Earn Your MSN Degree Online

A specialization is a focused area of study. You must select one of 10 specializations in the MSN degree program (Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator, Nurse Executive, Nursing Informatics, Healthcare Policy, Population Health or Accelerated MSN). Specialization availability varies by state. See which tracks are available in your state.

It is possible to switch your MSN specialization within all non-nurse practitioner specializations (Educator, Executive, Healthcare Policy, Informatics and Population Health); however, we recommend that you do so while you are in your core courses because credits completed in the original specialization will not transfer to a different specialization. Switching into the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner or the Family Nurse Practitioner specialization is subject to approval by the dean and availability.

Students who enroll in the Accelerated MSN Option are eligible to transfer to the traditional MSN program in a non-clinical or nurse practitioner specialization.

Your admission 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 for the online nursing masters program.  

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, to earn your master’s degree in nursing. Your experiential learning 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, MSN AGACNP Practicum Handbook, MSN PMHNP Practicum Handbook,  MSN AGPCNP Practicum Handbook, or MSN FNP Practicum Handbook for more information.

If you’ve tried to find a preceptor, but despite your best efforts, it hasn’t worked out—don’t worry. Chamberlain’s Practicum Commitment can help you identify an available masters in nursing practicum location and preceptor. You may be eligible* if you meet the following requirements:

1. Request assistance at least three sessions (approximately six months) prior to starting each practicum course for which you are requesting support 
2. You can document at least three sites that have denied your practicum requests
3. Complete any professional preparation tasks (if applicable) as assigned by an Experiential Learning Specialist (ELS) or other member of the Clinical Operations team. 

*This service is for post-licensure nursing degree and certificate program students only, specifically RN to BSN Online Degree Completion Option, Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Master of Science in Nursing Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (MSN-AGACNP), Master of Science in Nursing Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (MSN-AGPCNP), Master of Science in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP), Graduate Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner (GC-FNP) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

We recommend you take one class per session. Sessions are eight weeks long and our masters degree in nursing students average about 15-20 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 for your MSN degree.

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

Communicating with your MSN nursing 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: Graduate nursing program professors are very good at participating in threaded discussions throughout the week and driving conversations to gain insightful information.

Support is essential in online MSN programs. 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 masters in nursing 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 your online MSN program courses. You will see the assessment listed as a task in the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) course.

Yes, Chamberlain offers an Accelerated MSN. The Accelerated MSN Option is designed to prepare nurses in Advanced Nursing Leadership or students have the option to take Advanced Nursing Leadership with Artificial Intelligence. The Accelerated MSN Option can be completed in as few as eight months.

View the Accelerated MSN curriculum plan  

The Accelerated MSN provides increased flexibility and speed in the delivery of the MSN degree program to meet the needs of a wider range of master’s in nursing students. Because of the integrative design of the curriculum, time to completion is shortened in comparison to other tracks or options within Chamberlain's MSN nursing degree program.

• Within each eight-week session, the Accelerated MSN allows you to complete courses and assignments within an individualized time frame while maintaining weekly interaction with faculty in each course. This gives you more flexibility in managing work-life-family responsibilities while completing your nursing master degree coursework.
• Students enrolled in the Accelerated MSN will take two to three courses per session, traditional MSN degree program students take one MSN course per session.

Yes, students who enroll in the Accelerated MSN Option will be eligible to transfer to the traditional MSN program in a non-clinical or nurse practitioner specialization.

Yes, you’ll have your transcript assessed for transfer credits that can cut down on general education courses.