MSN - how long does it take?

abixxy, MSN, RN · Jan 17, 2017

I completed the RN to MSN bridge program at WGU. I literally just finished my last course for the MSN yesterday.

From program start I had completed the BSN component in 7 months. Now remember, I wasn't awarded a BSN degree. I have a paper from WGU that states I have completed all of the academic requirements of a BSN on their letterhead signed by their enrollment team. This document was good enough to give my employer for the BSN requirement they ask for within 5 years of hire.

From beginning to start, I completed the RN to MSN in 15 and a half months. I do not have any children yet and work full time night shift. My friend is in the RN BSN program and has an autistic ten year old so she usually ends each semester in time with her course load.

benegesserit · Jan 22, 2017

Because it is self-paced, "usual" isn't really an useful concept with WGU.

According to the chart on their website, approximately 20% finish in 1 year, 25% in 1.5 years, 30% in two years, and the rest take longer.

NursieNurse14 · Feb 8, 2017

I completed the RN to MSN bridge program at WGU. I literally just finished my last course for the MSN yesterday.
From program start I had completed the BSN component in 7 months. Now remember, I wasn't awarded a BSN degree. I have a paper from WGU that states I have completed all of the academic requirements of a BSN on their letterhead signed by their enrollment team. This document was good enough to give my employer for the BSN requirement they ask for within 5 years of hire.
From beginning to start, I completed the RN to MSN in 15 and a half months. I do not have any children yet and work full time night shift. My friend is in the RN BSN program and has an autistic ten year old so she usually ends each semester in time with her course load.

How many courses did you have transferred in? How many did you have to complete?

jetx1234 · Feb 8, 2017

I'll be finishing my RN-BSN in May from another institution but I'm not sure if I should continue to get MSN at WGU. I've reading a lot of good threads re: WGU. And I'm convinced with what I've read. Is there a minimum classes required to take in one term?

GIEndoRN, BSN, RN · Feb 8, 2017

12 CUs per term.

AJJKRN · Feb 8, 2017

I believe that 8 CU's are the requirement per term when in the MSN portion.

I just finished my first term and am halfway through so I have done 18 CU's so far.

My goal is to finish in just under two terms or under a year.

If I have to go over a few months I won't be heartbroken but my bank account may as I will be out of employer tuition assistance by then. (My tuition assistance will cover everything if I do it in under a year)

I am in the Leadership track.

jetx1234 · Feb 9, 2017

Good job! You're halfway done. Are you just taking MSN classes? If you have your Bachelor's, are there any additional prerequisites you have to take?

allnurses Guide · Feb 23, 2017

I took a year to complete the MSN portion.

ukjenn231 · Mar 21, 2017

I'm ((impatiently :)) waiting for my final project to be graded... But, I started the program Dec 2016 and I will hopefully be graduated within the next week with an MSN in Nursing Education. That's less than 4 months. I did it while working two jobs between 50 and 60 hours a week. One caveat I will mention is that the program is very heavy on writing long papers, but I love to write and have always found it easy for me so I had no problem pushing out a 20-30 page paper in a couple of days.

featherzRN, MSN · Mar 21, 2017

I started on March 1st and am over half done with the MSN That said, this is my third WGU degree so I am pretty good at the routine AND I plan to slow down now that I am done with the nursing "core" and am starting informatics classes. Still plan to do it in under a term, if nothing goes wrong.

nscheid · Jan 6, 2018

Any feedback on the MSN-leadership field experience component?