A specialty track is a concentration. You must select one of six specialty tracks in the MSN degree program (Educator, Executive, Family Nurse Practitioner, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Policy and Informatics). When you graduate, you will earn a Master of Science in Nursing degree with the specialty of your choice. Specialty track availability varies by state. See which tracks are available in your state.

 It is possible to change specialty tracks within all non-nurse practitioner tracks (Educator, Executive, Healthcare Policy and Informatics). If you wish to change tracks, we recommend that you do so while you are in your core courses because credits completed in the original specialty track will not transfer to a different specialty track. Switching into the Family Nurse Practitioner specialty track is subject to Dean approval and availability.  

Your admissions representative can help identify if you qualify for tuition savings through a partnership with your employer, community college or association. Alternatively, you may qualify for a scholarship or grant.  

Call 877.751.5783 or request more information to learn more about financial assistance.

You will be responsible for finding your own preceptor or mentor, which includes the site where they work. Your practicum coordinator will provide guidance on how to locate a mentor or preceptor and a site. Once you've identified where you would like to complete your practicum your coordinator will begin to secure the necessary contracts on your behalf.

You may complete your practicum with your current employer as long as it is in a different department than you currently work in and your mentor or preceptor is not your current supervisor. Please see the MSN Practicum Handbook or MSN FNP Practicum Handbook for more information. 

We recommend you take one class per session. Sessions are eight weeks long and our nursing students average about 12-15 hours per week toward their studies when taking one class per session. If after your first course you feel you can successfully manage more than one course at a time, contact your student services team and ask to discuss an accelerated plan of study.

All MSN classes will have no more than 20 students per class.

Communicating with your professors is vital to your success in your MSN program. In addition to all graduate faculty members being doctorally prepared, they also participate in an extensive training program to prepare them for online teaching and to provide you with the support and care you deserve. The following are the avenues for contacting your professors:

• Email and phone: Professors will provide their contact information in the syllabus. They are required to provide you with their email address and most provide their phone numbers with office hours. Professors typically respond within  24 hours on the weekdays and 48 hours over the weekend..
• Q&A forum: You will have a Q&A forum in every class you attend to post comments and questions that can be answered by anyone in the class, including the professor.
• Threaded discussions: Professors are very good at participating in threaded discussions throughout the week and driving conversations to gain insightful information.

Chamberlain has several resources that can help you become acclimated to the online classroom. Once you apply you will have access to Chamberlain Care Student Success Strategies, which provides information on time management, scholarly writing, using the library and more. You can also ask your admissions representative for a personal tour of the online environment in which you will be taking classes or you can view the Online Classroom Demonstration Video Series to learn about what you can expect when you log into your class.

We are dedicated to supporting you throughout your educational journey. To further support your success, a Student Online Readiness Assessment is designed to help assess the skills needed for success in online courses. You will see the assessment listed as a task in the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) course.