Are you a Virginia RN with an eye on career development? MSN programs in Virginia can be a passport to a healthcare world beyond bedside nursing. Nursing master’s programs offer many concentrations, including nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nursing administration, and informatics. Many nursing master’s degree programs in the Old Dominion State utilize distance learning formats so that you can integrate your schoolwork easily into your other life responsibilities. As an MSN-educated RN, your employment opportunities will rise by 56 percent over the next 10 years, and you’ll make $117,790 annually. There’s lots more information below about the MSN advantage in our guide to the 15 best MSN programs in Virginia.
RN-to-MSN Program Details: Are you an ADN- or hospital diploma-educated RN who wants to become an MSN-level Clinical Nurse Leader without first earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree? The University of Virginia offers a 42-credit RN-to-MSN pathway that will help you achieve your goal.
This program entails 56 clinical hours and another 500 hours working closely with a certified clinical nurse leader. Although you’ll have to attend classes on UVA’s Charlottesville campus, the program is part-time, so you’ll be able to balance your other life and work activities around it. Your supervised patient care experiences will take place in prestigious healthcare facilities like the UVA Medical Center and other hospitals throughout central Virginia, so you must have a Virginia RN license by the time you begin clinical rotations.
MSN Program Details: Why is the University of Virginia’s nursing master’s degree renowned as one of the best MSN programs in Virginia? Because of the high quality of its instruction and simulation labs and its versatility in offering five distinct advanced practice concentrations and one dual advanced practice concentration.
The AGACNP and AGCNS tracks both require 43 credits and 560 clinical hours. The FNP pathway entails 46 credits and 6126 clinical hours, while the PMHNP pathway comprises 42 credits and 560 clinical hours. The Clinical Nurse Leader track involves 35 credits and more than 500 clinical hours. The demanding AGACNP/AGCNS joint degree combines the requirements for both specialties.
Core MSN courses common to all five specialization options include “Transition to Advanced Practice,” “Advanced Health Assessment,” and “Health Policy: Leading Change to Advance Population Health.” AGAPNP, FNP, AGCNS, and CNL classes are held at the University of Virginia’s campus in Charlottesville one or two days a week; PMHNP coursework is mainly offered online, but you will meet monthly on campus.
You’ll participate in clinical rotations at some of the top healthcare facilities in Charlottesville and the surrounding areas, including the UVA Medical Center, Carilion Roanoke Memorial, and Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Most of your clinical rotations will be concentrated in the last two semesters of your program. UVA accepts new cohorts into its MSN program in the fall semester. As a full-time student, it will take you two years to complete your nursing master’s at UVA; as a part-time student, three years.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Virginia’s Adult Gerontology Acute Care NP program as the 7th best in the U.S.MSN Program Details: George Mason University’s 49-credit MSN with a Family Nurse Practitioner concentration is offered on campus and online. The campus program uses a traditional semester system, but the online program divides the term into a condensed eight-week format where you’ll take one course every eight weeks. The core MSN coursework includes classes like “Organization of Nursing and Health Care Delivery Systems,” “Theoretical and Ethical Foundations Related to Nursing,” and “Foundations of Public Health.”
This MSN program in Virginia requires 600 clinical hours. You’ll learn new hands-on skills in GMU’s cutting-edge 1,500-square-foot simulation lab space and apply them to supervised direct patient care at hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities. Students enrolled in the campus program will do clinical rotations at medical centers throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including the MedStar Washington Hospital Center and the university’s own system of Mason and Partners Clinics. The university assists online students with finding appropriate preceptors and sites in their local area.
Full-time students enrolled in the campus program should be able to graduate in two years. Online students will take approximately two and a half years to complete the program. The campus-based track accepts new students in the fall, but the online track has multiple start dates in the spring, summer, and fall.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• George Mason University’s MSN program is the 10th best in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report.MSN Program Details: James Madison University’s MSN program in Virginia offers four APRN concentrations and two nursing leadership concentrations. The 46-credit AGPCNP and 49-credit FNP tracks both require 750 clinical hours. The Nurse Midwifery and PMHNP pathways are both offered in partnership with Shenandoah University: You’ll complete the 22-credit core MSN curriculum at JMU and then earn a post-graduate certificate from Shenandoah. The 38-credit CNL and 32-credit Nurse Administrator pathways both entail 450 practicum hours.
The program is taught online using asynchronous technology but includes in-person clinical experiences. Foundational nursing master’s degree classes include “Advanced Health Assessment,” “Research for Advanced Health Professionals,” and “Health Policy for Practice and Advocacy.” You can enroll part-time and graduate in three to four years or full-time and graduate in two to three years. James Madison University accepts new students into its MSN program in the fall and spring.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• James Madison University may accept ADN- or hospital diploma-educated RNs with bachelor’s degrees in non-nursing fields into this program following a transcript analysis to determine the gaps in meeting the essentials of a BSN education. These students’ study plans may have to include up to an additional 11 credits.MSN Program Details: Marymount University has two MSN specializations: a 48-credit Psychiatric Mental Health NP track and a 45-credit Family Nurse Practitioner pathway. Both specializations involve 750 practicum hours, and both are offered online on a part-time-only basis that will take you seven consecutive semesters—just over two years—to complete.
In addition to specialization coursework, this MSN program in Virginia requires core MSN classes like “Leadership, Quality & Ethics in Health Care,” “Advanced Health Assessment,” and “Evidence-Based Practice.” FNP students will participate in two three-day residencies at the university’s campus in Arlington; PMHNP students will participate in a single residency. Marymount’s clinical placement specialists will find you preceptors and clinical rotation sites near your home. Marymount University accepts new students into this program in the spring, summer, and fall.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Marymount University is the only Hispanic Serving Institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia.MSN Program Details: Radford University offers two MSN tracks: Nursing Administration and Family Nurse Practice. Apart from a course called “Evidence for Advanced Nursing Practice,” the curricula for the two MSN concentrations are very different. The Nursing Administration coursework focuses on operational logistics, while the FNP coursework focuses on assessment and evidence-based practice.
The 33-credit (135 practicum hours) Nursing Administration track doesn’t require any on-campus visits or skills intensives. Apart from your clinical rotations, all the coursework you’ll need to take to complete your studies can be accessed online. Courses are taught over seven-week stretches, and the track has six start dates each year: two in the spring, two in the summer, and two in the fall.
The 53-credit Family Nurse Practitioner track includes 540 clinical hours. This track requires two or three visits to Radford University’s campus, where you’ll participate in skills intensives and assessments, but you’ll be able to pursue a clinical rotation in the state in which you live.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Completing your MSN degree at Radford University depends upon maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 or better.RN-to-BSN-to-MSN Program Details: Liberty University’s accelerated RN-to-BSN-to-MSN track is offered entirely online except for clinical rotations. You’ll need to log 153 credits to graduate with a nursing bachelor’s and master’s degree. However, you don’t have to take all 153 credits at Liberty University: You’ll receive 39 credits just for having an RN license, and you can transfer up to 75 credits from other college-level nursing courses you’ve completed. At the end of this 24-month program, you’ll have both a Bachelor of Science In Nursing degree and a Master’s of Science in Nursing degree.
MSN Program Details: As an online MSN student at Liberty University, you’ll choose a specialization track from five non-clinical concentrations: a Community Health track, a Health Policy track, a Nursing Administration track, a Nurse Educator track, and a Nursing Informatics track. All five tracks require the completion of 36 credits and a minimum of 200 clinical hours spread out over three practicum courses.
No matter which MSN concentration you choose, you’ll enroll in the same core MSN curriculum with classes like “Nursing Theory and Advanced Practice,” “Health Policy and Ethics,” and “Managing Population Health.” Courses are taught over eight-week terms and rely upon asynchronous technology. This MSN program in Virginia has eight start dates every year, and full-time students can expect to graduate in 24 months.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Liberty University offers dual MSN/Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) and MSN/Master of Science in Healthcare Administration (MSHA) degrees.RN-to-MSN Program Details: Like several other MSN programs in Virginia, Old Dominion University offers an RN-to-MSN for registered nurses with either ADN degrees or hospital diplomas. This program is only open to students accepted into the university’s post-licensure BSN program. You’ll receive 33 of the credits necessary for completing this program from your registered nursing license as experiential credits. Once you are accepted into the BSN program, you’ll work directly with Old Dominion’s graduate program director to determine whether you qualify for the linked BSN/MSN program.
MSN Program Details: Old Dominion University’s MSN track offers eight APRN concentrations. The 47-credit Family Nurse Practitioner and 47-credit Pediatric Nurse Practitioner tracks each entail 560 clinical hours; the 49-credit Neonatal Nurse Practitioner requires a minimum of 600 clinical hours. You’ll have to participate in 504 hours of practicum with the 49-credit AGCNS, 50-credit PCNS, and 52-credit MCNS tracks. The PMHNP and Nurse Midwifery pathways are offered in partnership with Shenandoah University: You’ll take 22 credits of core MSN courses at Old Dominion and then complete the equivalent of a post-graduate certificate at Shenandoah.
Core MSN courses include “Evidence-Based Research for Nursing Practice,” “Physical Assessment for Advanced Nursing Practice,” and “Integrative Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice Roles.” Courses are primarily taught online using the Canvas Course Management system, which facilitates both synchronous and asynchronous delivery. You may be required to visit Old Dominion University’s campus in Virginia Beach one weekend a semester for standardized patient and simulation experiences. Old Dominion University will work closely with you to identify and secure preceptors and clinical sites, preferably close to your own community.
All MSN programs start in the fall semester. Full-time students should be able to graduate in two years.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• 99 percent of Old Dominion University’s MSN graduates find employment in their chosen specialty within 12 months of earning their degree.MSN Program Details: ECPI University’s MSN program in Virginia features two concentrations. The 49-credit (540 clinical hours) Family Nurse Practitioner and 36-credit (135 clinical hours) Nursing Education pathways are both taught primarily online, although the FNP pathway requires two residencies at ECPI’s campus in Virginia Beach.
You’ll take three foundational MSN courses before proceeding to your concentration curriculum: “Health Assessment,” “Statistics,” and “Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice.” Classes are taught over five-week terms, and if you take classes year-round, you’ll be able to complete the FNP track in six semesters (22 months) and the Nursing Education track in four semesters (15 months.) You’ll be responsible for finding your own clinical site and preceptor and for maintaining your own records throughout your clinical rotation.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• ECPI is one of only 10 universities to make The Military Times’s list of the best schools for vets.MSN Program Details: In addition to partnering with other MSN programs in Virginia to provide students with nursing master’s concentrations, Shenandoah University provides three specialties with its own signature nursing master’s degree. The 45-credit FNP track involves a minimum of 600 hours of supervised patient care, while the 49-credit PMHNP pathway requires 780 clinical hours. Expect to participate in 720 practicum hours when you enroll in Shenandoah University’s 49-credit Nurse-Midwifery track.
The curricula for all three MSN concentrations include foundational nursing courses such as “Advanced Practice Roles, Ethics & Policy,” “Advanced Health Promotion & Assessment Across the Lifespan,” and “Research and Evidence Based Practice.” Students enrolled in the Nurse-Midwifery track must make two four-day visits to Shenandoah’s campus in Winchester in the fall and spring semesters of the second year of their program for skills immersion experiences.
Courses are taught online using a synchronous format. Students typically take two courses each semester. Full-time students can expect to graduate in a year. Shenandoah University accepts a new cohort into its MSN program each fall.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Shenandoah University’s MSN-PMHNP graduates have a 100 percent pass rate on their professional certification exams.RN-to-MSN Program Details: Chamberlain University offers two RN-to-MSN options for ADN- or hospital diploma-educated registered nurses who want to expand their professional prospects. If you enroll in the 161- to 164-credit RN-BSN-MSN track, you can transfer up to 77 credits from your associate-level schoolwork toward your BSN degree and apply for admission to the Chamberlain’s nursing master’s so that you’re completing your BSN while you’re enrolled in the MSN program.
Alternatively, you can bypass earning a BSN degree and enroll directly in Chamberlain University’s accelerated RN-to-MSN track, which is the quicker of the two options. Coursework for both tracks is primarily offered online, though the MSN-NP concentrations do require at least one immersion experience at the university’s campus in Vienna.
MSN Program Details: Chamberlain University is the largest nursing school by enrollment in the U.S. Chamberlain University’s MSN program in Virginia gives you the opportunity to become certified in four APRN specialties and five non-clinical nursing specialties. The AGACNP track involves 48 credits and 750 lab and clinical hours, while the AGPCNP and FNP tracks comprise 45 credits and 650 lab and clinical hours. To become a PMHNP, you’ll need to complete 47 credits and 650 lab and clinical hours. The Healthcare Policy, Nurse Educator, Nurse Executive, Nursing Informatics, and Population Health pathways all entail 36 credits.
As part of an MSN curriculum, all nine concentrations require core nursing classes like “Foundational Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice,” “Population Health and Epidemiology for Advanced Nursing Practice,” and “Leadership and Role Development for Advanced Nursing Practice.” Classes are taught over eight-week terms, and full-time students take two courses per term. Full-time students should be able to graduate at the end of eight semesters (two years). This MSN program has start dates in January, March, May, July, September, and November. All APRN tracks require three weekend campus visits. Chamberlain will assist you in locating clinical rotation assignments no more than 100 miles from your home.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Chamberlain University’s RN-to-MSN program is the most extensive program of its kind in the United States.MSN Program Details: To earn an MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner degree from Bluefield University, you must complete approximately 600 clinical hours and 48 course credits. This MSN program in Virginia also offers a 46-credit Leadership/Education MSN concentration for which you’ll have to participate in onsite clinical practicums. Except for practicums, which you’ll complete at a location near you, Bluefield University’s MSN program is offered online. Core MSN courses include “Foundations for Advanced Practice,” “Health Promotion & Disease Prevention in Diverse Populations,” and “Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan.” The program takes two years to finish, and classes start in January.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Bluefield University’s MSN program focuses on teaching graduates to serve rural and vulnerable populations.MSN Program Details: If you look upon nursing as a calling rather than a profession, Eastern Mennonite University’s nursing master’s degree may be one of the best MSN programs in Virginia because this school adheres to a sacred covenant nursing model based on faith and values. EMU offers three non-clinical concentrations in conjunction with its nursing master’s degree: 37-credit tracks for Leadership for Trauma Awareness & Resilience and Leadership & Management and a 39-credit track for Leadership & School Nursing.
Core MSN classes include “Historical, Philosophical, and Theoretical Foundations of Nursing,” “Systems Approach to Organizational Behaviour,” and “Application of Legal and Ethical Principals to Healthcare.” There are no residency requirements; all coursework is delivered online using the Moodle platform, which facilitates both synchronous and asynchronous interactions. You’ll spend 240 practicum hours working on a capstone project at a facility close to your home. Eastern Mennonite University accepts a new cohort into this program each fall, and it will take you two years to graduate.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Interested in working in the top echelons of a healthcare organization? Eastern Mennonite University offers a joint MSN/MBA degree.MSN Program Details: Hampton University’s 46- to 47-credit Nurse Educator track includes courses like “Conceptual Approaches to Nursing Practice,” “Community Health Nursing, Advanced Adult Nursing I & II,” and “Curriculum Development in Nursing Education.” At the end of the program, you’ll have the option to either write a thesis or pass a comprehensive examination.
Courses are taught at the university’s campus in Hampton in the evening hours to accommodate the needs of students juggling jobs and personal obligations. You can enroll in this program either full-time or part-time. Applications are processed on a rolling basis, and you can start classes in the spring or fall.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• This MSN program in Virginia allows you to focus on the needs of the population you’re most interested in working with, be that a target demographic, a clinical segment, or a specific community.MSN Program Details: If you want to get a really comprehensive education for your new role as a Clinical Nurse Leader, Sentara College of Health Science’s nursing master’s may be one of the best MSN programs in Virginia for you because the college is affiliated with Sentara Health, one of Virginia’s largest healthcare providers. The college accepts new cohorts each January and August. This 42-credit MSN-Clinical Nurse Leader track is ideal for working nurses because it’s offered part-time online: You can graduate in two years by taking two courses each semester.
Required courses include “Disease Management and Clinical Outcomes,” “Healthcare in the U.S. Today,” and “Clinical Nurse Leadership.” This MSN program requires 540 clinical hours, which you’ll be able to complete at a healthcare facility near your home.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Sentara College of Health Sciences also offers a Master’s Entry to Nursing Practice Program for people who are not RNs but want to become RNs and have a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field.MSN Program Details: As a student in Regent University’s MSN program in Virginia, you can pursue two non-clinical nursing specialties and two APRN concentrations. The Nurse Educator and Nurse Leadership & Management tracks both entail 36 credits, while the Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner pathways require 47 credits. Regent University’s MSN program has six start dates throughout the year in August, October, January, March, May, and June. Full-time students will be able to complete the non-clinical concentrations in a single year and the APRN concentrations in two.
MSN foundational coursework includes classes “Global Nursing Leadership & Healthcare Delivery Systems,” “Theoretical & Ethical Foundations,” and “Research Methods & Biostatistics I & II.” The APRN specialties include three practicum courses, and the non-clinical concentrations include two practicum courses. You’ll pursue clinical rotations in your own community. While Regent University’s nursing master’s degree is another one of the MSN programs in Virginia that’s offered primarily online, APRN students will have to make one trip to the university’s campus in Virginia Beach to participate in an advanced head-to-toe physical assessment skills intensive.
Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students
• Regent University is an evangelical Christian institution of higher learning. While you don’t have to be Christian to attend Regent University, the MSN program is taught from a Christian perspective that emphasizes religious values and attitudes.S.No. | Accrediting Agency |
1 | Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) |
2 | Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) |
19 |
Hourly | $56.63 |
Weekly | $2,265 |
Monthly | $9,820 |
Annual | $117,790 |
Hourly | $41.66 |
Weekly | $1,667 |
Monthly | $7,220 |
Annual | $86,660 |
Level of Experience | Hourly | Weekly | Monthly | Annual |
1-4 Years of Experience | $47.14 | $1,886 | $8,170 | $98,050 |
5-9 Years of Experience | $55.65 | $2,226 | $9,650 | $115,750 |
10-19 Years of Experience | $61.97 | $2,479 | $10,740 | $128,900 |
20 Years or More Experience | $74.06 | $2,962 | $12,840 | $154,040 |
Metro | Hourly | Weekly | Monthly | Annual |
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | $54.96 | $2,198 | $9,530 | $114,310 |
Charlottesville | $59.82 | $2,393 | $10,370 | $124,430 |
Harrisonburg | $53.63 | $2,145 | $9,300 | $111,560 |
Lynchburg | $53.31 | $2,132 | $9,240 | $110,880 |
Richmond | $58.99 | $2,360 | $10,230 | $122,700 |
Roanoke | $53.28 | $2,131 | $9,240 | $110,820 |
Staunton-Waynesboro | $58.28 | $2,331 | $10,100 | $121,230 |
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News | $55.39 | $2,216 | $9,600 | $115,220 |
Winchester | $54.40 | $2,176 | $9,430 | $113,160 |
Job Title | Average Annual Salary | Difference | |
Number | % | ||
Dentist | $187,950 | -$70,160 | -37.33% |
Pharmacist | $138,390 | -$20,600 | -14.89% |
Physician Assistant | $120,010 | -$2,220 | -1.85% |
Veterinarian | $118,940 | -$1,150 | -0.97% |
Nurse With MSN | $117,790 | $0 | 0.00% |
Occupational Therapist | $102,550 | $15,240 | 14.86% |
Physical Therapist | $99,850 | $17,940 | 17.97% |
Radiation Therapist | $99,710 | $18,080 | 18.13% |
Speech-Language Pathologist | $95,640 | $22,150 | 23.16% |
Dental Hygienist | $91,800 | $25,990 | 28.31% |
Audiologist | $78,970 | $38,820 | 49.16% |
Chiropractor | $75,570 | $42,220 | 55.87% |