Drexel's move from quarters to semesters: what changes for your clinicals

Every Drexel program that runs on quarters moves to semesters on August 23, 2027. Until then the 2026–27 catalog applies, with 10-week quarters and three-digit course numbers such as NURS 534. Class dates for both years, as Drexel Online and the Provost list them:

The Graduate College notes that some health programs “will maintain unique calendars or course sequences” for clinical reasons. Nursing hasn't posted its own, so treat these dates as the baseline and watch your course site in Canvas for track changes.

Summer is when most Drexel NP students start clinicals. The quarter sample plans put the first clinical course in the summer of year two: NURS 534 for FNP, NURS 570 for AGACNP, NURS 660 for AGPCNP, NURS 592 for PMHNP, NURS 642 for the pediatric tracks and NURS 690 for WHNP.

In 2027 that summer is three weeks shorter than a normal quarter, and most of those first courses open with a week-one On-Campus Intensive. Drexel hasn't said how a 160-hour course and a multi-day intensive fit into seven weeks.

The arithmetic shows why it matters: 160 hours over ten weeks is 16 a week, over seven it's closer to 23. Settle your Summer 2027 plan with your track director before you confirm dates with a preceptor. The On-Campus Intensives page lists the week-one schedule by track.

The 2027–28 catalog renumbers every NP clinical course. The middle column is the quarter sequence (2026–27 catalog), the right column the semester sequence for the same track (2027–28 catalog). Drexel hasn't published a course-for-course equivalency, so read each row as two versions of one track, not a one-to-one swap.

FNP and AGPCNP now share NURS 7600 to NURS 7602, each with its own fourth course: NURS 7604 (infants, children and adolescents) for FNP, NURS 7603 (a clinical immersion) for AGPCNP. Both pediatric tracks start with NURS 7700. Certificates use the same clinical courses as the matching MSN.

Each NP MSN becomes 43.0 semester credits: three shared core courses (NURS 5000 to NURS 5002), four advanced practice foundations (NURS 6000 to NURS 6003) and four 5.0-credit clinical courses. FNP with Emergency Specialization is 58.0. Standard post-master's certificates are 34.0, the Emergency/Trauma NP certificate 29.0 and the FNP-Emergency certificate 49.0. Drexel converts at 1.5 quarter credits to one semester credit, though totals were redesigned rather than simply divided.

Still missing from the 2027–28 catalog in September 2026:

• Clinical hours per semester course. Course descriptions say only “faculty-supervised direct patient care clinical hours.” The AGPCNP certificate text, which still names 640, is the one exception.
• Whether track totals carry over. Quarter totals are 720 (FNP), 640 (AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP Primary Care, WHNP), 800 (AGACNP, PNP Acute Care) and 1,140 (FNP-Emergency). Semester FNP has four clinical courses, not five; the 80-hour NURS 538 has no listed successor.
• PNP Dual. Absent from the 2027–28 list; its MSN offers Winter 2027 as the only start.
• On-Campus Intensives. Semester program pages don't mention them.

The hour counts behind each quarter course are on Drexel clinical hours.

Your start term decides which catalog you begin under. Drexel Online's application menus currently show three patterns:

• NP MSNs (every track except FNP-Emergency and PNP Dual): Winter 2027 or Fall 2027. A Winter 2027 start begins on quarters and crosses over; a Fall 2027 start is semesters only.
• PNP Dual MSN: Winter 2027 only.
• FNP with Emergency Specialization MSN, every NP post-master's certificate and the DNP: Fall 2027 only, so these students start on semester numbers.

Winter 2027 starters feel the switch most. On the quarter sample plans, clinical courses begin almost two years after the first term, well past August 2027 for a Winter 2027 start, so expect semester numbers. Your advisor's plan sets the real order; the clinical timeline page covers lead time before that first course.

Continuing students each get an individual transition plan from Drexel's advisors. Ask for yours early, and check that it answers these:

1. Your Summer 2027 courseWhich clinical course you take in the seven-week term, its hours, and whether its On-Campus Intensive still runs in week one.
2. Your next course numberWhich semester course follows your last quarter course, and whether finished quarter courses count toward it.
3. Your total hoursWhether your track's total stays at the quarter figure, and how hours already validated in E*Value carry across.
4. PrerequisitesSemester clinical courses require a B or better in the three NURS 5000-series core courses, NURS 6000, NURS 6001 and NURS 6003, plus NURS 6002 for most tracks. Confirm your quarter courses count.
5. Your preceptor and siteWhether your agreement and compliance clearance cover the new term dates, since semesters and quarters don't line up.
6. Special casesPNP Dual students: how remaining courses run. DNP students: prior-hours thresholds read 620/400 in the quarter catalog and 640/500 in the semester catalog, so confirm which applies.

If the plan moves a clinical course later, delayed graduation explains what that usually does to your finish date.

The switch year is when a well-briefed preceptor matters most. We build your search around the calendar you'll actually be on: the seven-week Summer 2027 term, the 14-week semesters after it, and the course number your preceptor will see in E*Value. Preceptors hear real dates and weekly hours up front, so their yes still holds when the term arrives.

We line up preceptors Drexel can approve for your population, collect their CV, license and board certification, and hand you the site's signing contact so Clinical Compliance can move quickly. Drexel signs off on every placement, and the file we send is complete and matched to its rules. If a preceptor drops mid-term, a placement advisor starts on the replacement at once. Tell us where you are in your sequence.