Online Graduate Nursing Program Soars to No. 7 in National Rankings

U.S. News & World Report, National Rankings, Online Master's Programs, Nursing, Business, Education, Bachelor's Programs

FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing’s online master’s degree in nursing soared to No. 7 from the No. 23 spot in 2019, and is the top-ranked program for private and public institutions in Florida. FAU’s College of Business, College of Education and overall online bachelor’s programs also made the list this year.

By gisele galoustian | 1/14/2020

Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing’s online master’s degree in nursing is ranked No. 7 in the nation for “Best Online Graduate Programs” in 2020 by U.S. News & World Report. The college soared to No. 7 from the No. 23 spot in 2019, and is the top-ranked program for private and public institutions in Florida. FAU’s College of Business, College of Education and overall online bachelor’s programs also made the list this year.

FAU’s College of Business is ranked No. 69 nationwide this year for the “Best Online MBA Programs” and No. 37 for the “Best Online Business Programs – non-MBA (e.g. accounting, finance and health administration). FAU’s online non-MBA business programs also are listed on the “Best Online Programs for Veterans in 2020.” The College of Education climbed to the No. 48 spot nationwide for the 2020 “Best Online Education Programs,” up from the No. 77 spot in 2019. In addition, FAU’s online bachelor’s programs ranked No. 73 in 2020, escalating from No. 233 in 2019.

“The rise in rankings of our online graduate programs is a testament to the caliber of our staff and faculty who lead and teach those programs and their and our students’ commitment to excellence,” said Safiya George, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. “Our college is grounded in caring science, which also extends to and is integrated into the delivery of our online graduate programs. Faculty, staff and students co-labor together to ensure a positive online learning experience, full engagement with the content and learning environment and mastery of content. A combination of exceptional talent, use of best practices, and great leadership from our associate dean for academic programs, Dr. Kay Edwards, and our assistant dean for graduate programs, Dr. Joy Longo, are the keys attributable to this success.”

The 2020 Best Online Programs methodologies are based on a number of factors, including engagement, faculty credentials and training, expert opinion, student excellence, and services and technologies provided. Only degree-granting programs at regionally accredited institutions that are offered predominantly online were considered.

“We are pleased to be included for our graduate online MBA and our non-MBA graduate programs in this latest U.S. News & World Report national rankings,” said Daniel Gropper, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s College of Business. “The non-MBA programs include the specialized master’s degree programs in accounting, finance, and health administration. We are especially proud that our non-MBA graduate programs made the list for ‘Best Online Programs for Veterans 2020.’ These recognitions reflect the quality of our outstanding faculty, our talented students, our exceptional staff, and the innovative and cutting-edge online programs we offer in the College of Business.”

Now in its ninth year, the U.S. News & World Report “Best Online Programs” list is a resource for students and working adults who are increasingly seeking online education programs for degree completion and career advancement. Prospective students can use the searchable directory to explore factors such as tuition, program offerings and online services offered to enrolled students.

“We have continued to climb in the rankings in U.S. News & World Report for our unique online graduate education programs that support six major public school districts in this region,” said Stephen Silverman, Ed.D., dean of FAU’s College of Education. “We are proud to share this important distinction with our colleagues in the College of Nursing and the College of Business, which also is a testament to our impressive and very talented faculty, students and staff in the College of Education as well as university-wide.”

The FAU College of Nursing’s online Master of Science degree programs include Nursing Administration and Financial Leadership, a 37 to 39 credit hour program designed to advance nursing leadership and financial management skills; Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL), a 33 credit hour program focused on care coordination and improving the quality of patient care outcomes and qualifying students to sit for the clinical nurse leader certification examination; and Advanced Holistic Nursing (AHN), a 33 credit hour concentration designed to advance knowledge of contemporary views of healing and holistic nursing practice grounded in caring with role development in health and wellness coaching, allowing students to earn a Master of Science degree in nursing and qualifying them to sit for board certification in Advanced Holistic Nursing (AHN-BC) and Health and Wellness Nurse Coaching (HWNC-BC). In addition, the College of Nursing offers a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Post Masters Certificate Program, a 22 credit hour concentration with a focus on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of adults, children and families across the lifespan with psychiatric mental health needs. Graduates of the program are eligible for the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Across the Lifespan) Certification Examination offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

FAU’s College of Business offers several fully online programs focused on key Florida industries, including accounting and health administration. FAU offers the Master of Accounting (with concentrations in either forensic accounting or business valuation), an Executive Master of Taxation and an Executive Masters in Health Administration, all of which offer opportunities for working professionals to earn high quality degrees online from an AACSB-accredited school. Students in FAU’s School of Accounting Executive Programs can stream lectures live over the Internet to their computer or mobile device, or they can watch the lectures at any time during the week. For those who desire a more traditional classroom experience, optional live lectures are held on Saturday mornings at the downtown Fort Lauderdale-Las Olas campus. The Executive Masters in Health Administration curriculum is a cross-section of business disciplines. From Health Law and Organization Behavior in Healthcare to Healthcare Finance and Research Methods, the courses provide the latest health administration-specific content.

FAU’s College of Education’s fully online Master of Education degree programs include Curriculum and Instruction, offering specialization in multicultural education, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and teacher leadership; Educational Leadership, offering adult and community education with a focus on sustainability designed to foster personal and community development and school leaders (K-12), which qualifies an individual to serve as an assistant principal, intern assistant principal, intern principal, or interim principal; and Instructional Technology, which provides tools and skills professionals can use to successfully integrate current technologies into instruction. A Teacher Leadership Certificate, a 15-credit professional development program designed to provide the essential tools teachers need to become highly effective leaders of grade and school level teams also is attainable fully online. The college also offers partially online masters’ programs in Curriculum and Instruction focusing on early childhood, which incorporates recent research, theory, and quality practice in the interdisciplinary field of early childhood education or content area specialization (social sciences, science, mathematics, English) for individuals currently teaching. The college also provides Educational Leadership designed for individuals aspiring to, or currently holding, leadership positions in institutions of higher education; Exceptional Student Education focusing on early childhood knowledge in the field of special education; and Educational Psychology, which prepares individuals to apply psychology in educational settings and conduct research in education.

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