Your USI preceptor, found and packet-ready 6 weeks out.

USI's Graduate Nursing Handbook is direct about it: the student is responsible for identifying preceptors and clinical sites. Our placement desk carries that load for you. We line up clinicians near you who suit your NRSG course, and we hand you every detail the Preceptor Packet and the Clinical Education Agreement request ask for, typed and complete, well inside USI's 6-week window.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your USI track, your city and your first clinical semester. Your placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options that fit the course.

750direct clinical hours in each USI NP track: 200, 250, then 300

6 weeksbefore each rotation, the Preceptor Packet is due

3specialty semesters to plan: Fall, Spring and Summer

What USI handles, and what it hands to you

USI supplies the online courses, the course faculty who evaluate you, a Graduate Clinical Liaison who approves each preceptor and site, and a clinical team that turns your request into a signed Clinical Education Agreement. The approval email, the Typhon set-up and the evaluations all come from USI.

The search itself is yours. USI's handbook even notes that some students end up using third-party clinical placement organizations. That is the part our desk takes on: we look for preceptors who meet USI's rules for your track, confirm the site fits the course, and collect the license, certification and signer details the forms ask for, so your packet goes in right the first time.

From "I need a preceptor" to USI's approval email

Our steps line up with the 10 steps in USI's Clinical Experience page.

Your track and semester

Your USI track, your first NRSG clinical course, your city, and the date six weeks before the rotation.

The search

Clinicians near you who fit the course: family primary care for FNP, acute care teams for AGACNP, PMHNPs or psychiatrists for PMHNP.

Packet-ready

Preceptor license, certification, practice years and the site's agreement signer, ready for Form G and the CEA request.

All three semesters

We follow each rotation to its approval email and keep the next semester's search moving at the same time.

Pick your USI program

Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From USI's own catalog and program pages.

750direct clinical hours: 200 in NRSG 643, 250 in NRSG 645, 300 in NRSG 647

NRSG 643200 h NRSG 645250 h NRSG 647300 h

Who precepts: FNPs, PAs and primary care physicians, board certified with a year as an advanced provider; specialty clinicians later
Where: Family primary care in your own community; specialty sites such as pediatrics or dermatology in the later courses
Start looking: Preceptor Packet and Clinical Education Agreement request 6 weeks before each rotation; clinicals start by week 3

Plan my MSN FNP placement MSN FNP guide

750direct clinical hours minimum: 200, 250 and 300 across NRSG 633, 635 and 637

NRSG 633200 h NRSG 635250 h NRSG 637300 h

Who precepts: NPs, PAs, MDs or DOs working in acute care; critical care or hospitalist preferred for the last course
Where: Acute care settings, up to 36 clinical hours a week in the later courses; ACLS required
Start looking: Packet 6 weeks before each rotation, one specialty course each Fall, Spring and Summer

Plan my MSN AGACNP placement MSN AGACNP guide

750direct clinical hours: 200, 250 and 300 across NRSG 653, 655 and 657

NRSG 653200 h NRSG 655250 h NRSG 657300 h

Who precepts: A PMHNP or a licensed psychiatrist only
Where: Outpatient mental health settings; up to 150 telehealth hours with the preceptor in the same room
Start looking: Packet 6 weeks before each rotation; the sequence runs Fall, Spring, Summer

Plan my MSN PMHNP placement MSN PMHNP guide

750direct clinical hours in each post-master's certificate, none credited from before

FNP750 h AGACNP750 h PMHNP750 h

Who precepts: The same preceptor rules as the matching MSN track
Where: Close to home in a state USI enrolls for the certificates
Start looking: No clinical hours carry over from your earlier degree; plan all three rotations

Plan my Post-master's placement Post-master's guide

1,510practice hours in the handbook, including the 750 specialty hours

Specialty I-III750 h NRSG 801hours: see course page NRSG 803hours: see course page NRSG 805hours: see course page

Who precepts: Track preceptors as in the MSN, then a practice partner for the DNP project
Where: Your own community, in a state USI enrolls for the BSN-to-DNP
Start looking: Specialty courses in the 800-level sequence, then the project courses

Plan my BSN-to-DNP placement BSN-to-DNP guide

1,000post-baccalaureate hours, up to 500 of them from your MSN

NRSG 801hours: see course page NRSG 803hours: see course page NRSG 805hours: see course page

Who precepts: A practice partner you identify, working with your faculty mentor
Where: The organization where your DNP project runs
Start looking: Up to 500 hours may come from your MSN; the rest are completed at USI

Plan my Post-MSN DNP placement Post-MSN DNP guide

200practice hours for NEL in the handbook overview (HSL: 240)

NRSG 66140 h NRSG 665hours: see course page NRSG 671hours: see course page

Who precepts: A faculty or clinical educator preceptor (NEL) or leadership mentors (HSL)
Where: Acute care, long-term care or community clinics for NRSG 661; education or leadership settings for the practicums
Start looking: NRSG 661 in Fall, then the practicums in Spring and Summer

Plan my NEL / HSL placement NEL / HSL guide

Nonehour total published by USI for RN-to-BSN practice experiences

NURS 457hours: see course page NURS 487hours: see course page NURS 492hours: see course page

Who precepts: An RN with at least six months of experience, approved by faculty
Where: Practice sites you identify in your own area that meet the course requirements
Start looking: Faculty approve the preceptor and site before any hours start

Plan my RN-to-BSN placement RN-to-BSN guide

The USI pieces you will work with

Named the way USI names them in its Graduate Nursing Handbook and bulletin.

ProcessThe 10-step placement processHow a University of Southern Indiana NP student gets a preceptor approved: the handbook's 10 steps, Form G, the agreement request and the green light email.FormPreceptor Packet (Form G)USI's Preceptor Packet (Form G, 07/2026) explained: its five parts, the site survey, the 6-week rule and how to send it typed, as a PDF, to usi1nursing.ContractClinical Education Agreement (CEA)The Request for USI Clinical Education Agreement (formerly the MOU): who completes it, who signs the contract, existing agreements, why students cannot sign.DeadlinesClinical deadlinesUSI's clinical paperwork deadlines compared: Form G's 6 weeks vs the handbook's one month and 4 weeks, the week-3 start rule, holidays and 2026-27 dates.HandbookUSI's third-party placement noteWhat USI's Graduate Nursing Handbook says about third-party clinical placement organizations and their fees, when it first appeared, and how to plan around it.ComplianceCastleBranch (DISA)What goes into your CastleBranch (now DISA) record at USI, when it is due, why nothing may lapse before the term ends, and what a late record risks.

All USI clinical systems

Your track, your clinical hours

Every USI nursing program with clinical or practice hours, and the preceptor it calls for.

FNPMSN Family Nurse PractitionerThe University of Southern Indiana online MSN FNP: 44 credits, 750 direct hours in NRSG 643, 645 and 647, who can precept you, and when each packet is due.AGACNPMSN Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NPUniversity of Southern Indiana online MSN AGACNP: 44 credits, 750 direct hours in NRSG 633, 635 and 637, acute care preceptors, ACLS and clinical timing.PMHNPMSN PMHNP (online)USI's online MSN PMHNP: 44 credits, 750 direct hours in NRSG 653, 655 and 657, preceptors limited to PMHNPs and psychiatrists, and up to 150 telehealth hours.CertificatePost-master's FNP certificateUSI's online post-master's FNP certificate: 28 credits, the full 750 direct hours with no credit for past clinicals, May starts, transfer rules and preceptors.DNPBSN-to-DNP (FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP)USI's online BSN-to-DNP for FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP: 72 credits, 1,510 practice hours, 800-level specialty courses, preceptor rules by track and the DNP project.DNPPost-MSN DNP (ANP or OSL)USI's online post-MSN DNP in Advanced Nursing Practice or OSL: 35 credits, 1,000 practice hours with up to 500 from your MSN, 760 at USI, and a DNP project.

All USI programs

The three specialty semesters

What each NRSG clinical course asks of a preceptor and a site.

CourseNRSG 643 Primary Care I (200 hours)USI's NRSG 643: 200 direct hours in family primary care each Fall, who can precept you, prerequisites, the 6-week packet deadline and the twin NRSG 843.CourseNRSG 647 Primary Care III (300 hours)USI's NRSG 647: 300 Summer hours at 30 to 40 a week, specialty sites with faculty approval, the Barkley review, deadlines, and the BSN-to-DNP twin NRSG 847.AGACNPNRSG 633: Acute Care I, 200 hoursUSI NRSG 633 Adult and Geriatric Acute Care Management I: at least 200 direct Fall hours, who can precept, hospital timelines and when to start planning.AGACNPNRSG 637: Acute Care III, 300 hoursUSI NRSG 637 Adult and Geriatric Acute Care Management III: 300 minimum Summer hours, critical care or hospitalist preferred, and a 36-hour weekly cap.PMHNPNRSG 653: PMHNP I, 200 hoursUSI's NRSG 653 is the first PMHNP clinical course: 200 direct outpatient hours in the Fall term, precepted only by a PMHNP or a licensed psychiatrist.PMHNPNRSG 657: PMHNP III, 300 hoursNRSG 657 closes USI's PMHNP track: 300 direct hours in outpatient mental health settings over the Summer term, the final evaluation and the last of your 750.

When a rotation is at risk

Fast help for the weeks that matter most.

Placement helpNeed a preceptor fastShort on time before a USI clinical course? What to do this week: find your real deadline, tell USI, widen the search within its rules and get Form G ready.Placement helpCan't find a preceptorNo preceptor yet for your USI clinical course? The three things USI asks stuck students to do, the 6-week vs 4-week reporting rule and how to widen the search.Placement helpPreceptor dropped outYour preceptor quit during a USI clinical course. What to do on day one, how a replacement gets approved, and how to protect the hours you already logged.Placement helpBehind on clinical hoursShort on hours in a 16-week USI clinical course? Weekly pace by course, the days that never count, USI's rescheduling rule and the approved ways to add hours.Placement helpDelayed graduationWhy one missed USI clinical course can move graduation by a year: the Fall-Spring-Summer sequence, the week-3 rule, incompletes and withdrawal limits.CompareYour placement options comparedYour own search, USI's help once you are stuck, or a placement organization like ours: how the three routes to a USI clinical placement compare, side by side.

Before you start

Does USI find preceptors for online NP students?

USI's Graduate Nursing Handbook puts the search on the student: you identify preceptors and clinical sites in your own community, and the Graduate Clinical Liaison approves them. Faculty will work with a student who is stuck, and the handbook notes that some students use third-party placement organizations at their own cost.

When is the USI Preceptor Packet due?

Form G says six weeks before the rotation starts, and a handbook page says one month. Plan around the earlier date. Clinicals must begin by week 3 of the course, and no hours count until USI emails its approval.

How many clinical hours does a USI NP track take?

For 2026-27 every NP track is 750 direct clinical hours: 200, 250 and 300 across three specialty courses taken Fall, Spring and Summer. The BSN-to-DNP NP tracks total 1,510 hours with the DNP project.

Can a physician assistant precept a USI student?

It depends on the track. USI lets physician assistants and physicians precept FNP and AGACNP students, while PMHNP students may train only with a PMHNP or a licensed psychiatrist. Every preceptor needs specialty certification and at least a year as an advanced provider.

Do you work with USI students outside Indiana?

Yes. Our desk searches in whatever community you live in, as long as USI enrolls residents of your state in your program. USI's licensure table lists the states it does not enroll, so check yours before you apply or move.

USI makes the search your job. We make it the easy part.

Tell us your USI track, your city and your next clinical semester. We find preceptors who fit the NRSG course and fill the Preceptor Packet and Clinical Education Agreement request with typed, complete details, well before USI's 6-week window.

Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for FNP, acute care teams for AGACNP, PMHNPs and psychiatrists for PMHNP
Preceptor license, certification, years of practice and the site's agreement signer ready for the packet
Fall, Spring and Summer planned together, close to home in a state USI enrolls

Start your placement plan

Track, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.