M.S. in Nursing
38
Credit Hours
47%
Max Transfer Credit
Next Start Date
Aug 17, 2026
Placement Tests
GMAT/GRE not required for admission

Improve the healthcare experience with a master's in nursing

Evolving legislation, rising costs and meeting the demands of an aging population are just a few of the challenges that contribute to increasing complexity within the healthcare industry. As a registered nurse equipped with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Franklin University, you will be better prepared to meet the demand for quality patient care and advanced leadership in healthcare.

Program Availability

Online
In , this program is offered through select employer partnerships. Please contact your employer to learn if you qualify.
In , this program may be offered through select employer partnerships. Please contact your employer to learn if you qualify.
On Site

Program Overview

Grow your nursing knowledge & expertise

As a graduate-level nursing student, you’ll build on the knowledge and competencies you gained at the bachelor’s level. Throughout the MSN program you will strengthen your critical thinking and problem-solving skills in order to coordinate healthcare programs in a time of ongoing reform. The program features online courses along with a 12-week practicum onsite in a healthcare setting.

As part of Franklin’s commitment to providing a relevant education, you’ll be exposed to current and emerging technologies. In addition, you’ll consistently merge coursework with your existing knowledge in order to develop a theoretical basis to guide your practice to promote high quality, effective, patient-centered care. Blending clinical prevention and population health concepts, you will learn to provide comprehensive care for individuals and families in diverse settings. You’ll also grow as a responsive leader who is able to collaborate, manage and ultimately influence the role of nurses in healthcare.

Adding credibility to your Franklin MSN degree is specialized accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), an accrediting body affiliated with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). CCNE evaluates nursing programs for academic quality and standards. As a student, you can rest assured that an accredited MSN prepares you for what comes next – advanced practice, leadership roles or even doctoral study in nursing.

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Curriculum & Course Descriptions

38 Semester Hours
Major Area Required
NURS 612 - Role of the Master's Prepared Nurse (3)

This course assesses the various roles of the master's prepared nurse. The influence of the health care delivery systems, health care policy, diversity, ethics, quality, safety, theory, evidence based practice, and information systems on the role of the master's prepared nurse will be explored.

NURS 650 - Population Focused Care (3)

Theories, principles, and strategies of population-based health care are used to design, implement, and evaluate services and plans of care to promote, maintain, and restore health in a defined population. Students focus on population aggregates in structured or unstructured settings across service environments. Strategies to evaluate outcomes and costs are emphasized. Prerequisite NURS 612 or 613.

NURS 648 - Advanced Pharmacology (3)

This course focuses on the concepts, principles, and application of pharmacotherapeutics used in the management of health problems encountered in primary care. Emphasis is placed on theories and principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacogenetics, which provide a foundation for critical thinking, and the application of research finding. The focus on pharmacology is aimed at the treatment of acute and chronic health problems in populations over the lifespan. Prescriptive authority for nurses is explored.

HCM 735 - Healthcare Delivery Systems (4)

The course provides an extensive overview of leadership in the U.S. health services system. The focus of the course will be on the role health services leadership plays in the delivery of healthcare services, to include managing with professionals, financial management, services utilization, and other aspects of the U.S. healthcare system. The student will explore the key theoretical and practical elements of leadership as well as current issues clarifying how the U.S. health services system is organized, managed, and financed.

HCM 752 - Health Policy (4)

This course will explore the essential conceptual and analytical understanding of health policymaking and politics, including their impact on health administration and leadership. Selected policy issues will be explored through the application of political concepts and behavioral models, including a system model of policymaking. The emphasis will be on understanding the health leader’s approach to the policymaking system, become involved in it, and work through it to attain their objectives and those of their organization.

NURS 644 - Advanced Pathophysiology (3)

This course provides an in-depth study of the physiological changes and responses to altered health states and their impact on the functional status of patients. Students will focus on the essential knowledge of human health and disease across the lifespan. Pathophysiological theories and evidence-based research serve as a basis for applying content to population groups.

NURS 646 - Advanced Physical Assessment (3)

This course builds upon the student’s previous health assessment knowledge offering more advanced health assessment content to provide the foundation for advanced professional nursing roles. This course emphasizes knowledge of health assessment, including physical, psychosocial, spiritual health assessment, risk assessment, and functional assessment in diverse populations in the promotion of health and prevention of disease. To maintain a nursing focus on patient responses to health, illness, or the threat of illness, the nurse must exhibit effective communication and client teaching, which is incorporated throughout the course. The importance of effective documentation and health record keeping is included.

NURS 693 - Evidence Based Practice & Quality Improv (3)

This course will explore and analyze methods to improve nursing practice and health outcomes. Collaborative efforts and ethical concerns are considered. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating evidence-based practice and quality assurance initiatives.

NURS 795 - MSN Capstone (4)

The purpose of this capstone course is to provide the student with the opportunity to examine the role of the master's prepared nurse in a health care or education setting. Using a combination approach of seminar and precepted clinical experience, the student focuses on the integration and application of major concepts covered throughout the graduate nursing program and assists in preparation for comprehensive evaluation. The student is assigned to a health care or educational setting under the direction of an experienced master's prepared nurse executive/educator/practitioner for the practicum portion of the course. Eighty (80) precepted clinical hours are required.

Major Electives

At least 8 credits from the following courses:

HIM 702 - Health Information Governance (4)
This course covers the broad spectrum of strategic issues in healthcare including policies, guidelines, standards, processes, and controls required to manage and implement enterprise-level information. Treating information as a strategic asset to healthcare organizations, processes to manage various risks to the quality of information and ensure its appropriate use are covered.
HIM 710 - Clinical Workflow & Applications (4)
This course explores requirements for clinical workflows in a variety of inpatient, outpatient, and emergency healthcare environments. It covers the documentation, review, mapping, and diagramming of clinical workflow information and processes. The course also covers the linkages between the improvement of patient care to workflow mapping and change management, as part of evidence based decision making in healthcare.
HIM 761 - Healthcare Analytics (4)
This course addresses the process of retrieving, analyzing, and reporting intelligence to make healthcare decisions. It covers the techniques of extracting, transforming and loading data from a myriad of operational databases into corporate data warehouses, as well means to ensure that decision making is based on clean and reliable information. The course also includes ways to report the healthcare intelligence gathered.
HCM 733 - Finance and Managerial Accounting in Healthcare Organizations (4)
The purpose of this course is to provide students with the fundamental concepts and calculations associated with financial accounting and managerial accounting within a healthcare organization. Students will study the foundational aspects of financial accounting with a primary focus on financial statements and the uses of the information in these statements. Students will also study the functional aspects of managerial accounting to include cost behavior, cost allocation, pricing, planning, budgeting, profit analysis, and performance evaluation. Application of these concepts will include analysis of case studies.
HCM 742 - Healthcare Laws and Ethics (4)
In this course students will develop a strong foundation in health law, enabling them to deal with the common legal, practical, moral, and ethical issues that healthcare organizations face on a daily basis. Topics will include statutory law, rules and regulations, tort law, criminal law, contract law, civil procedures, and trial procedure.
HCM 762 - Global Health (4)
The student will examine demographic measurements, epidemiological methods, outcomes assessment, health promotion, and disease prevention from a global perspective.
HRM 706 - Organizational Development/Intervention (4)
This course addresses the need for planned change focused on an organization's ability to compete strategically. The framework of consultation as helping organizations reach a level of optimum performance will be applied. Topics addressed include individual, team, and organization-wide interventions that can raise productivity/quality, improve competitiveness, increase skills, morale, and commitment.
HRM 707 - Organizational Leadership (4)
This course explores the elements of leadership and delineates the principles necessary for success in a global environment. Discussion of the role and function of leadership will include an in-depth analysis and study of needs impacting individuals, organizations, and society. This course provides students with leadership skills and competencies on which to build an individual model for effective leadership.
CJAD 680 - Grant Writing (4)
This course introduces students to funding sources and grant writing. Students will be expected to locate funding options and write a grant application.
CJAD 670 - Victimology (4)
This course is a seminar/survey course on victimization in the United States. Emphasis is placed upon the impact of victimization upon the victims and society. In addition, the response of the criminal justice system and of society to these victimizations will be explored. Theories of crime prevention and victimization will be discussed throughout the semester to encourage students to analytically consider the factors which cause victimization, and which factors can possibly prevent victimizations from occurring.
CJAD 700 - Effective Administration of Justice (4)
Within the scope of the foundations of justice and administration and social, financial, legal and political opportunities and challenges, students will apply strategic decision making strategies to analyze the communicative structures, practices, and performance of organizations in the administration of justice. Specific goals, challenges, and leadership theories will be holistically summarized and synthesized to develop solutions within the courts, law enforcement, and corrections, in both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Applied perspectives in ethical leadership functions that respond to organizational problems and objectives through best-practices will also be addressed. As future leaders, students will, moreover, demonstrate fluency in employee rights and issues and apply budgeting strategies to maximize agency goals. Additional outcomes will address program planning, implementation, and evaluation, as well as appraisal of new technological advancements utilizing articulated and relevant criteria.
PUAD 750 - Leading Government & Nonprofit Organizations (4)
Students learn to think and act as ethical leaders within a public service context. The course focuses on putting administrative decisions and organizational plans into action. Students learn to use leadership concepts and tools and interpersonal skills for working with individuals and groups to effectively execute administrative plans and make decisions. Students also develop knowledge and skills for communicating and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders; particularly elected officials, the media, interest groups, and the public.
PUAD 740 - Financial Management & Budgeting (4)
Students learn to use fundamental budgeting and financial management concepts and tools necessary for leading and managing government organizations. Students learn to use analytical techniques for making administrative and policy decisions with significant financial implications. Students also examine the competing values and politics that underlie and impact financial decisions in government. Finally, students develop skills for effectively communicating financial analysis methods and conclusions with colleagues, elected officials, the media, and the public.
MGMT 780 - Organizational Leadership Theories (4)
This course provides an overview of the historical and current leadership concepts, theories and constructs. Application and assessment of the individual leadership style will enable the student to develop their leadership voice. This course will provide a construct that will enable the student to identify transferrable skills that align with the organization that they are serving in. This course will challenge students to assess their own leadership strengths and weaknesses and produce an in-depth plan of action to develop and refine leadership competencies. Students will conduct substantive scholarly research to address and capture relevant and cutting-edge leadership theoretical work for application in course assignments.
MGMT 785 - Change Management for Organizational Leaders (4)
This course focuses on research and evaluation of the key theoretical concepts and practices central to the leading of organizational change initiatives. Students will evaluate real-world situations in a manner that supports the ability to initiate, implement and sustain major change. The management of change is a dynamic process. This course focuses on understanding how to plan and implement change in various organizations and other settings.
NURS 799 - MSN Practicum (1-4)
The MSN practicum experience provides students with the opportunity to receive academic credit for experience in an authentic work environment, which may be either external or internal to the University depending on the student’s preference. The student will have the option of precepted or non-precepted experiences that are approved by the faculty member.
PSYC 602 - Individual & Organizational Intelligence (4)
This course focuses on the application of systems theory, social psychology concepts, organizational lifecycles, and biological principles to the understanding of business operations. Includes a review of basic business principles, multiple intelligences, organizational intelligence, organizational culture, emotional intelligence, biomimicry and organizational DNA.
HRM 713 - Human Resource Management (4)
This course examines the strategic role of Human Resources (HR) in driving organizational success through effective policies, practices, and human capital initiatives. Students will explore how HR contributes to enterprise-wide strategy, workforce planning, and talent management. Emphasis is placed on HR’s collaboration with all types of managers in areas such as hiring, training, and compensation. The course also addresses the evolving responsibilities of HR in a global workplace and the challenges of a changing workforce, equipping students with strategies to enhance organizational performance and productivity.
GRAD 770 - Lean Six Sigma (4)
The purpose of this course is to train individuals in Lean Six Sigma skills and strategies to improve processes and provide safe, effective care environments. The learner will demonstrate the practical application of tools utilized with Lean Six Sigma methodologies. Students will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge learned during this course concurrently with a case study designed specifically to use Six Sigma methodologies. Students will develop a Lean Six Sigma project plan that can serve as the foundation for completing a major project for Lean Six Sigma certification following the completion of the course. Interested students would need to apply for Lean Six Sigma certification and complete the major project with Franklin University's Center for Professional Training & Development.
IDT 601 - Foundations of Instructional Design (4)
Learning theories and instructional design models are the two fundamental pillars for the field of instructional design. In this course, students will study the learning theories and philosophies that have formed, influence, and support this field. Students will also study instructional systems theories, models, and systematic approaches to instructional design. In this course, students will apply these theories, strategies, and instructional models to create a learning, instructional design, or training event in their chosen setting, whether business, government, healthcare, higher ed, industry, k-12, or other. At the end of this course, students will make a plan on how to prepare for an instructional design career.
IDT 645 - Learning Management Systems (4)
In this course, students will study the practices employed to manage and deliver instructional content in an online environment. Students will interact with a functional Learning Management System (LMS) to manage the design, development, delivery, and evaluation of reusable learning content.
IDT 650 - Evaluation (4)
This course presents fundamental principles and practices for evaluating courses and programs, with a focus on formative and summative evaluation and criterion-referenced testing. Students will explore evaluation models and theories, create a learner satisfaction survey, create criterion-referenced tests, create grading rubrics, and work with a data set to interpret data and make recommendations to improve a course or unit of instruction. Projects completed in the course will become part of the student’s portfolio.
IDT 715 - Theories and Applications for Managing Projects and Relationships (4)
Being able to successfully manage projects and relationships are paramount skills in the current workforce. In this course, students will study project management theories, tools, and technologies and apply them in their own discipline. By the end of this course, students need to develop a project management process and a plan to resolve relationship issues.
IDT 640 - Enhancing Learning With Technology (4)
In this course, students will apply design principles to create a learning event that includes the use of new and emerging technologies. Students will research collaboration and networking tools for their use and value in learning environments. Delivery platforms and software will also be explored for their impact on instructional strategies. Projects completed in the course will become part of the student's portfolio.
IDT 620 - Principles of Human Performance Technology (4)
In this course, you will learn a framework for understanding human performance by working with scenarios and case studies to analyze performance problems, determine the level and type of intervention required, and make recommendations for a suite of solutions that will achieve the desired impacts.
PUAD 745 - Strategy, Collaboration, & Communication (4)
Students learn to think strategically about leading organizations operating in a public environment where collaboration is required to achieve organizational goals. The course focuses on using strategic and network management concepts and tools to improve organizational performance and advance the public interest. The importance of strategically managing organizational communication is also examined. Finally, students develop skills for effectively communicating strategic planning methods, approaches, and decisions with colleagues, elected officials, the media, and the public.

Microcredentials Align with Job Essentials

In today's dynamic work environments, adaptive professionals thrive. A microcredential - either as a stand-alone course or integrated into your degree program - is a short, skill-specific recognition that enables you to demonstrate your competency in a distinct area. Like Franklin's degree programs, microcredentials are aligned with market and industry demand to ensure what you learn can be put to use right away. Microcredentials are easily shared via digital badges and can be stacked to create a unique portfolio of in-demand skills.

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