Top Online RN-to-MSN Nurse Practitioner Programs (2024)

The top online RN-to-MSN nurse practitioner programs ranked here offer students several choices that consider the cost, admissions flexibility, and the variety of program options. RN-to-MSN or ADN bridge programs provide the opportunity for registered nurses (RNs) to move seamlessly from an associate degree in nursing (ADN), or in some cases a nursing diploma to a master of science in nursing (MSN) degree.

Some schools allow students to earn both a BSN and an MSN degree along the way, while others move straight from the ADN level to the MSN degree. Certain nursing schools have also created an accelerated RN-to-MSN degree path for ADN-prepared RNs who also hold a non-nursing bachelor’s degree.

Why consider an online RN-to-MSN degree? The short answer is to pursue career opportunities in leadership, research, and education to advance the ever-expanding field of nursing. According to the American Association of College of Nursing (AACN), nurses with MSN degrees can pursue careers beyond clinical settings in healthcare administration, public health research, and supervisory education, to name a few. These positions mean increased responsibilities, which often correlate with higher salaries and offer more predictable schedules. MSN degrees can be earned on their own or combined with a dual degree program such as an MSN/MHA (master of healthcare administration) or MSN/MBA (master of business administration). 

A significant advantage of moving directly from an associate degree in nursing to an RN-to-MSN program is that bachelor’s and master’s level classes often overlap, which reduces the overall credit load. This helps nurses earn their graduate-level degree in less time, with less cost, in a more seamless manner. Through the RN-to-MSN track, associate degree holders can earn a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in 2.5 to three years or more. 

Another critical advantage of earning an MSN degree is working in a specific field of nursing. RN-to-MSN programs offer the full range of nurse practitioner (NP) specializations, including family nurse practitioner (FNP), pediatric acute care NP (PNP-AC), pediatric primary care NP (PNP-PC), neonatal NP (NNP), adult-gerontology acute care NP (AG-ACNP), adult-gerontology primary care NP (AG-PCNP), psychiatric-mental health NP (PMHNP), and women’s health NP (WHNP). Registered nurses may also opt to pursue a non-NP advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) specialization such as nurse-midwifery (NM) or clinical nurse specialist (CNS).

MSN programs typically require several hundred clinical practicum hours. For example, most family nurse practitioner (FNP) programs require completing at least 500 clinical hours throughout the program (commonly between 500 and 700 hours total). 

Each NP specialization has a population-specific clinical focus, and each program may require the completion of a different number of clinical hours as part of the program. The nursing program and a preceptor typically supervise clinicals. Online NP program preceptorships can typically be completed at an approved facility near where students live and work. Some programs may restrict preceptorships to specific locations. These requirements are described in each school’s profile, reachable via the school name in the table below.

It’s important to note that since October 2004, the American Association of College of Nursing (AACN) has been advocating for nurses to pursue practice-oriented doctoral degrees in nursing known as the doctor of nursing practice or DNP. This change is intended to create consistency in the curriculum and practicum experiences for nurse practitioners (NPs), also known as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). To learn more about DNP programs, please refer to the Top Online DNP-Nurse Practitioner programs

Keep reading to learn about the top online RN-to-MSN nurse practitioner program rankings. 

Online RN-to-MSN NP Program Rankings (2023-2024)

Those considering an RN-to MSN nurse practitioner program should seek out educational programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). For the avoidance of doubt, all of the programs listed in the table below, and across NPSchools.com, have such accreditation.

A few programs are in the early stages of accreditation, which is generally the case for newer online programs, and such initial accreditation simply means they have not yet completed the process of earning full accreditation, but are in the process of doing so. That said, most programs have already earned full accreditation. Details are listed on each school’s profile page, linked from the table below.

The NPSchools.com has amassed a comprehensive database of 1,035 online APRN programs—including nurse practitioner, nurse-midwifery, and clinical nurse specialist programs—that were accepting new students as of the outset of the 2023-2024 academic year. The online RN-to-MSN NP programs listed here are drawn from said database and ranked by their AdvanceU score, which factors in cost, admissions flexibility, and program variety. To qualify for inclusion in our rankings, a program must require no more than nine campus visits.

At NPSchools.com our mission is to ensure the accuracy of the data on our website. Should you find an informational error, or a missing program, please contact us.

The NPSchools.com AdvanceU score measures a school’s Commitment to helping RNs become APRNs online.

Score
School Program Tuition
(Resident)
Tuition
(Non-Resident)
72 University of South Alabama(#1)
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP (RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP (RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner (RN-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
MSN – Neonatal NP (RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
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MSN – Pediatric Acute Care NP (RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
MSN – Pediatric Primary Care NP (RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
MSN – Psychiatric NP (RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
MSN – Women's Health NP (RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree) $36,828.00 $36,828.00
MSN – Dual Role (Family NP/Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP) – RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree $40,392.00 $40,392.00
MSN – Dual Role (Family NP/Emergency NP) – RN-to-MSN for RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's degree $40,392.00 $40,392.00
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65 Walden University(#2)
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP – ADN route $54,290.04 $54,290.04
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP – ADN route $54,290.04 $54,290.04
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner – ADN route $54,290.04 $54,290.04
MSN – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – ADN route $58,039.57 $58,039.57
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MSN – Psychiatric-Mental Health NP – ADN route $58,039.57 $58,039.57
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64 Regis College(#3)
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP – BA route $60,695.00 $60,695.00
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner – BA route $60,695.00 $60,695.00
MSN – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – BA route $60,695.00 $60,695.00
MSN – Women's Health Nurse Practitioner – BA route $60,695.00 $60,695.00
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MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner – BA route $63,680.00 $63,680.00
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP – ADN route $137,310.00 $137,310.00
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner – ADN route $137,310.00 $137,310.00
MSN – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – ADN route $137,310.00 $137,310.00
MSN – Women's Health Nurse Practitioner – ADN route $137,310.00 $137,310.00
MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner – ADN route $140,295.00 $140,295.00
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62 University of Texas – Arlington(#4)
RN to MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner $38,308.14 $38,308.14
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61 Spring Arbor University(#5)
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP (ADN bridge) $59,699.75 $59,699.75
MSN – Pediatric Primary Care NP (ADN bridge) $59,699.75 $59,699.75
MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (ADN bridge) $59,699.75 $59,699.75
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner (ADN bridge) $63,534.60 $63,534.60
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60 West Coast University(#6)
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner $35,765.10 $35,765.10
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner $36,550.00 $36,550.00
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner $38,905.18 $38,905.18
MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner $38,905.18 $38,905.18
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MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP (ADN bridge) $44,629.76 $44,629.76
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP (ADN bridge) $45,415.50 $45,415.50
MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health NP (ADN bridge) $47,260.00 $47,260.00
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner (ADN bridge) $47,769.80 $47,769.80
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60 Chamberlain University(#7)
RN-BSN to MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (ADN Bridge) $52,664.64 $52,664.64
RN-BSN to MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner (ADN Bridge) $52,664.64 $52,664.64
RN-BSN to MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (ADN Bridge) $53,918.56 $53,918.56
RN-BSN to MSN – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ADN Bridge) $54,660.36 $54,660.36
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59 University of Alabama at Birmingham(#8)
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
MSN – Family Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
MSN – Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
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MSN – Pediatric Acute Care NP (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
MSN – Pediatric Primary Care NP (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health Primary Care NP (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
MSN – Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (RN to MSN Bridge) $38,192.00 $38,192.00
MSN (Dual Specialization) – Dual Pediatric Acute and Primary Care NP (RN to MSN Bridge) $54,560.00 $54,560.00
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59 Bradley University(#9)
RN to MSN – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ADN Bridge) $58,184.00 $58,184.00
RN to MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner (ADN Bridge) $61,301.00 $61,301.00
RN to MSN – Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (ADN Bridge) $62,340.00 $62,340.00
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58 Wilkes University(#10)
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (RN to MS program) $37,128.00 $37,128.00
MSN – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (RN to MS option) $38,584.00 $38,584.00
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner (RN to MS option) $39,312.00 $39,312.00
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RN-to-MSN Nurse Practitioner Career and Salary

Nurse practitioners earn a median wage of $121,610 and nurse-midwives earn just slightly less, at $120,880 (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023). Additionally, these occupations are in high demand with an expected growth of 38 percent overall between 2022 and 2032, compared to the average of 3 percent for all occupations (BLS 2023). Nurse practitioner jobs are expected to increase by 45 percent, and nurse-midwives by 6 percent, for that same time period.