Many of today’s practicing nurses are eager to explore innovative options to advance their careers. UConn’s new Nurse Educator online master’s degree program prepares baccalaureate-degree-holding RNs for career advancement in the increasingly important roles of nursing education.

The Nurse Educator graduate is prepared to evaluate, develop, and implement comprehensive and evidence-based curricula for nursing students in the academic setting and nurses and other healthcare professionals in the clinical setting.

The Nurse Educator curriculum utilizes backward design to introduce students to the complex roles of the nurse educator and to facilitate competency development in the specialty. Nurse educator graduates are prepared to advocate for effective pedagogies and to sit for national certification as an Academic Nurse Educator (CNE), an Academic Clinical Nurse Educator (CNEcl), or a Nursing Professional Development practitioner (NPD-BC), after required practice hours are met.

The Nurse Educator program has two entry points:

• Post-Bachelor’s degree (B.S. to M.S.)
• Post-Master’s degree (post-graduate certificate) for those who have already earned a Master of Science in a different nursing specialty area

A minimum of 2,080 hours of clinical experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) providing direct patient care is required prior to application.

Note: For those who may want to pursue a DNP degree in the future, two courses (6 credits) in the MS concentration can be applied toward UConn’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.