Accreditation: the thing that decides whether the degree counts
Before anything else on a programme page — before rankings, before fees, before
class size — check who accredits it. In US nursing there are two programmatic accreditors:
- CCNE, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, an autonomous arm of
the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. It accredits baccalaureate and graduate
nursing programmes, plus entry-to-practice nurse residency and nurse practitioner
fellowship/residency programmes, and it describes itself as
“officially recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accreditation
agency”.
- ACEN, the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, which covers a
wider span — practical and vocational nursing and diplomas, through associate,
baccalaureate, master's and clinical doctorate programmes.
For a master's, either is fine. State boards of nursing, the national
certification bodies and doctoral admissions committees treat CCNE and ACEN as equivalent. What
is not fine is a programme with neither.
Two traps worth knowing. Programmatic accreditation is not institutional
accreditation — a well-regarded, regionally accredited university can house a
nursing programme that has no CCNE or ACEN approval, and the university's own reputation does not
substitute for it. And a programme's own website is not the place to confirm it;
check the accreditor's published directory, because a page can describe a programme as
“seeking accreditation” or quote a status it no longer holds.
Specialisations, and which body certifies each one
Graduating is not the end of the process. For the advanced practice roles you then sit a
national certification exam, and the body that administers it depends on the role you trained
for:
| Role | What it is | Certifying body |
|---|
| Nurse practitioner (NP) |
Assesses, diagnoses and treats patients, with prescribing authority that varies by state |
AANP and ANCC are the two main certifiers; AACN, NCC and PNCB certify particular populations |
| Certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) |
Delivers anaesthesia and related care | NBCRNA |
| Certified nurse-midwife (CNM) |
Care through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, plus related primary care |
AMCB |
| Clinical nurse specialist (CNS) |
Expert practice in a speciality, plus improving how the unit around them works |
ANCC, across several speciality areas |
National certification through AANP or ANCC requires graduation from a programme accredited by
CCNE or ACEN — which is why accreditation comes first in this guide and not last.
The non-clinical MSN tracks — nursing education, informatics, administration, public
health nursing — do not lead to APRN licensure and do not require these exams. They are
degrees for a different job, not a lesser version of the same one. Several of the programmes in
the list below are of this kind; the description under each entry says what it prepares you for,
in the university's own terms.
Licensure is a state matter, not a national one. Scope of practice,
prescribing authority and what a state recognises differ from one board of nursing to the next.
Decide where you want to practise, then read that board's rules, because they govern what the
degree lets you do.
What it costs — and why this list does not show a fee column
We do not print tuition on this page, and the reason is worth stating plainly: we hold
a recorded fee for about 2% of the programmes in our database. A fee column would be
blank on roughly forty-nine rows in every fifty, and a mostly empty column is worse than none
— it invites you to compare two numbers that were never comparable.
So treat tuition as something to confirm at the source. When you do, the figure on the
programme page is rarely the figure you pay. Ask about all of these:
- Per-credit cost and the total credit count, not the annual headline. MSN
programmes differ widely in length, so an apparently cheaper per-credit rate over more
credits can cost more.
- In-state versus out-of-state rates, and whether an online programme charges
a single rate regardless of where you live.
- Clinical placement costs — travel, additional insurance, and whether
the university places you or expects you to find your own preceptor. This one surprises
people most.
- Certification exam and licensure fees, which come after graduation and are
not part of tuition.
Where a university has published a duration, an intake or a delivery mode, that is shown under
each programme below, because those we do hold on the record.
If you are applying from outside the United States
Admission to an MSN and the right to practise as a nurse in the US are two separate processes,
and running them in the wrong order is the most common and most expensive mistake. Admission is
granted by the university. Licensure is granted by a state board of nursing.
Getting admitted
- A course-by-course credential evaluation of your existing nursing degree.
Universities name accepted evaluators; CGFNS International and World Education Services are
commonly listed.
- English proficiency — TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo, often required to be
within the last two years. Many schools waive it if your BSN was taught in English.
- Evidence of licensure. Requirements vary sharply: some programmes ask only
for your CGFNS results, while others require you to have passed the NCLEX
before admission.
Getting licensed
The usual sequence is: apply to CGFNS for a credential evaluation (some states also require the
CGFNS Qualifying Exam), apply to the state board, complete a criminal background check, and only
once the board approves do you register for the NCLEX. The NCLEX is normally the last
step, not the first.
Visas
For study, an I-20 cannot be issued until every prerequisite is satisfied, so submit transcripts
and evaluations early — Johns Hopkins advises at least three months before the term starts.
Not every university sponsors F-1 students for graduate nursing; some admit only
applicants who already hold another visa status. Confirm this before you apply, not after you are
accepted. For work or permanent residence afterwards, a CGFNS VisaScreen certificate must
accompany the petition — a separate process from both admission and NCLEX.
Fees, score minimums and state rules change. Check the current requirements with your target
state board and with the university's international office rather than relying on any summary,
this one included.
Pay and demand
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics groups nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse
practitioners together and reports, as of May 2025, a median annual wage of
$134,920 — about $64.87 an hour. It projects 36% employment growth
from 2025 to 2035, which it describes as much faster than the average for all
occupations, and it lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for these roles.
Two cautions on reading that. A median is a midpoint, not a starting salary, and it is pulled
upward by nurse anesthetists, who are the highest paid of the three. And the figure covers only
the advanced practice roles — an MSN in nursing education or administration leads to a
different pay structure entirely, which the BLS counts under other occupations.
Common questions
Is an MSN enough to become a nurse practitioner, or do I need a DNP?
A master's remains a complete, licensable qualification for the advanced practice roles, and it is the shorter route. Many universities have nonetheless moved advanced practice training into the Doctor of Nursing Practice, a practice doctorate. Because licensure is granted by state boards and their requirements differ, check the rules of the state where you intend to practise before deciding.
Does it matter whether a programme is accredited by CCNE or by ACEN?
For a master's, no. State boards, the national certification bodies and doctoral admissions committees treat the two as equivalent. What matters is that the programme holds one of them. Verify it in the accreditor's own directory rather than on the programme's page.
Why does this list not show tuition?
Because we hold a recorded fee for only about 2% of the programmes in our database. A fee column would be empty on roughly forty-nine rows in fifty, and an almost-empty column invites false comparisons. Duration, intake and delivery mode are shown because those are on the record.
I am a nurse outside the US. Do I need to pass the NCLEX before I apply?
It depends on the programme. Some ask only for a CGFNS credential evaluation; others require a passing NCLEX result before admission. Separately, for licensure the NCLEX is normally the final step, taken after the state board has approved your credential evaluation and background check.
Can I get an F-1 student visa for any of these programmes?
Not necessarily. Some universities do not sponsor F-1 students for graduate nursing programmes at all, and admit only applicants who already hold another visa status. Confirm sponsorship with the university's international office before applying, and submit transcripts and credential evaluations early, since the I-20 cannot be issued until every prerequisite is met.
What is VisaScreen, and is it the same as the NCLEX?
No. VisaScreen is a CGFNS certificate confirming that your education, licence and English meet US standards, and it must accompany an occupational visa or green card petition. The NCLEX is the licensure examination administered through the state boards. They are separate processes with separate purposes.
How to use the list above
The ranking is by the research standing of the university that teaches each programme —
its QS World University Rankings position where it has one, then research citations recorded by
OpenAlex — with one programme per university. That is a real, stated measure, and it is
also a narrow one: research standing is not the same as teaching quality, clinical
placement quality, or how well a programme fits you. A university with fewer citations
may run the better family nurse practitioner track, and the list cannot tell you that.
Use it as a shortlist, then check four things on each programme's own pages: current CCNE or
ACEN accreditation, whether the specialisation leads to the certification you want, how clinical
placements are arranged, and the total cost in credits rather than in years.