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Nursing Administration

Types of Degrees Nursing Administration Majors Are Earning

Those studying Nursing Administration may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	715
Master’s Degree	6,289
Doctor’s Degree	907

What Nursing Administration Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Nursing Administration emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Nursing Administration graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Nursing Administration emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Nursing Administration program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Nursing Administration careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Nursing Administration graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.8 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Nursing Administration professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Nursing Administration graduates include:

• Pediatric Oncology Nurse
• Psychiatric RN (Psychiatric Registered Nurse)
• Staff Nurse
• Nurse
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Charge Nurse
• PACU RN (Post Anesthesia Care Unit Registered Nurse)
• Triage RN (Triage Registered Nurse)
• Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC)
• Med- Surg Travel RN (Medical Surgical Travel Registered Nurse)
• Maternity Nurse
• Registered Private Duty Nurse
• OR Nurse (Operating Room Nurse)
• Obstetrics Nurse (OB Nurse)
• Industrial RN (Industrial Registered Nurse)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Nursing Administration graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	43.2%
Bachelor’s degree	26.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	9.7%
Postsecondary certificate	8.4%
Doctoral degree	7.5%
First professional degree	1.6%
Post-master’s certificate	1.1%
Post-doctoral training	1.0%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.2%
Some college courses	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Nursing Administration?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 88.3% of Nursing Administration degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	6,984	88.3%
Men	927	11.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Nursing Administration graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	4,345	54.9%
Asian	697	8.8%
Hispanic or Latino	1,042	13.2%
Black or African American	1,042	13.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	39	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	43	0.5%
Two or More Races	232	2.9%
Race Unknown	452	5.7%
International Students	19	0.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Nursing Administration Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Nursing Administration graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$83,453
4 years	$80,149
5 years	$90,156

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $90,156 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Nursing Administration Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Nursing Administration. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	8	3
Master’s	124	22
Doctoral (Research)	6	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Nursing Administration Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Nursing Administration graduates earn a median of $80,149 four years after completion — roughly 111% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	51.38
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	51.3803
Clinical Nurse Leader	51.3820
Clinical Nurse Specialist	51.3813
Critical Care Nursing	51.3814
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing	51.3816
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	51.3805
Forensic Nursing	51.3824
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing	51.3821
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing	51.3806
Nurse Anesthetist	51.3804
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery	51.3807

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.