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RN to MSN Program Licensure and Accreditation: What You Need to Know

RN to MSN nursing programs allow you to earn your bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in one program, all without repeating the classes you already took as part of your RN associate’s degree or diploma program. Not all colleges are equal though, especially if you’re considering attending school online. Without going to a college that is properly accredited, you could find yourself in a situation where you aren’t able to get your license! Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about accreditation so that doesn’t happen to you.

What is Accreditation and Why does it Matter?

As colleges started popping up around the United States, people realized that education at one school could be vastly different from education at another school. While this isn’t necessarily a problem – every student learns differently – it can be trouble if schools aren’t held to the same standards. Accreditation ensures that colleges are offering comparable programs. You might find schools with different teaching styles/methods and different extracurricular options, but schools that are accredited all cover the same material so that when you graduate, your degree ensures that you are ready to take on a nursing job.

Who Accredits Colleges?

The government actually doesn’t accredit colleges, but they do provide a list of legitimate accrediting agencies. If you attend nursing school, you want to look for a school that is accredited by at least two sources. First, the college as a whole should be nationally or regionally accredited. In the United States, there are five nationally recognized accrediting organizations:

The Distance Education and Training Council
The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology
The Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training
The Council on Occupational Education

There are also a number of regional accrediting organizations that are also legitimate and cover schools in a certain area of the United States.

Second, your nursing program needs to be accredited by either the National League of Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) – or both! Additionally, if you go to school to be a nurse anesthetist, your program has to be accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. If you go to school to be a nurse midwife, your program has to be accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives Division of Accreditation. Otherwise, your program will likely not be recognized by your state’s nurse licensing program.

Accreditation of Online Colleges

Because online colleges offer a flexible scheduling option to earn your degree in an RN to MSN program, this is an option you might want to consider. Today’s online schools can be just good as traditional colleges, though you will have to look for a college that offers a partnership program with a local hospital or other facility so you can get clinical hours as well. Online colleges can definitely be accredited, though it is common to find unaccredited programs online as well.

Diploma Mills

Accreditation is not just a way for the state to ensure that you’re getting the proper education – it is also important to you as a student so that you don’t get scammed. Although less common than they used to be, diploma mills and other scams still exist, especially online. Diploma mills are colleges that give you a diploma in exchange for money – but you aren’t required to attend classes (or the classes you do attend could be extremely easy, taught by educators who are not nurses themselves, or otherwise not up to par with the education you’d receive at a real school.

Make sure you double-check a program’s accreditation claims. Because it is so easy to create a website that looks official, some scammers in the past have claimed to be accredited, only to disappear with your money a few weeks later. If a school claims to be accredited, check with that accrediting agency to be sure.

Not every unaccredited program is a scam. Some aren’t simply because the accreditation process is difficult for non-traditional schools or brand new programs. Unaccredited programs can be helpful if you want extra education to go along with your accredited program or simply want a taste of what advanced nursing is like.

Getting Your Nursing License

Going through an accredited nursing program is just part of what it takes to get your advanced nursing license after completing an RN to MSN program. Every state’s requirements are different, but you also need clinical hours (i.e., real world experience) as well as a passing score on your state’s nursing exam for advanced practice nurses. Many states also require you to complete continuing education programs so that you have a certain number of educational credits every year or two.

Most Popular RN-MSN Degree Programs

Registered nurses looking for career advancement and higher salaries would do well to look into earning a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. An RN to MSN specifically is a degree designed for registered nurses who may or may not have already completed a bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN). Upon completion of an RN-MSN degree program, one will be educationally prepared to become a clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner. Below are online schools offering masters in nursing degrees.

RN to MSN RN to MSN: Nurse Admin RN to MSN: Nurse Education	*Kaplan University* - Kaplan University's RN to MSN program allows students to complete their bachelor's degrees and MSN together, with the MSN program in a condensed format. In addition to learning everything from basic to advanced nursing practices, students can opt to get MSNs in Nurse Administration or Nurse Education if they want to pursue management or teaching positions.
MSN: Educator MS: Educator Bridge	*Capella University* - Capella University offers two MSN programs: Nurse Educator, and Nurse Educator Bridge. Both programs are designed to teach registered nurses the skills they will need to take on roles as nursing faculty or clinical nurse mentors. The Nurse Educator Bridge specialization is especially good for nurses who wish to have careers teaching in higher education institutions, or even the military.
RN to MSN: Nurse Educator MSN: Health Systems Leadership	*Gonzaga University* - Gonzaga University's RN to MSN programs teach students to critically examine the latest research findings, communicate articulately to peers and patients, develop individualized holistic plans of health care, and assume leadership roles in health care – all while incorporating Jesuit values into their lives and practices.
RN to MSN MBA/MSN Dual Degree MHA/MSN Dual Degree RN to MSN: Informatics RN to MSN: Health Education	*University of Phoenix* - The University of Phoenix offers several RN to MSN degrees in addition to the general one, like an MBA/MSN dual degree, an MSN/MHA dual degree, or a RN to MSN degree in health care education or nursing informatics. The MBA/MSN blends advanced nursing and business management skills; the MSN/MHA combines nursing with health care related business and management skills; and the MSN/Health Care Education degree incorporates leadership skills into the Nursing program to prepare nurses to teach effectively.
RN to BSN	*Post University* - For students looking to advance their career in Nursing, Post University has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing available online. The online course can cut many of the costs associated with campus programs, like commuting, and increased living expenses. This course can be completed at a relatively fast pace compared to its campus counterpart too.
RN to MSN RN to MSN: Adult Health RN to MSN: Nurse Education	*South University* - South University's RN to MSN nursing programs are intended to prepare students to use research, apply nursing theories, design teaching plans, implement teaching skills, and analyze how health care policy will impact clinical practice. Students will learn about caring for multicultural societies, financial management for nurses, legal and ethical issues, theoretical perspectives, nursing research methods, palliative care, and gerontological care. Specialized degrees are offered in adult health and nursing education.
RN to MSN	*Chamberlain College of Nursing* - Chamberlain College of Nursing makes the RN to MSN simple by offering two tracks: the Educator Track and the Executive Track. Courses are offered online and include classes on informatics, leadership, assessment and evaluation, managerial communication, as well as advanced nursing practices.
RN to MSN: Nurse Admin RN to MSN: Nurse Educator RN to MSN: Nurse Midwife RN to MSN: Women's Health	*University of Cincinnati* - The MSN Programs at the University of Cincinnati's College of Nursing include perspectives from nursing sciences and holistic care to enhance the quality of health care its students can provide. Several MSN degrees are offered, including psychiatric NP or CNS, CNS/Nurse Education, Nursing Administration, Nurse Midwifery, and Women's Health.
RN to MSN: Adult Care RN to MSN: Mental Health RN to MSN: Nursing Faculty RN to MSN: Entrepreneurship RN to MSN: Management	*Drexel University* - Drexel University offers a wide variety of specialized MSN programs including adult acute care, adult psychiatric care, clinical trials, nurse management, entrepreneurship in advanced nursing practice, and contemporary nursing faculty. Courses are offered online, but the college is affiliated with the finest teaching hospitals in the U.S.
MSN MSN: Case Management MSN: Health Informatics MSN: Infection Prevention MSN: Nurse Leadership	*American Sentinel University* - The RN to MSN degree programs from American Sentinel University teach advanced methods in nursing. An MSN in Informatics prepares students to manage healthcare information systems. The MSN in Case Management teaches patient care innovations, while the MSN in Leadership will help you develop leadership skills.