TL;DR: A Master of Arts or Master of Science in Nursing (MAN/MSN) costs ₱990-₱1,000 per unit at state schools like UP Manila and UP Open University, versus a general private-school graduate range of roughly ₱60,000-₱150,000 per semester. Every program requires an active RN license and at least one year of clinical experience. Named schools offering it include UP Manila, UST, Silliman, Centro Escolar, and Our Lady of Fatima University, plus a new CHED-standardized Master in Nursing Education (MNE) built specifically to grow the pool of qualified nursing faculty. The real payoff isn't a bigger paycheck by default — it's legal eligibility for Chief Nurse posts under RA 9173 and for full-time faculty positions.
A Master's in Nursing sits at an odd spot in a Filipino nurse's career: it rarely changes your government salary grade on its own, but it is the credential that legally unlocks specific senior roles. This guide breaks down what a MAN or MSN actually costs at named schools, what you need to get in, which majors exist where, and what the degree does (and doesn't) do for your career once you have it. If you're still deciding whether to pursue nursing at all, start with our guide on how to become a nurse in the Philippines or see current pay in our nurse salary guide before committing two more years to graduate school.
What Is a Master's in Nursing (MAN vs MSN)?
In the Philippines, "Master of Arts in Nursing" (MAN) and "Master of Science in Nursing" (MSN or MS Nursing) are used somewhat interchangeably depending on the school, rather than signaling a fixed difference in focus. University of the Philippines Manila offers both an MA in Nursing and an MS in Nursing through its College of Nursing. University of Santo Tomas calls its program a Master of Arts in Nursing, with majors in nursing service administration. Silliman University, by contrast, uses "Master of Science in Nursing," with majors like Adult Health and Nursing Administration.
The practical takeaway: don't choose a school based on the MAN/MSN label alone. Check the specific major and curriculum, since that's what determines whether the program builds toward teaching, hospital administration, or clinical specialization.
How Much Does a Master's in Nursing Cost?
State universities publish clear per-unit rates; most private schools do not. At UP Manila's College of Nursing, tuition for both the MA and MS in Nursing is ₱990 per unit, plus a ₱1,200 library fee and ₱350 in other fees each semester — a student carrying 15 units in a semester pays approximately ₱16,400 total. UP Open University, which co-runs a Master in Nursing Education with UP Manila's College of Nursing, charges its standard system-wide rate of ₱1,000 per unit plus ₱2,000 in miscellaneous fees per semester.
| School | Program | Tuition (as published) | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| UP Manila College of Nursing | MA/MS Nursing | ₱990/unit + ₱1,200 library + ₱350 other fees per sem | Official (upcn.upm.edu.ph) |
| UP Open University + UP Manila | Master in Nursing Education | ₱1,000/unit + ₱2,000 misc/sem | Official (UPOU tuition schedule) |
| Centro Escolar University | MAN, Leadership and Governance in Nursing | 36 units total; per-unit rate not published in curriculum | Official CEU Graduate School curriculum |
| Private schools generally (not nursing-specific) | Various master's programs | Roughly ₱60,000-₱150,000 per semester | Third-party tuition tracker |
Disclaimer: tuition changes by school year and is frequently not published for private-school graduate nursing programs. Confirm the current rate directly with each school's graduate admissions office before applying.
Because most private nursing schools quote per-program rather than per-unit, get a written total-cost estimate — including thesis fees, defense fees, and any practicum costs — before enrolling anywhere that isn't UP Manila or UPOU.
What Are the Admission Requirements?
Every program checked for this guide shares the same baseline: an active Philippine RN license, at least one year of professional clinical or community nursing experience, and a solid undergraduate academic record. UP Manila's College of Nursing, for instance, requires applicants to have "at least 1 year of experience as a professional nurse" in a hospital, community, or research setting, verified through employment documentation, alongside a transcript, two recommendation letters, a resume, and a personal essay describing research interests and motivation for graduate study.
Application processing fees are modest — UP Manila charges ₱300 for Filipino applicants and US$30 for foreign applicants — but admission committees do weigh baccalaureate performance and professional history, and some programs conduct interviews. If your undergraduate nursing degree came from a different discipline entirely (rare, but possible for post-baccalaureate nursing programs), expect to be asked for bridging coursework before the graduate program proper begins.
Which Majors Can You Choose, and Where?
Specializations vary meaningfully by school, so the major matters more than the school's overall reputation if you have a specific career goal in mind.
| School | Program | Majors/Specializations |
|---|---|---|
| UST | MAN | Nursing Service Administration |
| UST Legazpi | MAN | Maternal and Child Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Nursing Administration |
| Silliman University | MS Nursing | Adult Health, Community Health Nursing, Family Nursing Practice, Nursing Administration, Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing |
| Centro Escolar University | MAN | Leadership and Governance in Nursing (36 units: 6 core, 18 major, 6 cognate, 6 thesis) |
| Our Lady of Fatima University | MAN | Nursing Administration, Clinical Instruction, Disaster and Emergency Management |
| UP Manila | MA/MS Nursing | Multiple, per College of Nursing offerings |
Our Lady of Fatima University also offers a research-based PhD in Nursing majoring in Nursing Administration, one of the few doctorate-level nursing programs named on any school's own site — worth a look if you already know you want a terminal nursing degree rather than a stop at the master's level. See our companion guide on the EdD vs PhD distinction for how that logic applies more broadly to graduate education in the Philippines, and our best nursing schools in the Philippines ranking for how these same schools perform on the undergraduate board exam.
Why Did CHED Create the New Master in Nursing Education (MNE)?
CHED Memorandum Order No. 5, series of 2024 created a new, standardized graduate degree specifically to fix a supply problem: not enough nurses hold the master's degree required to teach. As the memo states directly, the rationale is "to address the critical need for nursing faculty who should possess a master's degree in nursing (CMO 15, s. 2017 and RA 9173 Philippine Nursing Law). The current lack of qualified nursing faculty restricts the nursing schools to admit more nursing students who are expected to address the staffing crisis in the different health care facilities in the country."
The MNE is a one-year, non-thesis program built around 30 units — 15 in didactics and 15 in Related Learning Experience such as teaching demonstrations and clinical preceptorship — capped by a comprehensive examination and a teaching portfolio. A distinctive feature is Recognition of Prior Learning: up to 9 academic units can be credited based on a nurse's existing clinical and teaching experience, cutting real time-to-degree for working nurses. Saint Louis University Baguio and the UP Open University/UP Manila partnership are among the first to offer it.
Who a Master's in Nursing Is For — and How Long It Takes
Two questions decide whether this degree makes sense for you: whether you are the person it was designed for, and whether you can absorb the shape of the programme you would be entering.
Who it is built for. Every programme reviewed here assumes the same starting point — a registered nurse with an updated PRC card and at least one year of professional clinical or community experience. That is not a formality. It is the reason a MAN or MSN is not a route into nursing the way a BSN is; it is a route into a specific tier of the profession. In practice the degree is aimed at four groups: nurses targeting a Chief Nurse or nursing service director post, where RA 9173 makes the master's a legal prerequisite; nurses moving into full-time faculty work, where CHED's rules make it effectively mandatory; hospital-based clinical educators and training officers; and nurses who want a defined clinical or administrative specialisation rather than general seniority. If you are none of those four, the honest answer is that additional years of practice will usually move your career faster than 30-odd graduate units will.
The two shapes of programme. Philippine nursing master's degrees now come in two meaningfully different forms, and the difference matters more than the MAN/MSN label:
| Traditional MAN / MSN | Master in Nursing Education (MNE) | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Coursework plus a thesis (for example, Centro Escolar's 36-unit MAN: 6 core, 18 major, 6 cognate, 6 thesis) | 30 units — 15 didactics, 15 Related Learning Experience — across ten courses |
| Terminal requirement | Thesis proposal, writing, and defence | Comprehensive examination plus a comprehensive teaching portfolio |
| Stated duration | Longer; paced by the thesis | CHED describes it as "a one-year program" |
| Best for | Specialisation, research, administration | Qualifying to teach in a BS Nursing programme |
Two details in CHED Memorandum Order No. 5, s. 2024 are worth knowing before you choose. First, the MNE "is a non-thesis program which can either be a terminal degree or geared towards completion of a Master of Science in Nursing through bridging courses" — so it is not necessarily a dead end if you later want the research degree. Second, the CMO allows 12 units of specified core courses (Theoretical Foundations in Nursing and Education, Curriculum Development for Nursing, Designing Courses in Nursing, and Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing) to be credited toward the programme if taken as short-term study, provided you continue in the same higher education institution, complete all 12 units once with no failing or incomplete grade, and are certified in good academic standing.
Expect the catalogue timeline to stretch. A one-year design does not always mean a calendar year in delivery. UP Open University's Master in Nursing Education, for instance, maps its programme of study across roughly two years, delivered in a combination of face-to-face and online modes through its MyPortal learning system, with a capstone project, professional portfolio, and comprehensive examination in place of a thesis. Ask any programme for its actual programme-of-study table, not just its advertised length.
Finally, before committing money to any programme, confirm it is a CHED-recognised graduate programme. CMO No. 5, s. 2024 provides that only higher education institutions with graduate programmes authorised or recognised by the Commission are included in CHED's Registry of Recognized Graduate Programs, published on the CHED website — a check worth five minutes against a two-year commitment.
What Can You Actually Do With a Master's in Nursing?
The degree's biggest practical value is legal eligibility, not an automatic raise. Republic Act 9173, the Philippine Nursing Act, sets the qualifications for a Chief Nurse or nursing service director position at "at least five (5) years of experience in a supervisory or managerial position in nursing" combined with "a master's degree major in nursing" (Section 29). Without the degree, you are not legally eligible for that post regardless of how many years you've worked, in most public health institutions covered by the law.
The second major path is teaching. CHED's own nursing faculty rules, referenced in the 2024 MNE memo, point back to CMO 15, series of 2017 and RA 9173 as requiring nursing school faculty to hold at least a master's degree in nursing — meaning a MAN, MSN, or the newer MNE is effectively a prerequisite to becoming full-time nursing faculty at any CHED-recognized school. Beyond these two well-documented paths, many nurses also pursue the degree to move into hospital-based training officer or clinical educator roles, or to strengthen applications for nurse educator and clinical leadership positions abroad, though licensing rules for practicing nursing overseas are separate from this degree entirely.
Is a Master's in Nursing Worth It for You?
- Check whether your target role actually requires it. If you're aiming for Chief Nurse, nursing service director, or a full-time faculty post, the degree isn't optional — it's a legal requirement under RA 9173 and CHED's own faculty rules.
- Compare the state-school route first. At ₱990-₱1,000 per unit, UP Manila and UP Open University cost a fraction of most private graduate programs; the trade-off is a more selective, research-oriented admissions process.
- Ask about Recognition of Prior Learning if you're considering the MNE. Up to 9 units can be credited from your existing clinical and teaching experience, which can meaningfully shorten a program that's already just one year.
- Get a full cost estimate in writing from private schools, since most don't publish per-unit tuition the way UP does, and thesis/defense fees can add up beyond the quoted program cost.
- Match the major to the job, not the prestige of the school. A Community Health Nursing major from Silliman and a Nursing Administration major from OLFU point toward genuinely different careers.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare tuition and admission requirements for nursing programs across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- University of the Philippines College of Nursing — Apply to MA Nursing
- University of the Philippines College of Nursing — Apply to MS Nursing
- University of the Philippines College of Nursing — Scholarships and Financial Information
- UP Open University — Master in Nursing Education program page
- UP Open University Helpdesk — Tuition and Other Fees
- Silliman University — Master of Science in Nursing, major in Nursing Administration
- Saint Louis University — SLU Now Offers Master's in Nursing Education
- Centro Escolar University Graduate School — Master of Arts in Nursing curriculum (official PDF)
- Our Lady of Fatima University — College of Nursing
- University of Santo Tomas Legazpi — Graduate Programs
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 5, series of 2024 — Policies, Standards and Guidelines for Master in Nursing Education (official PDF)
- Republic Act No. 9173 — Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, full text (LawPhil)
- SchoolFinderPH — Best Nursing Schools in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — How to Become a Nurse in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — Nurse Salary in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — Master's Degree in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — Postgraduate Study in the Philippines
