Nursing, MSN

Program Description

The School of Nursing offers a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program for baccalaureate prepared registered nurses with options of Practice Leadership, Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.  The Master’s-prepared nurse assumes pivotal roles to improve the healthcare quality of vulnerable populations and reduce healthcare disparities.

The Practice Leadership option prepares nurses at an advanced level to lead healthcare teams and apply quality improvement principles across multiple settings and populations to meet the challenges of dynamic healthcare environments. 

The Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) option prepares nurses at an advanced level to assess, diagnose, treat, educate, and manage patients who are adults with acute, critical, and complex chronic physical and mental illnesses across the entire adult age spectrum from young adults (including late adolescents) to adults and older adults (including frail older adults).

The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) option prepares nurses at an advanced level to assess, diagnose, treat, educate, and manage patients throughout the lifespan as a health care provider. 

The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) option prepares nurses at an advanced level to assess, diagnose, treat, educate, and manage acute and chronic patients’ mental health needs across the lifespan as a health care provider.

Accreditation

The Master of Science in Nursing program at Missouri State University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (www.aacnnursing.org/CCNE).

Application Process

1. Submit an application to Nursing CAS with all required documentation, including transcripts, and references. The application fee does not guarantee acceptance into the desired program of your choosing.
2. Submit transcripts of all completed academic coursework. MSN applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 (on a 4.00 scale) for the last 60 hours of course work attempted. Students who have less than a 3.25 GPA must submit verbal, quantitative, and analytical scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE) (minimum Verbal: 150, Quantitative: 145, Analytical Writing: 3.5).
3. Submit proof of completion of all prerequisite courses: undergraduate human pathophysiology, nursing research, health assessment, healthcare informatics and graduate level inferential statistics with a grade of “C” or higher before the program begins. Admission will be contingent on the student completing prerequisite courses prior to enrolling in MSN courses.
4. Submit evidence of a completed clinical practice experience that equates with one year minimum (two or more preferred) of full-time experience for program. Exceptions considered on individual basis.

Accelerated Master’s Program

The accelerated Master of Science-Practice Leadership program will be available to eligible MSU BSN-C students. Up to 12 credits applied to the undergraduate degree may be used to satisfy graduate credit.  

Before enrolling in a course that will apply to both the undergraduate program and the master’s program an undergraduate student must:

1. Be accepted into the accelerated program.
2. Receive prior approval from the graduate program director, department head, and Dean of the Graduate College. This is done by using a Mixed Credit Form.

Admission requirements

1. Junior standing.
2. Minimum 3.25 GPA.

Credit Course Options

Course Code	Course Title	Equivalent Course
NUR 772	Research Methods for the Health Professions	NRS 357
NUR 711	Advanced Roles and Leadership	NRS 306
NUR 733	Advanced Physical Assessment and Health Promotion	NRS 342
NUR 740	Advanced Pathophysiology	NRS 335
NUR 763	Advanced Pharmacology	NRS 338
RCH 710	Statistics for the Health Professions	Elective