Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Public Health Dual Degree Option

The 🌐 icon appears in the title of traditional courses that are also available as a set of module courses.  

Description and Outcomes 

The Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Public Health Dual Degree Option is designed to build on previous nursing education and clinical experiences to prepare you to pursue advanced practice opportunities in a variety of settings. This degree combines the traditional Master of Science in Nursing with a Master of Public Health, preparing nurses for leadership positions in hospital administration, particularly as a liaison with government entities (i.e., health departments at the local, state, and national level). The overall purpose of the Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Public Health Dual Degree Option is to provide graduate education for advanced nursing roles that respond to the needs of individuals, families, and communities in both local and global settings.

Concentration

You will complete the executive leader concentration, which includes a clinical experience. The program's curriculum could help you prepare to sit for the Nurse Executive or the Nurse Executive, Advanced, certification examinations (depending on the level of leadership within your organization) provided by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Program Length

The Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Public Health Dual Degree Option consists of a minimum of 82 quarter credits. Upon successful completion of the program, you will be awarded the Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Public Health degrees. 

Program Outcomes 

Master of Science In Nursing Program Outcomes 

  1. Background for Practice from Sciences and Humanities: Integrate scientific findings from nursing, biopsychosocial fields, genetics, public health, quality improvement, and organizational sciences for the continual improvement of nursing care across diverse settings.
  2. Organizational and Systems Leadership: Demonstrate ethical and critical decision-making leadership skills that result in effective working relationships and a systems perspective.
  3. Quality Improvement and Safety: Implement quality improvement principles within an organization using methods, tools, performance measures, and standards related to quality.
  4. Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice: Apply research outcomes within the practice setting, resolve practice problems, work as a change agent, and disseminate results.
  5. Informatics and Health Care Technologies: Utilize patient-care and communication technologies to deliver and coordinate quality care.
  6. Health Policy and Advocacy: Employ policy that supports advocacy strategies to influence health and health care.
  7. Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes: Collaborate with interprofessional teams to improve patient and population health outcomes.
  8. Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Improving Health: Support broad, organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of evidence-based clinical prevention and population care and services to individuals, families, and aggregates/identified populations.
  9. Master’s-Level Nursing Practice: Integrate advanced levels of understanding of nursing and relevant sciences to influence health care outcomes for individuals, populations, or systems.
Executive Leader Outcomes
  1. Fiscal Responsibility and Human Resource Management: Encompass concepts of fiscal and human resources in designing quality care measures.
  2. Collaborative Practice: Develop collaborative relationships and partnerships that are interdisciplinary and aggregate-focused to improve the health care of populations.
  3. Creating and Managing Nursing Care Systems: Provide leadership in conceptualization, design, implementation, and evaluation of health care delivery systems across the health care continuum.

Master of Public Health Outcomes

  1. Demonstrate an evidence-based approach to public health practice.
  2. Leverage fundamental epidemiological concepts in addressing population health problems.
  3. Appraise current and relevant health issues and policy.
  4. Implement leadership, administrative, and communication skills through planning, organization, administration, and evaluation of public health programs and processes.
  5. Evaluate concepts and methods of social and behavioral sciences relevant to the identification and solution of public health problems.

Professional Competencies

In addition to the discipline-specific outcomes, professional competencies are integrated throughout your academic program. You can review the professional competencies associated with your academic program in the Professional Competencies section of this Catalog.

Program Availability

For program availability, please refer to the U.S. State and Other Approvals section and Program Availability Information.

Policies

Admissions Requirements

You must meet the following admissions requirements in addition to Purdue Global's general requirements and the general requirements of the School of Nursing.

If applying for admission, you must submit the following:

  1. A transcript indicating receipt of a bachelor's degree with an upper-level major in nursing and a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher from an accredited institution. Refer to the Admissions Requirements for more information on prior degree submission. If you have not completed a statistics course and a nursing research course with a grade of “C” or better as part of your bachelor's degree in nursing, you must complete them before enrollment in MN504 🌐 Scientific and Analytic Approaches to Advanced Evidence-Based Practice. If you choose to take the required statistics course at the University, you will have all course-level prerequisites waived.
  2. An approved criminal background check.
  3. A current, professional resume that details employment history including responsibilities and dates of employment.

Graduates of Purdue Global's Bachelor of Science in Nursing―RN-to-BSN

As a graduate of the University's Bachelor of Science in Nursing―RN-to-BSN program who enters the Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Public Health Dual Degree Option, you may have already satisfied specific core requirements and will complete a condensed program of graduate study.

Progression Requirements

  1. You may not use credit for prior learning to fulfill MN501 🌐 Advanced Nursing Roles  (unless you are a graduate of Purdue Global's Bachelor of Science in Nursing—RN-to-BSN program)
  2. You may not use credit for prior learning to fulfill any courses in the executive leader concentration, unless you have approval from the Dean of the School of Nursing.
  3. This program requires you to complete traditional and module courses. See Course Types for more information. 

Clinical Experiences

As part of the requirements for the executive leader concentration, you will complete a clinical experience designed to provide the opportunity for application of theoretical knowledge while working with a mentor. 

Refer to the School of Nursing’s Progression Requirements section for additional requirements for clinical experiences.

Certification, State Board, and National Board Exams

Certain state certification and licensure boards have specific educational requirements for programs to lead to a license or certification that is a precondition for employment in a recognized occupation. Prospective and current students must review Purdue Global’s State Licensure and Certifications site to view program and state-specific licensure information.

Unless otherwise specified, Purdue Global's programs are not designed to meet any specific state’s licensure or certification requirements. Licensure-track programs may limit enrollment to students in certain states; please see Purdue Global’s Program Availability Information to determine enrollment eligibility.

You are responsible for understanding the requirements of optional certification exams. Such requirements may change during the course of your program. You are not automatically certified in any way upon program completion. Although certain programs are designed to prepare you to take various optional certification exams, Purdue Global cannot guarantee you will be eligible to take these exams or become certified. Your eligibility may depend on your work experience, completion of education and/or degree requirements, not having a criminal record, and meeting other certification requirements.

Upon completion of the executive leader concentration and meeting the requirements of the certifying organization, you may be eligible to sit for the Nurse Executive or the Nurse Executive, Advanced, certification examination through the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the Certified in Executive Nursing Practice certification exam through the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.