How Long Does an RN to BSN Program Take?

Completing an RN to BSN could take less time than you expect. With Herzing University, you can go from your diploma or associate degree to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in as little as one year while taking classes 100% online.

Your own timeline may vary, depending on how many of your credits transfer in, how many courses you take at once and when you start. Here's how each of those pieces works, along with what to look at when you're estimating how soon you could finish.

What Is an RN to BSN?

An RN to BSN is a degree-completion program for nurses who already hold an RN license along with a diploma or an associate degree in nursing. You transfer in credit from your previous credential, then take coursework that builds on the clinical foundations you covered in your first nursing program.

At Herzing, our CCNE-accredited^† online RN to BSN curriculum covers knowledge and skills in nursing leadership, policy and community health. Course topics include:

• Advanced Leadership and Management
• Community and Public Health Nursing
• Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing
• Nursing Informatics
• Health Assessment and Promotion Across the Life Span
• Policy, Trends and Ethics in Nursing

Alongside the nursing core, you'll complete general education courses and open electives to reach the full 120 credits.

Factors That Affect Your RN to BSN Timeline

Here are three things that can extend the time it takes for you to finish your RN to BSN program.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit is the biggest single factor that impacts how long it takes to go from RN to BSN. To earn a BSN, you need to complete 120 total credits of coursework. We offer a block transfer of up to 70 semester credit hours from your associate degree or diploma in nursing.

If you have other transfer credits—from other college coursework or qualifying military training, for example—we’ll approve up to 20 more credits, subject to review. The more of your prior coursework that applies, the fewer courses you have left to complete.

How much transfers depends on what's on your transcript. We recommend getting in touch with one of our advisors, who can review the credits you've already earned and show you which degree requirements they cover.

Course Load per Term

Your course load is the next factor. The RN to BSN program offers full-time and part-time options, so you can take more courses at once during lighter stretches at work and fewer when your hours pick up. Nurses who haven’t been in college for a while often begin their RN to BSN on a part-time schedule, then add courses once they've found their rhythm.

Finishing in as little as one year assumes you’re taking a heavier course load each term (and that you have the maximum number of credits to transfer in). It's worth talking with an advisor about your work and family responsibilities before you decide on a pace.

Term Scheduling

We run RN to BSN coursework in eight-week sessions, with six start dates per year and no application deadlines. That structure has a direct effect on how long it takes to finish your program. If you enroll at a school with a traditional 16-week semester schedule, missing a start date can mean you wind up waiting months before starting classes.

We also run shorter breaks between terms, which means you can fit more classes in during the year compared to a traditional college calendar. That contributes to your completion pace.

Other Considerations: Clinicals and Course Format

A lot of working nurses are put off from going back to school when they imagine that they’ll have to fit clinical hours around their shifts. Our RN to BSN has no traditional clinicals. The only in-person part of the program is a 45-hour project in which you work with a liaison to address a need in the community near you.

Also, our coursework is fully online, and much of it is asynchronous—meaning that you don’t have to log in at a set time for a live lecture. This makes our RN to BSN much more manageable for busy nurses with family responsibilities.