CUW's 2026-27 semester calendar, read for clinical students
Concordia University Wisconsin runs 16-week fall and spring semesters, each cut into an 8-week Session I and Session II, plus a summer term with 14-, 8- and 6-week sessions. Fall 2026 classes open Monday, August 24, and spring 2027 opens Monday, January 11. Your clinical course, your preceptor's clinic schedule and every paperwork deadline hang off these dates.
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How CUW builds a term
Fall and spring are each a 16-week semester with two 8-week sessions running inside it. Summer is built differently: one 14-week session, with 8-week and 6-week sessions laid over it.
Graduate nursing program pages list a course length of 8 to 16 weeks, and the catalog's progression plans put most NP courses in either 8-week Session I or 8-week Session II. Other programs keep their own rhythm inside the same frame. The Post-MSN DNP runs eight-week online courses, the PMHNP DNP mixes 8-, 14- and 16-week courses, and the online RN to BSN offers a fresh start date every eight weeks.
CUW defines continuous enrollment as sequential fall and spring semesters, or the next 8-week terms where a program is built that way, and calls summer optional. No separate nursing calendar sits on top of the university one.
Fall 2026 and spring 2027 at a glance
The registrar's 2026-27 dates. CUW notes that add changes must be in by 8 a.m. on the day listed.
| Term or session | Classes begin | Last day to add | Final day to withdraw | Final day of classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026, 16 weeks | Mon Aug 24 | Fri Sep 4 | Sun Nov 1 | Sun Dec 13 |
| Fall Session I, first 8 weeks | Mon Aug 24 | Fri Aug 28 | Sun Sep 27 | Sun Oct 18 |
| Fall Session II, second 8 weeks | Mon Oct 19 | Fri Oct 23 | Sun Nov 22 | Sun Dec 13 |
| Spring 2027, 16 weeks | Mon Jan 11 | Fri Jan 22 | Sun Mar 28 | Sun May 9 |
| Spring Session I | Mon Jan 11 | Fri Jan 15 | Sun Feb 14 | Sun Mar 7 |
| Spring Session II | Mon Mar 15 | Fri Mar 19 | Sun Apr 18 | Sun May 9 |
Final grades are due the Tuesday after each closing Sunday. Breaks include Labor Day (September 7), the Seventh Friday Break (October 9), Thanksgiving (November 25 to 27), Christmas break (December 14 to January 10), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 18), the Sixth Friday Break (February 19), spring recess (March 8 to 12) and Easter break (March 25 to 28).
CUW's public pages say nothing about logging clinical hours during a university break. Before you book clinic days over Thanksgiving or spring recess, ask your course faculty whether those hours count.
Summer 2027 sessions
Summer opens Monday, May 17, 2027, and every summer session closes by Sunday, August 22. Because summer is optional under CUW's continuous-enrollment rule, whether you study in summer depends on your program's plan rather than the calendar.
| Session | Classes begin | Last day to add | Final day to withdraw | Final day of classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14-week session | Mon May 17 | Fri May 28 | Sun Jul 4 | Sun Aug 22 |
| First 8 weeks | Mon May 17 | Fri May 21 | Sun Jun 20 | Sun Jul 11 |
| First 6 weeks | Mon May 17 | Fri May 21 | Sun Jun 13 | Sun Jun 27 |
| Second 8 weeks | Mon Jun 28 | Fri Jul 2 | Sun Aug 1 | Sun Aug 22 |
| Second 6 weeks | Mon Jul 12 | Fri Jul 16 | Sun Aug 8 | Sun Aug 22 |
Some plans do put clinical work in summer. CUW's Fall 2024 Post-BSN to DNP cohort plan set Primary Care Clinical Residency I as an 8-week summer course (June 23 to August 17 that year), and the 2023 PMHNP certificate plan ran Fall, Spring, then Summer. Check your own plan before you promise a preceptor your June.
Where the clinical courses land
CUW's own documents disagree on how long an NP clinical course runs. The February 2024 MSN progression plans label NURS 7151, NURS 7152, NURS 7153 and the AGPCNP courses NURS 7265 to NURS 7267 as 8-week courses of 250 hours each. The catalog's sample plan tags other courses with an 8-week session but gives the clinical courses no session tag, which reads like a full semester.
The difference matters to a preceptor. At 250 hours, an 8-week window means roughly 31 hours a week, while a 16-week window means about 16. Confirm the window for your section with your course faculty or the Graduate Clinical Coordinator before you ask a clinic to commit, and see pacing your clinical hours for how students have spread the load.
The calendar date is only one gate. CUW's 2014-15 NP clinical handbook set the real start as the latest of a contract in place, documents approved and the semester's first day. Lead times are on the clinical deadlines page.
Adding, dropping and withdrawing
The 2026-27 graduate catalog sets add windows by course length, and they bite harder in a clinical sequence where each course unlocks the next.
- Courses longer than 8 weeks: add until the end of the first week, by 8 a.m. Central time, with the instructor's approval during that week.
- Courses of 6 to 8 weeks: adds close at the end of the first week, with instructor approval.
- Courses shorter than 6 weeks: you must be registered before the class starts.
- Withdrawing before the posted deadline gives a W, which does not affect your GPA; after the deadline a final grade is assigned.
- Part-time online students register by the first day of the term or semester, and a waitlist offer lapses after 72 hours.
CUW also drops a student who registered ahead when a prerequisite is not completed successfully. In a chain such as Clinical I, II and III, one unfinished course moves the next, and your preceptor's schedule with it. A leave of absence runs from one semester up to 12 months; after that, the student must reapply.
Incompletes and unfinished hours
If you end a term short on clinical hours, the incomplete rule sets your window. CUW's grading policy says an incomplete "may become a failing grade if the work is not completed within three weeks after the end of the final day of the term." A longer window of six weeks may be justified in some cases, and the incomplete must be resolved within six weeks of the end of the term or session.
For a clinical course, your preceptor has to be available in those weeks after the term closes. The catalog adds that Post-BSN to DNP and PMHNP certificate students may need extra hours based on performance. See falling behind on clinical hours for recovery plans.
An incomplete in a clinical course gives you weeks, not a semester: line up the preceptor's extra days before the term ends.
The longer clocks: time limits and application dates
MSN, Post-BSN to DNP and CAGE students must finish all requirements within five years of their first course, and graduate courses generally expire after seven years unless a department rules otherwise. The 2026-27 pages for the Post-MSN DNP, the PMHNP DNP and the PMHNP certificate print no program limit, so ask your advisor which clock applies.
MSN and CAGE applications are due July 1 for fall and November 1 for spring. The Post-BSN to DNP and the PMHNP DNP start in fall, and the Post-MSN DNP admits an August cohort with a July 1 priority deadline. Count forward from your start to your first clinical semester: that is when the preceptor search begins.
Building your preceptor plan on CUW's dates
CUW students choose us because we plan around these exact dates instead of a generic semester. Tell us your program, your progression plan and your first clinical session, and your placement advisor works backward from that start: preceptors whose clinic calendars cover your weeks, a complete file for the graduate faculty, and an early flag when a site will need a new clinical contract.
We plan all three clinical courses together, so a Session II start or a summer residency is already covered when it arrives, and we stay on call to replace a preceptor mid-term. Share your dates through the contact form or read how it works first.
Questions CUW students ask
When does CUW's fall 2026 Session II start?
Fall Session II begins Monday, October 19, 2026. Adds close Friday, October 23, withdrawals close Sunday, November 22, and classes end Sunday, December 13, the same day the 16-week semester closes. If your clinical course runs in Session II, your preceptor's weeks fall between those dates.
Does CUW hold nursing classes in summer?
Yes. Summer 2027 opens May 17 with a 14-week session plus two 8-week and two 6-week sessions, all closing by August 22. CUW calls summer optional for continuous enrollment, but some progression plans schedule clinical work there, such as the first DNP clinical residency in the Fall 2024 cohort plan. Your own plan decides it.
What happens if I do not finish my clinical hours by the end of the term?
Your faculty may give an incomplete. Under CUW's graduate grading policy, the work must be done within three weeks after the term's last day or the grade can become a failure, with up to six weeks allowed in some cases. Ask your course faculty early and confirm your preceptor can host the extra days.
Is there a separate School of Nursing academic calendar?
CUW publishes none beyond the university calendar and the session layout in each progression plan. Your clinical start inside a session depends on your contract and approvals, so your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator confirm when hours may begin.
When is CUW's graduate commencement in 2027?
The registrar lists graduate commencement for Friday, May 7, 2027. Spring classes end Sunday, May 9, and final grades are due May 11. If you plan to walk in May, your last clinical hours and your preceptor's final evaluation need to land before those dates, so build them into the spring schedule.
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.
CUW asks you to secure your preceptors. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your CUW track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NURS course, gather the license, board certification and site details CUW's graduate faculty review, and flag early whether the site needs a new clinical contract.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, mental health settings for PMHNP, an agency mentor for DNP projects
- Preceptor license, certification, CV and site details ready for CUW's approval
- All three clinical courses planned together, close to home in a state CUW's disclosure lists for your program
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