Samford's 2026-27 graduate nursing calendar
Graduate nursing students follow Samford's College of Health Sciences graduate calendar: fall runs from August 24 through December 3, 2026, spring from January 11 through April 22, 2027, and the 12-week summer session from May 17 through August 5, 2027. Below are the add/drop, withdrawal and grade dates for each term, how registration works for nursing students, the graduation deadlines, and how to plan a preceptor around all of it.
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Term dates at a glance
Samford publishes one calendar for its College of Health Sciences graduate programs, and the Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing runs on it. The graduate handbook notes that the drop/add deadline usually falls on the Friday after a Monday start of term; the summer terms, which are shorter, close add/drop two days after they begin.
| Term | Classes begin | Add/drop ends | Withdraw without penalty by | Last class | Finals | Grades due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | Aug 24 | Aug 28 | Nov 11 | Dec 3 | Dec 7 to 10 | Dec 15 |
| Spring 2027 | Jan 11 | Jan 15 | Mar 31 | Apr 22 | Apr 26 to 29 | May 4 |
| Summer 2027, 14 weeks | May 3 | May 5 | Jul 21 | Aug 5 | Aug 6 | Aug 10 |
| Summer 2027, 12 weeks | May 17 | May 19 | Jul 7 | Aug 5 | Aug 6 | Aug 10 |
| Summer 2027, 10 weeks | Jun 1 | Jun 3 | Jul 21 | Aug 5 | Aug 6 | Aug 10 |
The spring row carries a note: classes begin January 4 "for Pharmacy APPEs and certain clinical experiences." Confirm with your course faculty whether an early start applies to your clinical course rather than reading it into the calendar.
Which summer term graduate nursing uses
Samford runs three overlapping summer terms. The graduate catalog assigns the 12-week summer term to graduate College of Health Sciences programs other than pharmacy and physician assistant studies, which points graduate nursing to the May 17 to August 5 term. Your course schedule in Banner Self-Service is the final word, since the calendar lists all three.
Summer matters for clinicals. Several plans of study put a clinical course there: NURG 723 in the FNP MSN, ADN to MSN and certificate plans, NURG 717 in the FNP BSN to DNP, and NURG 788 in the PMHNP plans. Twelve weeks is a short run for 150 hours; by our arithmetic it works out to about 12.5 hours a week, inside the 10 to 20 weekly hours Samford's program pages describe.
Samford's online programs, the RN to BSN among them, also use accelerated terms: Fall A from August 24 to October 9, Fall B from October 19 to December 4, Spring A from January 11 to February 26, and Spring B from March 8 to April 23. Each has its own withdrawal date, listed in the withdrawal section below.
Registration: coordinated for you, with one condition
Registration works differently for graduate nursing students than for much of the university. The graduate handbook says the Director of Graduate Student Services coordinates registration for graduate nursing students, and each student receives a message at their Samford e-mail account confirming registration for the next term.
The calendar's registration openings, Tuesday, October 20 for spring 2027 and Tuesday, March 23 for fall 2027, are listed for self-registering graduate students. Online changes through Banner Self-Service stay open through the last add/drop day of each term. Our guide to Samford's online student tools shows where Banner sits inside mySamford.
The condition is compliance. The handbook makes you responsible for updating all required health information through the end of the term before registration each semester, so check the expiration dates on your TB test, flu vaccination and BLS card ahead of every registration period. The full list is on the clinical compliance requirements page.
Withdrawal dates and clinical courses
You can withdraw without academic penalty until November 11 in fall 2026, March 31 in spring 2027 and July 7 in the 12-week summer term. The accelerated online terms close earlier: September 14 for Fall A, November 11 for Fall B, February 3 for Spring A and March 31 for Spring B.
Clinical courses carry an extra rule. Under the graduate handbook, a student who has already failed a course clinically before the withdrawal date and then withdraws receives a WF, not a clean withdrawal. The grades and time limits guide explains WF, Incomplete and In Progress in full.
Every Samford graduate nursing course requires a B or better, and a nursing course can be taken no more than twice, so pulling out of a clinical course can reshape the rest of your plan of study. Talk with your program coordinator before the deadline, while every option is still open.
Holidays and breaks in 2026-27
- Labor Day: Monday, September 7, 2026.
- Fall Break: October 12 to 13, 2026. The calendar says graduate and professional programs may elect not to observe it.
- Thanksgiving: November 26 to 27, 2026, with no classes on November 25, on the College of Health Sciences calendar. The undergraduate catalog lists November 25 to 27, so the two Samford sources differ by a day.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day: January 18, 2027.
- Spring Break: March 8 to 12, 2027.
- Easter Monday: March 29, 2027.
A university break does not close your preceptor's clinic, and the calendar says nothing about whether clinical hours pause during one. Settle holiday weeks with your preceptor and course faculty at the start of the term so a break does not quietly eat into your hours.
Graduation applications and commencement
The graduation application deadlines appear two ways. The Registrar's standing rule is October 15 for spring and summer graduation and March 15 for fall graduation, adjusted when a date falls on a weekend or holiday. The 2026-27 calendar prints October 16, 2026 for spring 2027 and March 19, 2027 for fall 2027. When in doubt, file by the earlier date.
For graduate students, the school sends the Registrar the list of graduation candidates each term; the graduate handbook calls that the school's responsibility. Applying early also gives your advisor time to review your degree audit in Degree Works.
College of Health Sciences commencement is Saturday, December 12, 2026 for fall graduates and Saturday, May 1, 2027 for spring graduates, both at the Pete Hanna Center. Summer graduates walk in December, and the Registrar's Petition to Walk Early requires eight hours or less remaining. Nursing graduates wear an apricot tassel, and master's and doctoral graduates wear their hood.
Working back from the calendar to a preceptor
- Find your clinical termsYour plan of study names the term for each clinical course. Our clinical hours guide lays them out by program.
- Count back from day oneA spring clinical course that begins January 11 needs its preceptor, its site and any new affiliation agreement settled well before the fall term ends.
- Check the site's own deadlinesSome Alabama health systems want requests a semester early. East Alabama Health's ACEMAPP pages, for example, ask for spring preceptorship requests by the last Friday in October, summer requests by the last Friday in February, and fall requests by the first Friday in June.
- Keep compliance currentUpdate your health record before each registration period so nothing lapses in the middle of a clinical term.
The strongest time to start with us is one or two terms before a clinical course. That window lets the placement desk match a preceptor to the exact course, map the site's onboarding against Samford's calendar, and put the details Samford needs in your hands early. Tell us your course and term.
Questions Samford students ask
Are Samford's on-campus intensive dates on the academic calendar?
No. The public calendar lists term dates, not intensive dates, and the plans of study mark only the semester of a campus visit. An archived PMHNP page, live from 2022 to 2024, promised notice of campus visit dates three or more months in advance. Current dates come through your program; our on-campus intensives guide covers planning.
Do Samford graduate nursing students get Fall Break?
Not necessarily. The 2026-27 calendar shows Fall Break on October 12 and 13 but lets graduate and professional programs choose not to observe it. Check your course schedule in Canvas, and if you have clinical hours that week, confirm the plan with your preceptor, since an outside practice keeps its own schedule.
When do final grades post for fall 2026 at Samford?
Faculty grades are due December 15, 2026, after fall finals on December 7 to 10. Spring 2027 grades are due May 4 and summer grades August 10. A course that remains In Progress past the grade deadline carries an IP instead of a letter grade until the work is finished.
Can I graduate in summer and still walk at commencement?
Yes. Samford's summer graduates walk in the December ceremony after their summer term; the College of Health Sciences ceremony this year is December 12, 2026. A student who wants to walk before finishing can file the Registrar's Petition to Walk Early, which is open only to students with eight hours or less remaining.
Who registers me for Samford graduate nursing courses?
Graduate Student Services coordinates registration for graduate nursing students, and you get a confirmation at your Samford e-mail address when your next term is set. Check the schedule in Banner Self-Service when that message arrives, and raise any problem before add/drop ends, usually the Friday of the first week.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Samford's own program pages, plans of study, the 2026-27 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Alabama rules. Your course, your program coordinator and Graduate Student Services have the final word.
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