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Master of Science (MS) in Nursing Education

View Certificate for Advanced Study (CAS) in Nursing Education

Master of Science in Nursing Education program consists of 36 credits of coursework, divided into two categories, core and specialty courses. Nine credits of core courses include theory, research and health policy; twenty-one credits include the specialty courses; and two elective graduate courses round out the remaining six credits of the curriculum. The Master of Science in Nursing Education program promotes the application of didactic course content to the role of the nurse educator within academia and other educational venues. The culminating internship provides 150 hours of directed educational experiences as a nurse educator, with an emphasis on teaching. The practicum is intended to provide a format for the learner to integrate content from all courses within the Master of Nursing in Education program, and apply the material to their teaching-learning environment.

Current trends in nursing education reflect a growing need for nursing faculty. According to American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) over 70,000 nursing school applicants were denied admission to the nation’s nursing programs. Although several factors contribute to decreased admission of students into nursing programs, insufficient number of nursing faculty is cited as a key issue. Reasons for faculty shortages are due to retirements, as well as newly developed faculty positions. Nationally, the average age of doctoral and master prepared nursing faculty is over 55 years old, with the average retirement age identified as 62. All indicators stress the present and growing need for qualified nurse educators.

The MS program accommodates both full-time and part-time students. Full time students can complete the program in two years; part-time completion typically takes three to four years.

Program Requirements
The MS in Nursing with a major in Nursing Education consists of 36 credit hours distributed as follows:

• NUR 500 Theoretical Foundations for Nursing Practice (3 credits)
• NUR 503 Advanced Nursing, Health Policy and the Health System (3 credits)
• NUR 526 Legal and Regulatory Issues in Health Care (3 credits)
• NUR 535 Curriculum Development in Nursing Education (3 credits)
• NUR 536 Measurement and Assessment (3 credits)
• NUR 545 Instructional Design in Nursing Education (3 credits)
• NUR 560 Nursing Research Methods (3 credits)
• NUR 624 Grant Proposal (3 credits)
• NUR 635 Evaluation Approaches in Nursing Education (3 credits)
• NUR 645 Culminating Internship in Nursing Education (3 credits)
• Graduate Elective ** (3 credits)
• Graduate Elective ** (3 credits)

** Recommended graduate electives include: NUR 570 Clinical Pathophysiology, NUR 555 Clinical Pharmacology, and HIM 501 Health Informatics.

Clinical Experiences
Students must have a clear and unencumbered nursing license in order to participate in clinical experiences. Failure to report any license sanction or condition will result in automatic course failure and probable dismissal from the nursing program.

All students are expected to perform clinical duties with the utmost professional, ethical, and caring behaviors. All students, regardless of level, will be expected to adhere to legal and ethical standards as established by regulatory agencies and nursing professional standards. There is a zero tolerance for breaches of ethics or professionalism. Unsafe clinical performance is care that seriously jeopardizes a patient’s well-being, and/or causes potential or actual harm to self or others. No student demonstrating unsafe performance will be allowed to continue in clinical settings. Any acts of omission or commission by a student that are deemed unsafe, unethical or unprofessional are grounds for course failure, and probable program dismissal.

Degree Requirements Overview & Program Notes – Nursing Education Program

• All students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher to graduate.
• Regardless of overall GPA, students can apply only two “C” grades in courses taken towards the degree.
• A “C” grade will only be acceptable towards degree requirements in common nursing core courses: NUR 500, NUR 503, NUR 531 and NUR 560.
• Graduate students may repeat a total of three nursing courses that count towards graduation; each of these courses may only be repeated once.
• Students may transfer up to nine credit hours, if applicable, from another graduate program.
• Students must maintain continuous registration, equal to or greater than one credit while completing degree requirements. MS Nursing students can do this by registering for CMT 600 – Continuous Registration. This only applies to students who have and incomplete in their last semester and it can only be applied once.

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Certificate for Advanced Study (CAS) in Nursing Education

The faculty realize that students in the post-master’s certificate programs will come with a variety of backgrounds and experience. Students will need to meet with an adviser early on to plan an appropriate course of study.