Advance Your Nursing Career
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Industry Accreditation
The baccalaureate degree in nursing at UMGC is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001-2399, 202-887-6791.
See Courses & Program Info
View a complete list of degree program courses, program-specific and degree-level requirements, and more.
This nursing program requires a total of 120 credits.
- 30 Required Major Credits: Review the required major courses outlined below.
- 21 Related Required Credits: Review the courses below that can be applied to general education or elective requirements, as outlined.
- 39 General Education, Minor & Elective Credits: Review the options available to fulfill general education coursework requirements or see a list of available academic minors, the course catalog, or the Schedule of Classes to help you select elective courses.
- 30 Credits for RN License: You will apply 30 upper-level credits for your active, unencumbered RN license.
Required Major Courses
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Students must reside in and have an active, unencumbered registered nursing license in one of the following approved states at the time of admission and throughout completion of the program: Arizona; Arkansas; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Maine; Maryland; Michigan; Mississippi; Montana; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Texas; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin; and Washington, D.C.
Note: This program is not intended to lead to initial professional licensure. Learn more about professional licensure and how to contact your state's licensing board.
UMGC’s Associate-to-Bachelor's (ATB) program enables eligible community college students to enroll in our BSN program while completing their community college coursework.
We partner with the following community colleges for the ATB program:
- College of Southern Maryland
Please be sure to contact your community college's ATB program coordinator for more details.
Develop Integral Skills in Nursing
Advance in your nursing career as you build knowledge and gain applicable skills. Graduates of this BSN program develop key skills in critical thinking, clinical judgment, interprofessional communication and collaboration, emotional intelligence, and patient care. Our nursing program directors refresh and update the curriculum regularly, with a focus on helping students achieve the following:
193K
Annual Openings
About 193,000 job openings for registered nurses are projected each year over the next decade.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | “Occupational Outlook Handbook” | Last Reviewed: April 30, 2024
30
States with Shortage
More than 30 states are expected to have a shortage of registered nurses by 2030.
Source: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | “Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet” | October 2022
28%
Plan to Retire
More than 28 percent of nurses plan to retire in the next five years.
Source: Journal of Nursing Regulation | “The 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey” | April 2023
Practice Real-World Skills in Your Nursing Courses
Throughout the BSN program, your instructors will assign coursework that will help you prioritize real-world skills and experience. In past courses in this degree program, students have been able to complete the following course projects:
- Review and analyze a Congressional hearing executive summary as it relates to policy, politics, and economics in healthcare.
- Access the patient education material associated with a hypothetical patient and assess the understandability and actionability of the educational material for the patient. Then, complete the document using everything that was taught about health literacy.
- Develop and present a quality improvement implementation and evaluation plan for a nursing practice change identified in your Practice Change Assignment.
FAQs
Get answers to questions that current and prospective students are asking about the nursing program, admission requirements, credibility, and more.
Our bachelor’s degree in nursing (RN to BSN) is an online nursing program for students who have completed a registered nursing education program and have an active, unencumbered RN license in an approved state. Therefore, they are aiming to take the RN-BSN route toward their bachelor's degree program. UMGC's online nursing program covers topics like clinical research, public health, nursing leadership, and more. Your active, unencumbered RN license counts for 30 upper-level credits toward the 120-credit BSN program. The nursing degree program helps students prepare to work in a wide range of medical settings.
This online program is not intended to lead to initial professional licensure.
UMGC offers courses toward the online nursing program year-round. The time it will take you to complete your nursing degree will depend on several factors, including your goals, how many transfer credits you have, your course load each semester, and whether you are able to benefit from one or more of our fast paths to credit, including credit for prior learning and credit for military education and training. Remember, your active, unencumbered RN license from an approved state will count for 30 of your credits in the program.
Tuition rates for the nursing degree (BSN program) from UMGC are very competitive and appear at the top of this page. We offer a low in-state rate for Maryland residents and a reduced tuition rate for military servicemembers and their spouses and dependent children. We also offer scholarships for those who qualify, an interest-free monthly payment plan, and no-cost digital materials in place of most textbooks to help make online bachelor's degrees even more affordable.
Students who would like to enroll in UMGC's online bachelor’s degree in nursing (RN to BSN) must have completed a registered nursing education program that is approved by the Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON) and have an active, unencumbered RN license in an approved state, listed under State-Specific Details above on this page. Students must also meet our undergraduate admission requirements.
This program is not intended to lead to initial professional licensure. It is designed to help you earn a BSN degree after coming into the program with an RN license.
To be eligible for this program, you must have an active, unencumbered RN license in an approved state. See the State-Specific Details section on this page for more information.