Online Master’s in Nurse Informatics (MSN Degree)
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Healthcare is becoming increasingly dependent on software and IT systems. Thus, there is a growing demand for nurse informatics specialists, who are proficient in nursing as well as health information technology (HIT). These professionals are equipped to deliver high-quality healthcare, as well as to manage records and large-scale projects using a variety of healthcare IT systems.
Registered Nurses (RNs) who wish to pursue a career in this dynamic field can opt for a master’s or post-master’s program in nursing, with a specialization in nursing informatics.
There are a number of online programs available in nurse informatics, so working nursing professionals can pursue the program at their own convenience. Students are trained in project management, data entry, clinical documentation, organizational theory, and information science. They learn how to efficiently use information systems and gain an understanding of human computer interaction, mobile apps, and patient portals.
On completion of a master’s in nurse informatics, graduates can take up leadership and managerial roles in healthcare facilities such as clinics, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers.
The following article discusses seven exceptional programs in nursing informatics as well as three top faculty members in the field.
Featured Online Master’s Degrees in Nurse Informatics
Duke University offers an online master of science in nursing (MSN) program with a major in health informatics. While all courses are offered online, students are expected to attend campus once each semester. The program teaches students essential skills such as project management, planning, and using clinical information systems.
Admission requirements for the program include sending transcripts from every school where college credit was earned, three professional recommendations, personal statement, a current resume, and TOEFL scores for international students. It is recommended (but not required) that applicants have one year of nursing experience before applying. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required either.
The 38-credit-hour program places special emphasis on real world application, as opposed to rote learning. The curriculum includes 12 credits of core courses and 26 credits in the nursing informatics major. The core courses in the program are nurse as scholar I: science development, study design and statistics, nurse as scholar II: evidence-based practice, population health in a global society, and professional transitions: advanced nursing practice. The nursing informatics courses include data analytics, an introduction to health informatics, health information technology leadership, and the synthesis of specialty practice.
Students learn how to deal with physicians, physical therapists, and pharmacists. They also work on designing systems that promote patient-centric care. One of the perks of the program is that students will get a chance to build a professional network in informatics and expertise in both nursing practice and health care IT. They learn how to implement healthcare IT systems in areas such as electronic health records and clinical documentation. On completion of the program, students will be eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) generalist exam for nursing informatics.
- Location: Durham, North Carolina
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
- Estimated Tuition: $1,838 per credit-hour
The University of Colorado offers an online master of science in nursing with a concentration in healthcare informatics through its Anschutz Medical Campus. The program provides students with skills to take up an informatics specialist role.
Applicants to the program must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a completed online application, official transcripts from all schools attended, a minimum undergraduate nursing degree GPA of 3.0, a current resume, three letters of reference, a copy of an active and unencumbered RN license, and English language proficiency proof for international students.
The program consists of 34 credit-hours. It provides students with learning guides to take them through each course. The curriculum includes topics such as theory foundations for advanced nursing, policy and politics of health, decision support, semantic representation, the information systems life cycle, and the foundations of healthcare informatics. The program teaches students to plan, select, design, and implement emerging technologies that drive quality care and support clinical decision making.
At the end of the program, graduates can pursue opportunities in primary care facilities, hospitals, health technology companies, specialist offices, and consulting firms. They can take up roles such as trainers, analysts, nursing or clinical informatics specialists, directors of clinical informatics, project managers, and telehealth coordinator.
- Location: Denver, Colorado
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
- Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
- Estimated Tuition: $452–$731 per credit-hour
The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center offers an online master of science in nursing degree with a nursing informatics track. This program offers courses online but requires students to complete field work experience and technical competencies on campus.
Admission requirements include a baccalaureate nursing degree from a regionally accredited college or university, an unencumbered RN license, completed undergraduate courses in research and statistics, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0, and TOEFL scores for international students.
The program comprises of 36 credit-hours and trains students to take up advanced roles in nursing informatics. Some of the courses included in the curriculum are leadership for healthcare, the scientific foundations of advanced practice nursing, project management, informatics I: foundations of nursing informatics specialization: theories of practice, informatics II: health information management and knowledge, and informatics III: information technology.
This nursing informatics program prepares students to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s certification and the HIMSS Certified Professional in Health Information Management (CPHIMS) exams.
- Location: Lubbock, Texas
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
- Estimated Tuition: $665 per credit-hour
The Vanderbilt University School of Nursing offers an online master of science in nursing (MSN) with a speciality in nursing informatics. All courses are offered online with clinical practicums being conducted at a place negotiated between the student, clinical agency, and the faculty. Students are trained to identify, process, and manage data to support their nursing practice. The program is ideal for working registered nurses, as it offers ample flexibility.
Admission requirements for the program include a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, an unencumbered RN license, a statement of purpose, a GPA of at least 3.0, official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended, three letters of professional reference, and TOEFL or IELTS scores for international students.
The program consists of 36 credit-hours and trains nursing specialists to effectively use technology. The curriculum includes courses such as the foundations of leadership; designing, planning and managing scalable projects; nursing informatics and the information system lifecycle; applied quality improvement and patient safety; and data to information.
Students learn how to develop synergies between processes and people, make positive changes in healthcare, and use technology to create new and improved systems. At the end of the program, graduates can take up roles such as clinical analysts, informatics administrators and executives, consultants, data analysts and data managers, and health system implementation specialists.
- Location: Nashville, Tennessee
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
- Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
- Estimated Tuition: $1,642 per credit-hour
The Rutgers School of Nursing offers the online nursing informatics master’s in nursing program. The program trains students to create efficient systems for administration and impact research in the field of nursing.
Students applying for the program must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing from a nationally accredited program, a GPA of 3.2 or higher, a current RN license, official transcripts of all prior college work, two letters of reference, a personal statement, and resume. The GRE is not required for admission.
The program is made up of 37 credit-hours. It prepares students to manage data systems that affect patient care and nursing research. Courses include information technology for evidence-based practice, concepts of nursing informatics, information systems principles, consumer healthcare informatics, the nursing systems development lifecycle, and informatics project and change management.
Through the coursework, students gain a thorough understanding of how to apply informatics and healthcare technologies, design quality improvement and safety initiatives, and engage in policy development to improve health outcomes. Additionally, graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the Informatics Nursing Certification Examination through American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
- Location: Newark, New Jersey
- Accreditation: New Jersey Board of Nursing
- Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
- Estimated Tuition: $968 per credit (+$300 per course fee)
Liberty University offers a 100 percent online master of science in nursing informatics. The goal of the program is to make students proficient in designing nursing informatics solutions, resolving healthcare issues, and improving health outcomes.
Admission requirements for the program include an accredited bachelor’s degree, a minimum GPA of 3.0, a completed online application, at least one year of nursing practice as an RN (with active license), and proof of English proficiency.
The curriculum consists of 42 credit-hours. It includes courses such as database design and development, biostatistics, health informatics, health information systems and integrated technologies, health data analytics and decision-making, and the principles of epidemiology. Students become well-equipped to assess database development processes, evaluate the roles of information systems in healthcare, and create innovative database designs. They also learn how to examine healthcare records and compare data mining algorithms.
On successful completion of the program, graduates can take up roles such as project manager, nurse representative, and nurse programmer.
- Location: Lynchburg, Virginia
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
- Estimated Tuition: $565 per credit-hour
University of Pittsburgh offers an online master of science in nursing with the nursing informatics area of concentration program. The program is taught by renowned faculty members, and provides opportunities for problem solving, active learning, critical thinking, discussion, and community building.
Admission requirements include a baccalaureate degree in nursing from an accredited program, a current RN license, grade point average of 3.0 or higher, official scores on the Graduate Record Examination, prerequisite statistics course with a grade of B, three letters of recommendation, a typed essay, and minimum one year of nursing experience.
Consisting of 37.5 credit-hours, the program provides students with an ability to develop, analyze, and evaluate information systems. Students study courses such as an introduction to health informatics, database management, clinical information systems, healthcare quality, informatics theories and issues, and research for evidence-based practice. The program helps students gain leadership skills in nursing and process data. They become high-tech specialists facilitating communication between the technical staff and clinicians.
At the end of the program, graduates can take up roles such as medical informatics coordinator, clinical solutions specialist, systems analyst, director, senior consultant project manager, informatics nurse, and applications manager.
- Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
- Estimated Tuition: $1,306 per credit
Professors to Know in Master’s in Nurse Informatics Programs
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Melinda L. Jenkins, PhD Rutgers University
Dr. Melinda L. Jenkins is an associate professor of nursing and also serves as the director of the informatics program specialty at the Rutgers School of Nursing, where she teaches graduate students in nursing informatics and advanced practice nursing. She is a member of professional organizations such as the American Medical Informatics Association and the American Nurses Association.
Dr. Jenkins’s research has appeared in top notch journals such as the Western Journal of Nursing Research, the International Journal of Medical Informatics, and the Journal of Biomedical Informatics. Professor Jenkins has received many accolades such as the HHS Innovates award and NIH Director's Award. She completed her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and an MS and BSN at University of Missouri–Columbia. -
Hyeoneui Kim, PhD Duke University
Dr. Hyeoneui Kim is an associate professor in the School of Nursing at Duke University. She teaches courses such as an introduction to health informatics, data analytics, data science, and informatics for quality improvement.
Prior to Duke University, she worked at the University of California San Diego. Her areas of expertise include information technology, knowledge representation, decision support systems, and electronic data interchange. Notably, she has published her research in prominent journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Bioinformatics, and the Western Journal of Nursing Research. Dr. Kim completed her PhD in health informatics at the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities.
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Patricia Sengstack, DNP Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
Dr. Patricia Sengstack serves as an associate professor for the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, as well as a nursing informatics executive at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She teaches informatics courses in the doctoral and master’s programs. She is a member of professional organizations such as the American Nurses Association, the American Nursing Informatics Association, and the American Medical Informatics Association.
Dr. Sengstack has published her work in prominent journals such as the Journal of Healthcare Information Management, Applied Clinical Informatics, and Computers, Informatics, Nursing (CIN). She also has won numerous laurels such as the Dean's Award for Recognition of Faculty Achievement in Informatics and has been recognized as one of the "Most Powerful Women in Health IT" in 2016 by Health Data Management. She earned her DNP from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, as well as an MS and BSN from University of Maryland, Baltimore.
