MSN vs DNP: How to Choose Your Graduate Degree

Reviewed May 22, 2026 by the ScrubScope editorial team.

The Master of Science in Nursing and the Doctor of Nursing Practice are not two versions of the same credential. The MSN is a master's degree; the DNP is the terminal practice doctorate in nursing. They overlap heavily in subject matter, which is exactly what makes the choice confusing, but they differ on credit count, on a practice-hour requirement, on cost, and on the kind of role each is built to support. This guide works through the difference and gives you a framework for deciding, without treating the doctorate as automatically the better answer. It is not. It is the better answer for a specific goal, and the wrong answer for another.

Quick verdict

For a nurse choosing between an MSN and a DNP, here is the short version. Both are legitimate graduate degrees, and for nurse practitioner practice specifically, both can lead to the same certification and license today, so neither is required to practice. The MSN is shorter, cheaper, and the most common graduate nursing degree; it is the efficient choice when your goal is direct clinical practice or a focused specialty role. The DNP adds a doctoral layer of leadership, systems, health-policy, and evidence-based-practice coursework plus a scholarly project and more supervised practice hours; it earns its premium when you want a leadership, faculty, or systems-level role, or simply want the terminal degree. The decision turns on the role you want in ten years and how much time and money the gap is worth. For the nurse-practitioner-specific version of this comparison, see the DNP vs MSN for nurse practitioners page; this guide is the broader degree-level view.

What each degree is

An MSN is a master's degree in nursing. Depending on the track it can prepare you for nurse practitioner practice in a specialty such as family or psychiatric-mental-health, or for a non-clinical role in nursing education, administration, leadership, or informatics. An MSN-NP program covers the advanced-practice core, advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, advanced health assessment, plus population-focused coursework and a clinical practicum, and ends with a national certification exam. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for nurse practitioners, which is the formal confirmation that the MSN, not a doctorate, is the standard credential to enter NP practice^[1].

A DNP is the terminal practice-focused doctorate. It is distinct from the research-focused PhD in nursing. A DNP does everything the equivalent master's does and adds a doctoral layer: coursework in healthcare systems, health policy, quality improvement, organizational leadership, and the translation of evidence into practice, plus a scholarly DNP project. It also carries a larger practice-hour requirement, which is the clearest structural difference between the two degrees.

How they differ on structure and cost

The DNP carries more credits than an equivalent MSN because of the doctoral layer, and it carries a practice-hour floor the master's does not. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing states that DNP programs should provide a minimum of 1,000 hours of post-baccalaureate supervised practice as part of the academic program^[2]. A master's program does not have to meet that 1,000-hour standard. For a post-master's DNP student, prior graduate practice hours can count toward the total, which is one reason an MSN-prepared nurse is not starting from zero if they later bridge to the doctorate.

The decision framework

Work it in this order; each step can end the question if the answer is clear.

First, the role test. Ask what you want to be doing in ten years. If the answer is direct clinical practice, whether as a nurse practitioner or in a focused specialty role, the MSN is built for that work and reaches it with fewer credits and less tuition. If the answer involves leading a department, holding a faculty appointment, shaping health policy, or operating at a systems level, the DNP's leadership and systems coursework is aimed precisely there, and the MSN is not.

Second, the licensure test, which applies if your goal is nurse practitioner practice. Both an MSN-NP and a DNP-NP can lead to the same NP certification and the same state license today. The widely repeated claim that the DNP has become mandatory for new nurse practitioners is not accurate; the BLS still lists a master's as the typical entry-level education for the occupation^[1]. Do not choose the DNP out of fear that the MSN will stop qualifying you. It will not, as of 2026.

Third, the cost-and-time test. The DNP is more terms and more tuition. Build both real totals and weigh the DNP premium against the concrete benefit you expect from it. If you cannot name a specific role or goal the doctorate unlocks, the premium is hard to justify. And remember that a post-master's DNP bridge exists: an MSN now followed by a bridge later spreads the cost and time, lets you practice and earn in between, and keeps the doctorate available. That sequencing is often the lowest-risk path.

Finally, factor in your employer. Some health systems reimburse tuition, and some specifically value or prefer the DNP for certain roles, which can change the cost math meaningfully. Check the policy before you choose.

Who should look elsewhere

This guide compares two graduate degree levels. Several readers need a different page.

If you are not yet a nurse, or hold only a non-nursing bachelor's degree, this comparison is premature; you need a pre-licensure route into nursing first.

If your real question is which nurse practitioner specialty to choose, family versus psychiatric-mental-health versus adult-gerontology, that is a separate decision from the degree level, and the MSN-vs-DNP question applies within whichever specialty you pick.

If your interest is a research career or a tenure-track faculty position, the practice-focused DNP may not be the right doctorate; the research-focused PhD in nursing is a different path this page does not cover.

And if you want a clinical or scope-of-practice answer, that is a question for your state board of nursing and the certifying bodies, not a program-comparison site.

Bottom line

MSN versus DNP is a question about how far you want to go, not about which degree is legitimate, because both are. The MSN is the shorter, cheaper, and most common graduate nursing degree, and it is the efficient choice when direct clinical practice or a focused specialty role is the goal. The DNP adds a doctoral layer of leadership, systems, and evidence-based-practice coursework and a larger practice-hour requirement, and it earns its premium when you want a leadership, faculty, or systems-level role, or the terminal degree itself. For nurse practitioner practice specifically, both lead to the same license today, so do not let a mandate that has not arrived drive the decision.

The online MSN programs page covers the master's tracks, the online DNP programs page covers the doctoral routes and the post-master's bridge, and the DNP vs MSN for nurse practitioners page handles the NP-specific version of this choice. ScrubScope ranks by fit, never by which school pays more; the schools, not us, make every admissions and financial-aid decision.

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