250 hours inside each Rivier practicum semester

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the Rivier Preceptor placement team

Rivier University's Nursing Student Handbook asks FNP and PMHNP students to complete 250 practicum hours inside each practicum semester. The clock starts no earlier than the semester's opening day, a surplus in one course does not transfer to the next, and no hour counts until the Clinical Practicum Coordinator signs off on your paperwork and the site contract.

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250hours inside each FNP and PMHNP practicum semester

14weeks in a graduate NP course at Rivier

What the Handbook requires

Rivier's graduate placement rules (Handbook pp. 73-76) set three limits on practicum hours for the FNP and PMHNP tracks. You complete 250 hours in each practicum semester. You cannot carry extra hours forward to the next practicum. And the first countable hour falls on or after the opening day of the semester as Rivier's academic calendar sets it.

A fourth condition sits beside them: the Clinical Practicum Coordinator has to confirm your documents and the site contract before anything counts. Together, the rules create a fixed window. It opens on the later of the semester's first day and the day your paperwork clears, and it closes with the semester.

For AG-ACNP students, the 2025-26 catalog also sets 250 hours per practicum across the three acute care courses. The Handbook's no-carry-forward sentence is written for FNP and PMHNP, so AG-ACNP students should ask course faculty how their hours are handled. FNP students face a separate wrinkle: the catalog lists 120, 250 and 240 hours for the three FNP practicums, 610 in all, against the Handbook's 750. Follow your Program of Studies, and see the 750 vs 610 guide.

The 2026-27 windows

Rivier's 2026-27 academic calendar sets the semesters below. Graduate NP courses mostly run 14 weeks, so the class dates are the practical frame for your hours; the academic calendar page has the full list of dates.

2026-27 semesters (Rivier academic calendar, revised 8/4/26)
Semester	Semester dates	14-week classes	Worth knowing
Fall 2026	September 8 to December 18	Begin September 8; end December 14	FNP intensives run August 24 to September 4, before the semester
Spring 2027	January 18 to May 7	Begin January 19; graduate finals May 4 to 7	FNP intensives run January 4 to 15, before the semester
Summer 2027	May 10 to August 26	Summer Long runs May 10 to August 26	Online classes and clinicals meet on Juneteenth

A clinic day on August 31 does not count toward a fall practicum, however willing the preceptor, because the semester has not opened. Use the weeks before for CastleBranch uploads and site paperwork, and schedule your first counted shift for the first day of the semester or later.

The weekly math

Spread across 14 weeks, 250 hours comes to just under 18 hours each week: about two full clinic days plus a few extra hours. That pace assumes everything starts in week one. Every week lost at the start raises the load for the weeks that remain.

Illustration: 250 hours against a 14-week course
Counted hours begin	Weeks remaining	Hours needed per week
Week 1	14	About 18
Week 3	12	About 21
Week 5	10	25
Week 7	8	About 31

Few clinic schedules stretch that far. A preceptor who sees patients three or four days a week can absorb a late start; one who precepts two mornings a week cannot. That is why the preceptor's own calendar deserves as much attention as the credential when you choose, and why a contract that clears in week three can cost more than it seems.

No banking, and hours that never count

Finishing ahead in one semester does not lighten the next. If you pass 250 hours in NURS 521 with weeks to spare, the surplus stays with that course; NURS 523 still needs its own 250. Aim to finish comfortably inside each term rather than to stockpile.

Some hours never reach your practicum total at all. Time before the semester's first day is one example, and time logged ahead of the coordinator's confirmation is another. A third is less obvious: FNP students who repeat a theory course such as NURS 510 or NURS 512 may keep 80 clinical hours to stay proficient, and the Handbook says those hours do not count toward future clinical hours.

Telehealth and alternative-setting time follow caps of their own, so a semester can reach 250 on paper and still fall short on the right kind of hours; the alternative practicum hours page sets out those limits.

When a semester falls behind

The Handbook says all required clinical hours must be complete before a final course grade can be given. If you cannot attend a scheduled day, tell your preceptor immediately and course faculty as soon as possible (p. 68).

An Incomplete can help in a genuine emergency. Rivier's catalog allows a request for an I grade, made before the final exam, when a serious reason outside your control intervenes, and an unresolved Incomplete turns into an F. Because a final practicum grade under 84% ends your place in the track, treat an Incomplete as a last resort arranged with faculty rather than a plan.

Withdrawing carries its own cost. You have 14 days to reach the Program Director for a revised Program of Studies, and the new plan may not keep the same practicum term. Our behind on clinical hours page walks through the options while there is still time to act.

How we protect your 250 hours

Rivier students choose us because we match the preceptor's calendar to the semester before anything else. We ask every candidate how many days a week they see patients, whether they have time off planned during the term and how a student fits into their clinic, so 250 hours are realistic from the first counted day.

We work to Rivier's four-month lead time so the Preceptor Request Form, contract and CastleBranch records are settled before the semester opens and your hours can begin on day one. If a preceptor leaves mid-semester, we move fast on a replacement, because every lost week costs hours you cannot bank; see preceptor dropped out. Site and preceptor approval stay with Rivier's faculty and coordinator, and we prepare the file so it reaches them complete and in step with the Handbook.

Questions Rivier students ask

Can I start Rivier clinical hours before the semester begins?

No. The Handbook ties the first countable hour to the semester's opening day on Rivier's calendar: September 8 for fall 2026, and January 18 for spring 2027, when 14-week classes follow a day later. Paperwork matters as well, since nothing counts until the coordinator has confirmed your file and the site's contract.

What if my preceptor takes vacation during the semester?

Plan for it at the start. Ask in your first conversation whether the preceptor has time off during the term, and look for a second qualified clinician at the same site who could be approved as backup. If a gap opens anyway, tell course faculty early, since every hour must be complete before a final grade can be given.

Is the 250-hour rule the same for PMHNP and FNP at Rivier?

In the Handbook, yes: both tracks complete 250 hours in each of three practicum semesters, 750 in total, with no carrying forward. The PMHNP figures agree across Rivier's documents. For FNP, the 2025-26 catalog lists a different split that totals 610, so confirm your course hours with faculty.

Do Rivier clinicals meet on holidays?

The 2026-27 calendar notes that on Juneteenth, although offices close, online classes and clinicals still meet, and that 7-week classes meet on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January. For other holidays, agree the schedule with your preceptor and course faculty, since the 250 hours must fit inside the semester either way.

End of semesterBehind on clinical hoursShort on practicum hours as a Rivier semester ends? The 2026-27 withdrawal and grading dates, Incomplete rules, and approved ways to add hours in time.HoursClinical hours by programPracticum hours for every Rivier University nursing program, from the FNP, PMHNP and AG-ACNP to the DNP, and each spot where Rivier's own figures disagree.Calendar2026-27 academic calendarRivier University's 2026-27 dates for nursing practicum students: semester starts, 7-week terms, FNP intensives, withdrawal dates and when hours can begin.FNPFNP hours: 750 or 610Rivier's Nursing Student Handbook sets 750 FNP practicum hours; the 2025-26 catalog lists 120, 250 and 240, or 610. Where the gap sits and who settles it.PMHNPPMHNP practicums: NURS 521, 523, 525Rivier University's three psychiatric NP practicums, NURS 521, 523 and 525: what each course covers, 250 hours a semester, prerequisites and one misprint.Mid-semesterPreceptor dropped outYour preceptor quit partway through a Rivier practicum. Who to tell first, how a replacement gets approved, and how to protect hours still due this semester.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against Rivier's own Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog, academic calendar and State Guide. Your program of study, your course faculty, your Program Director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.

Rivier asks you to identify a qualified preceptor. We make that the easy part.

Tell us your Rivier track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who meet your track's rules, check early whether the site can contract with Rivier, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for, well ahead of August 1 and December 1.

Preceptors matched to the track: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice for NURS 511, a psychiatrist or PMH-certified NP for NURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist for NURS 638P
Preceptor license, credentials and CV ready for the Preceptor Request Form, with the site's contact details for the contract
In your own area, in New Hampshire or any state Rivier's State Guide accepts

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