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Course List - Master of Science in Nursing

To earn Penn State’s online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), you will need to successfully complete a minimum of 37 credits, including a set of core courses as well as option-specific courses, depending on whether you choose to follow the Nurse Administrator or Nurse Educator option. Along the way, you can further refine your studies by taking elective courses based on your interest and background. You will round out your credit requirements with a clinical practicum and a capstone course.

  1. 9 credits of MSN core courses
  2. Option-specific courses:

    9 credits for the Nurse Administrator option 
    OR
    18 credits for the Nurse Educator option

  3. Elective courses:

    12 credits of administration electives for the Nurse Administrator option
    OR
    3 credits of education electives for the Nurse Educator option

  4. 4 credits of a clinical practicum
  5. 3 credits of a capstone project

 

MSN Core Courses (9 credits)
NURS 501 Issues in Nursing and Health Care
Analysis and evaluation of the health care system with emphasis on health policy and economic issues affecting nursing practice.		 3 credits
NURS 510 Theoretical Foundations of Nursing
Current conceptual and theoretical models in nursing including relationship to practice and research in development of nursing science.		 3 credits
NURS 512 Nursing Research
A nursing research course with emphasis on research design, data collection methods, and evaluation of research studies.

Prerequisite: NURS 510		 3 credits

 

Nurse Administrator Option Courses (9 credits)
NURS 845 Health Care Economics and Policy for Nurse Administrators
Concepts of health care economics and policy for nurse administrators.		 3 credits
NURS 846 Leadership Concepts and Theories for Nurse Administrators
Concepts and theories of leadership for nurse administrators.		 3 credits
NURS 847 Human Resource and Work Force Issues for Nurse Administrators
Human resource management and work force issues for nurse administrators.

Prerequisite: NURS 846		 3 credits

 

Nurse Educator Option Courses (18 credits)
NURS 502

or

NURS 522		 Advanced Health Assessment of Adult Populations
Advanced nursing assessment and diagnosis of physical, psychosocial and developmental health for adults and families across the adult age spectrum.

Or

Comprehensive Assessment of the Older Adult
Advanced nursing assessment of biological, physical, clinical, functional, cognitive, psychological, and social changes associated with aging.		 3 credits
NURS 503 Pathophysiology
Integration of advanced physiology, genetics, and pathophysiology as related to specific disease entities and alterations in functioning.		 3 credits
NURS 504 Pharmacologic Therapy
Use of pharmacologic therapies in advanced practice nursing.		 3 credits
NURS 840 Nursing Education Theories and Strategies
Theoretical foundation and evidence-based strategies for nursing education.		 3 credits
NURS 841 Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing Education
Methods for assessment, measurement, and evaluation of student learning in academic and clinical settings.

Prerequisite: NURS 840		 3 credits
NURS 842 Curriculum and Program Development in Nursing Education
Curriculum design and evaluation, educational program development, and accreditation.

Prerequisite: NURS 840		 3 credits

 

Electives (Select 12 credits for Nurse Administrator Option OR 3 credits for Nurse Educator Option)
Administration Electives (Select 12 credits)
HRER 501* Labor and Employment Law
Legal context of employment in the United States.		 3 credits
HRER 802* Organizations in the Workplace
This course provides students with an overview of selected managerial behavior and career topics in modern organizations.		 3 credits
HRER 836* Diversity in the Workplace
This course examines workplace diversity, gender and race challenges facing employers and employees, and the skills for managing diversity.		 3 credits
PHP 527* Public Health Evaluation of Disasters and Bioterrorism
Introduces students to the design of exposure assessment and health effect studies applicable to disasters and terrorism.		 3 credits
PHP 530* Critical Infrastructure Protection of Health Care Delivery Systems
Investigates the impact that terrorist incidents may have on health care facilities or their ability to deliver health care services.		 3 credits
Education Electives (Select 3 credits)
NURS 523 Interventions for Common Health Problems in Older Adults
Discussion of common acute and chronic health problems experienced by older adults and development of evidence-based interventions for management.

Prerequisite: NURS 818; NURS 819; NURS 522		 3 credits
ADTED 460 Introduction to Adult Education
History, methods, agencies, program areas, and problems of adult education in the United States.		 3 credits
ADTED 506 Program Planning in Adult Education
Intensive study of theoretical foundations, policies, evaluation models, methods, and materials in program planning in adult education.

Prerequisite: ADTED 460; ADTED 505		 3 credits

*Courses marked with an asterisk cost $775/credit.

Clinical Practicum (4 credits)
NURS 848

or

NURS 843		 Synthesis and Application of the Nurse Administrator Role
Practicum in the application of the nurse administrator role in health care settings.

Prerequisite: NURS 847

Or

Synthesis and Application of the Nurse Educator Role
Practicum in the application of the nurse educator role in academic and healthcare settings.

Prerequisite: NURS 841; NURS 842		 4 credits

 

Capstone Project (3 credits)
NURS 594 Research Topics
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.		 3 credits