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Nursing Practice

Types of Degrees Nursing Practice Majors Are Earning

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

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	1
Associate’s Degree	133
Bachelor’s Degree	423
Master’s Degree	1,087
Doctor’s Degree	7,562

What Nursing Practice Majors Need to Know

Studies in Nursing Practice build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Nursing Practice graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Nursing Practice 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

Skills built by a Nursing Practice program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Nursing Practice careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 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 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

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

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.7 / 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
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	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 Practice professionals:

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

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Nursing Practice 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)
• Scrub Nurse
• Circulating Nurse
• Hospice Registered Nurse (Hospice RN)
• Dialysis Nurse
• Surgical RN (Surgery Registered Nurse)
• Nurse Receptionist
• Med-Surg Telemetry RN (Medical Surgical Telemetry Registered Nurse)
• School Nurse

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	43.7%
Bachelor’s degree	25.1%
Doctoral degree	9.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	9.0%
Postsecondary certificate	7.8%
First professional degree	1.5%
Post-doctoral training	1.5%
Post-master’s certificate	1.2%
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 Practice?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 86.6% of Nursing Practice degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	7,972	86.6%
Men	1,234	13.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5,055	54.9%
Asian	751	8.2%
Hispanic or Latino	835	9.1%
Black or African American	1,829	19.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	41	0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	29	0.3%
Two or More Races	230	2.5%
Race Unknown	372	4.0%
International Students	64	0.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Nursing Practice Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Nursing Practice graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow 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 Practice Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Nursing Practice. 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	7	3
Master’s	18	5
Doctoral (Research)	22	9

^{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 Practice Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Nursing Practice 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.