You don’t have to relocate to receive a top-quality education. Earn your degree at Northern Illinois University in a top-ranked, accredited program that offers online coursework. Study full time or part time, on whatever schedule works for you as you learn from industry professionals in small, personalized courses.
Each program is carefully designed to focus on developing in-demand skills and providing rich experiences to advance your career. We’re confident you’ll find the NIU program that best fits your goals.
Nursing
From clinicians with advanced skills to nurse educators, administrators and researchers, nursing professionals are needed everywhere. Jobs in nursing are expected to grow 15 percent through 2026.1 Earn your degree in our undergraduate or graduate nursing program and take your next step toward a rewarding career in health care.
Take your RN to the next level and position yourself for greater career opportunities and growth with your bachelor’s degree in nursing. In 2017, 86 percent of employers stated a preference for nurses with a bachelor’s degree, and nearly 50 percent of positions required it.2
Learn advanced skills in critical thinking and care in just 11 courses.
By graduation, you’ll be ready to:
- Set the example for nursing leadership, safety and quality based on proven national standards.
- Integrate evidence-based nursing to practice.
- Practice process improvement methodologies in all health care settings.
- Provide population-focused health care.
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 28 credit hours.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $348 per credit hour.
- Time to Completion: Full-time students can complete their degree in as few as 12 months. The maximum time to completion is five years.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100 percent online.
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
- Practicum Requirement: Practicums are leadership or population-focused, and provide experience with specific groups to enhance your previous RN work experience. The practicum experience can be completed in your local area. We also assist you with student practicum placements.
Prepare for a career as a Family Nurse Practitioner (F.N.P.) or a Nurse Educator. Promote health and well-being by integrating legal and regulatory policies as well as related sciences and humanities, develop your leadership skills and learn to improve health care through the Nurse Education Specialization.
Nurse Education Specialization
Develop the skills to teach associate or bachelor programs, or educate nurses within a health care system or hospital setting.
Nurse educators are in high demand. Between 2016 and 2017, U.S. nursing schools turned away 64,067 qualified applicants, due in part to a lack of faculty to teach them.5 The average salary for an assistant professor in schools of nursing is $77,022.5
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 41 credit hours.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $675.72 per credit hour.
- Time to Completion: Two years.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100 percent online.
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
The D.N.P. degree is designed for nurses who want to become an expert in a specialized area of advanced nursing practice.
Learn to lead innovative, evidence-based practice with the skills to formulate and implement patient care plans.
Take on roles in health care leadership, administration, research and teach graduate-level nurses, and earn roughly $9,000 more annually than those in similar positions who hold only a master’s degree.4
By graduation, you’ll be ready to create advanced nursing practices and new approaches to care delivery and improve patient outcomes and safety.
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 35 credit hours.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $735.72 per credit hour.
- Time to Completion: Full-time students can complete their degree in as few as two years. The maximum time to completion is 10 years.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100 percent online.
- Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Business
Master the most in-demand skills and advance your career quickly with an online graduate degree from NIU’s AACSB-accredited College of Business.
Prepare to lead teams, solve problems, identify growth opportunities and improve business outcomes through hands-on skill development.
Our AACSB-accredited MBA program features a comprehensive curriculum with integrative, interdisciplinary and innovative coursework that empowers you to make an impact. Topics include financial analysis, strategic management, managerial accounting, information systems technology, marketing management, and strategic management and policy.
Learn from expert faculty who bring a wide range of real-world experience into the classroom as you gain the knowledge and competencies you need for career advancement and increased earning potential.
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 30 credit hours.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $892.06.
- Time to Completion: Full-time students can complete their degree in under two years.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100% online.
- Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Prepare for the CPA exam and advance your career with a strong foundation in key accounting skill sets.
Our AACSB-accredited Master of Accountancy program is designed to provide graduate students with industry-specific technical competencies, enhancing your understanding of the critical role accounting plays in empowering businesses to succeed.
The curriculum was created alongside expert faculty to help students meet CPA exam requirements. You will study topics such as accounting information systems, financial reporting, taxation principles, data analytics and auditing.
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 33 credit hours.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $820.72.
- Time to Completion: Students can complete their degree in as little as two years.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100% online.
- Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Learn how to access, analyze and apply big data to solve business problems, answer questions and develop strategies using the latest technologies. Our AACSB-accredited program also provides a focus on data visualization, which means you can demonstrate findings to the least technical of stakeholders and win approval for your plans.
As a graduate, you’ll receive a joint Data Analytics Certification from NIU and SAS, the leader in data analytics software. Additionally, you’re prepared to sit for:
- Data Science and Big Data Analytics Certification exam — Dell EMC Certificate.
- SAS Base Programmer Certification exam — SAS Certificate.
By graduation, you’ll be ready to analyze data to improve decisions throughout an organization’s value chain and solve business problems.
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 30 credit hours.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $895.72 per credit hour.
- Time to Completion: Full-time students can complete their degree in as little as one year.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100 percent online.
- Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
- Certifications: Graduates of our MSDA program will also receive a joint Data Analytics Certification by NIU and SAS, a leader in data analytics software.
The digital marketing industry is growing fast, with spending to reach nearly $120 billion by 2021.7 In five years, investments in display media, social media, online video advertising, paid search and email marketing are on course to make up 46 percent of all advertising spending.7
Join this growing field and lead marketing efforts in the digital spere by earning your Master of Science in Digital Marketing. Our online degree is designed to help you secure and strengthen roles in content creation, strategy and management, creative direction, social media management and SEO strategy.
The coursework covers search engine optimization, mobile marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, campaign measurement, website development, data visualization, database marketing, digital marketing metrics and online reputation management.
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 30–39 (students with undergraduate business coursework may be eligible to waive some course credits).
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $895.72 per credit hour.
- Time to Completion: Full-time students can complete their degree in as little as one year.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100 percent online.
- Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Public Health
Our online Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) and was ranked 28th in a list of the 50 best online M.P.H. degrees in the country.8 All graduates of our M.P.H. program qualify to sit for the Certified Public Health (CPH) exam and may also qualify for the Certification in Health Education Specialist exam or the Illinois Nursing Home Administrator License exam.
You’ll be ready to take on career roles in local, state, federal and tribal health departments, corporate and hospital wellness programs, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and more.
You can complement your career goals by choosing between two specializations:
Health Promotion Specialization
The health promotion field is expected to expand by 16 percent between 2016 and 2026.9 Learning in the only online Health Promotion specialization in Illinois, you’re expertly prepared to help people and communities choose a healthier lifestyle and prevent diseases as you master the skills to design, conduct and evaluate health promotion educational programs and policies.
Prepare to sit for the Certified in Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam and pursue roles such as patient educator, program or division director, community engagement specialist and community health program specialist.
Health Services Management Specialization
Health service managers have an average salary of $98,350, and the expected job-growth rate is 20 percent between 2016 and 2026.10 In this specialization, you explore the many aspects of health services management to successfully run a health care facility, such as costs, quality, accessibility, delivery, organization, financing, human resources and health economics.
When you take the elective Principles of Long-term Care Administration in this specialization, you’re qualified to sit for the Illinois Nursing Home Administrator License exam and to fill roles such as program manager or director, health administrator and health care business manager.
Program Highlights:
- Credits Required: 45 credit hours.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $675.72 per credit hour.
- Time to Completion: Full-time students can complete their degree in as little as two years.
- Program Modality: All courses are taught 100 percent online.
- Specializations: Health Promotion, Health Services Management.
- Accreditation: Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) — the nationally recognized accrediting body for both schools of public health and public health programs.
- Certifications: Both MPH specializations prepare you for the Certified in Public Health (CPH) Examination, given by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE).
- Health Promotion Specialization: Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) examination given by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing Inc.
- Health Services Management Specialization: Illinois Nursing Home Administrators Licensing Examination.
Take the Next Step
At NIU, you can build an educational experience that is all your own and gets you to your desired career path. For more information about any of these programs, fill out the form on this page and one of our representatives will connect with you.
SOURCES:
1Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017). Career Outlook Handbook: Registered Nurses. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htmhttps://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm.
2AACN (2017). Employment of New Nurse Graduates and Employer Preferences for Baccalaureate-Prepared Nurses. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2019, from https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Research-Data-Center/Employment/2017https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Research-Data-Center/Employment/2017.
3Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htmhttps://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htm.
4Medscape (2016). Medscape Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Salary Report 2016. Accessed Feb. 4, 2019, from https://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/aprn-salary-report#page=9https://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/aprn-salary-report#page=9.
5AACN (2017 April). Nursing Faculty Shortage. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2019, from https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Faculty-Shortagehttps://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Faculty-Shortage.
6Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htmhttps://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htm.
7Forbes (2017). U.S. Digital Marketing Spend Will Near 120 Billion by 2021. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forrester/2017/01/26/us-digital-marketing-spend-will-near-120-billion-by-2021https://www.forbes.com/sites/forrester/2017/01/26/us-digital-marketing-spend-will-near-120-billion-by-2021.
8Top Masters in Public Health (2018). Top 50 Best MPH Degrees Online 2018. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2019, from http://www.topmastersinpublichealth.com/best/online-mph/http://www.topmastersinpublichealth.com/best/online-mph/.
9Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2017). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Health Educators and Community Health Workers. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htmhttps://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm.
10Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2017). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Medical and Health Services Managers. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htmhttps://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm.