Fastest BSN Programs
Listed on 2025-12-01
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Nursing
RN Nurse, Healthcare Nursing, Nurse Educator, Clinical Nurse Specialist
If you’re considering entering the nursing field, you may know it’s a growing field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) estimates job growth for registered nurses will be 6% between 2022 and 2032, creating an additional 177,400 positions.
To become a registered nurse, you need appropriate educational qualifications: a nursing program diploma, an associate’s degree in nursing, or a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN). Some states now mandate a BSN for registered nurse positions, and many employers favor hiring BSN graduates. Many RNs pursue a BSN for better job prospects and potentially higher salaries. So, which BSN program offers the quickest path?
How can you expedite your journey to becoming a nurse?
If you’re looking for the fastest RN to BSN program, it’s about eight to nine months. However, that timeframe assumes you don’t need any general education courses and that all of your previous coursework is transferred to the program. In addition, the fastest BSN program is accelerated, with each class five to eight weeks in length.
While you can finish an RN to BSN in eight to nine months, completing it in about 18-24 months is more common.
If you plan on attending school part-time, an RN to BSN degree can take three to four years.
Accelerated BSN CurriculumCoursework differs from one accelerated BSN program to another, but these are some of the most common programs to expect.
- Foundations of Nursing Practice:
This type of program teaches the nursing processes, communication, and patient assessment skills. - Health and Illness Concepts in Nursing Practice:
The focus here is on developing a foundation of health and illness concepts with a focus on national standards for diagnosing and treatment. - Leadership and Ethics in Nursing:
This program focuses on the ethical aspects of being a nurse, including how to work with other people, but also privacy laws and communication policies. - Health Assessment: A hands-on program, this course focuses on how to identify health conditions, gather symptom information, perform a health assessment, and document findings.
- Pharmacological Concepts in Nursing Practice:
Many nurses must have skills in recognizing and administering medication to patients, which is what this course typically focuses on.
Earning a BSN degree online can be accomplished quickly if the program is accelerated. For example, you can complete some online RN to BSN programs in as little as eight or nine months, but the average is about 18-24 months. Working RNs may also find that an online BSN program is more career-friendly because it provides a more flexible schedule.
In-person BSN degree programs have more rigid schedules and require on-campus learning, which is not flexible for those who want to work and attend school simultaneously. Traditional, in-person BSN programs often take roughly four years to complete, or 120 credit hours.
The 21 Fastest Accelerated RN to BSN ProgramsThe University of Central Florida offers a concurrent ASN to BSN program as well as the online BSN program. Students applying to the online RN to BSN program discover that the school offers one of the fastest BSN programs in the country. After a review by the college, students may have at least 29 hours of transfer credits applied to their degree.
The short length of the program does not mean that students do not receive a high-quality education. Students actually gain exceptional knowledge and skills required for nurses with a bachelor’s degree. Students still have the same opportunities as nurses that complete lengthier programs to work as a nurse in the emergency department, as an RN case manager, a nurse leader, staff nurse or in other positions that requires completion of a BSN program.
The Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences at Florida International University welcomes students that have a bachelor’s degree in another field into its Accelerated Option BSN (AO BSN) program. The school understands that adults sometimes want to change their career…
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