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I am a LVN wanting to go back to school to get my RN degree and some of the schools that I am looking at is either offering an associate of applied science degree or an associate degree of nursing. What is the difference between the 2 degrees and are they both RN degrees?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

Yes they are both applicable to RN licensure. When I directed the same question to my advisor a few years back, I was told that the difference lies within the electives. Within an ASN degree, it had more science electives in its curriculum as opposed to an AAS in nursing degree. With my school of choice, an AAS student could take whatever general electives they wanted, whereas the ASN had to take electives primarily in sociology, psychology, and/or math.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
When I directed the same question to my advisor a few years back, I was told that the difference lies within the electives. Within an ASN degree, it had more science electives in its curriculum as opposed to an AAS in nursing degree.

This is correct. In addition, the ADN (a.k.a. ASN degree) makes things easier in the long run if you wish to enroll in the RN-to-BSN or RN-to-MSN program in the future due to having completed more electives. The ADN/ASN degree holder usually needs anywhere from 27 to 30 more credits to earn the BSN degree, whereas the AAS degree holder may need to complete 35 to 50+ credits to earn the BSN degree.

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