Are you considering advancing your nursing career, but don’t know which graduate nursing programs to consider? Before pursuing an advanced degree, it’s important to do your research to make sure the program satisfies everything you are looking for in a nursing education. Fortunately, there are many top-notch graduate nursing programs available across the country and specifically in Connecticut. Here are some qualities that the top graduate nursing programs all share, ones that you should keep top-of-mind as you go about your program research.

Comprehensive Curriculum:

If you are pursuing an advanced nursing degree, it is likely because you want to enhance your knowledge and skills in nursing, to further advance within the field. Therefore, the curriculum needs to be commensurate to those career goals. If you want to become an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, for example, you should consider a Nurse Practitioner graduate program with a robust curriculum. If you want to make a difference in your community and the nursing field, you might consider an MSN degree focused on population health, that also covers important and evolving aspects of the nursing field.

No matter the focus, only the top graduate nursing programs will offer a comprehensive curriculum that reflects the ever-evolving advancements in the nursing field, including technology, practice, and policy developments. Top graduate nursing programs also make leadership a focus of the curriculum, to help students prepare for taking on increased responsibility and high-impact roles in the field.

Convenience and Flexibility:

Not only do top graduate nursing programs cover technological advancements in nursing, but the programs themselves also utilize technology when they can. Many MSN classes, for example, are offered online for student convenience. Today’s top graduate nursing programs are designed for the already-working RN, and therefore allow increased flexibility in terms of course structure. Goodwin College’s graduate nursing courses, for example, can be taken entirely online. This flexible scheduling is important for students who are balancing many other, competing life priorities, including their career, family, and personal obligations.

Cost Effectiveness:

Attending a top graduate nursing program does not mean you have to break the bank. There are many quality, yet affordable programs out there that provide financial aid, grants, and scholarship opportunities to help with the cost of tuition. The top graduate nursing programs will have a team of financial aid advisors ready to help you identify financial opportunities, making the overall cost of a graduate degree more attainable. Goodwin’s financial aid advisors work with students to create custom financial aid packages that help offset the cost of tuition. These trained professionals have experience working specifically with graduate nursing students, to try to identify as many financial opportunities as possible so that students can earn their degrees and secure advanced positions, where they are making even more earnings.

Career Placement Services:

The end goal of earning a graduate nursing degree, such as an MSN, is to provide you with the skills needed to advance your nursing career. Top graduate nursing programs understand that an MSN degree has the potential to propel you to new heights in your career and beyond. At Goodwin College, MSN students and graduates are offered a lifetime of career services support. Those seeking advanced nursing and MSN careers receive ongoing help with networking, mock interviewing, writing, and individual counseling. The team is committed to working with graduates to ensure they are satisfied in their careers.

If you are interested in attending one of the top graduate nursing programs in the area, contact Goodwin College to learn more about their MSN degree program today. Call 800-889-3282, or visit us online to request more information.