NSU's MSN APRN Family Nurse Practitioner track, planned around its clinicals

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Nova Preceptor placement team

NSU's Family Nurse Practitioner track, a 45-credit online MSN APRN, comes with three two-day intensives and five clinical courses that add up to 855 hours under the 2026-27 catalog. Every one of those courses needs a primary-care preceptor, and NSU asks you to tell your clinical coordinator about each one two semesters before the course starts.

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Plan your five FNP clinicals

Tell us your start term and plan. Your placement advisor maps a preceptor to each clinical course and its notice date.

855clinical hours across the five FNP clinical courses (our sum of the 2026-27 catalog's per-course figures)

5clinical courses, each with its own preceptor notice two semesters ahead

3two-day intensives, at Palm Beach or Tampa Bay

MSN APRN: Family NP (FNP). 855: clinical hours across the five FNP clinical courses (our sum of the 2026-27 catalog's per-course figures); 5: clinical courses, each with its own preceptor notice two semesters ahead; 3: two-day intensives, at Palm Beach or Tampa Bay. — 855: clinical hours across the five FNP clinical courses (our sum of the 2026-27 catalog's per-course figures); 5: clinical courses, each with its own preceptor notice two semesters ahead; 3: two-day intensives, at Palm Beach or Tampa Bay.

What NSU's FNP track looks like in 2026-27

The 2026-27 ACON graduate catalog describes the MSN APRN as an online degree for bachelor's-prepared registered nurses, taken on a full-time or flex track. The FNP page's banner reads "Now in an Online Format," and live Zoom sessions are optional. The track is 45 credits: a 12-credit core shared with the acute care and psychiatric tracks, plus 33 track credits running from the three Ps through the FNP capstone.

NSU's own wording on length does not line up. The FNP page promises the degree "in only seven semesters," yet the plans printed on that same page run six semesters full-time and eight on the flex track. Your program director can tell you which count applies to your start term.

Older NSU documents describe a different program. The 2025-26 student catalog shows a hybrid FNP split between the Palm Beach and Tampa Bay campuses, 51 credits, with clinical time built into larger six-credit courses (765 hours by our count). The 855 versus 765 math has its own page.

Full-time and flex course plans

Both plans use the same courses in the same order. The flex plan stretches the first half: the core and the three Ps (advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and health assessment) spread over four semesters instead of two, so clinical work starts in semester V rather than semester III.

FNP course plan by semester (NSU FNP page)
Courses	What they cover	Full-time	Flex
`NSG 5000`, `NSG 5111`	Advanced Nurse Roles; Evidence and Practice	I	I
`NSG 5531`	Advanced Pathophysiology	I	II
`NSG 5512`, `NSG 5510`, `NSG 5502`	Diagnostic Reasoning; Advanced Pharmacology; Advanced Health Assessment (intensive)	II	III
`NSG 5220`	Health Promotion and Disease Prevention	III	IV
`NSG 5542` with `NSG 5549`	Primary Care Adult I (intensive) and its clinical	III	V
`NSG 5130`	Healthcare Policy and Leadership	IV	IV
`NSG 5550` with `NSG 5559`	Primary Care Adult II (intensive) and its clinical	IV	VI
`NSG 5580` with `NSG 5589`; `NSG 5560` with `NSG 5569`	Primary Care Pediatrics and Primary Care Women, each with its clinical	V	VII
`NSG 5590` with `NSG 5599`	Family Nurse Practitioner Capstone and its clinical	VI	VIII

NSU calls the curriculum lock-step, requires enrollment in a graduate course every term, and lets you start a clinical rotation only after its prerequisite courses are done, so a clinical that cannot start on time can push back the courses behind it. Choose your plan with the preceptor calendar in mind as well as your work hours; full-time versus flex walks through that choice.

The five clinical courses and their hours

NSU's FNP page prices clinical time at 95 practicum hours for every credit, and the 2026-27 catalog spells out each clinical course's hours. The track carries nine clinical credits, which is where 855 comes from. NSU does not print that total itself; it is the sum of the figures below.

FNP clinical courses (2026-27 ACON graduate catalog)
Clinical course	Paired with	Credits	Hours	Care the title points to
`NSG 5549` Primary Care Adult I Clinical	`NSG 5542`	2	190	Adult primary care
`NSG 5559` Primary Care Adult II Clinical	`NSG 5550`	2	190	Adult primary care
`NSG 5589` Primary Care Pediatrics Clinical	`NSG 5580`	1	95	Pediatric primary care
`NSG 5569` Primary Care Women Clinical	`NSG 5560`	1	95	Women's health in primary care
`NSG 5599` Family Nurse Practitioner Capstone Clinical	`NSG 5590`	3	285	Family primary care
Total		9	855 (our sum)

Pediatrics and women's health share a single semester, and NSU does not publish whether one preceptor may cover both or whether hours may be split across sites. The capstone is the largest single block, 285 hours in one term.

Each course is covered in depth in the FNP clinical courses guide, while the 95-hour pediatrics and women's health courses and the capstone each get a page of their own.

The three on-campus intensives

The FNP page lists three intensives of two days each. NSU warns the schedule can change and keeps the dates off its public pages; they reach you through the course.

NSG 5502 Advanced Health Assessment: Palm Beach campus, during full-time semester II (flex semester III). It comes before any clinical course.
NSG 5542 Primary Care Adult I: Palm Beach or Tampa Bay, in the same semester as NSG 5549, your first clinical.
NSG 5550 Primary Care Adult II: Palm Beach or Tampa Bay, in the same semester as NSG 5559.

Because the second and third intensives fall while weekly clinical hours are running, give your preceptor the travel days when you first set your schedule. Travel to sites and campus is on you. For campus-by-campus travel planning, see NSU's on-campus intensives.

Admission items that follow you into clinicals

Several admission items stay with you through every clinical, and some are exactly where NSU's documents disagree.

RN license. For FNP applicants, NSU's newest catalog and its admissions page want an unrestricted RN license from any state, maintained "in the jurisdiction of the practicum" until you finish. The 2025-26 handbook and catalog, by contrast, tied every APRN track to a Florida license. Ask admissions or your program director which applies to you.
Florida sites. At any Florida site, FAC 64B9-4.001(13) calls for a preceptor licensed in Florida and a student holding RN licensure under chapter 464.
Distance from campus. The 2025-26 handbook, the July 2024 Miles from Campus policy and the 2025-26 catalog set a 225-mile limit between home and campus, a separate radius from the 150-mile placement circle drawn around your home ZIP code. The 2026-27 catalog and the current FNP page say nothing about mileage.
Experience. A year or more of current direct patient care, and either 12 months of active independent practice with a 3.0 GPA or 24 months with a 2.75.
Non-nursing bachelor's. You enter through NSG 5000B, a six-credit bridge offered only in the fall term.
Compliance. DISA CastleBranch holds your immunization and physical exam records, with ACON Student Affairs watching compliance, and under the handbook, a facility requirement still open on your start date means the placement is canceled.

The license question matters most if you live outside Florida. The RN license page sets every NSU source side by side.

When to name each FNP preceptor

Under the 2025-26 handbook, it is up to you to tell the clinical coordinator, two semesters ahead of each clinical course, when you have found a preceptor and site. The coordinator then confirms that the preceptor meets NSU's supervision requirements and that the site offers the right experience. Name no one and the coordinator chooses for you, anywhere up to 150 miles from your residential ZIP code, and that choice "is not negotiable."

Counting back two semesters from each FNP clinical gives the notice points below. Treat them as a planning count; your clinical coordinator gives the exact date and method.

Two-semester notice points for FNP clinicals (our count from NSU's plans)
Clinical course	Full-time: runs in	Full-time: name by start of	Flex: runs in	Flex: name by start of
`NSG 5549`	Semester III	Semester I	Semester V	Semester III
`NSG 5559`	Semester IV	Semester II	Semester VI	Semester IV
`NSG 5589` and `NSG 5569`	Semester V	Semester III	Semester VII	Semester V
`NSG 5599`	Semester VI	Semester IV	Semester VIII	Semester VI

Your hours open with the lecture course, fall into a weekly rhythm and cannot be piled into the first or last weeks, so the preceptor must have room for you all term. Paperwork is due before your first hour, and you arrange a visit to meet the preceptor beforehand. The two-semester deadline guide turns these semester counts into terms.

Full-time students hit the NSG 5549 notice point at about the start of semester I. Begin the search for your adult primary-care preceptor before your first class.

Why FNP students choose us

We plan all five FNP clinicals together, in NSU's order. Your placement advisor finds primary-care preceptors near your home for the adult, pediatric, women's health and capstone hours, with schedules that leave room for weekly time across the whole semester, and lines each one up ahead of its notice point.

For each preceptor we put together what your clinical coordinator reviews: license and credentials, site details, and how the setting matches the course. Your CastleBranch items and each site's own checklist stay on our tracker, so nothing is outstanding on day one, and if a preceptor drops, we find a replacement. Final approval of each preceptor and site belongs to NSU's clinical coordinator, and our part is handing them a file that is complete and matches NSU's rules on the first review.

Send your start term and plan through the form below to begin.

Questions NSU students ask

Is NSU's FNP program fully online?

The coursework is. The 2026-27 catalog and the FNP page describe online classes with optional live Zoom sessions, plus three two-day intensives at Palm Beach or Tampa Bay. Your 855 clinical hours happen in person with a preceptor at a clinical site. The 2025-26 handbook still calls the MSN hybrid, so if format affects your plans, confirm it with your program director.

Can I start NSU's FNP track in the winter?

Yes. The MSN APRN admits in fall and winter. The FNP page lists August 1 for fall and December 1 for winter, while the 2026-27 catalog gives December 19 for winter, so confirm the date with admissions. If your bachelor's degree is in another field, plan on a fall start, because the bridge course NSG 5000B runs only in the fall term.

Do I need a different preceptor for every FNP clinical course?

Not necessarily, but each course is notified and approved on its own. The coordinator checks that the site gives the experience that particular course needs, so an adult primary-care preceptor may suit both adult courses while pediatrics and women's health may call for other settings. NSU does not publish how many preceptors a course may use or whether hours may be split.

Can NSU FNP students do clinicals outside Florida?

NSU publishes no rule either way. Today's admissions wording lets FNP students hold an RN license from any state as long as it is current where the practicum happens, which suggests out-of-state sites are possible. Without a named preceptor, the coordinator's placement can land anywhere in a 150-mile circle around where you live. Ask your clinical coordinator before approaching an out-of-state site.

What grade do I need to pass an FNP clinical course?

The MSN minimum is B-, which NSU sets at 80 points with no rounding. Only one course repeated after a grade below B- can count toward the degree, and a second grade under B- ends the program. Failing any course also puts you on academic probation and sends your case to the CSP, NSU's Committee on Student Progress.

FNPFNP clinical coursesNSU's five FNP clinicals, NSG 5549, 5559, 5589, 5569 and 5599: order in the full-time and flex plans, paired courses, intensives, settings and preceptor timing.BridgeMSN bridge: NSG 5000BEntering NSU's MSN APRN with a non-nursing bachelor's: the NSG 5000B bridge (6 credits, fall only) and how it shifts your first clinical and preceptor notice.150 milesThe 150-mile placement ruleWhat happens when an NSU APRN student names no preceptor: a coordinator placement within 150 miles of your home ZIP code that NSU calls "not negotiable."FNPFNP postgraduate certificateNSU's postgraduate FNP certificate: NSG 5542 to NSG 5590, 765 clinical hours, the three Ps, the Florida RN and 225-mile rules, and the 2027 move online.DNPBSN to DNP: FNP concentrationNSU's BSN to DNP with the FNP concentration: the 11-semester sequence, 73 credits, 1,455 hours (855 clinical, 600 project) and when to line up each preceptor.Florida ruleFlorida preceptor ruleWho may precept NP students at Florida sites under 64B9-4.001(13): a Florida-licensed APRN, MD, DO or dentist, the student RN rule, and what it means at NSU.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against NSU's own handbook, catalog and program pages. The graduate clinical guide, your course in Canvas, your clinical coordinator and your program director have the final word.

NSU lets you name your own preceptor. We make sure you have one, close to home and in time.

Tell us your NSU program, your home ZIP area and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and have everything ready for your clinical coordinator well before the two-semester notice.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, acute care for AGACNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP, a practice site for DNP project hours
Named early enough for NSU's two-semester notice, with license, credentials and site details ready for the coordinator
Close to your home ZIP code, with clinic days we plan around your work schedule

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