Your Clarkson preceptor, approved before you register.

Clarkson's graduate handbook puts the preceptor search with each student, and the catalog will not let you register for a clinical course until the preceptor and site are approved. Our placement desk does the searching. We line up clinicians near you who fit your NRS course and Clarkson's rules, gather what the site and preceptor agreement asks for, and flag early whether the site needs a new affiliation agreement.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your Clarkson track, your city and your next clinical course. Your placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options that fit it.

750clinical hours in each MSN nurse practitioner track, five courses

975clinical hours in the BSN to DNP nurse practitioner tracks

1clinical course at a time, each approved before registration

What Clarkson handles, and what falls to you

Clarkson supplies the online courses, the Graduate Weekend in Omaha, the Graduate Nursing advisors and course faculty who approve each preceptor and site, the Compliance office that works out the affiliation agreement, and the systems where your compliance and hours are tracked.

Finding the preceptor and the site is yours, course after course, and Clarkson's paperwork can take up to two months once you have them. That is the work our desk takes on: we find preceptors who fit your track, check them against Clarkson's rules, and have the details ready so the agreement goes in well before the semester deadline.

From "I need a preceptor" to an approved agreement

Our steps follow the order Clarkson's own process runs in.

Your track and course

Your Clarkson track, your next NRS clinical course, your city, and the semester it starts.

The search

Clinicians near you who fit the course: all-ages primary care, acute care units or psychiatric settings.

Agreement-ready

License, experience and site details checked against Clarkson's rules and gathered for the DocuSign form.

All five courses

We carry each course through approval and keep the next semester's search moving at the same time.

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.

750clinical hours in the MSN FNP across five courses

NRS 830100 h NRS 832150 h NRS 840160 h NRS 842160 h NRS 844180 h

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

Plan my MSN FNP placement MSN FNP guide

750clinical hours in the MSN AGACNP across five courses

NRS 830100 h NRS 861150 h NRS 862160 h NRS 863160 h NRS 864180 h

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

Plan my MSN AGACNP placement MSN AGACNP guide

750clinical hours in the MSN PMHNP across five courses

NRS 830100 h NRS 856150 h NRS 857160 h NRS 858160 h NRS 859180 h

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

Plan my MSN PMHNP placement MSN PMHNP guide

975clinical hours in the BSN to DNP NP tracks, plus DNP hours toward 1,100

NRS 830125 h Course 2200 h Course 3200 h Course 4200 h Course 5250 h

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

Plan my BSN to DNP placement BSN to DNP guide

150practicum hours in NRS 894 or NRS 898

NRS 894150 h NRS 898150 h

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

Plan my Education or Administration placement Education or Administration guide

The Clarkson pieces you will work with

Named the way Clarkson names them in its catalog and documents.

ProcessClinical placement processHow a Clarkson College clinical gets approved: your preceptor search, the DocuSign agreement, advisor and Compliance checks, faculty sign-off, then Typhon.PreceptorsFinding your own preceptorWhat Clarkson College's rule that each student finds the preceptor means in practice, where to start looking, and how to read the 1,000+ clinical sites line.FormSite and preceptor agreementHow Clarkson College's Clinical/Practicum Site & Preceptor Agreement Form works: one per preceptor, course and term, every partner, and the exact legal name.RuleApproval before registrationClarkson College clinical courses need preceptor and site approval before you register. The registration block, the first-week rule and hours that never count.CalendarClinical deadlinesClarkson College clinical paperwork dates (Nov. 1, Mar. 1, Jun. 1) beside Nebraska Medicine and Children's windows, compliance deadlines and week one of class.CampusGraduate WeekendClarkson College's Graduate Weekend for NRS 830: the 2026-27 and 2027-28 dates in Omaha, the skills check-off, and what missing or failing it means for hours.

All Clarkson clinical systems

Your track, your clinical hours

Every Clarkson nursing program with clinical hours, and the preceptor it calls for.

FNPMSN Family Nurse PractitionerClarkson College's online MSN FNP: 49 credits, five precepted clinical courses worth 750 hours, one Graduate Weekend, and a preceptor plan for each course.AGACNPMSN AGACNPClarkson College's online MSN AGACNP: 49 credits, 750 clinical hours in NRS 830 and NRS 861 to 864, acute-care-certified preceptors, and how approval works.PMHNPMSN PMHNPClarkson College's online MSN PMHNP: 51 credits, 750 clinical hours in five courses taken one at a time, the Graduate Weekend and the preceptors each needs.DNPBSN to DNP (FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP)Clarkson College's online BSN to DNP in FNP, AGACNP or PMHNP: 71 to 73 credits, 975 clinical hours at DNP level, 125 DNP hours and a project mentor you choose.CertificatePost-graduate certificatesClarkson College's post-graduate certificates: FNP 33, AGACNP 33 and PMHNP 35 credits, Educator and Administration options, and the preceptors each one needs.CompareFNP vs AGACNP vs PMHNPClarkson College's three NP tracks side by side: credits, clinical settings, who may precept, special hour rules and the course to staff first in each.

All Clarkson programs

The clinical courses

What each NRS clinical asks of a preceptor and a site.

NRS 830NRS 830 Advanced Physical AssessmentClarkson's NRS 830: 100 or 125 clinical hours for FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP students, the preceptor each track needs, and why every hour follows Graduate Weekend.NRS 840NRS 840 Primary Care of Children and AdolescentClarkson's NRS 840: 160 or 200 FNP clinical hours from birth through adolescence, 110 or more with a pediatric primary care provider, a 50-hour specialty cap.NRS 842NRS 842 Primary Care of WomenClarkson's NRS 842: 160 or 200 FNP clinical hours in ambulatory women's health, 120 or more with a women's health provider, and the exams you need to log.NRS 856NRS 856: Intro to Psych-Mental HealthClarkson College NRS 856: 150 MSN or 200 BSN to DNP hours, the 50 therapist hours, the psychiatric preceptor it needs and how to file both agreements.NRS 861NRS 861 Intro to Acute CareNRS 861 at Clarkson College: 150 MSN or 200 DNP hours on short-stay and sub-acute units, your first acute-care-certified preceptor, and when to file.NRS 864NRS 864 Advanced Acute CareNRS 864 at Clarkson College: 180 MSN or 250 DNP hours in ICU, emergency and trauma settings, the last AGACNP clinical, and how it sets your finish date.

When a clinical is at risk

Fast help for the weeks that matter most.

Placement helpNeed a preceptor fastA Clarkson College agreement date or semester start is close and you have no preceptor. What Clarkson's rules allow, what to do today, and how we move quickly.Placement helpCan't find a preceptorNo preceptor yet for your Clarkson College clinical course? How much time you really have, where Clarkson's rules let you widen the search, and who to tell.Placement helpPreceptor dropped outClarkson College preceptor quit mid-course? The 2021-22 handbook rule, the unavoidable-change exception, what happens to your hours, and when dropping applies.Placement helpBehind on clinical hoursShort on clinical hours at midterm in a Clarkson College course? The half-by-midterm rule, the numbers for each course and how to catch up before the term ends.Placement helpDelayed graduationHow a missing preceptor pushes back a Clarkson College graduation: one clinical course at a time, what a lost term does to your dates, and the seven-year limit.ComparePlacement options comparedFour ways to line up a Clarkson College preceptor: your own search, a health system's request route, your employer, or a placement service like ours, compared.

Before you start

Does Clarkson College find preceptors for graduate nursing students?

Clarkson's graduate handbook says identifying preceptors and sites is the responsibility of each student, not the College, and the catalog requires preceptor and site approval before you register. Our desk does the searching so the preceptor you bring is one Clarkson can approve.

When is the site and preceptor agreement due?

Clarkson's published deadlines were November 1 for spring, March 1 for summer and June 1 for fall, and a new affiliation agreement can take up to two months. Confirm the current dates with your Graduate Nursing advisor.

How many clinical hours are in Clarkson's NP tracks?

The 2026-27 catalog lists 750 for each MSN track (FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP) across five courses, and 975 for the BSN to DNP versions of the same tracks, plus DNP hours toward a 1,100-hour total.

Who can precept a Clarkson NP student?

Clarkson's November 2023 clinical sheets ask for a preceptor licensed in the state where you train, with at least two years of experience and a practice that fits the course. Acute care courses need acute-care-certified NPs, and PAs cannot precept in four states.

Do you help Clarkson students outside Nebraska?

Yes. Most Clarkson graduate students live outside Omaha, and we search wherever you live, in a state where Clarkson's 2026-27 workbook says graduate nursing meets requirements.

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.