Master of Science in Nursing

Return to: Programs of Study

Carroll University offers a graduate program leading to a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. This program offers three emphasis tracks:

1. Direct Entry (DE) - designed for graduates who hold a bachelor’s degree in any field, the MSN DE gives the student opportunity to enter the nursing profession with a master’s degree.
2. Nurse Educators (NE) - designed to provide the graduate with tools to educate future and current nurses
3. RN to MSN - designed for nurses who hold an ADN degree and with to continue their education at the graduate level as a nurse administrator or nurse educator.

Carroll University MSN program is designed to fit conveniently with working nurses’ schedules.

• Eight-week didactic courses meet one night per week
• Courses are delivered in a Hybrid format with online and in-person offerings.
• Unique clinical placement opportunities for MSN-DE students in Designated Educational Units (DEU) within a healthcare system. The NE and RN-MSN clinical placements may be completed in the student’s own work setting.
• Nurse Educator practicums may be completed with the Carroll University nursing faculty.

Accreditation

Carroll University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program at Carroll is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) until 2026. Carroll University Department of Nursing is approved by Wisconsin State Board of Nursing.

Mission and Program Outcomes

The MSN program builds on Carroll University’s mission of providing a superior education, rooted in its Presbyterian and liberal arts heritage, and draws upon its Christian tradition to prepare all students for vocational success, lifelong learning, and service in a diverse and global society.

Built upon the University Mission, the Carroll University Department of Nursing mission is to prepare students, in diverse settings, for professional nursing practice and other global pursuits.

The MSN program builds on undergraduate education and prepares graduates for entry and advanced roles within the discipline of nursing. The goals of the Carroll University MSN Program  are  to develop graduates who will be able to:

1. Exercise leadership skills and manage collaborative efforts in their practice setting.
2. Translate evidence into practice.
3. Build interdependent relationships with other professions to improve care and advance learning.

MSN Program Outcomes

The MSN program outcomes are built on the Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (AACN, 2008) and The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (AACN, 2011), Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), and the CU Graduate Student Learning Outcomes (GSLO)

Graduates of the MSN program will:

1. Integrate scientific findings from nursing, biopsychosocial sciences, public health, quality improvement, and organizational sciences for the continual improvement of nursing care across diverse settings.
2. Develop leadership skills with an emphasis on ethical and critical decision-making, effective working relationships, and a systems-perspective.
3. Apply quality improvement principles within an organization.
4. Apply research outcomes within the practice setting.
5. Utilize patient-care technologies to deliver and enhance care.
6. Intervene at the system level to develop policy and employ advocacy strategies to influence health and health care.
7. Collaborate with other health professionals to manage and coordinate care.
8. Integrate organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of population care and services to individuals, families, and aggregates/identified populations.
9. Demonstrate an advanced level of understanding of nursing and relevant sciences, integrating this knowledge into practice.

Admission

Applications and credentials for admission to the Master of Science in Nursing program must be submitted for processing to the Carroll University Office of Admission. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and as decisions are made on applications, applicants are notified through the Office of Admission.

Program Prerequisites MSN-DE:

• Baccalaureate degree
• UG -GPA 3.0 or higher
  • Consideration will be given to students with UG-GPAs <3.0 who demonstrate academic achievement of 3.0 or higher with pre-requisite courses.
• Pre-requisite (courses must have been completed within 7 years of enrollment and grade earned of a C or better):
  • 6-8 credits of Human anatomy and physiology with a lab
  • 3-4 credits of chemistry with a lab
  • 3-4 credits of microbiology with a lab
  • 3-4 credits of Lifespan or Developmental Psychology
  • 3-4 credit Stats course

Program Prerequisites MSN-NE:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from an accredited program (NLNAC or CCNE)
• A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale)
• An undergraduate introductory level statistics course or equivalent
• Current unrestricted Wisconsin RN licensure

Program Prerequisites RN-MSN:

• Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Consideration will be given to students with GPAs <3.0 who demonstrate academic achievement of 3.0 or higher with pre-requsite courses.
• Current unrestricted Wisconsin RN licensure

Program Admission Process:

Applicants must comply with all admission requirements listed above. Selection decisions will be based on submission and evaluation of:

1. Graduate Studies On-line Application
2. All official post-secondary transcripts, including both graduate and undergraduate course work
3. Two letters of reference (work supervisors, professional colleagues, faculty)
4. Statement of purpose defining goals/objectives for the pursuit of graduate studies
5. Current resume or curriculum vita

Technical Standards

Technical Standards for Carroll University Nursing Students

Professional nursing students are expected to demonstrate the ability to meet the demands of a professional nursing career. Certain functional abilities are essential for the delivery of safe, effective nursing care. An applicant to the Master of Science in Nursing Program must meet and maintain the following technical standards for progression throughout the program. Students unable to meet these technical standards will not be able to complete the program. Students shall notify the program of any change in their ability to meet technical standards.

The technical standards include but are not limited to the following:

General Ability

The student is expected to possess functional use of the senses of vision, touch, hearing and smell so that data received by the senses is integrated, analyzed and synthesized in a consistent and accurate manner. The student is expected to possess the ability to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, vibration, and movement in order to effectively evaluate patients. A student must be able to respond promptly to urgent situations.

Observational Ability

The student must have the ability to make accurate visual observations and interpret them in the context of clinical/laboratory activities and patient care experiences. The student must be able to document these observations accurately.

Communication Ability

The student must communicate effectively verbally and non-verbally to obtain information and explain that information to others. Each student must have the ability to read, write, comprehend, and speak the English language to facilitate communication with patients, family members and other members of the health care team. The student must be able to document and maintain accurate records, present information in a professional manner, and provide patient instruction to effectively care for patients and their families.

Motor Ability

The student must be able to perform gross and fine motor movements with sufficient coordination needed to provide complete physical assessments and provide safe effective care for patients. The student is expected to have psychomotor skills necessary to perform or assist with procedures, treatments, administration of medication and emergency interventions, including CPR if necessary. The student must have sufficient levels of neuromuscular control and eye-to-hand coordination as well as possess the physical and mental stamina to meet the demands associated with extended periods of sitting, standing, moving and physical exertion required for safe patient care. Students must be able to bend, squat, reach, kneel or balance. Clinical settings may require that students have the ability to carry and lift loads from the floor, from 12 inches from the floor to shoulder height and overhead. The student must be able to occasionally lift 50 pounds, frequently lift 25 pounds and constantly lift 10 pounds. The student is expected to be able to maintain consciousness and equilibrium and have the physical strength and stamina to perform satisfactorily in clinical settings.

Intellectual - Conceptual Ability

The student must have the ability to develop problem-solving skills essential to professional nursing practice. Problem solving skills include the ability to measure, calculate reason, analyze, synthesize objective and subjective data, and to make decisions in a timely manner that reflects thoughtful deliberation and sound clinical judgment. The student must demonstrate application of these skills and possess the ability to incorporate new information from peers, instructors and the nursing/healthcare literature to formulate sound judgment to establish care plans and priorities in patient care activities.

Behavioral and Social Attributes

The student is expected to have the emotional stability required to exercise sound judgment, and complete assessment and intervention activities. Compassion, integrity, motivation and concern for others are personal attributes required of those in the nursing program. The student must fully utilize intellectual capacities that facilitate prompt completion of all responsibilities in the classroom and clinical settings, and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients and other members of the healthcare team. The ability to establish rapport and maintain interpersonal relationships with individuals, families and groups from a variety of social, emotional, cultural and intellectual backgrounds is critical for practice as a nurse. Each student must be able to adapt to changing environments; display flexibility; accept and integrate constructive criticism given in the classroom and clinical settings; and effectively collaborate in the clinical setting with other members of the healthcare team.

Ability to Manage Stressful Situations

The student must be able to adapt to and function effectively in relation to stressful situations encountered in both the classroom and clinical settings, including emergency situations. Students will encounter multiple stressors while in the nursing program. These stressors may be (but are not limited to) personal, patient care/family, faculty/peer and/or program related.

Evaluation

A handicapped applicant/candidate shall not, based on his or her handicap* (except those which would preclude the essential skills outlined above) be neither excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, nor be subjected to discrimination in the program. Carroll University may require that the applicant/student undergo a physical examination and/or an occupational skills evaluation.

* Handicapped as defines by the federal government pursuant to SS 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Caregiver Background Check

The applicant/candidate/student must complete a Background Information Disclosure Form prior to clinical placement in the program. The university intends to fully comply with the requirements of the Wisconsin Caregiver Background Check Law which requires hospitals and other health care and treatment entities to perform background checks on all persons who have direct, regular contact with clients. Certain convictions may prevent or significantly limit the ability of the university to place a student in a clinical program resulting in the student being unable to meet the university’s graduation requirements. The university reserves the right to reject the application of a candidate or remove a student from the program if the university determines that the results of the caregiver background check demonstrate that the applicant/student does not exhibit behavior and social attributes consistent with the program’s Technical Standards.

CPR and Health Requirements

CPR:
All students must have on file current CPR certification.

Health Requirements

Overall: All nursing students must be able to perform the essential functions of a professional nurse. Reasonable accommodations will be afforded to disabled professional nurses as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A student who can no longer perform the essential functions of a professional nurse must report that to the MSN Program Director. If reasonable accommodations cannot be made, the student will not be able to remain in the nursing program. Students shall notify the program of any change in their overall health status as it relates to their ability to perform the duties of a professional nurse.

Health Requirements are based on health care agency requirements and are updated regularly.  Common requirements include:

• TB test
• Urine Drug Screens
• Annual Influenza Vaccine
• History and Physical Exam
• Covid vaccination based on current guidelines
• Additional Immunization requirements.

Health Requirement list will be provided to students annually.

Insurance

Health: MSN students are required to have health insurance, and students can be covered under a family or personal policy. Students without their own coverage may purchase University-sponsored coverage.

Academic Progression

Progression Standards   for progression policy.

MSN Curriculum

The MSN program curriculum is informed by the  AACN’s Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (2008) and The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (2011), and the ANA Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statement.

MSN Core Courses- Taken by all MSN students

BUS 625 : Leading and Managing in a Changing Environment 3 Hour(s)

HED 660 : Epidemiology and Public Health Issues 3 Hour(s)

NRS 600 : Nursing Theory 3 Hour(s)

NRS 610 : Advanced Physical Assessment for Nursing 3 Hour(s)

NRS 615 : Advanced Pathophysiology for Nurses 3 Hour(s)

NRS 620 : Advanced Pharmacology for Nurses 3 Hour(s)

NRS 631 : Research and Nursing Practice 3 Hour(s)

NRS 641 : Nursing Informatics 3 Hour(s)

Direct Entry Emphasis

Carroll University’s Master of Science in Nursing degree with a Direct Entry emphasis (MSN-DE) is designed to provide the knowledge, skills and experiences needed to step into a rewarding professional nursing career. The emphasis incorporates both the AACN’s Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (2008) and Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (2011), and the ANA Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statement to inform the curriculum. The emphasis builds on the student’s previous learning experiences as well as their previous undergraduate degree in other disciplines, to transition them into nursing. The students are required to take the MSN core courses as well as those outlined in the Master of Science in Nursing - Direct Entry (MSN-DE) . The graduates will be prepared to take the NCSBN- NCLEX exam, which is the professional licensing exam required to become a licensed registered nurse.

Direct Entry (DE) Emphasis Student Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate critical thinking and clinical judgment through delivery of safe patient-centered care.
2. Integrate theory, research, and evidence-based data to provide culturally appropriate nursing care, including health promotion and disease prevention, at the individual and aggregate level.
3. Analyze the impact of ethical and legal principles on the planning and delivery of patient care in varied populations and in diverse settings.
4. Effectively and professionally communicate through various modes including informatics and assorted technologies with patients, families, and populations for the delivery of high-quality patient-centered care.
5. Demonstrate leadership through collaboration on intra and interprofessional teams to optimize patient outcomes through safe, high quality health care.
6. Identify healthcare and regulatory policies that influence the health care system and potential areas of quality improvement.

Nurse Educator Emphasis

The MSN Nurse Educator emphasis utilizes the Scope of Practice for Academic Nurse Educators, (2012), NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators: A decade of Influence, (2019), and Clinical Nurse Educator Competencies: Creating an evidence-based practice for academic clinical nurse’s educators (2019) to inform the emphasis outcomes and courses. The students are required to take the MSN core courses as well as those outlined in the Master of Science in Nursing - Nurse Educator (MSN-NE) . 

Nurse Educator(NE) Emphasis Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate critical thinking and decision making when planning, implementing, and evaluating strategies to guide an educational system or program toward successful outcomes.
2. Analyze the impact of ethical and legal principles on the planning and delivery of educational programs in varied populations.
3. Critique educational delivery and evaluation strategies for application across culturally and age-diverse populations in selected educational settings.
4. Articulate a personal philosophy and framework acknowledging professional and accrediting agency competencies relating to the role and scope of practice of the nurse educator.
5. Implement the role of the nurse educator in a selected educational setting.

RN to MSN (RN-MSN) Emphasis

The RN-MSN emphasis builds on the students previous nursing knowledge and education and and incorporates the AACN’ s Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (2008) and The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (2011) into the curriculum. The baccalaureate nursing course work missing from an ADN preparation is embedded at the front-end RN-to-MSN emphasis. A professional seminar course is also offered at the front end of the curriculum to help the student to be prepared for graduate level education.

 The students in the Master of Science in Nursing - RN to MSN  are required to complete MSN core courses as well as the specialty focus area courses for either the Master of Science in Nursing - RN to MSN - Nurse Educator Track  or the Master of Science in Nursing - RN to MSN - Nurse Administrator Track . The Nurse Educator specialty focus outcomes are informed by the Scope of Practice for Academic Nurse Educators, (2012), NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators: A decade of Influence, (2019), and Clinical Nurse Educator Competencies: Creating an evidence-based practice for academic clinical nurse’s educators (2019). The Nurse Administrator specialty focus outcomes are informed by the AACN Nurse Executive Board Certification test plan (2016) and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) Core Competencies (2020).

Nurse Educator (NE) Focus Track Student Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate critical thinking and decision making when planning, implementing, and evaluating strategies to guide an educational system or program toward successful outcomes.
2. Analyze the impact of ethical and legal principles on the planning and delivery of educational programs in varied populations.
3. Critique educational delivery and evaluation strategies for application across culturally and age-diverse populations in selected educational settings.
4. Articulate a personal philosophy and framework acknowledging professional and accrediting agency competencies relating to the role and scope of practice of the nurse educator.
5. Implement the role of the nurse educator in a selected educational setting.

Nurse Administrator (NA) Focus Track Student Learning Outcomes

1. Analyze evidence-based metrics including cost benefit analysis to set priorities and measure the organization’s goals with patient outcomes.
2. Evaluate the impact of informatics and technology on healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
3. Generate quality and safety measures based on evidence for patients in the care environment.
4. Engages in professional behaviors and communication to build relationships with patients, stakeholders, interprofessional team and colleagues for sharing information and accomplishing goals.
5. Evaluate legal, ethical and policy issues and decision-making processes in challenging health care situations.

Return to: Programs of Study