How to Become a Nursing Professor: A Path for Working Nurses

You already train every new hire on your unit, run the in-services and answer the questions charge nurses don’t want to field. This guide maps the actual steps from that informal role to a paid teaching title and whether the right next move turns out to be the Arkansas State University (A-State) online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) – Nurse Educator program, its nurse educator certificate program or the online DNP – Education program, without assuming you are starting from nothing.

Nurse Educator vs. Nursing Professor: What’s the Difference?

The difference comes down to scope: “nurse educator” describes any teaching role a nurse takes on, while “nursing professor” is one specific job title a college or university grants. “Nurse educator” itself covers clinical instruction, classroom teaching, hospital staff development and curriculum work in any setting, from a hospital orientation program to a university classroom.

“Nursing professor” or “nursing faculty” describes a specific employment title at a college or university, one that a nursing program grants based on credentials, experience and an available position, not one a degree program hands out directly. A nurse educator with the right credential and experience can become a professor; the credential alone doesn’t make that happen automatically.

The Four-Step Path

Getting from where you are now to a paid teaching title follows the same basic sequence, no matter which credential you need. Working through these four steps in order tells you exactly which program closes the gap between your current role and the one you’re after.

1. Decide which setting you want to teach in: Academic classroom and clinical instruction at a college or university, hospital-based staff education, or a hybrid of both draw on different day-to-day skills and, in some cases, different credentials.
2. Identify what your target employer requires: Some job postings list an MSN as sufficient, while others specify a terminal degree (DNP or PhD) for full-time faculty or program leadership, and hospital-based educator roles often set their own credential bar separate from academic hiring norms. Read the actual posting rather than assume a single national standard applies everywhere.
3. Choose the credential that matches your starting point and your employer’s bar: If you hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), the online MSN – Nurse Educator program is the direct route. If you already hold an MSN in a clinical specialty, a graduate certificate in nurse education adds the teaching-specific coursework without a second master’s. If your target roles specify a terminal degree, the online DNP – Education program clears that bar.
4. Gain teaching experience and pursue certification where it strengthens your candidacy: The Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) credential, from the National League for Nursing (NLN), is available to nurses with a master’s or doctoral degree carrying an education emphasis, or with a non-education graduate degree plus two or more years of recent academic teaching experience. It signals specialized teaching competency to hiring committees, though it does not replace the graduate degree itself as an employer requirement.

Working through those four steps can help you answer any credential questions you may have. The starting points below map your path directly onto A-State’s certificate, MSN and DNP options, so you can see which one fits the setting and employer bar you just identified.

Which Starting Point Suits Your Credential?

Not sure which path fits? Match your current credential to the starting points below to find the fastest route to a teaching title.

• Hold a BSN and want to teach for the first time: Start with the MSN – Nurse Educator. It is built for exactly this transition and includes the 180-hour supervised practicum that gives you real classroom or clinical-teaching hours before you are hired for your first paid role.
• Already hold an MSN in a clinical specialty (including an NP credential): The graduate certificate covers the teaching-specific coursework in 6 months without requiring a second master’s degree.
• Already hold an MSN – Nurse Educator or already have teaching experience: You likely already qualify for most clinical instructor, adjunct and many full-time faculty roles. A DNP matters mainly if your target roles require a terminal degree or you want program-leadership positions.
• Want a research-focused academic career, not a practice-focused one: A PhD is generally the preferred pathway for research-focused academic careers, while a DNP is designed for advanced clinical practice and practice-focused leadership roles.

Regardless of your starting point, each path above suits a working nurse’s schedule, so pursuing the credential does not mean pausing your current job. Coursework, practicum hours and clinical placements are designed to fit around the shifts you’re already working, not replace them.

How Long Does Each Path Take?

Depending on your current credentials, a teaching-focused graduate credential can take anywhere from 6 to 14 months to complete under the standard full-time sequence. The table below breaks that down by starting point so you can match it to the credential you identified above.