Nursing (Direct-Entry M.S. - Florida)
About This Program
You've got passion, determination, integrity, and a commitment to help others. Nursing may be the calling for you. It's more than a job, it's a profession.
Department
Why Utica University
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR FLORIDA STUDENTS
Effective August 31, 2026, Utica University will consolidate its operations to the state of New York. As of that date, the University will no longer offer lab courses in Florida; all nursing courses are and will continue to be offered at New York locations. Affected students will complete their studies in St. Petersburg prior to the closure date.
The Direct Entry MSN (DEMSN) is an innovative advanced degree option for students who already have a non-nursing bachelor's degree and are looking to become a nurse. This program prepares graduates to be licensed as Registered Professional Nurses and gets students ready to choose a path to a second specialty master's degree or advanced certificate.
You will be challenged in ways you probably never knew, but in less than two years you'll be rewarded in ways you couldn't have imagined.
Graduates from this program will be able to:
- Apply contemporary nursing knowledge as well as knowledge from other disciplines, including a foundation in liberal arts and natural and social sciences in the care of diverse patients within a variety of settings.
- Provide evidence-based person-centered care that is holistic, individualized, just, respectful, compassionate, coordinated, and developmentally appropriate across the lifespan.
- Engage in population health care activities from prevention to the management of health care needs across diverse populations through partnerships with communities, public health, government entities, and others to promote social justice and close the gap for health inequity for the improvement of population health outcomes.
- Evaluate and apply nursing knowledge to inform practice, improve patient outcomes, and influence health care.
- Apply established and emerging principles of quality and safety in the delivery of care as core values of nursing practice, to enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
- Collaborate across professions and with care team members, patients, families, and communities, to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and improve outcomes.
- Utilize available resources to coordinate safe, quality, and equitable care across diverse populations within complex systems.
- Utilize informatics and healthcare technologies to inform care and deliver safe, high quality, and efficient healthcare services in accordance with best practice and professional and regulatory standards.
- Cultivate a sustainable professional identity that includes accountability, integrity, perspective, collaborative disposition, respect for others, inclusivity, and ethical comportment that reflect nursing’s characteristics and values.
- Participate in activities and self-reflection that foster personal health, resilience, and well-being, contribute to lifelong learning, and support the development of nursing expertise and leadership qualities.
Nursing (Direct-Entry M.S. - Florida) at Utica
Median Yearly Nursing Salary
Project Growth Rate in Employment
Career Opportunities
Prepared for the Next Step
What You'll Learn
The Direct-Entry Master of Science in Nursing program has a strong focus on leadership, global health, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with multiple opportunities throughout the program to build awareness and leadership skills.
With a total of 80 credits for the program, students will be enrolled full-time with 15-17 credits per semester and complete 225 lab hours and 800 clinical hours in acute and community care.
Nursing Faculty
- Associate Professor of Nursing
- Clinical Coor ABSN St.Pete (Part-Time)
- Professor of Practice - Nursing
- Assistant Professor of Nursing-Direct Entry MSN Program (NY)
- Professor of Practice- Nursing
A Degree That Works
Utica University's Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing (DEMSN) hybrid program in nursing prepares you to take advantage of a growing demand for qualified care providers in critical care, childbearing and family nursing, geriatrics, community health, medical administration, and more. Utica nursing alumni have taken leadership positions at:
- BayCare Health System - Tampa Bay
- BayFront Health
- Holy Cross Hospital - Fort Lauderdale
- Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
- Tampa General Hospital
- Memorial Healthcare - South Florida
- Moffitt Cancer Center - Tampa Bay
- Empath Health - Clearwater, Florida
On the Frontlines
In partnership with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, students administered the COVID-19 vaccine in January 2021 to more than 60 high-risk individuals, including frontline health care workers and people aged 65 and up, as part of phase 1 of the Florida vaccine rollout plan. This once in a lifetime opportunity allowed members of Utica's nursing program in St. Petersburg to be a part of history as they help fight back against the pandemic.
Speaking from Experience
Students receive first-hand insight and experience through a variety of speakers that includes alumni, professionals, and industry experts from throughout the medical field.
Dive Deeper
The Interprofessional Education (IPE) program at Utica University helps you develop a deeper understanding of a broad range of roles in the health professions so that you can effectively team up with practitioners in other disciplines to deliver outstanding patient care.
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Visit Our Florida Campus
Discover Utica University’s St. Petersburg campus and explore a rewarding career in nursing or respiratory care. Register now for one of our upcoming events.
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Need help with your English Language skills?
Utica University offers an English for Healthcare program for those looking to improve English fluency, accuracy, vocabulary, communication skills, and confidence in order to take the next step in your healthcare career.
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