Nursing (Clinical Nurse Specialist) Online Program (Master's) at Michigan State University

Programme overview

The Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist MSN at Michigan State University is an exclusively online programme preparing registered nurses with a BSN as clinical experts caring for adults across the lifespan. It focuses on leading practice change, evidence-based care, quality and safety, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Faculty: College of Nursing | Duration: 54 credits | Intake: Fall | Study mode: online | Location: East Lansing, MI, United States

What you will study

54-credit MSN with part-time and full-time plans. Fully online coursework with clinicals arranged in the student's area, including NUR 902 Scientific Foundations for the Advanced Practice Nurse, NUR 903 Healthcare Informatics, NUR 905 Patient Safety and Quality Improvement, NUR 907-909 advanced pathophysiology, physical assessment and pharmacology, NUR 914 Biostatistics, NUR 932 Clinical Decision Making for Acute and Chronic Complex Conditions and NUR 933-935 CNS Advanced Practice Role Development I-III. Students come to campus once for orientation in late August.

Career pathways

Clinical nurse specialists in hospital clinical leadership, quality improvement departments, healthcare system consulting, clinical education and specialty clinical practice.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

BSN to MSN and BSN to DNP (Clinical Nurse Specialist): university application and resume/CV; BSN from an accredited institution; minimum 3.0 GPA in the second half of the BSN programme; current, unrestricted RN licence; 3-credit statistics course within the past five years (minimum grade 2.0 undergraduate or 3.0 graduate); written essay on career goals and motivation; three professional letters of recommendation; admissions interview with College of Nursing faculty upon invitation; English proficiency if native language is not English. Applications are accepted August 1 to April 1 for fall entry.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate applicants can start in fall (late August), spring (January) or summer (May) in the MPH programme; intake terms for other graduate programmes are set by each department or program.

The graduate application fee is $75 for domestic and international applicants, with one fee per application; applicants may submit up to two applications to different graduate majors per semester. Applications are reviewed by the department or program, which sets its own deadlines.

MPH application deadlines (SOPHAS completion): fall May 18, spring October 18, summer February 15; MSU supplemental application: fall June 1, spring November 1, summer March 1.

Apply through the official page: https://admissions.msu.edu/apply/graduate-students

Explore more study programmes

Health Sciences