Top Online Direct Entry MSN Programs for Non-Nursing Students

Marquette University’s full-time, five-semester (19-21 month) direct-entry MSN program prepares students to sit for the NCLEX-RN licensure examination and jumpstart their advanced professional nursing careers. The program’s curriculum is offered in a blended study format that combines fully-online nursing theory courses with in-person nursing skills and simulation lab work on Marquette’s Nursing School campus located in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Students additionally complete a minimum of 700 clinical practicum hours at healthcare facilities located throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Because of the in-person requirements, all students must currently reside in or relocate to the Pleasant Prairie/Kenosha, Wisconsin area for the program’s duration.

Admission requirements include a non-nursing bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited college or university, earned with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Applicants with a GPA below 3.2 must also sit for the Graduation Records Examinations (GRE) test. All applicants must additionally complete six prerequisite courses, as well as submit three letters of recommendation, an updated resume, and personally-written admissions statement.

The University of South Alabama’s Accelerated BSN/MSN Pathway program allows academically-qualified students with no previous nursing experience to earn both BSN and MSN degrees on the way to launching their nursing careers. Students in the program are admitted as undergraduates for the 12-month (full-time) foundational component of the program. This component follows the same requirements as SAU’s traditional BSN program, with all coursework taken in-person on the university’s Mobile campus and clinical requirements completed at facilities located throughout the greater Mobile area. Upon successful completion of the foundational component, students are awarded a BSN degree and are qualified to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam. Students then apply to the MSN component of the program. All MSN-level coursework is available fully-online. However, students must complete in-person clinical requirements at an approved facility in the student’s local area.

Admission to the program requires graduation from a properly-accredited baccalaureate degree program with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better (with no individual grade below “C”). Applicants must also complete a series of nine prerequisite courses in subjects that include anatomy, biology, chemistry, and English composition. Other admissions requirements apply. Meeting all requirements does not guaranty acceptance into the program however, as admissions are selective and competitive.

The Graduate Entry MSN program offered by Ohio State University prepares students for advanced practice nursing careers in a range of clinical settings, including hospitals, clinics, managed care facilities, governmental agencies, private practices, and more. Admission into the program requires a bachelor’s degree in any major earned through an accredited degree program, and completion of five prerequisite courses with a B- grade or better for each course.

The degree program itself consists of four “pillars”: a pre-licensure curriculum, graduate core curriculum, specialty core courses, and clinicals. The pre-licensure curriculum is made up of 12 nursing practice-related courses that prepare the student to take the NCLEX-RN exam. The majority of these courses must be completed in-person on the OSU campus in Columbus. The pre-licensure curriculum is followed by a graduate core curriculum and specialty courses, most of which may be taken online. Students choose specialty courses from one of eight specialty options. The in-person clinical experience provides students with the precepted hours required for certification, and can be completed at any number of clinical facilities throughout central Ohio and in other states. The entire program is designed to be completed with three years of full-time, year-round study.