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Nursing Administration

A program that prepares registered nurses to manage nursing personnel and services in hospitals and other health care delivery agencies. Includes instruction in principles of health care administration, resource and financial management, health care law and policy, medical personnel management, and managed care operations. Examples: [Nursing Administration (PhD)], [Nursing Administration (MSN, MScN, MS, MSc, MN)]

Types of Degrees Nursing Administration Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Nursing Administration have the option of earning 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

Programs in 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

Skills emphasized 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	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
MEDITECH software	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)
• PACU RN (Post Anesthesia Care Unit Registered Nurse)
• Charge Nurse
• Genetics Nurse
• Labor and Delivery Nurse
• Discharge Planner
• Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC)
• Med- Surg Travel RN (Medical Surgical Travel Registered Nurse)
• Neonatal Nurse
• Registered Public Health Nurse
• Private Duty Nurse

What Can You Do With a Nursing Administration Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Nursing Administration commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Registered Nurses	10.2%	$105,741	$83,923–$127,558
Nurse Practitioners	3.3%	$147,651	$118,713–$176,588
Clinical Nurse Specialists	12.3%	$52,889	$43,554–$62,224
Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses	0.0%	$143,854	$116,411–$171,298
Critical Care Nurses	14.4%	$65,103	$50,966–$79,241
Acute Care Nurses	4.1%	$56,247	$48,254–$64,241

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

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?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks 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

Distance learning 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?

Looking purely at 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	Annual Degrees Awarded
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	311,372
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse	256,965
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	14,847
Nursing Practice	9,206
Nursing Science	4,245
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other	4,125
Community Health and Preventive Medicine	2,571
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	2,457
Nurse Anesthetist	1,960
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing	1,505
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing	641
Critical Care Nursing	596

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.