Drexel MSN Nursing Education: a preceptor for the 160-hour practicum

The MSN in Nursing Education is fully online and runs about two years. In the 2026–27 quarter catalog the degree carries 45.0 quarter credits, including a 160-hour practicum. To apply you need a BSN with at least a 3.0 GPA and a US RN license; no particular nursing background is required. New students can start in Winter 2027 on quarters or Fall 2027 on semesters, and Drexel Online gives December 7, 2026 as the next application deadline.

There is no on-campus visit, but IPS 617 carries a mandatory three-day virtual simulation intensive, held over Zoom during the course's third week and run twice each year. The semester version of the degree is 35.0 credits, and its graduates also earn a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nursing Leadership. The separate Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nursing Education, at 12.0 quarter credits, carries no practicum.

Drexel describes the practicum as spanning two quarters, under the supervision of a preceptor in either an academic or a professional development setting.

The catalog gives 160 hours for the two quarter courses together and doesn't split them between the pair. NURS 7203, the semester replacement, has no published hours. Because NUPR 619 has to follow NUPR 618 directly, your preceptor needs to commit to two consecutive quarters, winter into spring in the sample plan.

Drexel's current pages set no public criteria for an education preceptor. The rules on Drexel's preceptor page (an NP, CNM or physician, board certified, with a year in practice) are written for the NP and DNP programs, not this track. An older Drexel handbook for the MSN advanced role tracks, from 2016–17, wanted preceptors with an MSN or higher degree who held senior management roles, and it put the job of locating one on the student, with a Clinical Practicum Placement Worksheet to start the paperwork. Treat that as history rather than current policy.

Before you approach anyone, ask your program faculty three things: what credentials a preceptor needs, whether Drexel must sign an agreement with the host, and how hours are logged and signed. The CNHP Clinical Compliance team's coordinators cover MSN students as well as NP students, so ask them which compliance items the practicum requires. The usual CNHP package is set out on the clinical compliance page, and the affiliation agreement page covers how Drexel contracts with sites.

Two kinds of setting qualify, and each has its own gatekeepers. In an academic setting you need a nurse educator willing to let you plan and teach within their course, and a school willing to host a student from another university. In a professional development setting, such as a hospital's nursing education department, you need an educator whose calendar has room for you and an organization willing to take you on, which may mean its own student intake steps.

Timing adds pressure. The two practicum quarters run back to back, so one preceptor typically covers both, and the catalog allows no gap between them. A host school on its own semester calendar may also have breaks that fall inside Drexel's winter and spring quarters, so check that your preceptor is teaching during the weeks you need. The move to semesters matters as well: if your practicum would fall after August 2027, ask your advisor whether it stays in NUPR 618 and NUPR 619 or moves to NURS 7203. Drexel's advisors are drawing up transition plans one student at a time; the semester conversion page explains the calendar.

Five states are closed to Drexel's advanced-role MSNs, Nursing Education among them: Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Washington's nursing commission approves Drexel practice experiences in Washington for the Nurse Educator MSN, among other programs. Moving to another state mid-program can affect clinical requirements, so talk to Drexel before you relocate; the state authorization page compares every program's list.

Keep your RN license current throughout. Drexel's compliance certifications page expects CNHP graduate nursing students to hold an RN license in each state where they plan clinical hours, so ask whether that applies to the state where your practicum will happen. The main clinical compliance page adds that residents outside the U.S. can't take part in CNHP's online nursing programs, and that state rules can limit clinical work by students enrolled with a school based elsewhere, one more reason to settle the practicum state early.

We build an education search around the setting you want to teach in. If you picture yourself in academia, we look for nurse faculty near you whose courses suit your practicum goals; if staff development is your aim, we look at hospital and health-system education teams. Either way we confirm each preceptor's background against what your faculty require before you meet, and we plan for both consecutive quarters from the first conversation.

When the preceptor agrees, you get a complete file: their CV and credentials, the setting's contact for any agreement Drexel needs, and the setting's onboarding steps. Drexel approves the practicum, and we take care that the practicum packet in front of Drexel is whole and matches its expectations when first opened. If a preceptor has to withdraw, we are on call to find another educator. The MSN Nursing Leadership page covers the sister practicum; use the form below to start yours.