Online Direct-Entry MSN Programs for Non-Nursing Majors: 13 Hybrid Programs Compared

by EDsmart Staff | Updated October 6, 2026

No direct-entry MSN for non-nursing majors is fully online, but 13 schools now deliver most or all of the classroom work online and reserve campus time for labs, simulation, and local clinical rotations. University of Illinois Chicago, Marquette University, and Carroll University lead our ranking of those hybrid programs, and Marquette's Pleasant Prairie site, Elmhurst University, and Bay Path University put essentially every lecture course online. Expect 20 to 24 months of full-time study, 64 to 97 credits, and 2026-27 program tuition from roughly $48,000 at Lourdes University to more than $85,000 at Rush. Several programs only admit residents of nearby states, so check the eligibility notes before you apply.

Best online direct-entry MSN programs for non-nursing majors (Top 10)

Each school below describes its direct-entry MSN as online, hybrid, or blended on its own program page and admits students who hold a bachelor's degree in another field. We sorted them by our overall school rank, where a lower number is better. Three more qualifying programs, including Rush University, follow the school profiles.

How we ranked these programs

We started with every school named on the major direct-entry MSN guides and in Google's own summary for this search, 30 schools in all. We then read each school's program page and kept only programs that meet two tests. They must admit non-nursing bachelor's holders into a master's-level pre-licensure track, and they must describe their delivery as online, hybrid, or blended with online lecture courses. That left 13. The Top 10 table includes only schools that report all four federal outcome measures (graduation rate, retention rate, average net price, and median earnings) and sorts them by our overall school rank, which draws on U.S. Department of Education outcomes data; see how EDsmart ranks schools. Program facts in the cards (credits, months, tuition, format, residency rules) come from each school's site and carry the academic year they apply to. Rush University and Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing are graduate-focused health colleges that do not report undergraduate graduation, retention, or net price data, so they appear in the secondary list rather than the ranked table.

School profiles: the Top 10 online direct-entry MSN programs

Tuition figures are the school's published rates for the year shown and exclude fees unless noted. The four stats on each card are school-wide U.S. Department of Education figures for context; they are not nursing-program results.

Three more hybrid direct-entry MSN programs worth a look

These programs passed the same format test but sit outside the Top 10. Rush and Bon Secours are strong programs at graduate-focused health colleges that do not report federal graduation, retention, or net price data, so we could not rank them on the same outcomes as the schools above. Curry is 11th by overall rank among schools with full data.

• Rush University (Chicago, IL). The Generalist Entry Master's (GEM) with a Clinical Nurse Leader focus is hybrid, with more than half of courses online or offered with an online option. It runs 6 semesters and 74 credit hours at $1,154 per credit hour, about $85,400. Rush reports a 100% NCLEX-RN pass rate (first quarter 2024) and places students for 1,220 clinical hours, mostly at Rush University Medical Center, so plan to live in Chicago. GEM students can also apply to one of six Rush doctoral programs at the same time. Rush GEM program page · EDsmart profile.
• Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing (Richmond, VA). A hybrid DE-MSN of about 2 years in ten 8-week terms, 69 credits, and five start dates a year. Tuition and fees total $770 per credit for 2026-27, about $53,130 for the program. The 2.5 GPA minimum is the lowest on this page, students get first-priority placements at five Bon Secours hospitals, and Bon Secours employees who commit to 18 months as an RN have their tuition fully paid. DE-MSN admissions · EDsmart profile.
• Curry College (Milton, MA; overall rank #1856). Accelerated Entry MSN in 20 months across five 8-week terms, 66 credits, hybrid and HyFlex delivery at the Milton campus south of Boston. Tuition is $1,050 per credit for 2026-27, about $69,300, with no course fees and a cohort tuition lock so the rate does not rise mid-program. Minimum GPA 3.0. EDsmart profile.

What about Herzing University?

Herzing's MSN Direct Entry is the most online program in this category. All lecture courses are online, and campus time is limited to three intensives of two to four days each in Brookfield, Wisconsin, or Nashville, Tennessee. The program runs 60 to 77 credits over 20 to 24 months at $790 per credit, an estimated $47,400 to $60,830 in tuition plus about $7,025 in fees. Admission requires a 3.0 GPA and a TEAS score of 66, and the 585 clinical hours are arranged in your region. Herzing lists 25 eligible states, with enrollment paused in 11 others. We do not have a ranked record for Herzing's main campus in our school data, so it does not appear in the table above. It still belongs on your shortlist if you live in an eligible state and want the fewest campus visits.

What does "online" actually mean in a direct-entry MSN?

Nursing is a licensed, hands-on profession, and state boards of nursing require supervised clinical hours before you can sit for the NCLEX-RN. No school can move those hours online. What varies is how much of everything else is remote:

• Online coursework, in-person everything else. Elmhurst, Bay Path, Herzing, and Marquette's Pleasant Prairie site deliver lectures online. You still travel for labs, simulation days, one or more residencies or intensives, and clinical shifts.
• Hybrid by course. Rush, UIC, Carroll, La Roche, and Bon Secours assign some courses online and others on campus. Expect one to four campus days a week depending on the semester.
• Mostly on campus with online pieces. Lourdes, Saint Leo, and WCU-Miami are campus-based programs that move a minority of courses online. They qualify as hybrid, but they are not remote.

Clinical hours range from 585 (Herzing) to 1,220 (Rush) across the programs here, and most schools place you themselves. A few, including Herzing, coordinate placements near your home, which is what makes a mostly remote format possible.

Can you enroll from your state?

Because clinical placements are local and nursing boards approve programs state by state, several schools restrict who can apply. Check this before you spend time on an application.

• Elmhurst University: residents of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, or Wisconsin only.
• University of Illinois Chicago: you must live within commuting distance of the Chicago, Rockford, or Urbana campus that admits you (Illinois or a bordering state).
• Rush University and Carroll University: no formal residency rule, but weekday campus and clinical schedules in Chicago and Waukesha make relocation a practical requirement.
• Marquette University: clinicals are placed in Wisconsin; the online-leaning site is in Pleasant Prairie, a short drive from northern Illinois.
• Herzing University: 25 eligible states listed on the program page; 11 states paused.
• Bay Path, Saint Leo, WCU-Miami, La Roche, Lourdes, Bon Secours, Texas Lutheran, Curry: clinicals are arranged in the school's home region, so plan to live nearby. That means western Massachusetts, central Florida, Miami, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Richmond, central and north Texas, and greater Boston, respectively.

Which direct-entry MSN programs are campus-only?

Many "best direct-entry MSN" lists are led by schools whose programs are fully on campus. They are excellent programs, and if you can relocate they deserve a look, but they are not online in any sense, so we left them out of the ranking above.

• Columbia University Masters Direct Entry: 15 months on campus in New York.
• Emory University Master of Nursing pre-licensure: 15 months in person in Atlanta; the MSN specialty that follows can be completed at a distance.
• Ohio State University Graduate Entry: about 3 years on campus in Columbus.
• University of South Carolina MEPN: described by the school as full-time and on-campus, with some online courses; 68 credits over 5 semesters, spring entry, estimated $44,455 in-state or $86,020 out-of-state for 2025-26.
• University of Alabama at Birmingham Accelerated Master's in Nursing Pathway: 3 semesters on campus to licensure.
• University of Cincinnati Accelerated Direct-Entry MSN: 5 semesters in person; 3.0 GPA; applications through NursingCAS.
• Xavier University MIDAS: 20 months and 79 credits in person in Cincinnati.
• Pepperdine University Entry-Level Master's (Clinical Nurse Leader): 7 semesters at the Calabasas campus; 3.3 GPA.
• Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences (Rock Island, IL) and Alverno College (Milwaukee and Mesa, AZ): both offer direct-entry MSNs but describe no online delivery.

Two schools that older guides (including an earlier version of this article) listed no longer fit. University of South Alabama does not currently offer a combined accelerated BSN-to-MSN for non-nurses; its path is an in-person Accelerated BSN followed by an online RN-to-MSN. Joyce University (formerly Ameritech College) has no direct-entry MSN.

What do you need to get in?

Requirements are similar across the 13 programs, with GPA floors and test rules as the main differences.

• A bachelor's degree in any non-nursing field from an accredited college. Several schools let you apply while finishing the degree.
• Minimum GPA: 2.5 at Bon Secours; 2.75 at Saint Leo; 3.0 at Rush, UIC (last 60 hours), Marquette, Carroll, Lourdes, Curry, and Herzing; 3.2 at Elmhurst.
• Prerequisite science courses, usually anatomy and physiology I and II with labs, microbiology with lab, and statistics. Some add chemistry (UIC), developmental or lifespan psychology (Bon Secours, WCU-Miami), or nutrition. Most schools want prerequisites within five to ten years; Marquette wants statistics within seven.
• Entrance tests: none of the ranked schools requires the GRE. Saint Leo (72) and Herzing (66) require the TEAS.
• Supporting materials: resume, personal statement, and recommendations (Marquette asks for three). A background check, drug screen, immunizations, and BLS/CPR certification are standard before clinicals.

Admission is competitive at most of these schools; Bon Secours, for example, admits on a space-available basis ranked by prerequisite GPA and essays even for applicants who meet every minimum.

How much does an online direct-entry MSN cost, and how do you pay for it?

Published 2026-27 tuition for the programs on this page runs from about $48,000 (Lourdes, at its 2025-26 rate) to about $85,000 (Rush), before fees, books, uniforms, exam prep, and living costs. Flat-price programs make budgeting easier: Elmhurst is $60,000 and Marquette is $69,000 for the whole program. Per-credit programs add up fast when the credit count is high; Bay Path's $700 per credit sounds modest until you multiply by 97 credits. Public UIC is the exception, at about $11,895 per semester for Illinois residents.

Financing changed on July 1, 2026. New graduate borrowers can no longer take out federal Grad PLUS loans, which previously covered costs up to the full price of attendance. The federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan limit for graduate students is $20,500 per year and $100,000 per graduate degree, with a $257,500 lifetime cap across all federal student loans. For a $60,000 to $85,000 program completed in about two years, that leaves a gap of $20,000 or more that has to come from savings, employer support, scholarships, or private loans. Ask each school's financial aid office how its students are covering the difference. Look hard at employer-funded options such as Bon Secours' tuition coverage for staff who commit to 18 months as an RN.

What can you do with a direct-entry MSN?

Every program here prepares you to sit for the NCLEX-RN, the exam that leads to a registered nurse license. Most also award a generalist MSN and make you eligible for Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) certification, which is the credential Rush, Elmhurst, and Pepperdine build their curricula around. Day to day, graduates start as staff RNs in hospitals and clinics, often in medical-surgical, emergency, intensive care, pediatrics, or labor and delivery units. The master's degree helps when charge nurse, educator, quality, or care-coordination roles open up.

One common misunderstanding: a direct-entry MSN does not make you a nurse practitioner. NP, nurse anesthetist, and nurse midwife roles require a separate advanced practice program (a post-master's certificate or DNP) after you hold an RN license. Most of those programs want at least a year of RN experience. Several schools on this list shorten that second step. Rush lets GEM students apply to one of six doctoral programs at the same time through its Direct Entry Pathway, and UC's program counts four courses toward a specialty MSN.

How much do nurses with an MSN earn?

Pay depends mostly on the role you hold, not the degree alone. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses earned a median of $93,600 in May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under $66,030 and the highest 10 percent above $135,320. Employment of RNs is projected to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, adding about 166,100 jobs. A new direct-entry MSN graduate should expect to start in that RN range, with the master's degree positioning you for leadership and educator roles sooner.

Advanced practice is where the MSN pays off most. Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners earned a median of $132,050 in May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under $98,520 and the highest 10 percent above $217,270. BLS projects 35 percent growth for the group from 2024 to 2034, and 40 percent for nurse practitioners alone. Reaching those roles requires the additional advanced practice program described above, so treat the direct-entry MSN as the first of two steps if an NP career is the goal.

FAQ

Can I get an MSN without a nursing degree?

Yes. Direct-entry (also called graduate-entry, generalist-entry, or master's-entry) MSN programs are built for people with a bachelor's degree in another field. You complete pre-licensure nursing coursework and clinicals, sit for the NCLEX-RN, and finish with a master's degree. All 13 programs on this page work this way; none requires a BSN or an RN license to apply.

Is any direct-entry MSN program 100% online?

No. Clinical hours and skills labs must be done in person for state licensure. The closest options are Elmhurst (100% online coursework, one campus residency), Bay Path (100% online coursework), Herzing (online coursework plus three short intensives), and Marquette's Pleasant Prairie site (predominantly online lectures).

How hard is it to get into a direct-entry MSN program?

Most schools set a 3.0 GPA floor and require B or better in science prerequisites, and seats are limited by clinical capacity, so meeting the minimum does not guarantee a spot. Elmhurst's 3.2 floor is the highest here; Bon Secours (2.5) and Saint Leo (2.75) are the most forgiving on GPA, and Marquette invites applicants to explain a weak semester in their statement.

Which direct-entry MSN programs are in Florida?

Two hybrid options: Saint Leo University's 20-month DEMSN north of Tampa ($825 per credit, 64 credits) and West Coast University-Miami's 24-month DEMSN in Doral (83 credits, estimated $78,127 total). Both are approved for Florida licensure and both are campus-centered programs with some online courses.

Are there direct-entry MSN programs in Texas?

Texas Lutheran University in Seguin offers a hybrid 20-month, 75-credit direct-entry MSN with clinical sites in New Braunfels, Dallas, and Houston. It is the one Texas program we verified as hybrid; other Texas direct-entry options are fully on campus.

What is the quickest direct-entry MSN?

Twenty months (five semesters) is the standard fast track. Marquette, Carroll, Elmhurst, Lourdes, La Roche, Texas Lutheran, Saint Leo, and Curry all finish in about that time. Herzing can finish in 20 months when general education requirements are already met. Rush and UIC take six semesters (two years). Bay Path reaches NCLEX eligibility in about two years but spreads the MSN over roughly four.

Are direct-entry MSN programs worth it compared with an accelerated BSN?

Both lead to the same RN license, and an accelerated BSN is usually shorter (12 to 16 months) and cheaper. The direct-entry MSN makes sense in three cases: you want the master's credential for leadership, educator, or care-coordination roles early; you plan to continue to an NP or DNP program; or you can use an employer benefit such as Bon Secours' tuition coverage. If your only goal is to become an RN as cheaply as possible, compare an accelerated BSN first.

Can I work while enrolled?

Every program here is full time, and Elmhurst and Rush openly discourage working, at least during the first terms. Marquette's eight-semester extended option and Bay Path's part-time MSN phase after licensure are the two designs built for students who need to keep earning.

Sources

• Official program, admissions, and tuition pages for each school named above (checked October 2026; academic years as labeled).
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Registered Nurses and Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners (May 2024 wages; 2024-34 projections).
• Federal Student Aid, Loan Limits FAQ (May 20, 2026) on graduate loan changes effective July 1, 2026.
• U.S. Department of Education outcomes data for school-card statistics and EDsmart's ranking methodology for overall rank.