Samford FNP MSN: the full course plan and when to line up each preceptor
Samford's BSN to MSN Family Nurse Practitioner track is a six-semester, 47-credit online program that starts in May. Its 750 clinical hours fall in the last three semesters: NURG 723 (150 hours), NURG 724 (300) and NURG 730 (300). Your first preceptor is needed about a year after you start, so the search belongs in your first year.
Plan your FNP MSN preceptors
Tell us your start term and where you live, and we map a preceptor to each clinical course.
The program at a glance
Samford offers the FNP master's in two entry pathways, BSN to MSN and ADN to MSN, plus a post-graduate certificate for nurses who already hold a graduate nursing degree. This page follows the BSN to MSN plan; the other two use the same three clinical courses on a different clock, shown further down.
- Format: online and mostly asynchronous, with two to three required on-campus intensives in Birmingham, per the program page
- Length: six semesters, 47 credits in both the plan of study dated 12.5.25 and the 2025-26 graduate catalog
- Start: May, with applications opening September 1 and a March 1 deadline
- Admission: a BSN, a 3.0 GPA and an unencumbered RN license; Samford states no minimum years of RN experience
- Clinical load: 750 hours at 10 to 20 hours a week depending on the rotation
- Where clinicals happen: in your own community, in any state where Samford accepts you and your license is valid; 16 states are closed to NP applicants (see state authorization)
Every course in the plan of study
The first three semesters build the science and primary care base; the last three pair a primary care or leadership course with a clinical course each term. Terms follow Samford's plan, where Year 1 runs summer, fall and spring.
| Term | Course | Title | Credits | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 summer | NURG 533 | Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology | 3 | None |
| Year 1 summer | NURG 731 | Concepts of Advanced Practice Nursing | 4 | None |
| Year 1 fall | NURG 610 | Advanced Health Assessment | 4 | None |
| Year 1 fall | NURG 633 | Pharmacotherapeutics for the APRN | 3 | None |
| Year 1 fall | COHS 500 | Introduction to Interprofessional Practice | 1 | None |
| Year 1 spring | NURG 706 | Family Primary Care I | 4 | None |
| Year 1 spring | NURG 732 | Theoretical Principles of Evidence-Based Practice | 4 | None |
| Year 2 summer | NURG 707 | Family Primary Care II | 4 | None |
| Year 2 summer | NURG 723 | FNP Clinical: Adult (Advanced Practice Clinical I FNP) | 3 | 150 |
| Year 2 fall | NURG 708 | Family Primary Care III | 4 | None |
| Year 2 fall | NURG 724 | FNP Clinical: Across the Lifespan (Advanced Practice Clinical II FNP) | 4 | 300 |
| Year 2 spring | NURG 606 | Systems Based/Population Health (Systems Leadership for Advanced Nursing Practice) | 3 | None |
| Year 2 spring | NURG 730 | NP Practicum | 6 | 300 |
For the cohort that began in May 2026, that places NURG 723 in summer 2027, NURG 724 in fall 2027 and NURG 730 in spring 2028. Clinical hours per course appear only in the plan of study PDF, not in the catalog, so keep the plan at hand when a preceptor asks what you need.
The clinical sequence, course by course
Each clinical course fills one semester and asks something different of the preceptor. The course pages linked below explain each one in depth; this is the short version for planning.
| Course | Term | Hours | Focus | Preceptor to look for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NURG 723 | Year 2 summer | 150 | Adult patients | An NP or physician in adult or family primary care |
NURG 724 | Year 2 fall | 300 | Patients across the lifespan | A family practice that sees children as well as adults |
NURG 730 | Year 2 spring | 300 | Final NP practicum | A preceptor able to carry 300 hours in one semester |
Details, including what each course asks of a preceptor, live on the pages for NURG 723, NURG 724 and the NURG 730 practicum. Alabama's rules define an advanced practice preceptor as an APRN, a physician or another appropriately licensed, population-focused clinician, and Samford approves every preceptor and site.
When to line up each preceptor
Samford does not publish a lead time for NP rotation requests; the timing lives in the NP Clinical Manual inside the Nurse Practitioner Homeroom in Canvas. What is public points to starting early. A site without an existing Samford affiliation agreement needs a new one before you start, and some Alabama systems close student requests a full semester ahead. East Alabama Health in Opelika, for one, asks for preceptorship requests by the last Friday of October for spring, the last Friday of February for summer and the first Friday of June for fall, according to its own ACEMAPP pages.
Our recommended timeline for a May start:
- Year 1 fallSettle where you want to rotate and list any connections you already have. Get your Health Data Record, AHA BLS and other clearance items current so compliance never holds a request.
- Year 1 springConfirm the
NURG 723preceptor and site, request a new affiliation agreement if the site needs one, and file the clinical rotation request on the Homeroom's timeline. Start theNURG 724search, since it needs a practice that sees children. - Year 2 summerWhile
NURG 723runs, lock in theNURG 724preceptor and begin looking for the final practicum. - Year 2 fallConfirm the
NURG 730preceptor for all 300 hours, and check with your program coordinator that you are on the spring graduation list, since Samford's calendar sets mid-October for spring graduation applications. - Year 2 springComplete the practicum, graduate, and move on to certification through ANCC or AANPCB.
ADN to MSN and the certificate: same clinicals, different clock
All three FNP options in this program family share NURG 723, NURG 724 and NURG 730 for 750 hours. What changes is the entry point, the credit total and when the clinical year arrives.
| Option | Credits | Start | NURG 723 | NURG 724 | NURG 730 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSN to MSN | 47 | May | Year 2 summer | Year 2 fall | Year 2 spring |
| ADN to MSN | 53 | August | Year 2 summer | Year 3 fall | Year 3 spring |
| Post-graduate certificate | 36 | August | Year 1 summer | Year 2 fall | Year 2 spring |
ADN entrants take the bridge courses NURG 505 and NURG 506 first and earn the MSN without a bachelor's degree; the ADN to MSN page covers the eight semesters. Certificate students go through a gap analysis that can add courses, and they reach NURG 723 within their first year, which leaves the least lead time of the three; see post-graduate certificates. MSN-prepared nurses aiming for the DNP take the same three clinicals in a separate MSN to DNP plan.
Intensives and the details that do not line up
The program page promises two to three required on-campus intensives, yet the BSN to MSN plan of study marks no campus visits at all. Other FNP plans do mark them, for example the certificate plan in its first fall and first summer, and Samford's older FNP pages describe sessions of two to four days in Birmingham. No intensive dates are public, since the plans mark only the semester. Read the on-campus intensives page and confirm your own dates with your program coordinator before you set clinical days.
Course titles also differ between the plan and the catalog, as the table above shows, so a preceptor may see “FNP Clinical: Adult” on your paperwork and “Advanced Practice Clinical I FNP” on your transcript. They are the same course.
The 47 credits and 750 hours agree across Samford's plan, catalog and program page for this track. Where sources disagree, it is on intensives and course titles, not on the clinical hours you owe.
How we support Samford FNP MSN students
Samford tells NP students that professional and personal connections are what secure clinical placements near home. We are that connection, built around this exact plan of study.
You get one search per clinical course, each matched to the course's focus: adult primary care for NURG 723, a family practice that sees all ages for NURG 724, and a preceptor with the capacity for a full 300-hour NURG 730. We start a semester or more ahead, prepare the preceptor and site details your clinical rotation request needs, allow time for a new affiliation agreement where one is required, and stay on call to replace a preceptor who has to step away. Send your start term and location through the placement request form.
Questions Samford students ask
Can I work full time during Samford's FNP MSN?
Samford publishes no rule on outside work for NP students. What it does publish is the load: 10 to 20 clinical hours a week in each of the last three semesters, alongside Family Primary Care II and III and Systems Leadership. If you plan to cut back at work, time it for the clinical year, when those weekly hours begin.
Do I need a different preceptor for each FNP clinical course?
Samford's public pages do not require it, but the courses point to different settings. An adult-only practice suits NURG 723 and falls short of the lifespan scope NURG 724 expects. A family practice that sees children and adults may fit more than one course; check with your course faculty before you plan around a single preceptor.
Where do Samford FNP students do their clinicals?
In their own communities, across the states where Samford accepts NP students and the student's RN license is valid. Samford holds affiliation agreements with hundreds of clinical agencies, most of them in the Southeast, and students may request new agreements when a preceptor near home is available. The school does not arrange or pay for travel.
What if I reach NURG 723 without a preceptor?
Samford has not published what happens when an NP student starts a clinical term without a confirmed preceptor; that detail sits in the NP Clinical Manual. An Incomplete blocks progression without permission from your program coordinator. Our placement desk takes searches at any point, including the final weeks before the term, so reach out as soon as a gap appears.
Is the FNP MSN offered on campus?
No. Coursework is online and mostly asynchronous, and the only required campus time is the short intensives in Birmingham. Clinical hours happen near where you live, with preceptors Samford approves. That format lets you keep living and working where you are, as long as your state is open to Samford NP applicants.
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.
Samford says connections are essential. We are the connection.
Tell us your Samford track, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare the details Samford needs to approve the rotation, including a new affiliation agreement where one is needed.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
NURG 723, family practice across the lifespan forNURG 724, psychiatric care forNURG 788 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your clinical rotation request
- In your own community, anywhere Samford accepts you and your RN license is valid
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.