Earning an MSN degree online allows professional nurses to expand their career outlook and significantly increase their earning potential.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners in 2017 was more than $110,000 — a significant increase over the median salary of registered nurses (i.e., $70,000). In addition to increased pay, the BLS projects that advanced nursing positions will increase by a staggering 31% between 2016 and 2026. Due to the aging population in the U.S., the demand for preventative care and other healthcare services continues to increase, providing ample job security for professionals working in the field of nursing. Nurses who hold a master's degree may also have the option of choosing a specialization, such as pediatric health, geriatric health, or mental health.
Recommended Schools
What Are the Best Online Master's Programs in Nursing?
And that's where we come in. We've compiled a list of the top 50 online master's degrees in nursing with your needs in mind. The first thing we want to know, like you, is the bottom line: how much is this going to set me back?
So we've included the annual tuition for each school right up front for you. We've also included our College Choice Score, which is computed based on each school's reputation in the field and its return on investment.
The end result is a list of schools that balance cost, reputation, and, ultimately, what they can do for you and your unique goals. You can't go wrong with any of them, of course, but these schools are leading the way.
The rankings you're about to read are based on a few important sources. The first source is actual college freshman polled during a nationwide survey published by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. These students rated academic reputation, financial aid offerings, overall cost of school, and the survey also took into account graduate success rates on the post-college job market. These factors were weighed equally alongside data from other publicly available sources, including U.S. News & World Report, the National Center for Education Statistics, and PayScale.com.
Rankings
See our rankings methodology page.
