The NKU post-master's DNP practicum: DNP 881 to DNP 884

NKU's current DNP page lists the practicum as four project courses that follow the project from plan to evaluation, plus a continuing-credit course for students who need it.

The same page still carries an older summary describing "a one-hour course that must be taken five times," and the DNP 897 description still mentions DNP 896. Both lines predate the current course list.

NKU's FAQ sets the DNP requirement at 1,000 post-baccalaureate practicum hours and counts verifiable MSN clinical hours toward it. The DNP 897 course description presents it as a way to finish the post-BSN 1,000 practicum hours.

NKU's 2023-24 catalog framed the rule the same way: post-master's students complete "between 500 and 1000 hours," depending on the practicum hours in their MSN. The current page gives no total of its own, so confirm your number in the DNP Info Site. The clinical hours guide lists NKU's own MSN totals by track.

Whatever your remainder, DNP 881 to DNP 884 are still required courses. The hours question is how much practicum time they, and DNP 897 if needed, must carry.

Verifiable is the key word. The 2023-24 catalog asked for a letter from your MSN program. NKU graduates can order that proof from the School of Nursing, which handles hours certification through its graduate forms process, with a fee charged per form.

If your MSN came from another school, request its equivalent early, since registrar and program offices can take weeks to respond. Follow the DNP Info Site's instructions for where the verification goes.

The practicum is project-based. In DNP 882 the proposal is written "in collaboration with the project site," and in DNP 883 it is carried out there. The 2023-24 catalog described practicum hours as "individualized experiences with preceptor/s" and a project team of the student, a practice mentor and a faculty chair, with projects going to NKU's IRB.

No public NKU page says who finds or approves the project site. NKU keeps the DNP handbook and practicum guidelines inside Canvas, on the DNP Info Site, and the DNP program answers questions at dnp@nku.edu. Settle the site during DNP 881, before the proposal course needs it.

Each project course runs seven weeks, while DNP 897 runs sixteen. Every one of the four project courses carries two lines on the 2026-27 class-fee table, a DNP Practicum Fee and DNP Liability Insurance; the liability insurance guide explains how NKU bills coverage.

The DNP has its own row on NKU's state authorization table. Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia are authorized on NKU's newer graduate copy only, and South Carolina sits in both columns on the older copy, so check the current table if your project site is in one of those states. The state authorization guide explains the conflicts.

The NP tracks run a series of separate 7-week rotations, each with its own preceptor and hour target. The DNP practicum centers on one project at one site, developed across four courses, with a practice mentor and faculty chair alongside you.

What carries over from the MSN is the groundwork: a site that commits early, a mentor with expertise that fits the project, and paperwork that holds up to NKU's review. For admission and the coursework around the practicum, see the DNP program guide.

We help post-master's DNP students find a project site and practice mentor that match the project's topic, in a state on NKU's DNP table, and we have the site contact ready before DNP 882 needs it. If your hours math leaves practicum time to fill, we look for mentors who can host that time alongside the project.

Our step-by-step process shows how a search runs, and the form below starts yours.