Rivier MSN APRN Degree Completion: a master's with no practicum
Rivier University's MSN APRN Degree Completion gives practicing, certified APRNs a master's in 20 online credits, and its plan lists no practicum course, so this program needs no preceptor. This guide covers what the program contains, the rules that still apply to you, and where a placement search does come in: a later DNP, or colleagues in Rivier's nurse practitioner tracks.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Rivier program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Rivier course.
Who the program is built for
The MSN APRN Degree Completion is for nurses who already practice as certified advanced practice registered nurses but hold no master's degree. Rivier's 2026 program sheet lists 20 credits, one to two years of study and 14-week courses, all delivered online.
You enter already certified and already working in an APRN role, and the plan is made up of graduate coursework only. That is why the placement questions that fill most of this site, from preceptor credentials to hour counts and contract deadlines, do not arise in this program.
It is still a Rivier MSN, taught through Canvas and governed by the graduate sections of the Nursing Student Handbook. The rest of this page explains what that means in practice and how a later step, such as the DNP, changes the picture.
The seven courses on the plan
The 2026 sheet lists seven courses and nothing else: NURS 507, NURS 518, NURS 601, NURS 602, NURS 606, NURS 610 and NURS 620. None is a practicum or seminar course. All seven also appear on Rivier's 2026 FNP program sheet, so you study the graduate core that Rivier's nurse practitioner students take alongside their clinical courses.
| Course | On the 2026 FNP sheet | Listed before PMHNP Practicum I (NURS 521) |
|---|---|---|
NURS 507 | Yes | Yes |
NURS 518 | Yes | Yes |
NURS 601 | Yes | No |
NURS 602 | Yes | Yes |
NURS 606 | Yes | Yes |
NURS 610 | Yes | No |
NURS 620 | Yes | No |
Course titles and descriptions are in Rivier's catalog and on your Program of Studies. Your academic advisor or Success Coach can help you order the seven courses around a working APRN's schedule.
No practicum, so no placement to arrange
Rivier's graduate Practicum Placement Policy asks students to identify a qualified preceptor for each practicum course. With no practicum on this plan, that requirement has nothing to attach to. There is no Preceptor Request Form to file, no site agreement to wait on and no August 1 or December 1 placement deadline to meet.
The same goes for hours. Rivier's FNP and PMHNP students owe 250 hours in each practicum semester; this program asks for none. Your existing certification and practice are what qualify you to enroll, not something the program asks you to repeat.
The Handbook requires clinical records in CastleBranch (myCB) before any clinical or practicum course. Since the plan lists none, ask the Program Director whether any compliance items still apply to you, and keep your RN and APRN licenses current either way.
Not every Rivier MSN includes clinical hours. The APRN Degree Completion's 2026 sheet lists coursework only, so plan your semesters around courses, not placements.
Rules that still apply
Coursework-only does not mean looser standards. Rivier's Nursing Student Handbook holds MSN students to B or better in every course and a cumulative GPA no lower than 3.0. If a course average slips under B, your instructor issues a Written Notice, including an improvement plan, by Rivier email, so check that inbox often.
One BC or C brings a semester on probation, and a second grade under B, or any F, means dismissal. After withdrawing from a course you have 14 days to reach the Program Director, who issues a revised Program of Studies, and a third withdrawal from one course is grounds for dismissal. The master's must be finished within six years of matriculation. The grades and progression page walks through each step, and the leave and withdrawal page covers time away.
Studying from outside New Hampshire
Rivier's State Guide lists a status for the FNP, PMHNP, Education, Leadership, DNP, pre-licensure and RN-BSN programs. It has no column for the APRN Degree Completion, and the tracks listed in the Handbook's change-of-residence policy (NP, Leadership, Nurse Educator and certificate) leave it out as well.
Living outside New Hampshire? Before you apply, have the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies Admissions or the Program Director confirm that Rivier can enroll you from your state. Rivier is an NC-SARA member, and its licensure page sends nursing students to the State Guide. If you later move into a program with a practicum, the guide's colors apply to you in full.
Where a preceptor search comes in later
If a doctorate is your next step, Rivier's DNP Professional Practice track is built for certified APRNs: 39 credits, about 2.5 years full time or 4.5 part time. Its centerpiece, NURS 895, runs over four or more semesters, with a Scholarly Project Team that includes an external expert you identify with your faculty guide and the committee approves.
Among its admission items, the DNP sheet lists documented supervised master's hours, 500 at minimum. The APRN Degree Completion itself adds none, so put the question of how your original APRN clinical hours count to the Director of Doctoral Nursing Education before planning the move. The DNP guide covers the tracks, and the external expert page describes the role you will need to fill.
That external expert search is where we come in. We find clinicians and leaders who know your project topic and can commit for the length of NURS 895, and we prepare their CV and credentials for your faculty guide and the committee.
Helping colleagues, and precepting yourself
As a working APRN, you likely know nurses in Rivier's FNP, PMHNP or AG-ACNP tracks, or colleagues who hope to join them. Each of those students must secure their own practicum placements under Rivier's Handbook, for 750 hours across three semesters (the 2025-26 catalog lists 610 for the FNP). That search is exactly what we run, with preceptors checked against each track's rules and paperwork ready for the Preceptor Request Form.
You may also qualify to precept them. Rivier accepts an FNP in outpatient family practice who has practiced two years or more for its FNP students, a PMH-certified nurse with two years behind them for PMHNP students, and an AG-ACNP, certified and working as a hospitalist or in critical care, for AG-ACNP students. If that describes you, our page for preceptors sets out what Rivier asks and how to join our network.
Whichever applies, the form below is the place to start. Choose the option that fits, tell us whether you are planning a DNP, referring a colleague or offering to precept, and your placement advisor will reply with next steps.
Questions Rivier students ask
Does Rivier's MSN APRN Degree Completion include clinical hours?
No. The 2026 program sheet lists seven courses, NURS 507, NURS 518, NURS 601, NURS 602, NURS 606, NURS 610 and NURS 620, with no practicum or seminar. You finish the 20 credits without a preceptor, a site agreement or logged hours, which makes the program workable alongside a full APRN caseload.
How long does the APRN Degree Completion take?
Rivier's 2026 sheet gives one to two years for the 20 credits. Courses run 14 weeks within Rivier's fall, spring and summer semesters, so your pace depends on how many you take at once. Your academic advisor or Success Coach can map the seven courses against your work schedule.
Can I move from the APRN Degree Completion into Rivier's DNP?
The DNP's Professional Practice track admits certified APRNs. Its admission list includes an unencumbered APRN license for the practicum state, a graduate statistics course, a graduate GPA of 3.2 and documented supervised master's hours. How your earlier APRN clinical hours are credited is a question for the Director of Doctoral Nursing Education.
Will I ever need a preceptor as a Rivier student?
Not for this program. If you continue to the DNP, you will need an external expert for NURS 895, chosen with your faculty guide and cleared by the committee. That is the point where we step in, to find an expert in your project topic who can stay with you for at least four semesters.
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.