Clarkson College clinical hours, program by program
Each Clarkson College nurse practitioner track asks for 750 direct-care clinical hours at the MSN level and 975 in the BSN to DNP, spread across five NRS courses. The Nursing Education and Healthcare Administration practicums carry 150 hours apiece, every DNP student reaches at least 1,100 professional practice hours, and nurse anesthesia residents log at least 2,000. Where two Clarkson sources print different numbers, you get both below, along with who settles the question.
Plan every hour of your track
Send your Clarkson program and next NRS course. Your placement advisor maps preceptors to the hours each course asks for.
Pick your Clarkson program
Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From Clarkson's own catalog and program pages.
- Who precepts
- An MD, DO, PA or NP with two years of experience, licensed where you train; pediatric and women's health providers for NRS 840 and 842
- Where
- Outpatient primary care or rural health clinics that see all ages, in a state where Clarkson's graduate nursing meets requirements
- Start looking
- One clinical course at a time; agreements due Nov. 1, Mar. 1 or Jun. 1 for the next semester
- Who precepts
- Acute-care-certified NPs, physicians or PAs; FNP-certified NPs cannot precept the acute care courses
- Where
- Sub-acute and short-stay units, then med-surg, then step-down or urgent care, then ICU or emergency
- Start looking
- Hospital sites often need their own agreement: start the paperwork a semester ahead
- Who precepts
- A psychiatrist or PMHNP after NRS 830, plus a licensed master's-prepared therapist for 50 hours of NRS 856
- Where
- Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings, crisis units, counseling and community health centers
- Start looking
- Plan the adult, under-18 and 60-plus hour minimums across the four psychiatric courses
- Who precepts
- The same preceptors as your MSN track, plus an External Subject Area Expert/Mentor you choose for the DNP project
- Where
- Your track's settings for the clinical courses; a practice site for the project
- Start looking
- The DNP-level hours apply from Spring 2024; line up the project mentor by DNP 960
- Who precepts
- An MSN-prepared nurse educator or nursing health care administrator with two years in the role
- Where
- A school of nursing or clinical education setting (NRS 894); a selected health care system (NRS 898)
- Start looking
- Preceptor and practicum site approval comes before registration, like the NP courses
Hours in every Clarkson nursing program
The 2026-27 catalog and Policy AA-55, Clarkson's credit hour definition, set the totals below. The planner above splits each nurse practitioner track into its five courses; this table stays at the program level and adds what some programs require on top of clinical time.
| Program | Clinical or practicum hours | Also required | Where Clarkson prints it |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN: FNP, AGACNP or PMHNP | 750 per track | Graduate Weekend in NRS 830 | NRS course pages; Policy AA-55 |
| Post-graduate certificate: FNP, AGACNP or PMHNP | 750 (inferred: same five courses, and course pages print only MSN and DNP figures) | Graduate Weekend in NRS 830 | NRS course pages |
| BSN to DNP: FNP, AGACNP or PMHNP | 975 per track | DNP hours toward a 1,100-hour total | Policy AA-55; Spring 2024 addendum to the DNP Hours Guide |
MSN Nursing Education or Nurse Educator certificate (NRS 894) | 150 (135 under the per-credit formula) | None published | NRS 894 course page; AA-55 |
MSN Nursing Healthcare Administration or its certificate (NRS 898) | 150 (135 under the per-credit formula) | None published | NRS 898 course page; AA-55 |
| DNP post-graduate option | 350 in the catalog; 300 on the program page | Verified hours from your earlier program count toward 1,000 | AA-55; DNP Hours Guide 2023-24; DNP program page |
| BSN to DNP, Nurse Anesthesia | At least 2,000 | At least 125 DNP hours | Policy AA-55 |
RN to BSN (NRS 482) | Not published | A final project | NRS 482 course page |
The nurse practitioner minimums are clock hours, not credits. AA-55 assigns zero credit hours to NP clinical time and states that "a minimum of 750 clock hours are required for the MSN and 975 clock hours BSN-DNP programs." That is how one 3-credit NRS course can hold 100 hours while another holds 250.
How Clarkson counts an hour
Clarkson runs two counting systems side by side. Undergraduate clinicals and the graduate Education and Administration practicums use a credit formula, 45 clinical hours for each credit hour; the catalog's worked example is a 2-credit undergraduate clinical worth 90 hours. Nurse practitioner, DNP and nurse anesthesia hours ignore credits and follow fixed program minimums instead.
Nurse anesthesia is the one program with a ceiling as well as a floor. Its clinical hours "never exceed 64 hours per week," averaged across four weeks, and residents train at sites the program arranges itself.
For the online NP tracks, the rule that shapes your weeks comes from Clarkson's 2021-22 graduate handbook: spread hours evenly across the term and have at least half of them logged by midterm. The pacing guide turns that into weekly numbers for 15-week and 12-week terms.
Three places Clarkson's figures disagree
In three spots, Clarkson's current documents give two answers. The first move is the same in each case: ask your Graduate Nursing advisor which figure sits on your degree plan. Knowing both numbers helps you plan to the right one.
- Practicums, 150 or 135. The
NRS 894andNRS 898course pages each list "150 Practicum Hours." AA-55's 45-per-credit formula gives 135 for these 3-credit courses, and 135 was the published figure until the 2023-24 catalog. Course faculty confirm which total you log toward; the practicum guide covers preceptors for both. - DNP post-graduate option, 350 or 300. The live DNP program page gives 300 clinical hours as the minimum. AA-55 and Clarkson's 2023-24 DNP Hours Guide say 350, or 125 for a student who arrives holding two or more NP certifications. The 300 matches the rule Clarkson used before 2023-24.
- BSN to DNP DNP hours, 350 or 125. AA-55 still sets a 350-hour floor for DNP professional practice. The Spring 2024 addendum to the DNP Hours Guide put NP students who start in or after that term on a 975-plus-125 plan, where the earlier plan was 750 plus 350. Both routes reach 1,100.
The DNP hours guide covers the project mentor, the Clinical Hour Verification Form and how DNP hours are documented.
Until your advisor confirms which figure governs your degree plan, book preceptor time for the larger one.
What counts toward your total
An hour counts only once the paperwork behind it is finished. Clarkson's 2021-22 graduate handbook left out any hours logged before final approval of the site and preceptor agreement, and the November 2023 clinical sheets added that Typhon gets no new preceptor or site until DocuSign is finished.
Hours the handbook and the 2023 sheets set apart
- Time with a family member as your preceptor: it does not count toward the course.
- Your paid RN shifts: clinical hours happen outside your own department, and work time and clinical time are documented separately.
- Observation hours: a small optional allowance (ten a course, after the first clinical, on the FNP and AGACNP sheets), watch-only, cleared with faculty first and recorded in Typhon without a DocuSign form.
- Specialty hours: capped course by course on the FNP and AGACNP sheets, from none in
NRS 830up to 56 in each track's final course. - Required experiences: the FNP sheet counted specific visits as well as hours, such as pelvic and breast exams in
NRS 842, and each had to be in Typhon to earn credit.
Each item has its own guide: Typhon logging, FNP site rules and caps and clinicals where you work.
Which figure applies to certificate and DNP students
Post-graduate certificate students in the FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP options take the same NRS clinical courses as MSN students. The course pages print an MSN figure and a DNP figure with nothing separate for certificates, so the MSN column is the one that fits. Your degree plan settles it.
BSN to DNP students use the higher figure on each course page, labeled "DNP-effective Spring 2024." Students who began before that term were on the earlier plan of 750 clinical hours plus 350 DNP hours, and your advisor can tell you which version is on your record.
DNP post-graduate students arrive with clinical hours already earned. Clarkson's 2023-24 DNP Hours Guide lets verified hours from your earlier MSN or certificate, recorded on the Clinical Hour Verification Form, count toward the 1,000 post-baccalaureate hours that faculty must have supervised. The post-graduate DNP guide explains the rest of that program.
Planning hours with our placement desk
Clarkson students choose us because we plan hours the way Clarkson counts them. Before we propose a preceptor, we check that the clinic's schedule can carry your course's figure at your program level, that its patients can produce the visits the course requires, and that any specialty time stays under that course's cap.
We also work the whole track at once. While one course runs, the search for the next preceptor is already moving, so each agreement can reach Clarkson ahead of its paperwork deadline and your hours start on approved time.
For BSN to DNP and post-graduate students, we plan around the figure your advisor confirms, not the one a classmate remembers. Send your program and next course through the form below and your placement advisor lays out the hours course by course.
Questions Clarkson students ask
Do Clarkson certificate students complete fewer clinical hours than MSN students?
Not according to the catalog. Post-graduate FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP certificate students take the same five NRS clinical courses as MSN students, and each course page publishes only an MSN figure and a DNP figure. That points to 750 hours for a certificate, the MSN total. Your degree plan and Graduate Nursing advisor give the final word.
Do my RN work hours count toward Clarkson NP clinical hours?
No. Clarkson requires graduate nursing students to hold RN jobs throughout the program, but paid shifts and clinical hours are separate things. If you train at your employer, the 2021-22 handbook sent you to a different department from your usual one, with separate records for paid time and clinical time.
How many clinical hours does Clarkson's nurse anesthesia program require?
At least 2,000 clinical hours plus at least 125 DNP professional practice hours, under Policy AA-55. Residents rotate through urban and rural facilities that the program itself arranges, and clinical time is held to 64 hours a week or less, averaged over four weeks. The nurse anesthesia guide has the full picture.
Are observation hours part of a Clarkson clinical course?
Clarkson's November 2023 FNP and AGACNP sheets let students add a few optional observation hours, capped at ten per course from the second clinical on. Faculty had to approve them first, the student watched rather than treated, and the time went into Typhon. Whether they count toward the course total today is a question for your course faculty.
How many practicum hours are in Clarkson's RN to BSN?
Clarkson publishes no hour figure for NRS 482, the RN to BSN capstone practicum. The catalog pairs practicum time in population health with a final project, and an earlier catalog allowed clinical work at your own workplace with faculty approval. Course faculty set the hours for your term.
Is the 1,100-hour DNP total on top of the 975 clinical hours?
No. For BSN to DNP nurse practitioner students on the Spring 2024 plan, the 975 clinical hours count toward the 1,100, and 125 DNP hours complete it. Policy AA-55 still prints a 350-hour DNP figure, which matches the older 750-plus-350 plan, so confirm your version with your advisor.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Clarkson College's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and Graduate Nursing advisor have the final word.
- Clarkson College catalog: Policy AA-55, Credit Hour Definition
- Clarkson College catalog: NRS 830 Advanced Physical Assessment
- Clarkson College catalog: NRS 894 Nursing Education Practicum
- Clarkson College: Doctor of Nursing Practice (Post-Master's)
- Clarkson College FNP Clinical Rotation Information, revised November 2023 (archived)
Clarkson asks you to find your preceptor. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your Clarkson track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NRS course and Clarkson's rules, gather the details the site and preceptor agreement asks for, and flag early whether the site needs a new affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages primary care for FNP, acute care units for AGACNP, psychiatric providers for PMHNP
- License, experience and site details checked against Clarkson's rules before the agreement is filed
- Every clinical course planned in sequence, close to home in a state where Clarkson's graduate nursing meets requirements
Start your placement plan
Track, city and next clinical course is all we need to begin.