MSN Educator

Nurse Educator

Overview

The Nurse Educator program will prepare you to provide nursing education to nursing students, professional development or clinical education in health care agencies. Nurse educators may hold a variety of positions such as adjunct (part-time) clinical instructor, professor, clinical educator, staff development director, continuing education consultant, community education specialist, and more.  This program will also prepare you to continue for doctoral study, since the preferred degree for academic educators at the baccalaureate level and higher is the doctorate.

Our graduate programs are designed for working nurses.  You will complete courses online in an asynchronous format.  There are periodic mandatory on-campus meetings for just a few courses.  Clinical hours in the program are focused on acquiring the nurse educator competencies congruent with the education setting of your choice.  You will gain experience in teaching by completing a minimum of 288 hours in a clinical setting under the supervision of a qualified master’s-prepared nurse educator preceptor.

If you are considering a teaching career in pre-licensure programs in CA you should know about the faculty qualifications in order to be approved by the Board of Registered Nursing.  Accordingly, you should plan to complete your teaching experience in an RN academic program (community college or BSN program).

  • One (1) year's continuous, full-time or its equivalent direct patient care experience within the previous five (5) years in the nursing area to which he or she is assigned.
  • Completion of at least one (1) years’ experience teaching courses related to registered nursing or completion of a post-baccalaureate course which includes practice in teaching registered nursing

Source:  CA Nurse Practice Act, Article 3, Section 1425

Curriculum Plan (Click here for Plan)

Curriculum

Core MSN Courses (15 units):

  • MSN 502 Advanced Nursing Roles
  • MSN 513 Healthcare Policy and Economics
  • MSN 514 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
  • MSN 530 Research Utilization in Advanced Nursing Practice
  • MSN 531 Nursing Ethics

Advanced Practice Core Courses (6 units):

  • MSN 521/522 Advanced Health Assessment and Lab
  • MSN 565 Pathopharmacology for Nurse Educators (Offered only in Spring)

Note: MSN 522 requires two, 2-day sessions for teaching and testing of assessment skills in the on campus Skills Lab.  One session is at mid-term and the other at the end of class.

Nurse Educator Elective Courses (choose one 3 unit course):

  • MSN 523 Family Assessment: Theory and Practice* (Offered only in Spring)
  • MSN 533 Theories of Aging** (Offered only in Fall)
*Ideal for nurses with expertise in pediatric or obstetric populations
**Ideal for nurses with expertise in adult populations

Nurse Educator Courses (12 units):

  • MSN 529 Curriculum and Teaching
  • MSN 539 Testing and Evaluation
  • MSN 559 Nurse Educator Role Performance I (144 clinical hours)
  • MSN 569 Nurse Educator Role Performance II (144 clinical hours)

Full course descriptions are presented in the University Catalog available online. http://1t6.54zhangmi.com/university-catalog/

Plan of Study

A part-time plan of study is presented because students are typically working full-time. It is possible to accelerate the plan for the MSN Core, Advanced Practice Core, and Elective courses; however, the Nurse Educator courses are sequenced and must progress over 2 semesters. 

Fall Admission

Year

Fall Term

Spring Term

1

MSN 502 & 531

MSN 565 & 513

2

MSN 530 & 533 or 514

MSN 521, 522, & 523 or 514

3

Nurse Ed Role I:

MSN 529 & 559

Nurse Ed Role II:

MSN 539 & 569

Spring Admission

Year

Spring Term

Summer Term*

Fall Term

1

MSN 502 & 565

MSN 513 &/or 531

 MSN 530 & 533 or 531

2

MSN 521, 522 & 523 or 514

MSN 531

Nurse Ed Role I:

MSN 529 & 559

3

Nurse Ed Role II:

MSN 539 & 569

    *Students have the option to take one summer with 6 units or two summer semesters (3 units/each).

Costs of Attendance

Graduate student fees vary based on 0-6 units or more than 6 units and there is an additional fee for out-of-state residents.  Summary information is provided here: How Much Does CSUDH Cost?  and more detail is available on the Student Financial Services webpage.

Admission Requirements

Registered Nurses with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing

  1. Completion of a baccalaureate degree program with a ACEN or CCNE- accredited upper division major in nursing (BSN) from a regionally accredited institution or the equivalent.  See below for information on foreign degrees.
  2. Overall grade point average of 3.0 (on a four-point scale) or higher in the last 60 semester (90 quarter) units of upper division course work attempted. Students not meeting this grade point average requirement may be admitted to Conditionally Classified status on the recommendation of the faculty.
  3. Registered nurse licensure in the United States, unencumbered, unrestricted, with no disciplinary action pending or imposed.
  4. Completion of the following prerequisites:
    1. Statistics - including probability and inferential
    2. Research - introductory course or equivalent
    3. Health Assessment - basic course, including a skills lab
  5. Submission of a professional resume and a letter of intent describing how the role option you are applying for fits your career plans for the future and discuss your ability to learn online (maximum 350 words).
  6. Residence in a state in which the School of Nursing at California State University, Dominguez Hills is permitted to deliver online education.
As a result of the Department of Education regulations for higher education and state education laws, the School of Nursing cannot deliver online education in all states. If you are an out-of-state resident or anticipate a move during your academic program, please contact the School of Nursing prior to submitting an application to discuss your situation.

Degrees Outside of the United States

If the Baccalaureate degree was completed outside of the United States:

  • Official academic records and diploma/certificate must be sent from the institution attended.
  • If official records are not in English, certified English translations of all documents must also be submitted. Translations must be word-for-word (i.e. literal) translations
  • English Proficiency must be established by exam
    • TOEFL minimum scores: 550 paper, 80 internet, 213 computer
    • IELTS minimum score 6.5
    • Pearson Test of English Academic minimum score 53

A waiver may be requested if 3 years full-time equivalent instruction at the secondary level or higher was received at a school where English was the principal language of instruction.

Application Information & Time Frame

1. Submit the University Online Application via Cal State Apply (Video tutorial on how to apply) during the time frames provided below. Cal State Apply Applicant Help Center

2. Submit transcripts to Admissions and Records before the document deadline.

SemesterApplication OpensApplication DeadlineDocument Deadline
SpringAugust 1November 1November 1
FallOctober 1July 1July 1

Registered Nurses with a Non-Nursing Bachelor degree

Nurses with a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field who would like to prepare for admission into an MSN program will have the opportunity to receive their BSN by completing the RN-BSN program. Please see the RN-BSN Admissions page for further information: http://1t6.54zhangmi.com/son/programs/rn-bsn/admission/.

For more information, please email SONdepartment@54zhangmi.com