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Nursing Leadership (MS)

YOU ARE BOUVÉ

Join the next generation of nursing leaders.

The Master of Science in Nursing Leadership prepares future nurse leaders to advance their careers and improve care, integrating advanced evidence-based clinical practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, healthcare innovation, fiscal responsibility, and leadership principles.  

The program combines theory-focused content and experiential learning in diverse healthcare environments to examine healthcare services and quality, organizational systems analysis, fiscal responsibility, and strategies for student and peer evaluation and mentorship. Students graduate ready to take on heightened responsibilities and become the next generation of invaluable leaders. 

Nursing leaders with advanced degrees are in demand as: 

  • Educators  
  • Nurse managers 
  • Nurse executives and officers 
  • Clinical and nursing professors 
  • Quality improvement specialists 
  • Patient safety innovators 
  • Nurse faculty 
  • Unit leaders 
  • Program directors 
  • Industry leaders 
  • Community leaders 

The program in which you are enrolled prepares you to practice in any state, based on the information posted on each state’s nursing licensure website.

Quickview

Tuition and Fees

Video: The Arnold S. Goldstein Simulation Lab

Curriculum

The curriculum is based on the foundations of advanced practice as determined by the American Association of the Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Students can enroll in a full time or part-time curriculum progression and complete the program in 6 semesters of study when taken full time. 

Concentrations

Students can further enhance their education and development by engaging in one of three concentrations: administration/nurse executive, patient safety, or postsecondary teaching. Learn more about these concentrations: 

Administration/Nurse Executive

Hospitals and healthcare facilities are looking to enhance the level of leadership and business skills in nurses who serve as nurse managers and departmental directors with unit, team, or service line influence. This interdisciplinary concentration prepares beginner nurse executives to meet the need for healthcare leadership on a unit and departmental managerial level. The concentration provides skills related to fiscal responsibility, budgetary management, communication, and organizational culture within a variety of healthcare settings.  

Patient Safety

Patient safety is integral to healthcare quality and financial viability. While patient safety is the responsibility of all healthcare providers, nurses who are direct care providers have the opportunity, with an expanded knowledge base, to serve as the leaders and designers of organizational patient safety programming and quality improvement initiatives. This concentration will prepare you to succeed in roles that uphold this critical nursing component.

Postsecondary Teaching

Many state boards of nursing mandate that all clinical nursing faculty and BSN-prepared instructors serving as clinical faculty have a minimum of a master’s degree with coursework in education, or an education certification. This concentration allows you to meet employer requirements and pursue more advanced roles as a healthcare educator. (Please Note: Students may be required to pay a separate, college-specific tuition for some courses within the Clinical Nurse Educator concentration.)

Program Outcomes

The MS in Nursing Leadership pathway will prepare the graduate to: 

  • Lead the design, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of evidence-based practice improvement initiatives. 
  • Critically analyze complex clinical situations and practice environments. 
  • Translate evidence to develop new models for nursing practice that will transform healthcare. 
  • Direct the development and implementation of social, economic, political, and health policy to ensure quality of healthcare. 
  • Establish and evaluate cultural competency initiatives to promote equity in healthcare and health outcomes. 
  • Lead and coordinate diffuse interprofessional teams and collaborative efforts. 
  • Evaluate and analyze the impact of health information technology implementation on organizations and nursing practice. 

Funding Your Education

Students in the Post-Master’s DNP and Master’s in Nursing Leadership programs at Northeastern’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences have access to the HRSA Nurse Faculty Loan Program which provides partial loan forgiveness for up to 85% of the student’s loan if they commit to four years of full-time work as faculty in an accredited U.S. school of nursing following completion of their degree. Applicants for the post-master’s DNP and MS in Nurse Leadership who meet the eligibility criteria may apply.

Sample Curriculum

Curriculum subject to change.
For most up-to-date information please refer to the university’s academic catalog.

Sample Full-time MS

Admissions Requirements

Applicants to the Master’s in Nursing Leadership program must have a current US Nursing license for admission to the program. GRE scores are not required. Please note that all letters of recommendations and official transcripts must be submitted via NursingCAS.

To apply, applicants must also have the following:

Baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN) from an accredited program

US RN Licensure

Minimum GPA of 3.0 from all prior degrees/academic study, with grades of B or better required in all nursing courses

At least 1 to 2 years of clinical experience in leadership/management/unit supervision, or education/clinical student mentorship

A professional resumé/curriculum vitae 

TOEFL or IELTS for applicants who do not hold a degree from a U.S. institution and whose native language is not English. 

Submission of all academic transcripts. Please note that transcripts from outside of the U.S. will require a course-by-course evaluation from WES or ECE. 

Statement of purpose/essay

2 letters of recommendation (academic and professional)

Got questions?

Please reach out to us.

Northeastern University
102 Robinson Hall
360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115


For more details on how to apply, please refer to:

Susanne Jaeggi, psychology professor at Northeastern University, shows a brain model at her office in the ISEC building in Boston. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
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