EKU's MSN Family Nurse Practitioner, mapped as a clinical plan
EKU's online MSN FNP is 47 credits: a core that contains the NSC 800 Advanced Practice Role clinical, the FNP I to III courses taken beside it, and a 6-credit NSC 876 FNP Internship in rural primary care. EKU says its FNP graduates finish with 750 direct patient care hours. Below is every clinical step in order, with the terms, the deadlines and the point where your own preceptor input does the most good.
Plan your FNP clinicals
Tell us your start term and when you expect to begin NSC 800.
The FNP track at a glance
EKU's School of Nursing delivers the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner concentration entirely online: no campus visits, core courses in 7-week terms, and starts in spring, summer and fall. Because nothing brings you to Richmond, your clinical hours happen at practices you can reach from home, so the clinical plan is the part of this degree that needs the most forethought.
Expect two names for one program. The 2026-27 catalog says Family Nurse Practitioner, and the old rural-health web address redirects to a page with that plain name. EKU Online's landing pages still say Rural Health Family Nurse Practitioner, and the internship is written as a rural primary care practicum. Same degree, same courses; the rural focus page explains what the rural wording means for your sites.
Every course in the 47 credits
The catalog divides the degree into a core that all MSN students share and a 15-credit FNP concentration. NSC 800 is listed in the core, yet it works as the clinical half of FNP I, II and III, so the table below marks what each course means for your clinical calendar rather than just its credits.
| Course | Title | Credits | Role in the clinical plan |
|---|---|---|---|
NSC 830 | Advanced Pharmacology | 3 | Prerequisite for FNP I |
NSC 832 | Advanced Health Assessment | 3 | Prerequisite for FNP I |
NSC 834 | Advanced Pathophysiology | 3 | Prerequisite for FNP I |
NSC 840 | Advanced Practice Nursing Theory | 3 | Prerequisite for FNP I |
NSC 890 | Synthesizing Evidence for ANP | 3 | Didactic |
NSC 843 | Healthcare Informatics and Resource Management | 3 | Didactic |
NSC 857 | Leadership, Quality, and Safety for Healthcare Systems | 3 | Didactic |
NSC 855 | Population Health and Policy for Advanced Practice | 3 | Didactic |
NSC 800 | Advanced Practice Role | 8 in total | Clinical, taken in parts beside FNP I, II and III |
NSC 870 | FNP I | 3 | Didactic, paired with NSC 800 |
NSC 872 | FNP II | 3 | Didactic, paired with NSC 800 |
NSC 874 | FNP III | 3 | Didactic, NSC 800 is a corequisite |
NSC 876 | FNP Internship | 6 | Final clinical: rural primary care practicum |
| Total | 47 | 750 direct patient care hours (EKU program page) |
By our count the core is 32 credits and the concentration 15; the 14 clinical credits all need a preceptor and an approved site.
NSC 800 beside FNP I, II and III
Your first patient care hours sit in NSC 800 Advanced Practice Role. The catalog lists it at 1 to 9 credits per enrollment and has FNP students register for it concurrently with NSC 870, NSC 872 and NSC 874 until they reach 8 credits. So the clinical is spread across several terms instead of sitting in one block, and each FNP course brings its own share of clinical time.
EKU's 2022 sample curriculum plans, the latest ones that can still be read, split those 8 credits three ways: 2 credits over 16 weeks with FNP I, 3 credits over a 12-week summer, and 3 credits over 16 weeks with FNP III. Clinical stretches that long outlast the 7-week core terms, so look for a preceptor who can host you for a whole semester at a time. EKU has taken those plans down, so check the current split with your advisor.
One conflict: the 2021-22 MSN Student Handbook listed 9 credits of NSC 800 and a 5-credit internship, while today's catalog says 8 and 6. Follow the catalog. The NSC 800 page covers how the course runs.
NSC 876 FNP Internship and the 750 hours
The internship closes the program. NSC 876 carries 6 credits, and the course description calls it a concentrated rural primary care practicum in which you synthesize the earlier courses. Entry requires FNP I, II and III plus eight hours of NSC 800. The same description still lists NSC 842 as a prerequisite or corequisite, a course that has dropped out of the MSN core, so ask your advisor how that line applies to your plan.
EKU publishes one hour figure for the track: 750 direct patient care hours, with the last 300 set aside for synthesis. Hours per course are not published. Our own reading, and only a reading, puts the final 300 in NSC 876 and the other 450 across NSC 800. The 750-hour breakdown walks through what to confirm.
Plan the internship site early. Ask your faculty well ahead whether your NSC 800 site can carry you into a concentrated rural primary care block, or whether a separate site fits NSC 876 better.
Admission items that carry into your clinicals
Some admission requirements are clinical requirements in practice, because they decide where you can train and when you are ready.
- An unencumbered RN license in every state where you are licensed. That is the program page's wording; the catalog says an unencumbered RN license from an approved state. A restriction on any license you hold counts.
- At least one year of RN experience when you apply. That year of practice is often where your first preceptor ideas come from.
- A written plan for clinical time. The application asks for your specific plans for life modification to meet class and clinical demands online.
- A state EKU enrolls from. Online MSN applicants living in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee or New York cannot currently enroll, and Alabama, Maryland, Missouri and North Dakota come with conditions. Relocating after admission can cost you your seat; see state authorization.
- The rest of the file: a BSN from a nationally accredited program, a 3.0 GPA, a statistics course with a C or better, three references, a 500 to 700 word statement and a possible interview.
Terms, starts and application deadlines
Core courses run in 7-week terms, two in each fall and spring semester, with two 6-week terms in summer. Clinical courses followed longer calendars in the last posted plans, which is why a clinical and a core course can start and finish on different dates. The 7-week terms page decodes the part-of-term labels you will see when you register.
| Start term | Apply by | Classes begin |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | July 1 | August |
| Spring | November 1 | January |
| Summer | March 15 | May |
EKU's calendar starts fall 2026 classes on August 24 and spring 2027 on January 25. The current page gives no program length; the archived 2022 plans ran 7 semesters from a spring start, 8 from fall and 9 from summer.
When to raise your preceptor input
Kentucky's regulation for APRN programs makes EKU responsible for securing preceptors, bars it from making you find your own, and gives you room for input (how the rule reads). EKU's paperwork shows that input in action: the 2021-22 MSN Student Handbook had FNP students keep a clinical contract and preceptor information form current, with a Clinical Waiver form, a Telehealth Checklist and site documents. That handbook is no longer posted, so confirm today's list with your faculty. A preceptor you suggest still passes EKU's review, so input works best early.
- During the core courses. Decide what matters: distance from home, days that fit your job, a family practice or a rural clinic. List clinicians you already know.
- The semester before
NSC 800. The 2021-22 handbook reserved this term for proving mastery of advanced health assessment. Have your preceptor option and its details settled by then so the information form is complete when clinicals open. - During FNP II. Look ahead to
NSC 876. If your current site cannot host a concentrated primary care internship, start shaping the internship option now. - Before every clinical term. Bring the preceptor details, your license status and the liability insurance EKU requires for practicum courses up to date before you see a patient.
How we help EKU FNP students
We plan your FNP preceptor option around EKU's own sequence. Your placement advisor looks for a family practice preceptor in your community who fits NSC 800, works on days that suit your job and, where it makes sense, can take you on for the NSC 876 internship too.
We gather the preceptor's license and credentials and the site details that EKU's preceptor information form asks for, and we organize them so what you hand your faculty is complete the first time. EKU reviews and approves every preceptor and site; we make the option you put forward strong, local and ready. If a preceptor drops before or during a term, the placement desk starts work on a replacement right away.
The earlier you start, the more choice you have. Share your start term and the semester you expect to begin NSC 800 through the form below.
Questions EKU students ask
Can I keep working full time during EKU's FNP clinicals?
EKU's public pages set no work limit, but the application asks how you will adjust your life around class and clinical demands. The 2021-22 MSN Student Handbook cautioned that the clinical load is heavy and asked students to factor it into any job decision. Budget your heaviest weeks for the NSC 800 terms and the internship.
Do I ever have to go to Richmond for the online FNP?
EKU's FNP page says no campus visits are required. The most recent posted MSN handbook (2021-22) described classes as fully online with some live sessions by video conference and said attendance at those sessions is expected. The travel you plan for is to your preceptor's practice, usually close to where you live and always approved by EKU.
How many credits can I transfer into EKU's MSN FNP?
EKU's program page allows up to 12 transferred hours into the MSN. Ask your advisor which courses your earlier graduate work can replace before you register, because transfer decisions change your plan of study and can move the term in which your first NSC 800 enrollment begins.
What grade do I need to stay in the FNP program?
The 2026-27 catalog requires a B or higher in all required MSN coursework. The 2021-22 handbook added that practicum and internship courses need a satisfactory grade, and that a grade below B or an Unsatisfactory meant dismissal, with readmission by application. Treat the handbook rules as the last published version and confirm them with your faculty.
Does EKU assign FNP preceptors, or can I suggest one?
Kentucky places the duty to secure NP preceptors on programs like EKU's and forbids making you find your own. Kentucky's rule also lets you have input, and the preceptor information form in EKU's last posted handbook shows students supplying preceptor details. A well-prepared option near home is the clearest way to shape where you train, and EKU still approves it.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against EKU's own catalog, program pages and handbooks, and Kentucky's regulations. The current MSN Student Handbook, your course and your faculty have the final word.
EKU secures your preceptor. Your input decides how well it fits your life.
Tell us your EKU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors in your community who fit the course and prepare everything EKU reviews, so the option you put forward is ready to approve.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for
NSC 800andNSC 876, psychiatric care forNSC 886 - Preceptor, license and site details organized for EKU's preceptor information form
- In your own community, wherever EKU enrolls students and you hold your RN license
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.