Why This Matters

  • 45% JOB GROWTH PROJECTED THROUGH 2030

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the job growth rate for nurse practitioners to be much faster than average over the next ten years, with a projected 121,400 new jobs becoming available during this time.

  • EARN OVER $100,000 PER YEAR

    The average nurse practitioner makes $117,670, and the top 10% of workers in this field earn more than $190,900.

  • DON’T LEAVE $30,000+ ON THE TABLE

    If you only have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, you’ll make an average of $75,330 per year. By earning the master’s degree that you will need to advance into a nurse practitioner role, you’ll be able to make an extra $30,000+ per year.

Our Research

Master degrees in nursing (MSN) can set you up to succeed in a variety of roles, including clinical nurse practitioner, nurse administrator, and nurse educator. The right online MSN for you will depend on which career path you choose, but we’ll help you narrow down your search with our top Master Degrees in Nursing guide.

To find the best, we only looked at nonprofit universities accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) to make sure every program met national standards on preparing nurses for the field. Then we compared each university based on its program strength, degree options available, and relative cost.

This gave us our Intelligent Score, based on a scale from 0 to 100 (for full details, see Our Ranking Methodology). Each program listed is 100% online, without any on-campus residency or visit requirements. Additionally, some schools offer a direct RN to MSN degree program, so if you don’t have a bachelor’s in nursing, you can jump straight into your chosen specialty.

  • 80 hours to write this article
  • 176 universities and colleges we assessed
  • 358 education programs we compared

The Top 59 Online Master’s in Nursing Programs

Best Online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Degree Programs
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What You Should Know About This Degree

There are a few caveats to be aware of with online MSN degrees. If you live close enough to a university campus to attend on-campus sessions, more clinical-focused MSN degrees than those on our list will be open to you. So while the degrees listed for each university are (at time of writing) 100% online, this meant we excluded a fair number of clinical-focused programs that required on-campus work.

Similarly, if you want to become a nurse anesthetist or nurse midwife, you’ll probably need to commit to some on-campus work. For more details, see our Best Online Nursing Degrees.

What’s Next?

Here are a few questions you should consider when researching MSN programs:

  • Is the program authorized in your state? If your state of residence is different from the state where your future university is located, you’ll need to check whether your home state has authorized your school’s state to teach classes online. Most universities include a “state authorization” page to help you out. If it’s unclear or missing, contact the nursing department or your local board of nursing for clarification before you apply.
  • Do you need a BSN? While some MSN programs allow registered nurses to apply without having earned a BSN first, many require that intermediary step.

Also, it’s important to keep track of any requirements and deadlines that may apply to the documentation that you need to submit for admissions. If this information cannot be found on the school’s website, contact their admissions department.

You should consider how you will finance your degree as well. Research scholarships, grants, federal loans, and any other financial aid options that are available to you.