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RN to MSN Programs in Indiana

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Online RN to MSN Programs in Indiana

A number of Indiana universities now offer hybrid and 100% online RN to MSN programs, including public schools. Admissions requirements and concentrations vary, so have a look at the profiles in our school listings to see if you qualify. Here are a few more points we wanted to mention:

  • Ball State University: To apply for BSU’s 100% online program, all students must reside in—and complete all clinical hours in—a state where the Ball State University School of Nursing is authorized to offer its programs. See the state authorizations page for details. What’s more, BSU’s online nursing programs are asynchronous—there are no specific log-in times and no live lectures. Instead, students complete weekly assignments, watch videos, and participate in group projects and discussion boards on their own time. There is a mandatory one-day campus orientation at the start of the program.
  • Indiana Wesleyan University: Because the curriculum doesn’t involve NP or CNS training, IWU’s ASN-MSN is fully online, with practicums that can be completed in the student’s home state. Students are expected to arrange their own clinical experiences, but the Division of Graduate Nursing maintains a file of clinical sites used by students.

Cheapest RN to MSN Programs in Indiana

To come up with this ranking of the most affordable Indiana RN to MSN programs, we decided to compare graduate tuition rates. But take the top 3 with a grain of salt! Each program will have a different number of total credits, different fees, and different policies on transferring undergraduate credits. So budgets can vary widely.

Keep an eye on the fine print as well. For example, in the RN to MS program, BSU’s undergraduate credit hours are billed at the graduate rate. In contrast, IWU’s ASN-MSN program charges a separate (and lower) rate for undergraduate courses.

  1. Ball State University: In-State (Out-of-State is comparable to private rates)—View Tuition Rates
  2. Indiana Wesleyan University: View Tuition Rates

Indiana’s Healthcare Landscape

Aspiring APRNs and nurse leaders in Indiana are guaranteed to encounter a wide range of challenges. And many of them have to do with chronic health problems:

  • According to data from America’s Health Rankings and the National Center for Health Statistics, Indiana has a high prevalence of smoking; high rates of diabetes, chronic lower respiratory disease, kidney disease, and cancer deaths; and high rates of obesity in both youth and adults.
  • It can be particularly tough in rural areas. Almost a quarter of the state’s population lives in one of Indiana’s 48 rural counties, and many of these inhabitants lack access to primary care, health insurance, and mental health facilities. In the U.S. Rural Health Report Card, Indiana often receives mediocre grades, especially for conditions like cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

The effects of the opioid crisis and the lack of substance abuse treatment and mental health services has been a particularly thorny problem for public health officials in the Rust Belt. In 2017, Indiana had a particularly high rate of drug overdose deaths (adjusted by population concentration).

  • In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been pumping millions of dollars in grant funding into Indiana in order to expand access to drug treatment programs and facilities.
  • And in 2019, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) launched a loan repayment program to bring healthcare providers who specialize in mental health into Indiana’s rural communities. This may help to fill the gaps identified in the 2018 Indiana Primary Care Needs Assessment report from the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy.
  • Other initiatives that are being tried in the state include increasing the availability of mobile health units, reducing infant mortality by improving access to care & quality of prenatal visits, and conducting more community health needs assessments.

In other words, newly qualified Indiana APRNs should have plenty of opportunities to make a difference, especially in primary care and PMHNP work.

Jobs for Indiana RN to MSN Graduates

Career Outlook for RN to MSN Graduates

You can get a good overlook at the job situation in Indiana by examining the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) pages for Nurse Practitioners and Nursing Instructors & Teachers, Postsecondary. We particularly like the job and wage maps on these pages—hover over a geographic area to see the precise data.

For instance, it will come as no surprise to current RNs that the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson metropolitan area is the state’s major healthcare hub.

  • Thanks to all its universities and hospitals, the Indianapolis area employs around 35% of Indiana’s NPs and around 25% of its nursing instructors.
  • Fort Wayne comes in a distant second, employing ~13% of the state’s NPs and 8% of its nursing instructors.
  • Indianapolis is also where the best wages for both categories are to be found.

But Indianapolis and Fort Wayne aren’t your only options. A number of the hospitals listed in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the Best Hospitals in Indiana and the ANCC’s list of Magnet Facilities in Indiana are in cities of a smaller ilk.

We’re talking about names like IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Goshen Hospital, Elkhart General Hospital, and Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. In 2019, the IU Health Network stated that it had 300+ unfilled nursing positions available.

Anxious to help Indiana address its rural healthcare problems? You’ll be in good company! According to a recent ICN report, nearly half of Indiana’s APRNs work in outpatient clinics and ~38% of them have chosen to specialize in primary care. Yet counties like Crawford and Pike continue to experience low health workforce capacities. Keep in mind, too, that aspiring primary care NPs qualify for ISDH’s loan repayment program.

Career Resources for Future APRNs

Indiana Nursing Job Boards

Indiana APRN Salary & Wage Data

Indiana Nursing Organizations

State Board of Nursing

Indiana Nursing Associations & Coalitions

Indiana Nursing Specialty Organizations

Indiana RN to MSN School Listings

2 Schools Found

Ball State University

School of Nursing

Muncie, Indiana

RN to MS - Family Nurse Practitioner

Offered Online

Curriculum InfoCost InfoHow To Apply

RN to MS - Nurse Administrator

Offered Online

Curriculum InfoCost InfoHow To Apply

RN to MS - Nurse Educator

Offered Online

Curriculum InfoCost InfoHow To Apply

Nursing School Overview

BSU is a public research university in Muncie, which means it's relatively affordable for in-state students. The School of Nursing is an NLN Center of Excellence in Nursing Education and the first higher education institution in the country to earn Quality Matters (QM) Learner Support Program Certification. This may be why BSU often ranks in the top 15 of U.S. News & World Report's rankings of Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs. Pass rates for the AANP and ANCC exams tend to be excellent (e.g. 97%-100%) and four-year graduation rates for the MS are high (e.g. 81%). In addition, 100% of full-time and 40% of part-time faculty who teach in the online graduate programs have a Ph.D. or terminal degree. This is a program for independent, disciplined learners. Online coursework is asynchronous, with no live lectures or log-in times, so students need to be ready for self-study. You'll find plenty of independent opinions of the MS program on message boards and review sites. Reviewers often like the affordability and convenience of the online set-up, and the helpfulness of faculty. However, some students have had difficulty finding preceptors and sites for their clinical work, especially in the Indianapolis area.

RN to MSN Admissions & Curriculum

This online program is open to RNs who have an associate degree in nursing from an NLNAC/ACEN-accredited program and a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field. Candidates should also have a minimum overall 3.0 GPA on any undergraduate work, an active and encumbered RN license in their state of practice, and reside in a state where the School of Nursing is authorized to offer its programs. GRE scores are not required, but BSU will want to see evidence of at least 500 hours of RN experience prior to a student starting any clinical courses. The entire online RN-MS program typically takes 10-13 semesters on a part-time basis (2 courses per semester) and it starts in spring or fall. No BSN is awarded. Instead, students must take 5 courses (16 credits/3 semesters) in upper division nursing subjects before tackling the MS. Two of these undergraduate courses will include clinical hours. The length of the MS portion will depend on the concentration. Nurse Educator and Nurse Administrator coursework might take - at minimum - 7 semesters. The FNP can take at least 6-8 semesters. Coursework for the RN-MS is online, but there's a mandatory one-day, on-campus orientation. Students are also responsible for securing their own clinical placements.

Indiana Wesleyan University

School of Nursing

Marion, Indiana

ASN-MSN - Nursing Administration

Offered Online

Curriculum InfoCost InfoHow To Apply

ASN-MSN - Nursing Education

Offered Online

Curriculum InfoCost InfoHow To Apply

Nursing School Overview

IWU is a private Christian liberal arts university affiliated with the Wesleyan Church and the largest private university in Indiana. Even so, tuition rates for the School of Nursing are still fairly reasonable. Because of its background, the School puts an emphasis on Christian precepts. It sends students abroad for transcultural nursing experiences (e.g. Haiti). It partners with Medical Missions for the Global Missions Health Conference (GMHC). And nursing faculty volunteer at local health clinics, work as parish nurses in local churches, and hold church-related leadership positions. You'll find a number of reviews of IWU Nursing on the web. Students say the School tends to have knowledgeable and dedicated professors, strong Christian principles, flexible scheduling, and good cohorts for the online graduate programs. Some have mentioned the challenging coursework - be prepared for independent learning and self-directed study.

RN to MSN Admissions & Curriculum

As the title suggests, this online ASN-MSN program is custom-made for RNs with an associate degree in nursing from a regionally accredited college or university or a proprietary school which holds a national accreditation. Candidates should have a minimum 3.0 GPA on any undergraduate work and a current and unencumbered RN license in the state where they intend to complete their clinical practicums. The application should also include 3 letters of recommendation. Once accepted, students tackle 6 online undergraduate bridge courses (19 credits), including a course in Nursing from a Christian Worldview, and then proceed to the master's degree. Overseas study may also be possible through a global nursing course. The online MSN in Nursing Administration is 39 credits, with 245 practicum hours; the online MSN in Nursing Education is 41 credits, with 140 practicum hours. The MSN portion takes around 22 months to complete. Students arrange their own clinical experiences, but the Division of Graduate Nursing maintains a file of clinical sites used by students.

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