Which online RN to BSN in Minnesota can a nurse finish around 12-hour shifts? Accredited online options at nursing schools in Minnesota still range from roughly 30 to 70 required credits and vary on practicum hours, so an RN to BSN program that looks flexible on paper can still stretch past a year if transfer credits are weak.
This comparison ranks seven accredited online and hybrid Minnesota programs on per-credit cost, net price, graduate earnings, format, and completion time. Rankings come first, followed by tuition detail, practicum rules, start dates, and employer tuition help.
A BSN is now standard in many Twin Cities postings, making fit with your schedule and prior credits the real lever.
The Best Online RN to BSN Programs in Minnesota, Ranked
Every program below lets a licensed RN in Minnesota complete most or all BSN coursework without relocating, and the order reflects how each school balances completion, graduate earnings, and cost. Some are fully online and asynchronous; others mix online classes with in-person clinicals or a hybrid campus component. Start dates, credit requirements, and clinical expectations vary more than the order alone suggests, so read the details for the schools on your shortlist.
How we ranked these
- Earnings ten years after entry
- Institution-wide graduation rates
- Online and hybrid delivery formats
- Credit hours and transfer credit policies
- Net price carries lighter weight
- Original research on individual programs
- NCES-IPEDS federal institutional data — nces.ed.gov
- Bureau of Economic Analysis cost-of-living index by state — bea.gov
- College Scorecard post-completion earnings data — collegescorecard.ed.gov
- In-house program catalog data
Winona State University
#1Winona, MN · ~$18,000/yr (est.)
Best for: Nurses pursuing school nurse licensure
Winona State University runs its RN to BSN completion program through its Rochester campus while keeping coursework fully online, which suits nurses across southeastern Minnesota and the Twin Cities. The 40-credit curriculum pairs asynchronous classes with 60 hours of experiential learning and clinical partnerships that include Mayo Clinic and other regional health systems. It also prepares graduates for Public Health Nurse certification and School Nurse licensure, and the university offers more than $75,000 in scholarships each year.
Minnesota State University-Mankato
#2Mankato, MN · $10,000 – $19,000/yr (est.)
Best for: Working RNs balancing hospital shift schedules
Minnesota State University-Mankato offers a 100% online RN baccalaureate completion program built for licensed nurses who want to keep working while they finish a BSN. The curriculum leans into leadership, community health, evidence-based practice, and professional development rather than repeating clinical fundamentals. Rolling admissions and multiple start dates let students pace coursework around shift schedules, and graduates move into management, education, and specialized clinical roles.
Rasmussen University-Minnesota
#3St. Cloud, MN · ~$18,000/yr (est.)
Best for: Employer-sponsored learners completing clinicals locally
Rasmussen University delivers its RN to BSN through a Minnesota campus network that includes St. Cloud, Mankato, the Twin Cities area, and other sites, so students have a local contact point even though most coursework happens online. The program spans 70 credit hours and can be finished in 12 to 18 months, with clinicals arranged in the student's own community. Eight start dates a year, grants, employer reimbursement support, and an accelerated master's pathway make it flexible for nurses already working full time.
Minnesota State University Moorhead
#4Moorhead, MN · ~$18,000/yr (est.)
Minnesota State University Moorhead has taught nursing for more than 50 years and offers its RN to BSN in a hybrid format that blends on-campus, online, and hybrid courses. A Dual Acceptance Program with partner associate-degree nursing schools, including Century College, gives community college graduates a defined route into the BSN. Small class sizes, military-friendly support, and study abroad options round out the program.
Metropolitan State University
#5Saint Paul, MN · ~$17,000/yr (est.)
Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul launched a redesigned RN to BSN curriculum in fall 2023, built around a competency-based, cohort model that working nurses complete part time. Coursework covers holistic care, health equity, leadership, and community and population health, with 45 practicum hours placed through public health departments, schools, and community agencies. Graduates qualify for Public Health Nurse registration in Minnesota.
Bemidji State University
#6Bemidji, MN · ~$15,000/yr (est.)
Bemidji State University offers a 100% online RN to BSN with no required campus visits, which works well for nurses in northern Minnesota and beyond. The three-semester curriculum can be completed in as little as a year on a full-time track, with five start dates annually and part-time options as well. The RN Advantage awards 15 upper-level credits for an active RN license, and banded tuition plus scholarships help hold down overall cost.
Southwest Minnesota State University
#7Marshall, MN · ~$15,000/yr (est.)
Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall keeps its RN to BSN entirely online, with a rural nursing thread running through the curriculum that speaks to nurses practicing outside the Twin Cities metro. Courses cover leadership, healthcare informatics, community and public health nursing, research, and evidence-based practice. Prior learning credits are awarded for nursing experience, and graduates can register as Public Health Nurses in Minnesota.
Augsburg University
#8Minneapolis, MN · $24,000/yr (est. net price)
Augsburg University in Minneapolis offers a fully online, asynchronous RN to BSN completion program that students can finish in about 12 months. The curriculum centers on transcultural nursing, preparing graduates to address health inequities in local and global settings, and students can complete practicum hours abroad through the university's CGEE program. An accelerated RN to BSN to Master of Arts in Nursing pathway is available for nurses planning graduate study.
What Drives Our Minnesota RN to BSN Scores
A program's score is a single number built from four weighted inputs that capture what it costs, how well the school graduates students, what graduates earn, and how easily a working nurse can attend online.
The Four Inputs
- Average net price: What students typically pay after grants and scholarships, which is often more telling than posted tuition.
- Graduation rate: The share of students at the institution who finish their degree.
- Graduate earnings: Program-level earnings for graduates, taken from College Scorecard.
- Online availability: How fully the program can be completed remotely.
Why Online Delivery Counts Twice
Online delivery works as both a gate and a boost. Programs that can only be completed on campus were left off this list entirely. Among those that remained, stronger online access raised the score, since schedule flexibility matters most to nurses working shifts.
Where the Numbers Come From
Net price, graduation rates, and earnings come from College Scorecard and institutional figures derived from IPEDS, the federal higher education dataset. Tuition, credit totals, and accreditation figures appear in the program listings and were checked directly against school websites and accreditor listings, so those details reflect what the schools themselves publish.
One Honest Limitation
Graduation rates and net price cover the whole institution, not only the students in the RN to BSN online programs. A school's overall rate may reflect traditional undergraduates more than working RNs returning for a completion degree. Treat these figures as signals of institutional quality, not guarantees about the nursing program. Before you apply, confirm costs, completion timelines, and RN to BSN Requirements with the program directly.
RN to BSN Program Tuition in Minnesota: Per-Credit Cost, Total Credits, and Net Price
This table pairs each school's institution-wide net price and annual tuition, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education, with published per-credit rates and RN to BSN credit requirements. Estimated program tuition is the per-credit rate multiplied by required credits, before fees (St. Cloud State notes additional fees may apply). In-state and out-of-state tuition match at every Minnesota State university listed except Winona State, but these are campus-wide figures, so confirm the online RN to BSN rate directly with each school. St. Catherine University, not shown because its institution-level figures are not in our data, lists $475 per credit across 22 major credits, or roughly $10,450 in estimated tuition. The two private for-profit schools charge $11,490 to $14,400 in annual tuition versus about $9,800 to $10,600 at the public universities, yet net prices overlap closely, with MSUM's $17,997 edging past both Capella and Rasmussen. Keep in mind that net price is an average across all undergraduates after grants and scholarships, not a quote for an RN to BSN student, so your per-credit cost and transfer credits will shape your actual bill.
| School | Sector | Average Net Price (Institution-Wide) | Annual Tuition & Fees (In-State) | Annual Tuition & Fees (Out-of-State) | Per-Credit Tuition | RN to BSN Credits Required | Estimated Program Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Cloud State University | Public | $13,529 | $10,245 | $10,245 | $385.67 | 30 nursing credits (120 total degree) | $11,570 (estimate) |
| Bemidji State University | Public | $15,261 | $10,237 | $10,237 | N/A | N/A (3-semester program) | N/A |
| Southwest Minnesota State University | Public | $15,291 | $10,361 | $10,361 | N/A | 120 total degree credits | N/A |
| Metropolitan State University | Public | $16,863 | $9,840 | $9,840 | N/A | 31 | N/A |
| Winona State University | Public | $17,503 | $10,576 | $17,308 | N/A | 40 | N/A |
| Capella University | Private for-profit | $17,956 | $14,400 | $14,400 | N/A | 180 quarter credits total degree | N/A |
| Rasmussen University-Minnesota | Private for-profit | $17,962 | $11,490 | $11,490 | $345 | 70 | $24,150 (estimate) |
| Minnesota State University Moorhead | Public | $17,997 | $10,428 | $10,428 | N/A | 31 required (average student needs about 40) | N/A |
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How Long an Online RN to BSN Takes in Minnesota: Transfer Credits and Pacing
Your finishing time in a Minnesota online RN to BSN program depends mainly on how many credits transfer and how quickly you move through the remaining nursing courses. At Minnesota State Mankato, the RN Baccalaureate Completion BS accepts up to 60 transfer credits: 30 nursing credits and 30 non-nursing credits.1 The Minnesota Statewide Nursing Program Transfer Agreement goes further for ASN/AS graduates with a current unencumbered RN authorization, guaranteeing that all ASN coursework transfers.2 That can clear most general education and lower-division nursing work before you start, leaving the upper-division RN-to-BSN core as the primary timeline driver.
Once transfer credits are applied, pacing becomes the next variable. At Minnesota State University Moorhead, the RN-to-BSN requires 31 program credits after transfer, with at least 64+ transfer credits applied toward the 120-credit bachelor's degree; students also complete 40 upper-division credits, and the residency requirement is 30 credits, including 8 of the last 12 credits. MSUM evaluates transfer credit individually, so the exact number that applies can vary by student. Checking nursing school transfer requirements early can help you avoid repeating coursework and shorten the timeline. If you have substantial professional experience, RN to BSN credit for work experience may also reduce the number of courses you need, though not every program awards portfolio credit.
From there, your course load sets the finish line. Taking more courses per term will move you through faster than taking fewer courses, and many Minnesota programs offer online flexibility. For nurses focused on the shortest route, compare Fastest RN to BSN Programs before choosing a term schedule. Online formats usually let you keep working while you complete the degree, but a faster pace means a heavier weekly workload.
Full-Time vs. Part-Time RN to BSN: Which Pace Fits Your Shifts?
Few Minnesota schools publish side-by-side full-time and part-time plans, so this comparison draws on the programs that do: Bemidji State, Minnesota State Mankato, and Metropolitan State. None of them publishes weekly study-hour estimates, so ask an advisor directly before you enroll. Part-time is the more common route for working nurses. Minnesota State Moorhead reports that its average RN to BSN student studies part-time, which keeps coursework manageable around a full shift schedule.
Minnesota Board of Nursing: Licensure Path for Internationally Educated Nurses
Admission Requirements for Minnesota RN to BSN Programs
Minnesota's online RN to BSN programs share a common core of requirements, but GPA floors, license timing, and options for internationally educated nurses differ by school. Use this checklist to compare before applying.
- Active RN license, or a scheduled NCLEX at MSUMMetropolitan State requires an active, unencumbered U.S. RN license, and Winona State requires an active nursing license. Among the schools reviewed, only Minnesota State University Moorhead offers provisional admission to recent ADN graduates with a scheduled NCLEX-RN. Full admission follows licensure, and the license must be documented before the second semester.
- Minimum GPAMetropolitan State and Winona State set 2.5 for full admission. Metro State applicants between 2.3 and 2.49 may petition for conditional admission, but approval is not automatic. Bemidji State's program page lists 2.3, while its catalog cites 2.5, so confirm the current standard. MSUM reviews applications holistically. Most admitted students are above 2.75, but that is not a hard cutoff.
- Accredited ADN or diploma and prerequisitesExpect to submit official transcripts from an accredited nursing program. Winona State specifies a U.S. program. Metro State requires a C or better in all nursing courses and Introductory Statistics before a key nursing course. MSUM requires at least 63 transfer credits on your degree audit before you start.
- Internationally educated nursesMSUM requires nurses educated outside the U.S. to already hold a current, unencumbered U.S. RN license. International transcripts are due within 15 days of accepting a seat. MSUM offers a hybrid format for F-1 students, who must finish in three semesters. Metro State evaluates non-U.S. nursing transcripts through WES or ECE. Neither school publishes an English-proficiency score for its RN to BSN program, so ask admissions directly.
- Background check and immunizationsClinical practicum sites commonly require a criminal background check and up-to-date immunizations. The admission materials we reviewed don't detail each school's requirements, so confirm them with your program before practicum placement.
Registered Nurse Pay in the Twin Cities Metro
A BSN can widen a nurse's options in Minnesota's largest job market. Here is the most recent verified pay benchmark for RNs in the metro.