Best Online RN to BSN Programs of 2023
Registered nurses (RNs) are in higher demand than ever. To meet the Institute of Medicine's goal of more RNs obtaining a BSN, hospitals increasingly are demanding higher training. If you aren't on your way to earning your BSN, soon you'll be falling behind.
Why This Matters
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THE U.S. NEEDS 195,400 MORE OF YOU BY 2031
Employment of registered nurses is expected to grow 6% in the coming years. The increasing elderly population will require more care, both in hospitals and in long-term care facilities.
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17% OF NURSES PLAN TO RETIRE IN THE NEXT DECADE
Another factor contributing to the rising need for more registered nurses is that many in the nursing workforce currently will reach retirement age within the next few years and will need to be replaced.
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EARN $20,000+ MORE PER YEAR WITH A BACHELOR’S
The average median salary for registered nurses with a BSN is $77,600, compared to $48,070 for jobs like licensed practical or licensed vocational nurse, which only require a certificate or diploma.
Our Research
This list features some of the best online RN to BSN programs at top colleges across the country. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. The programs on our list are accredited by professional organizations dedicated to quality nursing education like the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
We evaluated each school’s program on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for online students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
Next, we compared this comprehensive list of online RN to BSN programs to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
The Top 66 Online RN to BSN Programs
Our Ranking Methodology
To find the top 30 RN to BSN Online Degrees, we looked at eighty-seven universities and colleges. We only looked at non-profit programs accredited either by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). These nationally-recognized accreditations guarantee that each program provides rigorous training to help you further your nursing career. Then, we evaluated each program based on two factors:
Program Strength
First, we compared each program based on its rankings in top college evaluators. These organizations dig deep to find the best programs and create trusted assessments of each RN to BSN online degree. We created an algorithm to collect and analyze their multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each university. This ranking gave us an insight into whether a program was recognized and highly-regarded for its coursework.
Return on Investment
We also looked at how easy it would be to earn back the cost of your degree. Since the number of credit hours needed to complete a BSN depends on your academic history, we used the average number of credits each program requires you to take at its university – 33 – to estimate program cost.
On average, RNs earn $26,000 more with a BSN than with an associate’s degree, and the average cost of our RN to BSN online degrees was about $14,000. This means that you’ll be able to earn back the cost of your degree well within the first year after you graduate. The less expensive the school, the higher its ROI score. Only five schools required more than a year to cover the cost of their diploma, earning lower scores as a result.
This Gave Us Our Intelligent Score
Finally, we calculated the Intelligent Score for each university on our list. The top schools featured on our list have the best reputations and are recognized both for the rigorousness of their coursework and their economical tuition rates.
That said, if you’re craving more options beyond the top thirty, the list below will give you additional options to consider. While these schools didn’t rank highly enough to be featured, they might be the right fit for you, depending on your preferences.
- Appalachian University
- Arkansas State University
- Ashland University
- Bellevue University
- Briar Cliff University
- Carson-Newman University
- Dakota Wesleyan University
- Duquesne University
- East Tennessee State University
- Eastern University
- Ferris State University
- Henderson State University
- Iowa Wesleyan University
- Jacksonville University
- Kent State University
- LaSalle University
- Lewis-Clark State College
- Lincoln Memorial University
- Linfield College
- Miami University Oxford Ohio
- Northern Arizona University
- Northern Michigan University
- Ohio State University
- Pace University
- Quinnipiac University
- Sacred Heart University
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
- Schreiner University
- St. John Fisher College
- State University of New York College of Technology at Canton
- The University of Toledo
- University of Arkansas Fort Smith
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Kansas Medical Center
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of Saint Mary
- University of Texas Arlington
- University of Wyoming
- Utica College
- Western Illinois University
This Degree Isn’t For Everyone
There’s no getting past the 120 credit hours required to earn a baccalaureate degree. If you’re a bit behind on credits, it might be worth your time to catch up before applying for an RN to BSN online degree. If you keep track of which credits will transfer to your future BSN program, you can save some cash by taking them at your local community college.
If a BSN is just a stepping stone for your longer career in nursing, you might try skipping it instead. Many universities offer RN to MSN programs or RN-entry MSN degrees. These let you go straight into a master’s degree program without forcing you to spend a year or two earning your bachelor’s first.
What’s Next?
As you go through our list of the best RN to BSN online degrees, keep an eye on practicums and employment requirements. Not every program requires a practicum, and not every practicum lets you complete it through your hospital employer. Additionally, some programs require you to be employed as a registered nurse to apply, while others will accept graduates fresh out of an associate program.
Before applying, you’ll also want to double-check that your home state has authorized each program to teach nursing online. The schools on our list all accept students from the majority of states, but some states restrict what programs can be taught online – both for RN to BSN and other degrees. To find out whether you’ll be allowed to study at a given university, look for their state authorization page, inquire with their admissions director, or check with your local board of nursing.