The program’s curriculum is designed to prepare professional nurses to enter leadership roles and work within interdisciplinary teams to improve system and population health services in a variety of health care settings.

Graduates of the program may be eligible to sit for certification examination as a nurse manager or nurse executive.

Learning Outcomes

1. Apply theoretical knowledge to the practice of leadership in healthcare settings.
2. Utilize evidence to address nursing and healthcare workforce issues.
3. Demonstrate professionalism as a nurse leader in a healthcare organization.
4. Pursue quality, effectiveness, and innovation in shared leadership of interprofessional health teams.

Entry

The Healthcare Leadership, M.S.N. program offers two entry points for students:

• A.D.N. entry  – a Registered Nurse (R.N.) who holds an Associate degree in nursing from a program that is nationally accredited.
• B.S.N. entry - a student must hold a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from a program that is nationally accredited.

Requirements for Earning the M.S.N. Degree Include the Following

1. Completion of an approved program of study;
2. Completion of an applied research course, NURS 791, or a thesis, NURS 799 (6);
3. A GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) on all courses attempted for graduate credit and all courses numbered 700 and above;
4. A GPA of a 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) on all courses on the approved program of study;
5. Passing a comprehensive assessment during the last semester of the program. 

Coursework

All HL, M.S.N. students will take the following core courses (Total 30 credits hours):

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
NURS 700	Theoretical and Conceptual Foundation for Nursing	3
NURS 720	Clinical Application of Population Analysis	3
NURS 717	Application of Basic Statistics for Nursing Practice & Service Management	3
NURS 790	Research Methods for Nursing	3
NURS 791	Seminar in Clinical Nursing Research	3-6
or NURS 799	Thesis Preparation
NURS 734	Conceptual Basis of Health Systems	3
NURS 738	Financing of Health Care	3
NURS 740	Facilitative Processes in Health Care Leadership	3
NURS 741	Coordinating Processes in Health Care Leadership 1	3
NURS 742	Integrative Processes in Health Care Leadership 1	3
Total Credit Hours		30-33

¹

Indicates courses with practicum hours.

Additional Required Courses for A.D.N. Entry Students (completion prior to entry into MSN core courses:

12 credit hours (Total program 42 credit hours):

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
NURS 719	Transition to Advanced Nursing Practice	3
NURS 728	Transition to Nursing Practice with Communities	3
NURS 733	Transition to Evidence-Based Nursing Practice & Evidence Measures	3
NURS 735	Transition to Nursing Leadership, Ethics and Policy	3
Total Credit Hours		12