Drexel clinical hours by track, course and catalog

Each Drexel NP track has a fixed total of clinical hours and a fixed run of clinical courses, taken one per quarter once clinicals begin. The totals below are the catalog's own, and post-master's certificates repeat the clinical courses and hours of the matching MSN.

Every NP MSN total sits above the floor Pennsylvania sets for CRNP programs, at least 500 clinical hours under 49 Pa. Code § 21.369. The Pennsylvania rules page covers what else the Board asks of students and preceptors.

The per-course figures come from two kinds of source. For FNP and WHNP, the catalog's course descriptions state the hours outright, and for AGACNP the CNHP program page says each clinical practicum course requires 160 total clinical hours. For AGPCNP, PMHNP and the two single pediatric tracks, Drexel publishes only the program total, so the 160 shown is that total divided by the number of clinical courses.

The pediatric primary/acute dual option is where the arithmetic stops working. The catalog gives it 1,000 clinical hours across six clinical courses, yet six courses at the usual 160 come to 960, and no per-course split appears anywhere. Plan around the stated 1,000 and ask your track director where the other 40 hours sit before you promise a preceptor a schedule.

Semesters begin at Drexel on August 23, 2027. The 2027–28 catalog already renumbers every NP clinical course into a four-digit code worth 5.0 semester credits, and its course descriptions mention faculty-supervised direct patient care hours without giving a number.

Three tracks shrink from five clinical courses to four: FNP loses its 80-hour integrative course, and AGACNP and pediatric acute care each drop one. Whether the quarter totals carry over is not stated. Winter 2027 MSN admits start on quarter numbers, while Fall 2027 admits and all new certificate students start on semester ones. Continuing students get an individual transition plan from their advisor; the semester conversion guide lists what to ask.

Three gates apply to every NP track, whatever the patient population.

1. NUPR 520 comes firstThe Nurse Practitioner Clinical Orientation Seminar carries no credit but introduces Drexel's clinical support services, your track's requirements, and the clinical contracting and compliance processes. Sample plans put it in Fall of year two, about three quarters before a Summer first clinical course; the NUPR 520 guide explains the timing.
2. Ten prerequisites at B or betterThe first clinical course lists the MSN core courses NURS 500, NURS 502 and NURS 544 with RSCH 503 and RSCH 504; the three Ps, NURS 548, NURS 549 and NURS 550; NURS 664; and your track's pharmacology course, each with a minimum grade of B. WHNP students also complete NURS 680 first. The semester gate is built from NURS 5000–NURS 5002 and NURS 6000–NURS 6003.
3. Certificate students bring the three PsPost-master's certificate students transfer in advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and physical assessment, or take them at Drexel before the first clinical course. Board-certified NPs may shorten the sequence through a Gap Analysis.

Most tracks hold their On-Campus Intensive in week one of the summer quarter, inside the first clinical course, so the OCI and your first preceptor days share the same ten weeks. The catalog gives four days in NURS 534 (FNP), NURS 570 (AGACNP), NURS 592 (PMHNP), NURS 660 (AGPCNP) and NURS 642 for pediatric primary care, and five days in NURS 642 for pediatric acute care and the dual option and in NURS 690 for WHNP.

A few tracks add a second intensive: AGACNP spends two days in NURS 571 during week seven of fall, and WHNP two days in NURS 693 during week three of spring. FNP with Emergency Specialization holds its intensives in winter. The 2027–28 catalog is silent on OCIs, so semester dates are still unknown; the On-Campus Intensives page tracks them by track.

Drexel's other practice-based programs count hours their own way. The post-master's DNP needs 1,000 or more precepted hours after the bachelor's degree in total, with 480 or 600 earned in the program depending on the hours you bring in. Its admission thresholds differ between the quarter and semester catalogs, and the DNP practicum hours page sets out both.

On the MSN side, Nursing Education spreads a 160-hour practicum over NUPR 618 and NUPR 619, with a preceptor in either an academic setting or a professional development one. Nursing Leadership does the same over NURS 568 and NURS 569, and its track director works with you to find the site. The online RN-to-BSN asks for 36 planned clinical practice hours, broken down on the RN-to-BSN hours page.

We build your search around the course list above rather than a loose specialty label. For each quarter we look for a preceptor whose patients fit the course title, who meets Drexel's preceptor rules, and whose calendar can carry the course's hours inside ten weeks alongside your OCI days and weekly class. Where a track moves between settings, as AGACNP and the pediatric acute and dual tracks do, we map the sites early so each quarter is lined up before the last one closes.

Every preceptor and site we bring you comes with the preceptor's CV, license and board certification, along with the site contact Drexel's contracting and compliance teams need. Drexel gives the final approval; we make sure what reaches them is complete and fits the rules the first time. If a preceptor leaves in the middle of a quarter, we get a replacement search moving right away so your hours keep moving. Start with the request form.