Advance your career with a master of science in nursing degree from a nationally ranked, accredited program. You'll prepare to succeed in the ever-evolving health care field.
In our flexible, powerhouse nursing MSN program, you'll be on the inside track to advance your career. This nationally recognized program is led by expert faculty with years of clinical experience who are committed to your professional and personal success.
Widener's master's degree in nursing program offers four concentrations:
Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist
Step into an advanced nursing role by becoming a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). This program will prepare you to provide care to patients in the adult to gerontology populations in acute care settings, including emergency and critical care environments.
Family (Individual Across the Lifespan) CRNP
Become a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP) to care for individuals and families across the life span. In this program, you'll learn how to practice critical thinking, decision making, evidence-based practice, cultural competence and leadership skills in a number of settings.
Nursing Education
Develop your skills to become a nurse educator in both clinical and academic environments.
Executive Nurse Leadership
Earn a degree that will allow you to transform the health care environment by leading as a nurse executive at the micro and macro systems setting.
Bachelor’s degree in nursing or equivalent from an accredited program.
Minimum of 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) in a BSN program.
Official transcripts from all previously attended institutions of higher education.
Completion of an undergraduate statistics/research course with a grade of C or better.
Two recommendations, preferably from professional nurses with graduate degrees, regarding applicant’s practice and potential for graduate work in nursing.
Valid U.S. license as a registered nurse. NP or CNS option requires PA State Board of Nursing licensure prior to start of clinicals or as appropriate.
Satisfactory scores (550 written and 213 computer-based) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for all applicants from non-English speaking countries.
The School of Nursing requires a passing score on the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) Qualifying Examination. The CGFNS Qualifying Examination is a prerequisite for taking the Registered Nurse Licensing Examination in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Our flexible course delivery system makes it possible for you to fit any one of our master's programs into your busy life. Using a hybrid approach, classes are offered in-person and online so that they can work with your schedule.
Faculty Mentorship
Partner with nursing professors who bring years of clinical experience to the classroom. You’ll benefit from a student nursing community that is guided by close mentorship and one-on-one support from our full-time faculty. As you complete courses led by nurse leaders, you'll build a network that will follow you long after graduation.
"My goal is for students to challenge themselves to become life-long learners who contribute new knowledge to this wonderful profession. Both novice and experienced nurses should take risks to seek out new learning experiences that ignite their passion for nursing and drive them toward improving outcomes for their clients."
I believe that an education with a foundation in science is essential for entry into nursing or advanced practice nursing. Nursing clinical reasoning skills grow as students apply an understanding of disease as the loss of normal function.
Students have great variation in their manner in which they acquire, process, manipulate, store, and retrieve learned information. It is a faculty priority to assist students with the development of metacognitive strategies to assist learning success and retention.
Widener nursing faculty and alumni deployed to the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia to lead the city’s emergency action plan against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Ellen Boyda, director of the Widener Community Nursing Clinic, penned this opinion article featured in The Spirit to outline how the clinic adjusted its delivery of care in the midst of COVID-19 to now offer telemedicine services.
To visit Widener is, more often than not, to fall in love with the place. To fit your timeline and schedule, we offer a variety of ways to get to know us.
At Widener, opportunities for financial aid extend to graduate students. Discover how Widener can help make obtaining your degree possible.
Next steps to apply
We’re glad you made the decision to apply. All applications and supplemental materials are submitted through the online application system. There is a $35 application fee to apply to Widener.