Best RN to BSN Online Programs

Badge for BEST ONLINE RN TO-BSN PROGRAMS

By Dr. James Barham
Reviewed By Chloe Dembski

Updated: Oct 31, 2024

Find top-ranked online RN to BSN degree programs for RN’s who want to qualify for roles as charge nurses, addiction nurses, and clinical nurse educators.

Key Takeaways

Top RN to BSN online programs are designed for working nurses, offering flexible scheduling, self-paced courses, and accelerated options that allow students to complete their degree quickly while balancing work and personal commitments.
Many of the top RN to BSN programs include virtual simulations, local clinical placements, or practice projects that let students apply their learning in real healthcare settings, ensuring they gain relevant, hands-on experience despite studying online.
The programs in our rankings provide dedicated resources such as academic advising, career counseling, and access to faculty mentors, creating a supportive community that helps students succeed in their academic and career goals.

2025 Ranking Update

Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.

In 2025, the top ten schools in our ranking of the best RN to BSN online programs saw a substantial amount of movement. Florida Atlantic University gained the most ranking positions as the university introduced a fully online curriculum, allowing registered nurses to complete their Bachelor of Science in Nursing without the need for on-campus attendance. The program offers flexible start dates in the spring, summer, or fall semesters, accommodating the diverse schedules of working professionals.

Additionally, FAU has streamlined the application process, enabling students to apply and begin their studies more efficiently. These improvements make FAU’s RN to BSN program more accessible and convenient for nurses seeking to advance their education and careers.

Featured Programs

Best RN to BSN Online Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Students with Nursing Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Cost of Degree*: $10,226
Avg. Expenses*: $17,185
Avg. Starting Salary*: $76,808
Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 8 years
Job Growth: 6.29%
Number of Jobs: 3,390,000
* denotes ‘annually’
** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Nurse Anesthetists	10.42%	$212,650
Nurse Midwives	6.94%	$129,650
Nurse Practitioners	46.29%	$126,260
Medical and Health Services Managers	28.54%	$110,680
Registered Nurses	5.98%	$86,070
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary	17.80%	$80,780

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Nurse Anesthetists	$212,650
Nurse Midwives	$129,650
Nurse Practitioners	$126,260
Medical and Health Services Managers	$110,680
Registered Nurses	$86,070
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary	$80,780

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Frequently Asked Questions About RN to BSN Degrees

Why go from RN to BSN?

Registered nurses who want to pursue leadership roles while also increasing their earning potential may want to enroll in an RN to BSN, or Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing, program.

How long does it take to go from RN to BSN?

These unique programs typically allow students to transfer up to 60 credits, which can help expedite the process of earning a bachelor’s degree from four years to just two years.

What topics do courses cover?

Courses, which are available both online and on campus, explore topics like human anatomy, leadership in nursing, and healthcare policy.

What are RN to BSN students doing after graduation?

Depending on experience, graduates typically qualify for roles as charge nurses, addiction nurses, and clinical nurse educators. However, students should note that additional certifications and licensure may be required for certain career paths. The RN to BSN program also helps prepare students for graduate degrees.

Learn more about how to major in nursing.

How do we determine the best online RN to BSN degree programs?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best RN to BSN Online Programs

Key Takeaways

Best RN to BSN Online Programs in 2025

2025 Ranking Update

Featured Programs

Best RN to BSN Online Degree Programs

Last Year’s Ranking:

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