Online MSN: Nursing Leadership and Management
Lead with confidence in today’s complex health care environment.
Complete the top-ranked program entirely online.
When your career goals are to lead in health care or to become a nurse educator, you need hands-on experience to develop the necessary skills to be successful in today’s health care environment. Our Master of Science in Nursing specialty in Nursing Leadership and Management offers leading-edge courses and personalized mentorship.
We find your practicum placements for you!
You should spend your time focused on what really matters: your career and your education. Let us handle the coordination. We’ll arrange your individual placements in a practicum that supports your career goals and takes you beyond your current place of employment to push you to refine advanced nursing leadership and nursing administration skills. Placements are with leaders at hospitals and health care systems, universities and community colleges, national and state agencies, and more.
New Curriculum and Name Change Starting Spring 2025
The Health Services Leadership and Management specialty will transition to the Nursing Leadership and Management (NLM) specialty in spring 2025. The new competency-based curriculum, which will apply to students entering in spring 2025 or later, will provide a nursing leadership and management core specific to evidence-based practice, biostatistics, and professional writing. By increasing the overall practice hours from 135 to 500, the revised curriculum will provide greater clarity for expectations of applicants, graduates, stakeholders, and a more disciplined approach to nursing education.
Program Snapshot
Length
Average 3.5 Years Part Time
Format
Online
Part Time or Full Time
Part Time or Full Time
Tuition and Fees View overview
In State Tuition: $873.00/credit
Out of State Tuition: $1,549.00/credit
Out of State Tuition: $1,549.00/credit
Credits
38
Accreditation Read Details
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Competency-Based Education
This program’s curriculum is aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education, which focus on competency-based education (CBE). CBE is a student-centered approach that is built on the science of how we learn and provides multiple opportunities for you to demonstrate and use what you are learning as you learn it.
Live in one of the yellow states? You may be eligible to pay Maryland in-state tuition for this program.
Through an agreement with the Academic Common Market, you may be eligible to pursue this Master of Science in Nursing degree at UMSON at an in-state tuition rate. You'll complete the program online, and our faculty will help place you at a practicum site convenient to you.
How the Program Works
As a student in this Master of Science in Nursing specialty, you’ll complete master's core courses and the Nursing Leadership and Management core courses. Following completion of the core courses, you’ll concentrate on one of three focus areas:
- Leadership and Management: a customized plan of study that allows you to support your personal career goals by defining and honing the nursing leadership skills you need to succeed in a variety of health care settings and roles
- Education: a way to maximize your career goals by creating a dual pathway to advancement; you’ll focus on the knowledge and skills you need to excel as a nurse leader and as a clinical instructor or faculty member, because you never know where your career might take you. You may want to pursue a position as a nurse manager now, but eventually you may want to pursue options beyond the clinical setting — especially given that the nursing shortage has led to a tremendous demand for nurse educators.
- Business: a dual MSN/MBA option that allows you to blend your health care background with business skills and expertise, positioning you to take on nursing administration roles in a health care system and for senior management-level decision-making on financial, strategic planning, resource management, and governance issues. It is a good fit for students who have ambition to pursue senior administrator/executive leadership roles (unit director, senior director, or eventually C-suite positions).
- Your MSN will be awarded by the University of Maryland, Baltimore; your MBA will be awarded by the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business or the University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business.
- This dual degree requires 66-72 credits and can be completed part time over as many as seven years.
You can see a sample part-time plan of study as of spring 2025 under Courses You’ll Take below. This program can be completed entirely online.
Save Time and Money
If you're currently a registered nurse with an associate degree, you can save 6 credits (one full semester) when you enroll in UMSON's RN-to-MSN, an accelerated path to both the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and this MSN specialty.
What You’ll Do
- Leadership and Management: You’ll be prepared to lead patient care teams in a variety of health care settings, such as acute care, ambulatory, long-term, or home health care. As part of that role, you’ll support positive change in the health care industry and collaborate with other health care professionals and managers to maximize patient and organizational outcomes.
- Education: You’ll be prepared to serve as both a manager or administrator of health care services and a clinical instructor in a health care setting or faculty member in an academic setting. You might also contribute to professional development in a clinical setting, for example as an education coordinator in a hospital.
- Business: Your business background prepares you to contribute to the development of new approaches to providing health care services. You might work in finance, marketing, or HR within a health care organization or serve as the director of operational services, a finance officer, a chief nursing officer, or a consultant. Learn more about the dual MS/MBA option.
More Information About the Nursing Leadership and Management Specialty:
Online Program Overview
- This program can be completed entirely online.
- All master's core courses and NLM specialty courses are offered online.
- Electives may also be taken online, although some face-to-face options may be available.
- Our faculty members are fully committed to distance learning. Students will receive individual attention from their assigned advisors and communicate with them via telephone or email.
- For the required practicum, you and your advisor arrange a mutually agreeable site.
- We understand that online learning is not for everyone. If you want to explore your potential for distance learning and examine our resources for this method of learning, visit the online learning page.
This program is not eligible for F-1 or J-1 student visa sponsorship by the University of Maryland, Baltimore, due to the amount of online courses.
Courses You’ll Take: Entering Through Fall 2024
For financial aid purposes, there are credit minimums for full-time status that may differ from the plans of study. See details.
The Health Services Leadership and Management master's specialty requires:
- 38 credits
- 135 practicum hours
(The dual MS/MBA option requires 66-72 credits. See a sample plan of study.)
Course Overview:
- Leadership and Management Core Courses
- Master's Core Courses
- Leadership and Management Focus*
- Education Focus*
The course listings below are for fall 2021 and beyond.
Leadership and Management Core Courses
| Course | Title | Credits |
| NURS 690 | Managerial Health Finance | 3 |
| NURS 691 | Organizational Theories: Applications to Health Service Management | 3 |
| NURS 692 | Administration of Nursing and Health Care Services | 3 |
| NURS 695 | Practicum in Health Services, Leadership, and Management | 4 |
| NURS 736 | Technology Solutions for Generating Knowledge in Health Care | 3 |
| Total | 16 |
Master's Core Courses
| Course | Title | Credits |
| NRSG 780 | Health Promotion and Population Health | 3 |
| NRSG 782 | Health Systems & Health Policy: Leadership & Quality Improvement | 3 |
| NRSG 785 | Professional Writing | 1 |
| NRSG 790 | Methods for Research and Evidence-Based Practice | 3 |
| NRSG 795 | Biostatistics for Evidence-based Practice | 3 |
| Total | 13 |
Leadership and Management Focus
| Course | Title | Credits |
| NURS xxx | Elective | 3 |
| NURS xxx | Elective | 3 |
| NURS xxx | Elective | 3 |
| Total | 9 |
Education Focus*
| Course | Title | Credits |
| NURS 787 | Theoretical Foundations of Teaching and Learning in Nursing and Health Professions | 3 |
| NURS 791 | Instructional Strategies and Assessment of Learning in Nursing and Health Professions | 3 |
| NURS XXX | Elective** | 3 |
| Total | 9 |
*Students must select an Education course for their elective.
**Students admitted Fall 2015 and before are required to take NURS 792: Practicum in Teaching in Nursing and Health Professionals in place of the elective.
Courses You’ll Take: Entering Spring 2025 and Later
For financial aid purposes, there are credit minimums for full-time status that may differ from the plans of study. See details.
The Nurse Leadership and Management master's specialty requires:
- 38 credits
- 500 practicum hours
(The dual MS/MBA option requires 66-72 credits. See a sample plan of study.)
The course listings below are for those entering in spring 2025 and beyond.
Course Overview:
Master's Core Courses
|
Master’s Core |
||
|
Course |
Title |
Credit/Practicum Hours |
|
NRSG 784 |
Evaluating the Evidence/Biostats |
3 Credits |
|
NRSG 780 |
Population Health and Promotion |
3 Credits |
|
NRSG 782 |
Health Systems and Health Policy: Leadership and Quality Improvement |
3 Credits |
|
NRSG 785 |
Professional Writing |
1 Credit |
|
NURS 781 |
Essentials in Health Care Informatics |
3 Credits (10 Hours) |
|
Nursing Leadership and Management Core |
||
|
NRSG 685 |
Financial Management for Nurse Leaders |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
NRSG 687 |
Organizational and Systems Leadership in Health Care |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
NRSG 689 |
Nursing Strategic Management in Health Care Systems |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
NRSG 693 |
Nursing Leadership Practicum 1 Pre-req: NRSG 687 |
3 Credits (135 Hours) |
|
NRSG 695 |
Nursing Leadership Practicum 2 |
4 Credits (180 Hours) |
|
|
Total |
29 Credits (500 Hours) |
For each focus area – Nursing Leadership and Management, Education, and Business – students must complete three additional courses, for a total of 9 credits.
|
Nursing Leadership and Management Focus |
||
|
NURS XXX |
Nursing Leadership and Management Elective |
3 Credits |
|
NURS XXX |
Nursing Leadership and Management Elective |
3 Credits |
|
NURS XXX |
Nursing Leadership and Management Elective |
3 Credits |
|
Education Focus |
||
|
NURS 787 |
Theoretical Foundations of Teaching and Learning in Nursing and Health Professions |
3 Credits |
|
NURS 791 |
Instructional Strategies and Assessment of Learning in Nursing and Health Professions |
3 Credits |
|
NURS XXX |
|
Credits |
|
Business Focus |
||
|
NURS XXX |
Elective |
3 Credits |
|
XXX |
Business Course (taken at selected business school) |
3 Credits |
|
XXX |
Business Course (taken at selected business school) |
3 Credits |
|
|
Total |
9 Credits |
Sample Part-Time Plans of Study
|
Fall Matriculation |
||
|
Course Number |
Course Title |
Credit/Practicum Hours |
|
Fall |
||
|
NRSG 782 |
Health Systems and Health Policy: Leadership and Quality Improvement |
3 Credits |
|
NRSG 687 |
Organizational and Systems Leadership in Health Care |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
Spring |
||
|
NRSG 784 |
Evaluating the Evidence/Biostats |
3 Credits |
|
NRSG 685 |
Financial Management for Nurse Leaders |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
Summer |
||
|
NRSG 780 |
Population Health and Promotion |
3 Credits |
|
Fall |
||
|
NRSG 693 |
Nursing Leadership Practicum 1 |
3 Credits (135 Hours) |
|
NRSG 785 |
Professional Writing |
1 Credit |
|
Spring |
||
|
NRSG 689 |
Nursing Strategic Management in Health Care Systems |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
NURS 781 |
Essentials in Health Care Informatics |
3 Credits (10 Hours) |
|
Summer |
||
|
|
Elective |
3 Credits |
|
Fall |
||
|
|
Elective |
3 Credits |
|
|
Elective |
3 Credits |
|
Business Focus: LOA to get electives at Business School |
||
|
Spring |
||
|
NRSG 695 |
Nursing Leadership Practicum 2 |
4 Credits (180 Hours) |
|
Total: 38 Credits (500 Hours) |
||
|
Spring Matriculation |
||
|
Semester |
Course |
Credit |
|
Spring |
||
|
NRSG 782 |
Health Systems and Health Policy: Leadership and Quality Improvement |
3 Credits |
|
NRSG 687 |
Organizational and Systems Leadership in Health Care |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
Summer |
||
|
NRSG 785 |
Professional Writing |
1 Credit |
|
Fall |
||
|
NRSG 784 |
Evaluating the Evidence/Biostats |
3 Credits |
|
NRSG 685 |
Financial Management for Nurse Leaders |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
Spring |
||
|
NRSG 693 |
Nursing Leadership Practicum 1 |
3 Credits (135 Hours) |
|
Summer |
||
|
NRSG 780 |
Population Health and Promotion |
3 Credits |
|
Fall |
||
|
NRSG 689 |
Nursing Strategic Management in Health Care Systems |
3 Credits (55 Hours) |
|
NURS 736 |
Essentials in Health Care Informatics |
3 Credits (20 Hours) |
|
Spring |
||
|
|
Elective |
3 Credits |
|
|
Elective |
3 Credits |
|
LOA for Business to get electives at Business School |
||
|
Summer |
||
|
|
Elective |
3 Credits |
|
Fall |
||
|
NRSG 695 |
Nursing Leadership Practicum 2 |
4 Credits (180 Hours) |
|
Total: 38 Credits (500 Hours) |
||
Scholarship Opportunities
Your nursing education is an important investment. Financial aid and scholarships can help make your goals a reality.
UMSON offers multiple opportunities to help you afford your graduate education.
| Type of Aid | Award |
|---|---|
| Federal Financial Aid | various award amounts |
| Maryland Financial Aid | various award amounts |
| Merit Scholarships | $1,500-$3,000 per semester (You are automatically considered for a merit scholarship upon submitting a completed application for enrollment in an UMSON academic program.) |
| Donor-Funded Scholarships | $500-2,000 per semester (offered during the fall and spring semesters) |
| Conway Scholarship | full scholarship: tuition and fees (for those who will have completed 9 credit hours of graduate study by the start of the semester for which the Conway Scholarship is awarded and who have at least half of their credit hours remaining) |
| Graduate Assistantships | stipend, tuition remission, in-state status, and paid student health insurance |
Learn More About Financial Aid and Scholarships
All students receiving funds through the University must:
- be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits) in a degree-seeking program
- complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year by UMB's award priority deadline
- FAFSA Submission period: Oct. 1 (of the previous year) through Feb. 28
- FAFSA School code: 002104
The UMB Office of Student Financial Assistance & Education is available to guide prospective and current students through the FAFSA application process and the financial aid award package.
Contact Us:
UMSON Scholarships and Grants Office
410-706-0489 | nrsscholarships@umaryland.edu
UMB Student Financial Assistance and Education Office
410-706-7347 | aidtalk@umaryland.edu
MSN Admission Information
In this section:
- Deadlines
- Qualifications
- Application Materials and Instructions
- Applicants without a High School Diploma or College Degree in the U.S
Deadline:
For best consideration, applicants are encouraged to have all required application materials submitted by the respective deadlines to ensure your application is considered for admission and scholarships.
| Spring 2025 Timeline | |
|---|---|
| Regular Deadline/Deadline for UMSON Scholarship Consideration | Dec. 15, 2024 Completed applications received after this deadline are reviewed solely on a space-available basis. Only applicants who apply by this deadline will be eligible for consideration for merit scholarships (no additional application required). Federal financial aid eligibility is not impacted by this deadline. |
| Final Deadline | Jan. 5, 2025 All applications and supplemental documents must be received by this date. Incomplete applications after this deadline will be canceled. |
| Fall 2025 Timeline | |
|---|---|
| Regular Deadline/Deadline for UMSON Scholarship Consideration | July 15, 2025 Completed applications received after this deadline are reviewed solely on a space-available basis. Only applicants who apply by this deadline will be eligible for consideration for merit scholarships (no additional application required) and the Conway Scholarship (additional application required). Federal financial aid eligibility is not impacted by this deadline. |
| Final Deadline | Aug. 5, 2025 All applications and supplemental documents must be received by this date. Incomplete applications after this deadline will be canceled. |
Should the deadline fall on a weekend or holiday, applications will be accepted through the subsequent business day.
Qualifications:
- bachelor’s degree with a major in nursing from:
- an ACEN- (formally known as NLNAC), CCNE- or NLN CNEA- accredited college or university
or - an equivalent degree from a comparable foreign institution
- an ACEN- (formally known as NLNAC), CCNE- or NLN CNEA- accredited college or university
- an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0
Application Materials:
|
Materials |
Submission Guidelines |
| Online Application and non-refundable $75 application fee. |
Start your application now via the Admissions Dashboard. The Admissions Dashboard is where you will:
|
| One recommendation. Your recommendation must come from a recent professional source. Only the first recommendation received will be considered. | Submit/request these materials via the Admissions Dashboard. |
Essay. Please submit a 500-1,000-word essay that addresses the following:
|
|
| Typed résumé or CV. Be sure to include your full name with your résumé submission. | |
| A copy of your valid, unrestricted (current) RN license in the United States. For a current list of compact states, see the Maryland Board of Nursing website; if you hold an active Maryland RN license, send us a copy of your printable license verification, available on the Maryland Board of Nursing website. | |
|
Official transcripts. An official transcript from every institution previously attended or currently attending must be submitted in a sealed envelope, as prepared by the sending institution. Returning students are not required to submit UMSON transcripts; we will upload a copy of your UMSON transcript to your application. Please note that UMSON is listed two ways in the Academics area. Please make sure you choose one of the following:
|
Have each institution submit electronically to admissions.nursing@umaryland.edu.
|
| Residency classification. Applicants who are claiming in-state (Maryland) residency MUST apply for in-state status. | Complete a residency application and submit it either by mail, e-mail, or fax to the Office of the Registrar using the instructions supplied at the bottom of the residency application. The completed application, signed and dated, should be submitted prior to the first day of enrollment for the term and program for which you are seeking admission. |
Applicants without a High School Diploma or College Degree in the U.S:
- If you do not have a degree from a U.S. high school, college, or university, you are required to demonstrate English proficiency.
- If you have completed coursework outside of the U.S., you must have your transcripts evaluated.
The Health Service Leadership management and Nursing Informatics master's specialties are not eligible for F-1 or J-1 student visa sponsorship by the University of Maryland, Baltimore due to the amount of online courses.
If you have questions regarding the admissions requirements or process, contact the Office of Admissions and Student Scholarships to avoid errors that could delay the processing of your application.
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