USU's 8-week sessions and the clinical deadlines behind them

How USU's academic year is built

The catalog describes two 16-week semesters a year, each split into two 8-week sessions. Undergraduates carry at least 12 credits a semester and 24 a year; graduate students carry at least 6 a semester and 12 a year. USU's website describes the year differently, as three semesters: Summer, Fall and Spring. The 2026-27 calendar does run Fall, Spring and Summer terms.

Courses run 8 weeks, and that includes clinical ones. The FNP handbook describes 135 hours per 8-week rotation, and the practicum handbook treats NUR378, NUR499 and MSN587 as 8-week courses.

Each term has four overlapping session starts, labeled I, ID, II and IID, and each has a 16-week variant. The calendar doesn't say which courses use the 16-week variants, and the FNP handbook treats clinical courses as 8-week courses.

Where FNP clinicals land

USU's FNP handbook says the 540 clinical hours start in the second year of the program. The catalog lists the FNP at 6 semesters and 24 months, and its four clinical courses, FNP592, FNP594, FNP596 and FNP597, each carry 135 hours in 8 weeks.

The FNP degree plan we found on USU's site dates from 2020 (uploaded in 2023), so treat it as a guide rather than your schedule. It sets out the last three semesters like this:

On that plan the four clinical courses run back to back, one per 8-week session, across the last two semesters. Your own plan may differ, especially if you transferred credits or paused, so confirm it with your advisor.

What back-to-back clinicals mean for FNP students

If your four clinical courses run in consecutive sessions, as on the 2020 plan, the deadlines stack. FNP597 starts about 24 weeks after FNP592, so its six-month date falls roughly two weeks before FNP592 begins. In practice, leads for all four courses are due before your first clinical day, and the 16-week date for FNP597 falls around the time FNP594 starts.

Counting back further, FNP592's six-month date lands in semester 3, and its 16-week date lands around the start of semester 4, when MSN571 begins. Breaks between sessions shift these by a week or two.

The FNP handbook asks for more than the calendar does. At enrollment, it expects you to have preceptors and sites confirmed, or at least three possible preceptors and sites per setting listed on the Interest Form (Appendix G). The six-month date is the latest point, not the target.

Why students plan their calendar with us

Our search works to USU's calendar. Tell us your program, your clinical course and its session start, and we work back from the six-month and 16-week dates to see what is realistic before you commit to anything.

When the six-month date is still ahead, there is time to find and check a preceptor properly. When the 16-week date is close or gone, we'll say so plainly and point you to your CPC first, because USU's handbook says same-day or urgent requests can't be accommodated and approval times sit with USU. USU approves every preceptor, site and agreement. Start with the request form or read how it works.