RN to BSN Programs

Missouri

Best RN to BSN Programs in Missouri, Ranked (2026)

Written and edited by , Editor B.A. Psychology, University of Washington Seattle · B.S. Computer Science, Oregon State University

Last updated

Missouri Prices This Degree Two Ways, and Almost Nothing Sits in Between

6 of the 13 ranked programs charge $13,658 a year or less. 6 charge $22,000 or more. Exactly one program occupies the $8,342 between the two — University of Missouri-St Louis, at $15,120 — and because it sits there by itself, it is also the state median. Quote that median to a Missouri nurse and you have described a price that one of the 13 programs actually charges.

The useful question here is therefore not which school, but which band, and the bands do not divide the way cost guides usually assume. This is not public against private. Cox College is a private nonprofit and charges $11,772 — less than University of Missouri-Columbia charges its own residents. 6 public campuses fill most of the lower band, but the highest score in the state does not belong to any of them.

Cox College takes the top position on 88.3 of 100, pairing that $11,772 price with a 100% institutional graduation rate. Read that second figure carefully: it is IPEDS's rate for the whole institution, not for the completion track, and across Missouri it runs from 100% down to 22%. A small college whose students are almost all already working in health care will look very different on that measure than a comprehensive university, which is a reason to weigh it alongside price rather than treat it as a verdict on teaching.

What forces the band question is what the degree pays into. The median Missouri RN earns $81,780 against $97,550 nationally — 40th of 51 states, a gap of $15,770. An upper-band program costs roughly three times a lower-band one against that pay level. That does not make the upper band wrong; Rockhurst University and University of Missouri-Columbia report the same 75% institutional graduation rate at $43,366 and $13,658 in-state respectively, and if the more expensive program offers scheduling or transfer terms the cheaper one does not, that is worth paying for. It does mean the question deserves a specific answer before you sign.

The largest single provider is University of Missouri-Columbia, which confers 245 nursing bachelor's degrees a year — about 20% of the 1,253 the ranked Missouri programs award between them. 8 programs state on their own page that the track runs fully online.

The 13 RN to BSN Programs in Missouri, Ranked

Scored on in-state tuition (55%) and institutional graduation rate (45%). How we rank.

  1. 1st in Missouri

    Cox College

    Springfield, MO · Private nonprofit Online $11,772 annual in-state tuition 100% institutional graduation rate 145 degrees a year 88.3 score
    Cox College pairs the completion track with a bridge option that lets students take MSN courses as part of the bachelor's, and CoxHealth employees can apply for RN-BSN tuition assistance of up to $12,500.

    Cox College's RN to BSN program is built for registered nurses who already hold a regionally accredited diploma or an associate degree in nursing. The degree totals 120 credit hours, 70 of which are awarded for that prior nursing credential, leaving 50 hours to complete: 21 in general education and 29 in nursing. Nursing courses run in eight-week blocks and can be taken part-time or full-time, and the college says students can earn the BSN almost completely online. There are no admission deadlines, so an RN can start whenever the timing works.

    General education requirements do not have to be finished before a student begins, and the list includes pathophysiology, expository writing, statistics, life span development, and a global awareness and cultural diversity course. The nursing sequence covers informatics, health assessment, theories and research, management and leadership, community and public health, trends and ethics, and professional role transition, plus a nursing elective. Nurses weighing graduate school can use the bridge program to take MSN courses as part of the bachelor's. CoxHealth RNs are eligible to apply for a 20% tuition discount, and CoxHealth's RN-BSN tuition assistance program provides up to $12,500 for employed students who enroll at Cox College.

    • 120 total credit hours
    • 70 credits awarded for prior ASN or diploma
    • Eight-week nursing course blocks
    • Almost completely online
    • No admission deadlines
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Cox College's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  2. 2nd in Missouri

    University of Missouri-Columbia

    Columbia, MO · Public Fully online $13,658 annual in-state tuition 75% institutional graduation rate 245 degrees a year 74.1 score
    The 45 required clinical hours sit inside a single 8-week summer community health course, and students arrange them near where they already live, with the school listing options ranging from a county health agency to a summer camp to an international trip to Costa Rica.

    Mizzou's Sinclair School of Nursing runs its RN to BSN as a fully online option for registered nurses who already hold an associate degree. The school states there are no required on-campus visits, and students can start in spring, summer or fall. The nursing coursework runs as few as 26 nursing credits, which the school says can be finished in as little as 14 months, though it notes the typical admitted transfer student needs 30 credit hours to complete the bachelor's degree. Estimated program cost is $18,000, a figure the school flags as illustrative and dependent on state of residence, transfer hours and course choices. Two tuition discounts are listed: 10% off for military veterans and 10% off for graduates of any public Missouri community college. The program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

    Clinical work is not waived. CCNE requires direct and indirect practice experiences throughout the RN-BSN option, and Mizzou spreads them across three courses. The bulk falls in NURSE 4970 Nursing in Communities, where students complete 45 clinical hours during the 8-week summer term. NURSE 4200 Nursing Ethics and the Law and NURSE 4500 Interprofessional Healthcare Collaboration and Care Management each add a short shadowing experience, one focused on ethical situations and one on observing case management. Completing compliance requirements is mandatory for those courses. To be admitted, applicants need a 2.5 GPA to transfer to Mizzou, official transcripts from every college attended, and an unencumbered US registered nurse license, or evidence of eligibility to sit for the NCLEX during the first semester of enrollment. Applications are accepted year-round. Because of state authorization rules, Missouri cannot accept applications to its online programs from students residing in several states, so it is worth checking the licensure disclosure before applying.

    • 100% online, no campus visits
    • 26 nursing credits minimum
    • As few as 14 months
    • 45 clinical hours in NURSE 4970
    • Unencumbered US RN license required
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Missouri-Columbia's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  3. 3rd in Missouri

    Missouri State University-Springfield

    Springfield, MO · Public Fully online $8,120 annual in-state tuition 58% institutional graduation rate 145 degrees a year 71.9 score
    Nurses still finishing an associate program can be provisionally accepted before licensure and start non-clinical coursework while they wait on the RN license.

    Missouri State runs its RN-to-BSN as the BSN-C, delivered in eight-week courses that are all online with five start times available. A full-time student can complete the degree in one year, and part-time individualized plans are offered as well. The page puts tuition and costs at about $3,900 per semester with no extra fees for out-of-state students, and notes the degree qualifies for a Fast Track grant under which qualifying adult students may receive free tuition.

    Admission is flexible in a specific, concrete way: a current RN license allows enrollment with no restrictions, but a student close to graduating from an ASN or ADN program may apply, be provisionally accepted, and begin non-clinical coursework until licensure arrives. Coursework covers evidence-based nursing practice, relevant clinical guidelines, leadership and management, and interprofessional health care. Eligible BSN-C students can also use an accelerated option into the Master of Science in Nursing-Practice Leadership program, with up to 12 credit hours counting toward both the bachelor's and the master's. The BSN is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the Missouri State Board of Nursing as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (completion program).

    • Eight-week courses, all online
    • Five start times per year
    • One year full-time
    • About $3,900 per semester
    • CCNE-accredited
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Missouri State University-Springfield's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  4. 4th in Missouri

    Southeast Missouri State University

    Cape Girardeau, MO · Public Fully online $8,559 annual in-state tuition 58% institutional graduation rate 67 degrees a year 71.4 score
    Thirty-seven of the degree's 120 credit hours are granted outright once a student completes the NS011 RN-BSN assessment, and SEMO says the rest can be finished in as little as eight months full-time.

    Southeast Missouri State University runs its RN to BSN as a fully online completion degree for nurses who already hold a license and an associate degree or diploma. The degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours, including general education and at least 39 senior division hours, and 37 of those hours are awarded on completion of the NS011 RN-BSN assessment. SEMO states the program can be completed in as little as 8 months full-time or 16 months part-time. The nursing core is six graded courses covering holistic assessment, research for professional practice, community health, frameworks for professional nursing, leadership and management, and gerontological nursing, with a grade of C or better required in every course in the major. The program is nationally accredited through the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

    Admission is limited to permanent residents of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, or Oklahoma. Applicants need a cumulative 2.5 GPA, a valid nursing license in the state where they practice, and completed coursework in Anatomy & Physiology I and II, Microbiology, English Composition II, Chemistry, and the majority of the non-nursing courses, followed by a background check verified through CastleBranch. The program does not use traditional clinicals. Three courses, NS386, NS390, and NS480, carry field experiences instead: hands-on work in a real agency or community setting alongside a preceptor or mentor, with learning goals the student sets against the course objectives. Students choose the health care agency themselves and the instructor approves it at enrollment, and the student is responsible for meeting that site's own requirements, such as flu shots, TB tests, or HIPAA training. Field experiences can usually be completed in the area where the nurse holds an RN license, provided there is an approved RN preceptor there.

    • 120 credit hours minimum
    • 37 credits for the NS011 assessment
    • 8 months full-time, 16 part-time
    • CCNE accredited
    • Seven-state residency requirement
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Southeast Missouri State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  5. 5th in Missouri

    University of Central Missouri

    Warrensburg, MO · Public Fully online $8,550 annual in-state tuition 54% institutional graduation rate 97 degrees a year 69.5 score
    UCM uses community and leadership projects rather than bedside clinical hours.

    UCM teaches the RN-BSN online in eight-week sessions, with a completion plan as short as one year. Entry is for nurses who already hold an associate nursing degree and an active RN license. A dedicated academic coordinator helps students work through the degree requirements, and the program does not add an out-of-state tuition surcharge.

    The practice component centers on community health and leadership projects rather than bedside clinical hours. That distinction makes the type of assignment important: the program still asks students to apply nursing knowledge, but it does not require repeating bedside clinical rotations. Review the project schedule alongside the eight-week course plan when deciding how to combine study with RN employment.

    • 100% online classes
    • Eight-week sessions
    • As little as one year
    • Community health and leadership projects
    • No bedside clinical-hour requirement
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Central Missouri's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  6. 6th in Missouri

    University of Missouri-St Louis

    Saint Louis, MO · Public Online $15,120 annual in-state tuition 57% institutional graduation rate 126 degrees a year 63.8 score
    UMSL’s part-time RN-to-BSN includes direct and indirect community practice experiences.

    UMSL structures its RN-to-BSN as a part-time completion program, usually taking 15 to 24 months. Applicants enter with an associate nursing degree or diploma. Coursework is online, but the Community and Population Health Synthesis course adds a practicum with both direct and indirect clinical experiences.

    The community emphasis changes what students need to plan around: completing lectures online is separate from arranging time for practice assignments. A nurse comparing programs primarily on scheduling should review that synthesis course as well as the part-time academic calendar. Applicants living outside Missouri also need to check the university's state-authorization list before choosing this route.

    • Part-time completion format
    • Online coursework
    • Community-focused practicum
    • Direct and indirect clinical experiences
    • Usually 15 to 24 months
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Missouri-St Louis's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  7. 7th in Missouri

    Missouri Southern State University

    Joplin, MO · Public Fully online $8,700 annual in-state tuition 42% institutional graduation rate 21 degrees a year 63.5 score
    Missouri Southern offers rolling RN-to-BSN admission for fall, spring and summer.

    Missouri Southern offers rolling fall, spring and summer entry for RN-to-BSN coursework delivered fully online without required campus attendance. An RN-to-BSN advisor reviews your plan individually. Prior courses, accepted transfer credit and the course load you choose determine the completion schedule.

    The bachelor's degree requires 120 credits across nursing and general education. Applicants need an active RN license and must satisfy academic and health-documentation requirements. Use the advising review to separate nursing courses from any remaining general education, then compare available start terms with the preparation you still need.

    • Rolling fall, spring and summer entry
    • 100% online coursework
    • No campus-attendance requirement
    • Individual advisor-reviewed study plan
    • 120-credit complete degree
    Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Missouri Southern State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  8. 8th in Missouri

    Maryville University of Saint Louis

    Saint Louis, MO · Private nonprofit Fully online $24,766 annual in-state tuition 66% institutional graduation rate 159 degrees a year 57.7 score
    Maryville awards 40 credits for a valid RN license and requires at least 30 credits in residence.

    Maryville awards 40 credits for RN licensure and requires at least 30 credits completed at the university. Approved transfer work can satisfy general education requirements. Those are different parts of the credit review, so ask for a degree plan that shows how each applies before relying on the advertised three-semester minimum.

    The RN-to-BSN coursework is online without required campus visits and includes informatics, research and a public-health capstone. It is intended for nurses with diplomas or associate degrees who hold a current, unencumbered U.S. RN license. ACT and SAT scores are not admission requirements. Focus your preparation on the nursing credentials, transcript evaluation and course sequence that determine your remaining work.

    • 40 credits awarded for RN licensure
    • At least 30 credits at Maryville
    • Online coursework without campus visits
    • As few as three semesters
    • Public-health capstone
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Maryville University of Saint Louis's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  9. 9th in Missouri

    Webster University

    Saint Louis, MO · Private nonprofit Fully online $31,450 annual in-state tuition 64% institutional graduation rate 21 degrees a year 49.4 score
    Webster builds an individual completion plan around each RN’s transfer credits and schedule.

    Webster's RN-to-BSN runs fully online in eight-week terms. Its curriculum emphasizes holistic health and the social conditions affecting patient health, giving the completion work a focus beyond individual bedside tasks. Consider whether that emphasis matches the kinds of community or organizational issues you want to study.

    The university describes roughly one to one-and-a-half years for full-time study and two to two-and-a-half years part time, depending on the credits you still need. An individual transfer review is therefore central to comparing the two routes. Have the remaining requirements mapped into the eight-week calendar before choosing a pace, especially if you expect to change your course load around work commitments.

    • Fully online RN-to-BSN
    • Eight-week terms
    • Individual transfer-credit review
    • Approximately 1 to 1.5 years full time
    • Approximately 2 to 2.5 years part time
    Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Webster University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  10. 10th in Missouri

    Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

    Fayette, MO · Private nonprofit $27,840 annual in-state tuition 51% institutional graduation rate 35 degrees a year 47.1 score Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, .
  11. 11th in Missouri

    Rockhurst University

    Kansas City, MO · Private nonprofit Fully online $43,366 annual in-state tuition 75% institutional graduation rate 154 degrees a year 41.8 score
    Rockhurst combines online classes with a project at a site in the student’s community.

    Rockhurst's RN-to-BSN offers fully online classes and a completion plan of as few as three semesters, with a longer pace available. Research appraisal, pharmacology and health assessment build on RN experience. Comparing the shorter and longer plans can help you decide how much new coursework to take while continuing to practice.

    A project takes place at a site in your community, so the program involves more than online assignments alone. Discuss the project's timing and location alongside the course sequence. Academic advising and peer tutoring are available through the Student Resource Center.

    • 100% online classes
    • As few as three semesters
    • Project at a local community site
    • RN-focused pharmacology and assessment
    • Academic advising and peer tutoring
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Rockhurst University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  12. 12th in Missouri

    Missouri Valley College

    Marshall, MO · Private nonprofit Online $22,000 annual in-state tuition 22% institutional graduation rate 18 degrees a year 39.4 score
    Missouri Valley’s RN-to-BSN nursing sequence spans three semesters and includes a 120-hour leadership clinical.

    Missouri Valley's published RN-BSN nursing sequence covers 36 credits over three semesters. The courses move through public health, evidence-based practice, care coordination and health policy before a senior capstone. Coursework is online, but the leadership clinical requires in-person participation.

    The 120-hour clinical is the main scheduling commitment to examine. Placement is coordinated with the facility and clinical coordinator; you can suggest a location, but placement may involve a night-shift preceptor. Orientation time does not count toward the clinical total. When discussing a proposed site, distinguish orientation from qualifying practicum hours and check how the preceptor's schedule will fit your own nursing job.

    • Online coursework with in-person clinical experience
    • 36-credit nursing sequence
    • Three semesters in the published curriculum
    • 120-hour leadership clinical
    • Senior capstone project

    Additional program sources: moval.edu source 1 for Missouri Valley College (opens in a new tab)

    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Missouri Valley College's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  13. 13th in Missouri

    Avila University

    Kansas City, MO · Private nonprofit Online $40,200 annual in-state tuition 52% institutional graduation rate 20 degrees a year 34.1 score
    Avila’s RN-to-BSN includes 135 practicum hours in community health, policy and leadership.

    Avila uses eight-week courses and offers full- or part-time RN-to-BSN study. The published completion range is 12 to 24 months, depending on course load and prerequisites already completed. Compare the sequence at your intended pace rather than assuming the shorter plan applies before the transcript review.

    The curriculum includes three experiential-learning courses with 135 practicum clock hours across community health, healthcare policy and leadership. Local completion is often possible, but the practical work remains part of the degree. Ask how each experience is scheduled and approved before selecting a course load. Online coursework may fit around shifts differently from the hours spent completing a practicum.

    • Eight-week courses
    • Full-time or part-time study
    • Published 12-to-24-month range
    • 135 practicum clock hours
    • Three experiential-learning courses
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Avila University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)

The Cost Question in Missouri Is Which Band, Not Which School

End to end the list runs from $8,120 at Missouri State University-Springfield to $43,366 at Rockhurst University, a factor of 5. Scan the cards above in order of price and you can see the shape: a tight cluster from $8,120 to $13,658, a step up to $22,000, then a second cluster climbing to $43,366. Choosing a band is most of the decision, and it is a decision you can make before you have looked at a single course catalog.

Every figure here is annual published tuition from IPEDS, not what the completion track costs to finish. An RN-to-BSN is typically around 30 upper-level credits, so your real number depends on how much of your ADN transfers, whether the general education you already finished counts, and how many terms you spread the credits across. A nurse taking one course at a time will pay across more academic years than the annual figure implies. Ask every school on your shortlist for a total-to-degree number in writing and for a transfer evaluation of your specific transcript. A per-credit quote is not an answer to either question.

Where 8 programs state that the track is fully online, the badge is on the card. What none of the Missouri pages we hold go on to state is whether the coursework is asynchronous, and for a nurse working three twelve-hour shifts that is the more important of the two. "Online" and "no fixed class times" are different claims. Make it the first question you ask on the phone.

Missouri RN Pay Sits 40th of 51

BLS puts the median at $81,780 for Missouri's 76,310 registered nurses — $39.32 an hour — with the distribution running from $63,230 at the 10th percentile to $104,390 at the 90th. That median is $15,770 below the national $97,550, and it places Missouri 40th of 51 states.

Note how compressed the top of that range is. The 90th percentile in Missouri, $104,390, sits below the national median-to-90th span you would find in higher-paying states, so the ceiling on RN pay here is lower rather than the floor being unusually far down. That shapes what a BSN is worth in this state: it is leverage into different roles more than a step up within the same one.

The caveat that governs every salary number on this site: BLS reports all registered nurses as one occupation and publishes no breakdown by degree. There is no federal figure for what a Missouri BSN earns against what a Missouri ADN earns, and anyone quoting you one has invented it. What the credential is associated with is access — charge and management tracks, case management, public health, Magnet hospitals that prefer it, and admission to an MSN — not a raise in the job you hold today.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release.

Two More Missouri Programs We Confirmed

Both of these run an RN-to-BSN track. Neither carries a score, because one input the score needs is empty in the federal file or the program confers too few degrees a year to compare fairly against the others. Worth a call either way, and worth noting that Central Methodist files as two separate units with IPEDS — its liberal arts college is ranked above, its graduate and extended studies college is here.

  • Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies, Fayette — IPEDS carries no graduation rate for this institution
  • Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Cape Girardeau — Confers fewer than 10 degrees a year, too few to compare

Questions About RN to BSN Programs in Missouri

Is the cheapest RN to BSN in Missouri also the best one?
No. Missouri State University-Springfield has the lowest in-state tuition on this list at $8,120 and ranks 3rd. Cox College leads with tuition of $11,772 and a 100% institutional graduation rate, compared with 58% at Missouri State University-Springfield. Both institutions are in Springfield. Compare their RN-specific delivery requirements and transfer plans as well as those institution-wide figures.
I live in Kansas or Illinois and work at a Missouri hospital. Which tuition figure applies to me?
That is set by each school's residency rules, so confirm it with admissions rather than assume. What the federal figures show is that 8 of the 13 ranked programs publish a single price for everyone, including Southeast Missouri State University — the only public campus here that does. The other 5 publics all list a higher non-resident figure: University of Missouri-Columbia, for instance, at $13,658 in-state against $34,877. If you are looking at an online track, ask specifically which of the two rates an online student out of state is charged, and get the answer in writing before you apply.
Does Missouri require a BSN to keep working as an RN?
No. Missouri licenses registered nurses on the NCLEX-RN, and the exam does not distinguish between an ADN and a BSN. No Missouri law requires a BSN to keep practicing. New York is the only state that has passed one — its 2017 law reaches nurses licensed after the effective date and gives them ten years. The 80% figure you have heard quoted for years traces to a 2010 Institute of Medicine report recommending that 80% of the RN workforce hold a BSN by 2020. It was a recommendation, it was not met, and it never carried force of law in Missouri or anywhere else.
Why does University of Missouri-Columbia rank 2nd despite having the most nursing awards on this list?
Award volume is an eligibility requirement, not a score component. University of Missouri-Columbia reports 245 bachelor's nursing awards and scores 74.1. Cox College ranks first with lower annual in-state tuition, $11,772 compared with $13,658, and a higher institutional graduation rate, 100% compared with 75%. The award totals do not separate RN completion graduates from pre-licensure graduates.

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