MSN: Nursing Education Specialization
Prepare the Next Generation of Nurses with an MSN: Education
Prep for Certification
Complete Clinicals Close to Home
Tailor Curriculum
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- Duration 2 years
- Cost per Credit $695
- Credit Hours 39
Program Benefits
- 100% online coursework
- Aligned with National League for Nursing (NLN) competencies for Academic Nursing Educators
- Modeled using American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials for Master’s Education in Nursing
- Focused on curriculum development using evidence-based practice
Step Into a Rewarding Nurse Educator Career
Become a well-respected mentor and begin preparing new nurses to care for the patient population. With SHU’s MSN in Nursing Education, you can transition into a teaching role, answering the call to address the nurse educator shortage as we lose one-third of our nursing faculty by 2025.
Among the most respected online nurse education programs, our CCNE-accredited SHU online degree features core knowledge in health care policy, practice and research plus nine specialized courses to prepare you as a nurse leader, educator and evaluator.
Engage with expert faculty and work with a preceptor in three immersions designed to apply theory to practice, and be eligible to sit for the CNE exam.
Career Outlook: Educators Urgently Needed
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment in the nurse educator role is projected to grow by 22% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than average.
Meet the need for nursing educators and apply your skills in a wide variety of settings, from online colleges and universities to community health agencies and hospital-based schools of education.
The role of a nurse educator is financially and personally rewarding. If you decide to become a nurse educator, you will enter a market with the responsibility to train and educate the 11 million nurses needed to prevent a further shortage.3 You will share your expertise to shape the future of nursing by teaching and mentoring tomorrow’s nurses.
Professor of Nursing:
$91,423/YEAR
As a Professor of Nursing, you’d teach in a classroom setting on your area of expertise, such as pediatrics, geriatrics, mental health or psychiatric nursing. You’d advise and evaluate your students and potentially contribute scholarship to the nursing body of knowledge.2
Nurse Educator:
$104,662/YEAR
As a Nurse Educator, you’d work within a hospital or other health services organization to train nurses or other health care practitioners. You would create educational curricula and resources, determine educational gaps and needs, lecture large groups and more.4
Careers and SalariesCurriculum: Excellence in Education
To ensure you receive a truly rigorous, up-to-date education, we’ve designed the Nursing Education specialization according to National League for Nursing (NLN) Competencies for Nursing Educators and the AACN Essentials for Master’s Education in Nursing.
Through eight specialization courses, comprising 24 credit hours in the MSN Nursing Education curriculum, you will explore topics such as curriculum development and evaluation, the principles of patient and staff learning and the theoretical foundations of nursing education when you earn your online nurse education degree.
You also have the option to expand your worldview and pursue your passion for nursing by taking a 2 week term at SHU’s Dingle, Ireland campus. MSN Nurse Educator students can complete part of their capstone hours while being mentored by College of Nursing faculty. Opportunities also include participating in an integrated nursing module with Irish nursing students at a local college, a clinical site visit and learning about the local Irish culture.
Course Spotlight: NU 553 – Advanced Pathophysiology
Assess the pathophysiology of common disease states, perform diagnostic tests and address alterations to major body systems that are commonly found in primary care settings.
Preview CoursesCourse Spotlight: NU 589 – Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Nursing Education
Design and implement a curriculum according to evidence-based teaching and learning theory. Develop course objectives, learning activities, student evaluation methods and more.
Graduate Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of the program, the student will be able to:
- Translate into action knowledge from the philosophical and theoretical traditions of nursing science and other disciplinary perspectives to facilitate the ethical integration of evidence-based practice to advance nursing scholarship.
- Lead collaboratively within the interprofessional team to develop and evaluate plans of care with evidence-based, person-centered care principles promoting quality and safety outcomes.
- Collaborate with strategic partners to implement health policy while advocating for equitable and sustainable population health care.
- Integrate complex systems-based practice to develop innovative and evidence supported equitable solutions to improve health outcomes across the lifespan of diverse populations.
- Apply best practices of informatics and communication technologies in diverse care settings to collect, analyze and synthesize data to promote quality and safe health care outcomes.
- Demonstrate professional behaviors reflecting current regulations, policies and practice integrating professional concepts including ethics, compassion, diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Model leadership within the nursing profession that embraces self-care, a spirit of inquiry, advocacy, change, mentorship and service to others.
More Options for Your MSN
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question we don’t cover here, request more information or call 877-791-7181.
Sacred Heart University’s online MSN program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The CCNE is an autonomous accrediting agency that ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate, and residency programs in nursing. It demonstrates to potential students and future employers that their school meets specific high standards and adequately prepares nurses for practice at a particular degree level.
For nurses who are evaluating prospective programs, the accredited status tells them that the education they receive will provide them with the knowledge to practice at the next level in their nursing career. It’s also significant for students who may want to continue to further education, as most master’s degree programs will not accept candidates whose BSN has not been conferred from an accredited university or program.
The deadline is four weeks prior to the start date unless the program has reached capacity. We encourage you to apply early and secure your spot in the program if you’re considering the upcoming term.
There is no licensure for this program. The online MSN in Clinical Nurse Education will make you eligible to sit for the Nurse Educator Certification from the National League for Nursing.
You’ll complete 36–39 credits to earn your MSN, depending on the specialization you select.
We like to keep our class sizes small. Sacred Heart’s nursing programs typically have 15-28 students per online course.
You can earn a Master of Science in Nursing with Sacred Heart University within two years.
Sources:
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2019 April). Nursing Faculty Shortage Fact Sheet. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Faculty-Shortage
- Payscale (2019 April 30). Average Professor of Nursing Salary. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Professor_Of_Nursing/Salary
- Haddad LM, Toney-Butler TJ. Nursing Shortage (2020 November 16). StatPearls Publishing. Retrieved December 2, 2020 from, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/
- Salary.com (2022 June). Average Nurse Educator Salary. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.salary.com/research/salary/listing/nurse-educator-salary.