Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.)

The Master's of Science in Nursing, Nursing Education option prepares the graduate for a position in nursing education as well as the educator role in varied settings such as hospitals, health departments, and clinics, among other practice areas. Students are prepared as nurse educators and leaders to respond to current and projected changes in the health care system. Students are required to complete 43 credit hours which includes 336 lab/practicum hours in varied settings. The Master's of Science in Nursing degree and Nursing Education option program courses are delivered online.

The primary goal of the Master’s in Nursing Education program is to prepare experts in nursing education principles and practices with an emphasis on leadership, innovation, and evidence-based applications.

The faculty in the School of Nursing subscribes to a common philosophy about human beings, nursing, and nursing education that encompasses both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Faculty strives to be leaders and visionaries in their roles as nurse educators, consumers, and advocates for consumers of health care, and health professionals.

Utilization of nursing knowledge is the major focus in the undergraduate curriculum in the development of beginning-level practitioners. The undergraduate program prepares graduates to meet the present and emergent community health concerns at local and global levels. Throughout the development of the professional role, students learn to view the recipients of nursing care as individuals, families, groups, or communities within cultural and environmental contexts. The population distribution and geographical nature of Idaho mandate that graduates be proficient in rural and frontier nursing.

Graduate education is built upon undergraduate education. Students are prepared to assume advanced practice roles by developing nursing knowledge through research, theory, and practice. At the graduate level, faculty and students contribute toward the application and elaboration of nursing theories to describe, explain, predict, and understand nursing phenomena. Graduate education facilitates learning environments where students can construct their own knowledge integration at an advanced level. Advanced practice nurses develop broad-based knowledge and experience to facilitate or deliver personalized, holistic health care to clients over the lifespan in a variety of settings with an emphasis on rural practice.