To qualify for advanced nursing degree programs, most universities require students to have a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN), a Registered Nurse license (RN), a minimum standard of GPA or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores and a predetermined amount of clinical experience. Many master's programs last between 18 and 24 months and require students to take part in classroom and clinical participation.
Universities offering advanced degrees are located from coast to coast. Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health in Washington D.C., Asuza Pacific University in California, Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, Columbia University School of Nursing in New York and Case Western Reserve University in Ohio are just some of the dozens of universities offering advanced nursing degrees in the United States. Some universities, such as Benedictine University, Graceland University School of Nursing, Liberty University and Saint Xavier University offer online courses to post-graduate nursing students. For a list of schools offering advanced nursing degrees, see the AllNursingSchools.com link in the Resources section of this article.
Nurses with a master's degree often work in one of four advanced practice areas in the field of medicine, including nurse practitioner, certified nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse specialist and certified nurse midwife. Two different master's level programs are offered to qualified nursing candidates: an RN-to-MSN program is designed for registered nurses who want to earn a Master's of Science in Nursing degree and a Direct Entry MSN program is for candidates who have a bachelor's degree in a field of medicine other than nursing who want to get into the field of nursing.
Post-masters certificates are offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to nurses who choose to follow a specific field in nursing that involves skill and training beyond that of a registered nurse. The ANCC offers degrees in nearly 30 different areas of nursing, including general practice nursing and clinical nursing specialist.