How the clinical hours and course numbers changed at Concordia University Wisconsin
Concordia University Wisconsin's MSN nurse practitioner tracks asked for at least 600 clinical hours in the 2009 to 2015 handbooks, 720 in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 catalogs, and 750 from the 2022-23 catalog onward. The same three clinicals were renumbered twice on the way, from MSN 851 to NURS 751 to NURS 7151. Older CUW documents still circulate online, so check the year on anything you read.
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The MSN hour count, source by source
The FNP and AGPCNP totals moved up twice in about a decade. The table dates each figure to the CUW document that printed it, oldest first.
| CUW source | Program minimum | Per course |
|---|---|---|
| MSN preceptor handbook, 2009 | At least 600 | Not given |
| NP clinical practicum handbooks, 2013-14 and 2014-15 | 600 | At least 200 a semester |
| Academic catalog, 2020-21 | 720 | At least 240 (MSN 851 to MSN 853) |
| Academic catalog, 2021-22 | 720 | Courses now NURS 751 to NURS 753 |
| CUW blog post, January 2022 | 720 | At least 240 a semester |
| MSN program FAQ, July 2022 capture | 750 | At least 250 a semester |
| Academic catalog, 2022-23 | 750 | Still NURS 751 to NURS 753 |
| Catalogs 2024-25 to 2026-27 | 750 | 250 in the Feb 2024 plans (NURS 7151 to NURS 7153) |
The two 2022 sources disagree because they straddle the change. The January blog post still described 720 hours, and the program FAQ captured that July already said 750. No CUW source since then has printed a figure below 750. For today's numbers across every track, see clinical hours by program.
Two renumberings of the same three courses
The FNP clinicals kept their order and purpose while their numbers changed. In 2020-21 they were MSN 851, MSN 852 and MSN 853, and the AGPCNP set ran MSN 865 to MSN 867. The 2021-22 catalog switched to NURS 751 to NURS 753 and NURS 765 to NURS 767, and the 2024-25 catalog introduced today's four-digit numbers.
Traces of the old numbers remain. The 2026-27 course list still accepts any of the three as a prerequisite, so Clinical II lists MSN 851, NURS 751 or NURS 7151. The Advanced Health Assessment notes on the Post-BSN to DNP and CAGE catalog pages still cite NURS 638 rather than NURS 6038, and the CAGE progression plans linked from CUW's certificate page are dated February 2021 and use the pre-2024 numbering.
The Post-BSN to DNP hours took three shapes
The doctoral path reached today's 1,008 hours through several redesigns. Each version below comes from a dated CUW page or catalog.
- November 2020 program page: an NP Clinical Residency of 720 hours plus a DNP Project Practicum of 288 project hours, 1,008 in all, finished in three or five years.
- 2021-22 catalog, the first listing: "1000 leadership and practicum hours", two 5-credit clinical residencies (
NURS 935andNURS 936for FNP,NURS 937andNURS 938for AGPCNP) and four project practicum courses,NURS 930toNURS 933. - 2022-23 catalog: 1,008 hours again, now in three residencies of 1, 5 and 5 credits plus three Project Practicum Immersions.
- 2023-24 catalog onward: 1,008 hours, split as 750 practicum hours in a clinical setting and 258 in leadership. The program page's completion estimate later changed to three to four years.
The current course map is on the DNP clinical residency page.
The Post-MSN DNP number that disappeared
From 2019 until at least March 2025, CUW's Post-MSN DNP page carried a note: 500 residency hours had to be completed in the program to reach the 1,000 hours a DNP requires, and no more than 120 of those 500 could be indirect patient care outside the student's current practice. That note is gone from the live page, and the 2026-27 catalog says only that students complete residency hours in areas of their choice.
Other details shifted on the same program. The initial cohort meeting was held on the Mequon campus in the 2020-21 through 2023-24 catalogs and moved to Zoom from 2024-25. The application priority deadline moved from March 1 to April 15, then May 1, and has been July 1 since 2023-24. The current residency-hour rule is a question for the Graduate Clinical Coordinator; the Post-MSN DNP guide has what is published.
Tracks CUW added and retired
The program list changed as quickly as the hours. The PMHNP certificate first appears in the 2023-24 catalog, and CUW's blog announced it that October. The 2026-27 catalog then added four graduate options at once, plus a new pre-licensure program.
- Added in 2026-27: the MSN PMHNP, the PMHNP DNP, the MSN FNP with an MBA, the MSN FNP with an MPH, and the Direct Entry MSN, whose first cohort begins in fall 2026.
- MSN Nurse Educator: in the catalog through 2023-24, closed to 2024-25 applicants, and removed from the CAGE options, which dropped from three to two.
- MSN Healthcare Informatics: in the catalog through 2023-24; its archived page described a 200-hour informatics residency inside the capstone.
- RN-BSN-MSN: listed in the graduate catalog only in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
- Accelerated Second Degree BSN: listed through 2024-25; its old page now redirects to CUW's academics index.
The on-campus piece evolved too, from a 2021 CAGE plan that marked a two-week January residency, to a one-day on-campus orientation in 2022, to the hybrid Advanced Health Assessment course that began in fall 2024. The health assessment intensive page covers today's version.
Why the history matters when you line up a preceptor
Old numbers cause real mix-ups. A clinician who hosted a CUW student several years ago may remember 240-hour courses, a 600-hour program or the Typhon logs from the 2013-2015 handbooks, and a search engine will surface those handbooks beside the current catalog. Your preceptor needs today's figure, 250 hours for each FNP or AGPCNP clinical, before agreeing to a schedule.
The catalog pages reviewed do not say which edition's hour rule governs a student who enrolled under an earlier one. MSN students have five years from their first course to finish, so some students finishing now may have started under the 720-hour catalogs. Ask the Graduate Clinical Coordinator or your advisor which requirement is on your record.
Our placement desk briefs each preceptor on the current course number, the hours it carries and what CUW's graduate faculty review, so the agreement you bring back matches the catalog you are finishing under.
Questions CUW students ask
Why does an old CUW handbook say 600 clinical hours?
Because it was right at the time. CUW's 2009 preceptor handbook asked for at least 600 NP clinical hours, and the 2013-14 and 2014-15 practicum handbooks set 600 with at least 200 a semester. Those files remain online through web archives, but the 2026-27 catalog sets 750 for the FNP and AGPCNP.
What was NURS 751 at CUW?
NURS 751 was Clinical I in the FNP sequence in the 2021-22 catalog, and before that it was MSN 851. Today the course is NURS 7151 Advanced Primary Care Clinical I - FNP. The current catalog still accepts all three numbers as the prerequisite for Clinical II.
When did CUW start offering PMHNP programs?
The PMHNP certificate (CAGE) first appears in the 2023-24 catalog, with a one-year plan starting that fall. The MSN PMHNP and the PMHNP DNP are new in the 2026-27 catalog. All three use the same practicum courses, NURS 7510, NURS 7515 and NURS 7520, for at least 500 hours.
Has the Post-BSN to DNP always required 1,008 hours?
Mostly. The November 2020 page already totaled 1,008, split as 720 clinical residency hours and 288 project hours. The 2021-22 catalog briefly said 1,000 leadership and practicum hours, and every edition since 2022-23 has printed 1,008, now split as 750 clinical and 258 leadership hours.
Did CUW's health assessment on-campus requirement change?
Yes, several times. A 2021 CAGE plan noted a two-week residency in January, the 2022 MSN page described a one-day on-campus orientation, and from fall 2024 Advanced Health Assessment became a hybrid course with a 2-3 day on-campus experience. Program pages now describe three days.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against CUW's own academic catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
- Concordia University Wisconsin academic catalog archive (2020-21 to 2025-26)
- Concordia University Wisconsin academic catalog 2026-27: graduate NURS courses
- CUW 2020-21 catalog: MSN (720 hours, MSN 851-853)
- CUW Post-MSN DNP page, March 2025 capture (500 of 1,000 residency hours)
- CUW blog: MSN Clinicals: What are they like? (January 2022)
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