Rivier University's 2026-27 calendar, read for practicum students
Rivier University's 2026-27 academic calendar has three semesters: fall from September 8 to December 18, spring from January 18 to May 7, and summer from May 10 to August 26. No practicum hour counts until a semester opens, so these dates set the window for every hour you log, and your placement deadlines count back from them.
Plan your search around these dates
Tell us your practicum semester and we will work back from it.
How Rivier's year is built
The calendar runs three semesters. Inside each one, 14-week Professional Studies, Online, Graduate and Doctoral classes run alongside two 7-week terms, Term 1 and Term 2, which makes six 7-week terms a year. Summer adds a Summer Long format that spans the whole semester.
Graduate NP courses are mostly 14 weeks, and the practicums follow that schedule. The usual 7-week exceptions in the NP tracks are NURS 517 and NURS 502, and the AG-ACNP track adds NURS 404 and NURS 409. One conflict touches this: the 2026 FNP sheet describes a 100% online program with six seven-week terms a year, while the FNP program page describes 14-week courses and nine campus days. Your Program of Studies shows which format your courses follow.
Fall 2026: September 8 to December 18
Fall practicum hours can start on September 8, which gives a 14-week practicum the full run to December 14 before graduate finals week.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| August 24 to September 4 | FNP On-Campus Intensives |
| September 8 | Term 1 and 14-week graduate classes begin; first day practicum hours can count |
| September 14 | Add/drop ends for Term 1 and 14-week classes |
| October 5 | Last day to withdraw (W) from Term 1; Summer 2026 incompletes due |
| October 28 | Term 2 begins; its add/drop ends November 3 |
| November 17 | Last day to withdraw (W) from 14-week classes |
| November 24 | Last day to withdraw (W) from Term 2; Term 1 incompletes due |
| December 14 | 14-week classes end |
| December 15 to 18 | Graduate 14-week final exams |
| December 22 | Final grades due |
Spring 2027: January 18 to May 7
Spring has one wrinkle for practicum students. The semester opens on January 18, but 14-week classes begin on January 19. The Handbook ties the first practicum hour to the first day of the semester, so ask course faculty which of the two dates your practicum uses before you book a shift on the 18th.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| January 4 to 15 | FNP On-Campus Intensives |
| January 18 | Semester opens on Martin Luther King Jr. Day; 7-week classes meet |
| January 19 | 14-week classes begin |
| January 25 | Add/drop ends for all classes |
| February 15 | Last day to withdraw (W) from Term 1; Fall 2026 incompletes due |
| March 19 | Term 2 begins; its add/drop ends March 25 |
| April 5 | Last day to withdraw (W) from 14-week classes |
| April 15 | Last day to withdraw (W) from Term 2; Term 1 incompletes due |
| May 4 to 7 | Graduate 14-week final exams |
| May 11 | Final grades due |
| May 16 | Commencement |
Summer 2027: May 10 to August 26
Summer runs as Term 1 (May 10 to July 1), Term 2 (July 2 to August 26) and Summer Long (May 10 to August 26). The last days to withdraw are June 11 for Term 1, August 5 for Term 2 and July 22 for Summer Long. Add/drop closes May 14 for Term 1 and July 8 for Term 2, and finals run June 28 to July 1 for Term 1 and August 20 to 26 for Term 2.
A summer practicum semester matters for some students. NURS 715, the DNP leadership capstone, runs in fall, spring and summer. The Handbook's absolute placement deadlines name only fall (August 1) and spring (December 1), so if your Program of Studies puts a practicum in summer, ask the Clinical Practicum Coordinator for the summer cutoff early.
Counting back to your placement deadlines
Rivier's Handbook asks you to secure a placement four months before the semester, with absolute deadlines on August 1 ahead of fall and December 1 ahead of spring; our placement deadlines page explains the rules and the older dates on the 2018 form. Set against this calendar, four months ahead works out like this.
| Semester | First day | About four months before | Handbook's absolute deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | September 8 | Early May 2026 | August 1 |
| Spring 2027 | January 18 (14-week classes January 19) | Mid-September 2026 | December 1 |
| Summer 2027 | May 10 | Early January 2027 | Ask the Clinical Practicum Coordinator |
August 1 falls about five weeks before fall opens, and December 1 about seven weeks before spring. With contracts needing 30 days and CastleBranch records due four months out, the suggested date is the one to plan around; the absolute date is the cutoff, not the target.
FNP intensives and the campus dates the calendar leaves out
The FNP On-Campus Intensives sit just before each semester: August 24 to September 4 before fall, and January 4 to 15 before spring. They belong to the nine campus days, in three intensives, that the FNP pages describe. Because both windows close before the semester opens, no practicum hours can be logged at your site during them.
The calendar lists no dates for the PMHNP campus weekends, the AG-ACNP campus days or the DNP on-campus seminars. Our campus intensives page gathers what Rivier publishes about each; for anything else, your Program Director has the dates. Plan preceptor availability so your first site weeks follow straight after any campus time. A spring FNP preceptor, for example, should know that the intensive window runs January 4 to 15, right before your first shift, and which of those days you will be on campus.
Two calendar misprints to know
The calendar lists March 9, 2027 twice, once as a Tuesday for midterm grades and once as a Friday for Term 1 final grades. March 9, 2027 is a Tuesday, so if a Term 1 grade matters to your next course, confirm the real due date with the Registrar.
The summer semester header ends on August 26, yet summer final grades are due August 31. If a summer practicum grade or an incomplete depends on either date, check with course faculty which one they are working to, and log your final hours well before both. Rivier also confers degrees three times a year, so the date a final grade posts can decide which graduation date you meet; see delayed graduation if a late practicum puts yours at risk.
How we plan your search around Rivier's dates
We build every search on this calendar. We start at least four months before your practicum semester, confirm the preceptor can host you across the whole 14 weeks, and set your first shift on or after the semester's opening day. For FNP students we plan around the intensive weeks so site days begin right after them.
Because 250 hours over 14 weeks means steady weekly time, we check each preceptor's schedule against the semester, holidays included, before we put a name forward, and we keep the 250 hours per semester rule in view from the first conversation. The result is a placement that fits Rivier's calendar, ready for the Clinical Practicum Coordinator's review. Tell us your semester with the form below.
Questions Rivier students ask
When are Rivier's graduation dates?
Rivier confers degrees three times a year: September 2, January 2 and at May Commencement, set for May 16 in the 2026-27 year. Which date you reach depends on when your last course, practicum hours included, is finished and graded.
Do Rivier clinicals meet on holidays?
Some do. On Juneteenth, Rivier's offices close but online classes and clinicals still meet. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 18, 2027, 7-week classes meet. For other holidays, follow your site's schedule and tell course faculty ahead of time if a planned shift moves.
Can I start practicum hours before the semester if my preceptor is ready?
No. Rivier's Handbook starts the practicum clock on the semester's opening day and not a day sooner, even with a willing preceptor and a signed contract. Use the weeks before to finish CastleBranch items, the Centralized Clinical Placement orientation and any site orientation instead.
What if I need an incomplete in my practicum?
Make the request before the final exam, and only for a serious reason outside your control. The calendar sets the completion dates; Fall 2026 incompletes, for example, are due February 15, 2027, and one left unresolved becomes an F. The grades and progression page covers the rest.
How long is the add/drop window at Rivier?
About a week. In fall 2026, add/drop for Term 1 and 14-week classes ends September 14 and Term 2's ends November 3. In spring 2027 it ends January 25 for all classes and March 25 for Term 2. A practicum you add late still needs an approved placement before hours count.
Related pages
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 forNURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist forNURS 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
Start your placement plan
Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.