Department of Nursing – Graduate • Bloomsburg, PA • Online • $754–$826/Credit
Commonwealth University offers 1 Nursing Informatics program:
- MSN
Program Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN in Nursing Informatics | $31.7K in-state / $34.7K out-of-state | 2 years (6 semesters) full-time; 3 years (9 semesters) part-time | 42 |
Commonwealth admits new BSN graduates with no work experience, no IT background, and no GRE, on a rolling basis with three start terms. The trade-off is that the published curriculum has no practicum, so graduates reach ANCC certification through on-the-job informatics hours rather than through the degree itself.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN with Nursing Informatics concentration |
| Format | Online; 6-week course sessions; part-time or full-time |
| Practicum Hours | None in the published curriculum |
| Practicum Placement | Not applicable |
| RN License Required | Yes, current and unencumbered |
| Who It’s For | New BSN graduates and RNs without informatics or IT experience |
| Distinctive Coursework | 18 credits of IT management, analytics, and cybersecurity; 12 credits of nursing leadership |
| Certification Pathway | ANCC NI-BC via work-hour pathways; degree alone does not meet the 200-hour practicum route |
| Tuition | $754/credit in-state, $826/credit out-of-state (online rate incl. fees) |
| Start Terms | Fall, spring, summer; rolling admission |
| Accreditation | CCNE (master’s in nursing); Middle States (institutional) |
MSN in Nursing Informatics
The estimated tuition for the MSN in Nursing Informatics at Commonwealth University is approximately $31,698 in-state and $34,722 out-of-state (42 credits at $754 or $826/credit, plus a $30 registration fee).
The program can generally be completed in about 2 years full-time or 3 years part-time.
MSN Curriculum
The degree is split across three units. Nursing faculty teach the MSN core and two 6-credit leadership courses. The university’s IT and digital forensics faculty teach the informatics concentration, which leans toward IT management and business analytics rather than clinical systems build or programming.
- INFT 568 Healthcare Informatics (3)
- INFT 520 Business Intelligence and Analytics (3)
- INFT 522 Data Analytics for Business Strategy (3)
- INFT 570 Managing Innovation and Projects (3)
- INFT 572 Strategic Information and Technology Management (3)
- DGFR 511 Cybersecurity Compliance and Legal Issues for Healthcare Professionals (3)
- NURS 513 Management and Organizational Behavior in Nursing Administration (6)
- NURS 533 Organizational Nursing Leadership in Health Care Delivery Systems (6)
- MSN core: NURS 501 Role Development, NURS 502 Epidemiology, NURS 503 Research, NURS 520 Community Assessment and Planning (3 each)
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- Credit total conflict. The catalog and part-time degree map require 42 credits. The program page and full-time degree map list 39, omitting NURS 520. We use the catalog’s 42 because its course list sums correctly. If 39 applies, tuition drops by about $2,300.
- Leadership-heavy design. 12 of 42 credits are nursing administration courses, close to the 15-credit IT course block.
MSN Practicum and Capstone
- No practicum, field study, or capstone course appears in the catalog, either degree map, or the curriculum checklist.
- The university’s $1,000/semester graduate nursing clinical fee applies only to programs with a clinical component, so it should not apply here.
ANCC’s graduate-program route to NI-BC certification requires a minimum of 200 faculty-supervised informatics practicum hours. This curriculum does not supply them. Graduates instead need 2,000 informatics practice hours within three years, or 1,000 hours plus 12 graduate informatics credits, if ANCC accepts the IT concentration courses as informatics credit. All routes also require two years of full-time RN practice and 30 informatics CE hours. Weekly load is therefore coursework only, which suits nurses working full-time.
MSN Admissions
Admission is unusually open: no prior nursing experience, IT background, or GRE is required.
- Current, unencumbered professional nursing license
- BSN; applicants may apply immediately after graduating
- College transcripts
- One letter of recommendation plus two additional references with contact information
- Resume describing nursing and clinical experience
- Short career-goals statement
- Rolling admission; submit at least two weeks before the start term
- Minimum admission GPA: Not clearly stated (3.0 required to remain enrolled)
- Commonwealth participates in NC-SARA for online students outside Pennsylvania
You Should Know
- BSN early admission. Current BSN students may take up to three designated graduate courses before graduating. Continuing past those courses requires passing the NCLEX.
Tuition
The published online graduate rate is $754 per credit in-state and $826 per credit out-of-state, including fees.
| Per-Credit Charge | In-State | Out-of-State |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $557 | $613 |
| Technology fee | $81 | $97 |
| Academic Enhancement fee | $78 | $78 |
| Student Services fee | $38 | $38 |
| Total per credit | $754 | $826 |
| 42 credits + $30 registration | $31,698 | $34,722 |
- One-time $30 registration fee in the starting term
- Academic Enhancement and Student Services fees cap at 9 credits per term; no planned term exceeds 9 credits
- Employer reimbursement deferment: pay 25% upfront, remainder due 45 days after the term ends
Be aware that:
- The out-of-state online rate is labeled “Spring 2026” on the graduate tuition page; the in-state online rate carries no year. Rates may change for later terms.
- The program page links to the campus master’s cost estimator, which uses higher campus rates ($814–$831/credit in-state). The tuition page lists Nursing Informatics as a 100% online program, so we apply the online rate.
- Summer rates are not separately published.
All-in cost lands near $31,700 for Pennsylvania residents and $34,700 for everyone else, with no clinical fees, campus travel, or practicum costs to add. The out-of-state premium is about $3,000 across the degree.
Why Choose This Nursing Informatics Program?
This program fits a nurse who wants to start an informatics master’s right out of a BSN, without waiting to build experience first.
Low barrier to entry. No experience minimum, no IT prerequisites, no GRE, three start terms, and rolling review remove most of the usual entry hurdles. BSN students at Commonwealth can start graduate courses early.
No practicum, by design or omission. Commonwealth’s curriculum lists no supervised informatics hours. That keeps the workload predictable for working nurses, but the degree alone does not satisfy ANCC’s 200-hour graduate route. Plan to earn certification through work hours after graduating, ideally in an informatics-adjacent role during the program.
Management tilt. With 12 credits of nursing administration and an IT concentration built on business intelligence and project management, the degree aims at informatics leadership and analyst roles more than hands-on EHR build or programming.
Accreditation
The master’s degree program in nursing at Commonwealth University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The Nursing Informatics concentration sits within that MSN. CAHIIM accreditation does not apply to nursing-housed informatics MSNs.
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, formed from Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield universities, is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
For ANCC Informatics Nursing certification (NI-BC), the degree contributes graduate informatics coursework but no supervised practicum hours. Graduates qualify through the 2,000-hour practice pathway, or the 1,000-hour pathway if ANCC credits the concentration coursework.
Compare More Nursing Informatics Programs
Weigh Commonwealth against other profiled programs on the Nursing Informatics Schools page, or start with the Nursing Informatics degree overview.