10 Fastest Online RN to BSN Programs

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• The Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem offers the #1 school for the fastest online RN to BSN pro­grams.
• Online RN to BSN pro­grams allow reg­is­tered nurs­es to com­plete their Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Nurs­ing (BSN) more quick­ly than tra­di­tion­al pro­grams.
• Online pro­grams are designed to accom­mo­date work­ing nurs­es, allow­ing them to bal­ance their stud­ies with pro­fes­sion­al commitments.
• Accel­er­at­ed BSN pro­grams are geared towards enhanc­ing nurs­es’ skills and qual­i­fi­ca­tions for bet­ter career opportunities.

In addi­tion to get­ting a degree quick­ly, there are many advan­tages to choos­ing an accel­er­at­ed BSN pro­gram. Reg­is­tered nurs­es with an asso­ciate degree and cur­rent RN license search­ing for the cheap­est accel­er­at­ed nurs­ing pro­grams want to find a way to get through school quickly.

Our Fastest Online RN to BSN Pro­grams arti­cle was orig­i­nal­ly pub­lished in July 2023 and was last updat­ed in Feb­ru­ary 2024.

When you choose an online RN to BSN, you’ll get to enjoy low­er costs for your pro­gram as well as a more inten­sive learn­ing envi­ron­ment. The cheap­est accel­er­at­ed nurs­ing pro­grams can be a fan­tas­tic deal — you get to dive into your stud­ies in a way that’s more intense than a stan­dard pro­gram, and you get to enjoy low­er costs than oth­er programs.

If you’re con­tin­u­ing to work while you’re tak­ing class­es in your online RN to BSN, you may find that an accel­er­at­ed pro­gram is a bet­ter fit than a tra­di­tion­al pro­gram. Going to work and school at the same time is stressful. 

Short­en­ing the amount of time that reg­is­tered nurs­es with an unen­cum­bered RN license need to ful­fill both roles at the same time can reduce the amount of time that you’re under a high lev­el of stress. You may want to talk to your employ­er about whether they’ll be able to offer flex­i­bil­i­ty while you go through your accel­er­at­ed BSN program.

Relat­ed Rank­ings and Valu­able Information:

• Best Bach­e­lor’s in Nursing
• Best Online Bach­e­lor’s in Nursing
• Most Afford­able Bach­e­lor’s in Nursing
• Nurs­ing Scholarships
• How Long Does It Take To Get a Bach­e­lor’s Degree in Nursing?

Methodology: Ranking the Top Accelerated and Easiest RN to BSN Nursing Programs Online

For the Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter rank­ing of the fastest online nurs­ing degrees, BDC edi­tors researched pro­grams from rep­utable, accred­it­ed insti­tu­tions that allow fast progress through the degree. Pro­grams are ranked by tuition rate, rep­u­ta­tion, and grad­u­ate salary, using cur­rent infor­ma­tion from IPEDS and Niche.

1. American Public University System

With the Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem, prospec­tive stu­dents can learn from one of the best accel­er­at­ed online nurs­ing degree pro­grams online. 

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Fastest RN to BSN online pro­gram
Accep­tance Rate: 100%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 55%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 2,405
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 120 (Trans­fer up to 90 cred­its)
Tuition Costs: $350 per cred­it hour (Pre­ferred Mil­i­tary Rate: $250)
Deliv­ery For­mat: Online
What We Like: The APU sys­tem is a top choice for mil­i­tary mem­bers. 85% of APU stu­dents are either active duty mil­i­tary mem­bers, on reserve, or veterans.

Through this pro­gram, stu­dents grow their exist­ing health­care skills and build on their RN license and asso­ciate degree trans­fer cred­its. They also gain the edu­ca­tion they need to adapt to health­care’s chang­ing landscape. 

Stu­dents learn how to use their nurs­ing skills, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, pro­fes­sion­al nurs­ing prac­tice, health assess­ment, and team­work to pro­vide the best pos­si­ble nurs­ing care. Those who grad­u­ate from this online RN to BSN pro­gram become lead­ers in the workplace.

The Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem edu­cates both mil­i­tary mem­bers and civil­ians. It has pro­vid­ed qual­i­ty col­le­giate nurs­ing edu­ca­tion for 30 years, and it’s a leader in online learn­ing and career advancement. 

Designed pri­mar­i­ly for mil­i­tary edu­ca­tion, APUS pro­vides lots of acces­si­bil­i­ty and afford­abil­i­ty. APUS start­ed as a way to help mil­i­tary mem­bers tran­si­tion back into civil­ian life. As a result, it’s a very career-cen­tered school. It has no entrance exams for under­grad­u­ate pro­grams and gen­er­ous finan­cial aid per cred­it hour.

2. University of North Carolina at Wilmington

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na at Wilm­ing­ton has been edu­cat­ing nurs­es for over 40 years. Unsur­pris­ing­ly, UNC Wilm­ing­ton’s RN to BSN pro­gram is one of the best accel­er­at­ed RN to BSN pro­grams online. 

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Short­est RN to BSN pro­gram
Accep­tance Rate: 68%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 72%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 14,294
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 30
Tuition Costs: $6,299.10 or $185.13 per cred­it hour
Deliv­ery For­mat: Online
What We Like: UNC Wilm­ing­ton has been ranked as one of the top pub­lic col­leges in the South.

Teach­ers in this pro­gram have a lot of field expe­ri­ence. Stu­dents can focus on more advanced and spe­cif­ic areas in health­care, like com­mu­ni­ty health nurs­ing, pedi­atric nurs­ing, elec­tron­ic health records, or nurs­ing lead­er­ship. Health­care pro­fes­sion­als can also exam­ine and make the most of cur­rent research.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na at Wilm­ing­ton is part of the respect­ed UNC sys­tem. It’s rec­og­nized for its great online learn­ing pro­grams. UNC Wilm­ing­ton pro­motes excel­lence in learn­ing, career train­ing, and grad­u­ate nurs­ing programs. 

Stu­dents grow their crit­i­cal think­ing skills for life beyond the class­room. Whether they learn from online pro­grams or in the class­room, UNC Wilm­ing­ton offers a full learn­ing expe­ri­ence for a reg­is­tered nurse.

3. University of Louisiana-Monroe

At the Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana Mon­roe, stu­dents with an unen­cum­bered RN license can fin­ish the online RN to BSN pro­gram in as lit­tle as 14 months. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Eas­i­est RN to BSN pro­gram online
Accep­tance Rate: 72%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 43%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 6,474
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 30 Com­ple­tion Hours
Tuition Costs: $200 per cred­it hour
Deliv­ery For­mat: Fast-track Online
What We Like: US News and World Report have ranked ULM in the top 100 per­form­ers for social mobility.

As one of the best accel­er­at­ed nurs­ing pro­grams online, this degree helps stu­dents enhance their nurs­ing skills while adding nurs­ing research, lead­er­ship, and man­age­ment into the mix. 

Stu­dents learn how to pro­vide assess­ments and evi­dence-based health­care. They also learn how to inter­pret data and use that data for the best out­comes. The online RN to BSN pro­gram cov­ers pro­fes­sion­al nurs­ing on a deep­er and more the­o­ret­i­cal level.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana Mon­roe focus­es on col­le­giate nurs­ing edu­ca­tion and the health sci­ences. As a result, it’s a top choice for nurs­ing stu­dents with an asso­ciate degree or nurs­ing diplo­ma look­ing for BSN programs. 

Cours­es focus on today’s most in-demand skills. Stu­dents learn how to suc­ceed in an increas­ing­ly glob­al econ­o­my. This school is deeply com­mit­ted to stu­dent suc­cess and mak­ing the most of avail­able resources. It pro­vides a bac­calau­re­ate degree edu­ca­tion that gets results.

4. University of North Florida

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Flori­da offers an accel­er­at­ed RN to BSN pro­gram. Stu­dents with a valid RN license can fin­ish this pro­gram in as lit­tle as 12 months if they already have an asso­ciate degree. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Quick­est RN-BSN
Accep­tance Rate: 78%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 70%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 14,171
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 30 Cred­it Hours
Tuition Costs: $7,289.40 or $242.98 per cred­it hour
Deliv­ery For­mat: Bridge Track Ful­ly Online
What We Like: UNF is the high­est-ranked nurs­ing school in the state of Florida.

The pro­gram is designed to com­bine excel­lence with afford­abil­i­ty and flex­i­bil­i­ty. Nurs­es use this online RN to BSN pro­gram to increase their career opportunities. 

Cours­es cov­er the­o­ret­i­cal top­ics like ethics, writ­ing, health assess­ment, pop­u­la­tion health, and nurs­ing schol­ar­ship. They also cov­er prac­ti­cal top­ics like using evi­dence to pro­vide care (evi­dence-based prac­tice) and clin­i­cal practicum. Through this pro­gram, online learn­ers may use their nurs­ing skills out­side of hos­pi­tals and sim­i­lar settings.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Flori­da’s BSN pro­grams focus on career readi­ness and real-world expe­ri­ence in the nurs­ing pro­fes­sion. That’s one rea­son why it has some of the best accel­er­at­ed nurs­ing pro­grams online. It’s one of the top pub­lic research uni­ver­si­ties in the US for its col­le­giate nurs­ing bac­calau­re­ate degree pro­gram. It empha­sizes skills for today’s careers. 

As a result, UNF BSN grad­u­ates have a high career place­ment rate. UNF cours­es pro­vide indi­vid­u­al­ized atten­tion to help stu­dents meet their goals. Learn­ers get a high-cal­iber edu­ca­tion at a good value.

5. Purdue University Global

Pur­due Glob­al offers one of the best accel­er­at­ed nurs­ing degree pro­grams online. Learn­ers can earn this online RN to BSN at their own pace if they have a diplo­ma or asso­ciate degree and an unen­cum­bered RN license. 

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Eas­i­est RN to BSN accel­er­at­ed pro­gram — Excel­Track BSN
Accep­tance Rate: 100%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 33%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 4,865
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 180 hours to com­plete with 90 cred­its trans­ferred
Tuition Costs: $4,062 per term
Deliv­ery For­mat: Online
What We Like: Pur­due Glob­al under­grad­u­ates take an aver­age of just two years to fin­ish their degrees. That’s because Pur­due Glob­al has a gen­er­ous trans­fer pol­i­cy and offers cred­it for rel­e­vant experience.

Prospec­tive stu­dents choose their own dead­lines and course loads. For some, this means speed­ing up the process, along with trans­fer cred­its for required pre­req­ui­site cours­es The pro­gram is also com­pe­ten­cy-based, so stu­dents can take advan­tage of what they already know. 

This pro­gram uses a flat tuition rate. In a sin­gle semes­ter, stu­dents enrolled can pay the same amount for mul­ti­ple BSN cours­es as they would for one, sav­ing on fed­er­al finan­cial aid. Pur­due Glob­al mod­els its nurs­ing cur­ricu­lum on real-world nurs­ing work.

Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty has a strong pres­ence in col­le­giate nurs­ing edu­ca­tion. Many peo­ple know about this school because of its online learn­ing plat­form. Pur­due Glob­al makes learn­ing more acces­si­ble for adult learn­ers with an asso­ciate degree. 

It main­tains high edu­ca­tion stan­dards and tai­lors nurs­ing cours­es based on how adults approach school. Pur­due Glob­al offers mul­ti­ple start dates and a tuition-free intro­duc­to­ry peri­od. Stu­dents can take a few weeks of class­es before decid­ing if Pur­due is right for them.

6. University of North Alabama

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Alaba­ma has one of the best accel­er­at­ed nurs­ing pro­grams online. Stu­dents can fin­ish this BSN degree pro­gram in as lit­tle as one year by speed­ing up gen­er­al education. 

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Quick­est RN to BSN online pro­gram
Accep­tance Rate: 90%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 47%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 7,233
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 30 Bridge Track Cours­es
Tuition Costs: $340 per cred­it hour
Deliv­ery For­mat: Com­plete­ly Online
What We Like: US News and World Report ranks UNA as one of the top pub­lic region­al uni­ver­si­ties in the South.

By tak­ing gen­er­al edu­ca­tion cours­es along­side their major cours­es, many North Alaba­ma online stu­dents speed up the degree process. UNA’s nurs­ing pro­gram has high­ly sup­port­ive fac­ul­ty mem­bers. The pro­gram also offers a great val­ue on tuition and trans­fer cred­its. Cours­es cov­er advanced nurs­ing knowl­edge and evi­dence-based prac­tice and help stu­dents dis­cov­er new career opportunities.

UNA is the old­est pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty in Alaba­ma, and now it offers online learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for col­le­giate nurs­ing edu­ca­tion. It helps stu­dents, includ­ing nurs­ing stu­dents with RN licen­sure and an asso­ci­ate’s degree, fur­ther their careers. 

UNA is a stu­dent-cen­tered uni­ver­si­ty where learn­ers gain the right tools to pur­sue their goals. The school pri­or­i­tizes stu­dent suc­cess, which is why it offers com­pet­i­tive tuition rates, per­son­al­ized edu­ca­tion, and lots of career support.

7. The University of Rhode Island

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Rhode Island rec­og­nizes that there’s a cre­ative side to nurs­ing, and for stu­dents who want to pur­sue that side, it offers one of the best accel­er­at­ed RN to BSN pro­grams online. Accord­ing to the URI web­site, “We are not cur­rent­ly admit­ting stu­dents to the RN to BS online track.”

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Eas­i­est RN to BSN pro­gram
Accep­tance Rate: 77%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 69%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 13,927
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 30 Com­ple­tion Cred­its
Tuition Costs: $318.00 per cred­it hour
Deliv­ery For­mat: Online
What We Like: URI is ranked among the top 200 nation­al universities.

Stu­dents can fin­ish this RN to BSN pro­gram in as lit­tle as 15 months. With­in the pro­gram, stu­dents learn about nurs­ing prac­tice, lis­ten­ing and com­mu­ni­ca­tion, think­ing out­side the box, and find­ing com­plex solu­tions. Of course, the nurs­ing pro­gram cur­ricu­lum also cov­ers more tan­gi­ble skills like med­i­cine admin­is­tra­tion, nurs­ing man­age­ment, nurs­ing research, health pro­mo­tion edu­ca­tion, and com­mu­ni­ty health.

URI’s nurs­ing school val­ues com­pas­sion­ate care and social jus­tice. It fos­ters diver­si­ty in learn­ing. URI also trans­forms health­care by edu­cat­ing nurs­es and mak­ing key dis­cov­er­ies. Cours­es focus on meet­ing today’s health­care needs. All nurs­ing school stu­dents have the option to minor in thana­tol­ogy, the study of death and grief. Thanks to all of these fac­tors, URI’s nurs­ing school has made an impact in Rhode Island and beyond.

8. Oakland University

Oak­land Uni­ver­si­ty’s online RN to BSN can be fin­ished in as lit­tle as 12 months. It offers com­pet­i­tive tuition prices with no added fees, and cours­es are taught by tal­ent­ed fac­ul­ty mem­bers who have made an impact in the field. 

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Eas­i­est RN-BSN pro­gram
Accep­tance Rate: 92%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 57%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 12,841
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 32
Tuition Costs: Less than $10k
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% Online
What We Like: US News and World Report rec­og­nizes Oak­land as one of the top nurs­ing schools in the Upper Midwest.

As a result, this pro­gram is one of the best accel­er­at­ed online nurs­ing pro­grams. The high-qual­i­ty cur­ricu­lum focus­es on both the­o­ret­i­cal and prac­ti­cal skills in patient care, health edu­ca­tion, and cul­tur­al diver­si­ty. It also pro­vides oppor­tu­ni­ties for stu­dents to per­son­al­ize their edu­ca­tion in nurs­ing science.

Oak­land Uni­ver­si­ty is a pio­neer in col­le­giate nurs­ing edu­ca­tion. The Oak­land School of Nurs­ing uses the lat­est research, so it offers up-to-date learn­ing resources for stu­dents. Its high-qual­i­ty pro­grams come with a lot of sup­port. Online cours­es offer the same qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion per cred­it hour as on-cam­pus cours­es and online stu­dents get just as much sup­port as their on-cam­pus peers.

9. Herzing University

Herz­ing Uni­ver­si­ty’s accel­er­at­ed RN to BSN pro­gram is one of the best accel­er­at­ed nurs­ing pro­grams online. It’s designed to open career pos­si­bil­i­ties. Stu­dents work with sup­port teams and teach­ers who under­stand the field. 

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Quick­est RN to BSN pro­gram
Accep­tance Rate: 95%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 77%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 1,664
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 120 (Block trans­fer up to 70 semes­ter cred­it hours)
Tuition Costs: Varies by degree, loca­tion and pro­gram
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% Online: Full-time and Part-time
What We Like: US News and World Report ranked Herz­ing among the best online pro­grams in 2024.

Through this BSN degree pro­gram, stu­dents can either enhance their cur­rent careers or get ready to pur­sue an MSN degree in glob­al health nurs­ing, pop­u­la­tion health nurs­ing, clin­i­cal prac­tice, and more. The pro­gram is com­plete­ly online, offers mul­ti­ple start dates, and lets stu­dents trans­fer up to 70 credits.

Herz­ing Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, career-focused school where many pro­grams are avail­able online. Stu­dents learn what it takes to suc­ceed in today’s work­force. For nurs­ing stu­dents, this means learn­ing about today’s most impor­tant health­care needs. Coach­es and teach­ers help stu­dents work toward career suc­cess, so stu­dents can build the lives they want after graduation.

10. University of Texas of the Permian Basin

At the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas Per­mi­an Basin, stu­dents can fin­ish the accel­er­at­ed RN to BSN in 12 months or more. The pro­gram pre­pares learn­ers for lead­er­ship roles in the health­care field. 

Degree at a Glance:

Degree: Fastest RN to BSN pro­gram online
Accep­tance Rate: 95%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 59%
Under­grad­u­ate Pop­u­la­tion: 4,640
Num­ber of Cred­its Required: 30 (You must have a cur­rent, unen­cum­bered RN license for con­sid­er­a­tion.)
Tuition Costs: $362.34 per cred­it hour
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% Online
What We Like: UT Per­mi­an Basin was ranked as one of the best col­leges for social mobility.

It uses the lat­est research in patient care and teach­es stu­dents how to bring evi­dence-based prac­tices into the work­place. The pro­gram is online. 

In fact, it’s one of the best accel­er­at­ed RN to BSN pro­grams online, and it requires no cam­pus vis­its. How­ev­er, it does require clin­i­cal hours, which stu­dents may fin­ish locally.

UT Per­mi­an Basin is an afford­able school that per­forms well in online learn­ing and col­le­giate nurs­ing edu­ca­tion. Stu­dents who do want to vis­it the cam­pus should take a look at the Stone­henge repli­ca. For those who don’t want to make a cam­pus vis­it, UT Per­mi­an Basin still has a lot to offer. 

For exam­ple, it per­forms well in STEM, col­le­giate nurs­ing edu­ca­tion, and health­care top­ics. The school takes job-relat­ed lead­er­ship skills to new lev­els, so learn­ers can com­pete in today’s career mar­ket. The school is known for its cost-effec­tive­ness and high ROI.

Frequently Asked Questions