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Nursing Practice Major

Nursing Practice

1,122 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
336 Master's Degrees Annually
#228 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Nursing Practice Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many nursing practice graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree 7,474
Bachelor’s Degree 832
Master’s Degree 453
Graduate Certificate 275
Associate Degree 161
Basic Certificate 19
Undergraduate Certificate 2

What Nursing Practice Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to nursing practice and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Nursing Practice Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in nursing practice should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

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  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Nursing Practice Majors

A major in nursing practice prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Nursing Practice Majors

As a nursing practice major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Nursing Practice Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with nursing practice:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Medical and Health Services Managers 20.5% $99,730
Nurse Practitioners 36.1% $107,030
Registered Nurses 14.8% $71,730

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Practice?

832 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
86% Percent Women
30% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
The major attracts more women than men. About 86% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of nursing practice majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 52
Black or African American 65
Hispanic or Latino 92
White 538
International Students 13
Other Races/Ethnicities 72

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Nursing Practice, too. About 1.6% of those with this major are international students.

Some degrees associated with nursing practice may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to nursing practice have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Some College Courses 4.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 32.7%
Bachelor’s Degree 28.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 2.2%
Master’s Degree 30.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 1.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 1.1%
Doctoral Degree 2.2%

Online Nursing Practice Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 6 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 3 1
Bachelor’s Degree 17 5
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 31 16
Post-Master’s 28 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 60 27
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 253 111
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 22 14

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to nursing practice.

Major Number of Grads
Registered Nursing 253,629
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 15,154
Nursing Administration 8,050
Nursing Science 4,481
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 4,364
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 3,261
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,295
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,963
Nurse Anesthetist 1,939
Critical Care Nursing 652
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 566
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 538
School Nursing 508
Clinical Nurse Leader 447
Clinical Nurse Specialist 292
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 288
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 208
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 135
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 76
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 29
Forensic Nursing 20
Palliative Care Nursing 3

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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