improve healthcare
- Analyze systems responses to health and illness to improve the promotion, restoration, and maintenance of health that reflect respect across diverse cultures
- Engage in advanced nursing care to individuals, families, communities, and clinical populations
This master’s in nursing administration prepares you for management and leadership roles, including:
- Chief Nursing Officer
- Chief Administration Officer
- Nurse Manager
- Charge Nurse
- Chief Nursing Officer
- Chief Administration Officer
- Nurse Manager
- Charge Nurse
$26,769.50
Total Tuition
As few as 20 months
Duration
58*
Credit Hours
The baccalaureate degree in nursing, master's degree in nursing, post-master's degree certification in adult gerontology and family nurse practitioner, and DNP programs at William Paterson University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (ccneaccreditation.org). Expires June 30, 2030.
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Tuition
Discover how online programs at WP can fit into any budget.
The William Paterson University master’s in nursing administration online program offers affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition. Tuition includes a nursing course fee that provides students a range of services and resources that specifically support student learning and success in the online nursing program.
Tuition breakdown:
$26,769.50
Total Tuition
$329.75
Per Credit Hour
Tuition breakdown:
$26,769.50
Total Tuition
Calendar
Update your calendar with these important deadlines.
William Paterson University online RN to MSN programs are delivered in a convenient format ideal for working professionals, featuring accelerated coursework and six start dates each year.
Now enrolling:
1/5/25
Apply Date
1/27/25
Class Starts
| Term | Start Date | App Deadline | Document Deadline | Registration Deadline | Tuition Deadline | Class End Date | Term Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring I | 1/27/25 | 1/5/25 | 1/8/25 | 1/17/25 | 1/22/25 | 3/16/25 | 7 weeks |
| Spring II | 3/24/25 | 3/2/25 | 3/5/25 | 3/14/25 | 3/19/25 | 5/11/25 | 7 weeks |
| Summer I | 5/19/25 | 4/27/25 | 4/30/25 | 5/9/25 | 5/14/25 | 7/6/25 | 7 weeks |
| Summer II | 7/14/25 | 6/22/25 | 6/24/25 | 7/3/25 | 7/9/25 | 8/31/25 | 7 weeks |
| Fall I | 9/8/25 | 8/17/25 | 8/20/25 | 8/29/25 | 9/3/25 | 10/26/25 | 7 weeks |
| Fall II | 11/3/25 | 10/12/25 | 10/15/25 | 10/24/25 | 10/29/25 | 12/21/25 | 7 weeks |
Now enrolling:
1/5/25
Apply Date
1/27/25
Class Starts
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Ready to take the rewarding path toward earning your degree online?
Admissions
Get started on your master’s in nursing administration online application.
At WP, we’ve streamlined the admission process to help you get started right away. Please note all requirements for admission to the RN to Master of Science in Nursing Administration online program, including required documents and where to send them. Review the Program Map to determine eligibility of this program in your state.
The requirements include:
- Associate degree or diploma from an accredited institution
- RN license valid and unencumbered
- GPA of 2.5 or higher
You must meet the following requirements for admission to the RN to MSN – Nursing Administration online program:
- Submit online application and $50 application fee
- Associate degree or diploma from an accredited university, with a minimum 2.5 overall GPA
- Valid, unencumbered RN license active in the state in which they are practicing
- Official transcripts from all institutions attended
- Upon completion of the BSN course requirements of this degree program, students must be employed as an RN in the state in which they wish to practice to qualify for the MSN portion of this degree program. To matriculate into the MSN, students will need to submit a resume via email at that time showing their current employment status.
A 3.0 GPA must be maintained to continue to MSN portion of the program.
Official transcripts and other documents should be sent from the granting institutions to:
Email address: [email protected]
Mail address:
Office of Graduate Admissions & Enrollment ServicesWilliam Paterson University
Morrison Hall 102
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, NJ 07470
At WP, you’ll learn from nursing faculty who are committed to your success while serving as innovative pioneers in their fields. Two WP nursing professors received the Diva and Don Award in 2019 for advancing healthcare in New Jersey.
Courses
Explore the topics you will study in your RN to MSN – Nursing Administration online program.
In order to earn the RN to MSN – Nursing Administration online, you must complete 58 credit hours and 320 clinical hours. Students without the required statistics course will need to complete additional hours. 30 credit hours for RN to BSN must be completed prior to matriculation into MSN portion of the program, allowing for conferral of BSN at that time.
NUR 4307: Leadership Seminar
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This seminar course is the application of nursing leadership concepts necessary for a baccalaureate degree in nursing. Class activities promote leadership practice in assessing outcome indicators related to health problems/diagnoses of children and adults. Students synthesize nursing and inter-professional knowledge as they hone the ability to manage health care situations and enact the professional nursing role.
NUR 4280: Healthcare Economics
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This is a study of the economics of illness care, third-party payers and the business of healthcare. The application of economic principles and tools will be used to examine the health care industry and the role of the nurse. The content includes demand management; concepts of efficiency; impact regulation and health care policy; and an understanding of economic decision-making in the health care arena.
NUR 4252: Dimensions of Public Health Post Licensure
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The application of public health concepts provides the framework for this course. In conjunction with community partners, students conduct a community assessment collecting data from a variety of sources. Selected health indicators are discussed, as are goals, objectives and interventions to improve the health of populations. Principles of epidemiology are applied. Students observe and participate in health policy development and delivery of services at the community level.
NUR 5701: Population Health, Legislation and Social Policy
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Explores the social determinants of health, political process, and development of social policy. Evidence-based populations interventions and outcomes will be examined. Selected legislation that influences healthcare delivery will be analyzed.
NUR 4361: Nursing Practice for RN-BSN
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
In this course, the student will develop collaborative relationships with patients, families and other health care providers in order to design and coordinate health care. Students will demonstrate judicious integration of evidence and other sources of information in nursing care of populations and individuals. Students will engage in experiences in a variety of public health/community settings and will care for clients across the age span with physical and psycho-social needs. Students are expected to take an active role in the construction of their own learning.
NUR 3500: Nursing Research
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Designed as a writing intensive course to help the student understand and utilize research concepts and methods by developing the ability to analyze, criticize, and interpret research. Students address the process of how research is applied to nursing practice through critiquing several published research studies and submitting an evidence-based practice project proposal.
NUR 4305: Leadership and Professional Practice
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The course will enable the students to examine the economic, sociocultural, ethical and legal processes affecting health care delivery systems and their subsequent effect on the nursing profession. Emphasis will be placed on leadership and management theory.
Students must choose one of the following courses:
NUR 5081: The Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Provides evidence-based knowledge on the leadership of advanced practice nurse roles within the healthcare delivery system. Current socio-cultural, ethical, and legal issues will be examined. The role of the APN will be analyzed in working in interdisciplinary teams and focus on the skills of collaboration with other health professions to improve quality care.
NUR 6011: Advanced Pharmacology
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides students with information that will enable them to apply clinical pharmacotherapeutics to client care. Standard and new drugs; drug delivery systems in pharmacotherapy; age-and illness-related modifications across the lifespan; and drug and food interactions are emphasized. The legal and regulatory aspects of drug administration with the prescriptive authority of the advanced practice nurse will be explored.
Students will complete either NUR 5081 or NUR 6011 during the RN to BSN portion of the program and will only need to take the other during MSN portion.
NUR 5001: Theoretical Foundations For Nursing
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Focuses on theory development and criteria for evaluating theories. Emphasis is on a variety of interdisciplinary and nursing theories and their application to clinical and community nursing based practice. Includes an exploration of contemporary issues in theory development and the relationship between theory and research in nursing as a practice discipline.
NUR 6021: Nursing Research Strategies: Translational Science
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Provides graduate students with the skills for critically evaluating and participating in nursing research, evidence-base clinical practice, quality improvement, & translational research. All phases of the research process for quantitative and qualitative designs are incorporated. Emphasis is placed on the relationship among theory, practice and research. Ethical implications of research are considered. Students address evidence-based practice and are introduced to quality improvement models. Each student develops a thesis pre-proposal with application to their area of clinical interest to be implemented as the masters’ thesis requirement.
NUR 6070: Principles of Nursing Administration
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Current leadership and management theory and strategy are used to examine issues within a multidisciplinary healthcare environment. Focus is on the critical study of the concept of leadership. Emphasis is placed on the development of leadership in self and others, ethical and legal issues, communication, change strategies, conflict management and team building.
NUR 6080: Financial Management of Community
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Provides students with beginning expertise in fiscal management so that clinically innovative programs can be proposed and implemented. Content reflects current changes in the healthcare delivery system, including a review of management decisions related to the allocation of financial resources in the not for profit sector as well as a study of cost problems with emphasis on profit planning. Includes computer applications of budgeting using electronic spreadsheets.
NUR 6062: Healthcare Data Analytics
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Data analytics plays an increasingly greater role in healthcare organizations. The course provides healthcare administrators with foundational knowledge of analytics, covering key components of the data analysis process, including strategies for effectively capturing and communicating information gleaned from data analytics efforts and performance improvement.
MKT 6085: Marketing for Decision-Making
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
Marketing is viewed as a system designed to create, capture, distribute, and communicate value to consumers and businesses. The course emphasizes the managerial approach to developing marketing strategy through analyses of business conditions, customers, and competitors. Emphasis is given to understanding buyer motivations, behaviors, and contexts as the basis for marketing decisions.
ACCT 6065: Financial Accounting for Decision-Makers
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
This course provides students with an introduction to basic accounting fundamentals and skills necessary to analyze financial information of firms from a decision-maker perspective. Financial information is presented in the form of financial statements, principally, the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and cash flow statement. We will discuss how accountants organize the results of business transactions and report them to external users who will then use the reports to make decisions.
ECON 6095: Economic Analysis for Decision-Makers
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
This course will help students to develop a comprehensive analysis of the micro and macroeconomic forces that shape and modify our economy. Supply and Demand, Revenue and Cost, wages, employment, regulations and taxation are discussed as they affect production, consumption, investment, trade, prices, quantities, profits, inequality, and the economy as a whole.
MGT 6045: Foundations of Management
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
This course takes a broad-based look at management and organizations in order to provide students with the building blocks needed for more advanced classes in the program. It exposes students to the history of management thought and to some of the most influential organizational theories. It uses insights from multiple disciplines such as economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and political economy and offers frameworks for analyzing modern organizations and current managerial practices. The course concludes with a discussion of contemporary issues in management.
MBA 6055: Statistics for Decision-Making
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
The main objective of this course is to introduce the basic statistical concepts and tools in order to form the foundation through which students can analyze data used for decision-making. The course is application-oriented and focuses on topics that are useful in business and industry such as descriptive statistics, probability, conceptual modeling, and problem formulation and decision analysis. The course prepares students to develop an understanding of how to deal with new trends in the industry such as big data and data mining.
FIN 6075: Finance for Decision-Makers
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
A study of the basic principles and practices of financial management of private (as opposed to government owned or affiliated) business operations. The principles and models discussed in the course can be equally applied to publicly listed companies as well as privately owned ones. This course includes an operational framework for financial analysis, financial planning including capital budgeting, along with valuation analysis and cost of capital. The basic framework of analysis used is that of risk and return, emphasizing that the objective of the firm is to maximize shareholder return, subject to satisfying societal and other stakeholder concerns.
NUR 7255: Advanced Nursing Role Practicum for the Administrator
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
The roles and competencies of the nurse administrator. The practicum will provide students with experience in their functional role within a variety of health care settings with diverse populations. Clinical practicum requires 170 supervised hours. Seminars, which are two-and-one-half hours every other week, enable students to integrate learning.
*We have made transferring your credits easy! 30 of the total 120 credits needed for a baccalaureate degree will be awarded for the RN license. In addition, the University Core Curriculum (general education) will be considered complete for applicants with an AS, AAS or Diploma and 60 college credits, meaning you will only need to complete the 30 hour nursing program and a Statistics course if you have not yet completed one. Please speak with your Enrollment Specialist to find out more information about this generous transfer credit policy!
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