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Discussion

What's the difference - ASN vs ADN??

I'm looking into the RN programs offered at my local community college. They offer an Associate in the Science of Nursing and an LPN to Rn Associates Degree in Nursing. I Have been out of school for years now and am not familiar with the ASN. I was looking for an Associates program. So whats the difference ?? Whats with the two different degree names and how if any affect does it have on employment opportunities once I graduate. I just don't want to have it be a waste of time if in the end if it will not be worth it. :thnkg:

TIA Emily

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  • Expert

If the same school is offering both programs, you'll have to ask them to explain the difference between the two. They may require different courses, etc.

As a general rule ... the theoretical difference between "arts" degrees and "science" degrees is that "arts" degrees emphasize the application of knowledge .. and "science" degrees emphasize the knowledge itself. However, that may not be the case at your particular school. The degrees may simply have different titles because they cater to different student populations -- either the true beginner students or those that already have LPN's.

You'll have to ask your school -- and explore your local job market to see if one program is more respected than the other.

From what I have been told an ASN is more desired than an ADN. Personally a 2 year degree is a 2 year degree.

I'm not sure what the difference is, but I've never heard that one is more desirable than the other. Normally one would investigate the pre-reqs for each program and determine which will lead to a smoother transition for their BSN (if so desired) but since this is for the same school and one is a LPN-RN program, I don't know if that's relevant in your case. Neither should be more or less beneficial to your employment opportunties. Just depends on whether you want to get your LPN first or go straight to RN

I have been told the difference is Location, sort of like a LPN and LVN, that it's essentially the same degree. But I have never researched it.

I always thought it was the same thing, like Mi Vida Loca said, just different wording. I'm pretty sure any nursing degree would be a "science" degree, not arts - right? BSN, MSN, etc.

  • Expert
I always thought it was the same thing, like Mi Vida Loca said, just different wording. I'm pretty sure any nursing degree would be a "science" degree, not arts - right? BSN, MSN, etc.

No. Some schools offer Bachelor's of Arts degrees (BA with major in Nursing) and Master's of Arts (MA with a major in Nursing). In most cases, the difference in titling is just a technicality these days. But originally, the two types of degrees did reflect a diference in emphasis between the academic scholarly work of the discipline (science) and the application of the discipline's knowledge through practice (art).

In some schools, there is a distinction between the governance of the programs. For example, the professional school that is mostly self-governing within a university system might offer one degree and the university as a whole might offer the other degree -- with slightly different course requirements to fulfill the requirements developed by different governing committees. A lot of those decisions are made based on convenience and politics. As people try to establish new programs, they take whatever route is more feasible at the time and end up with different organizational structures functioning under different governing bodies that might involve meeting different standards.

Each school has its own history, governing structure, etc. and these matters vary greatly acros the country. You have to communicate directly in-the-know about a particular school to find out the details of that particular school.

I always thought it was the same thing, like Mi Vida Loca said, just different wording. I'm pretty sure any nursing degree would be a "science" degree, not arts - right? BSN, MSN, etc.

From my understanding at my school at least it's an Associates degree in Nursing. It seems to be what most of the 2 year colleges are around here that I have looked into it. In WA (different area and state) they were Associates of Science and Nursing or ASN.

Again, I could be wrong but that's what I was told.

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