Summer is a clinical semester at ETSU
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) graduate nursing plans treat summer as a full semester, and several of the heaviest practicums land in it. The approved 2026-27 calendar sets the Summer 2027 complete term at May 17 to August 13, about 13 weeks, so a summer preceptor has to be found, approved and under contract by mid-May.
Line up your summer preceptor now
Tell us your summer courses and where you live. We start the search months ahead of May.
Which practicums land in summer
Almost every ETSU graduate plan puts at least one practicum in a summer term. The table draws on the MSN plans (dated 2023) and the DNP plans (dated 2020); check your own plan and catalog year, since a newer plan or a switch between part time and full time can move a course.
| Program and plan | Summer practicums | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP, full time (fall or spring start) | NRSE 5012 and NRSE 5022 together in the first summer | 240 |
| MSN FNP, part time, fall start | NRSE 5012 in Summer 3, NRSE 5022 in Summer 6 | 120 each |
| MSN FNP, part time, spring start | NRSE 5012 in Summer 5, NRSE 5022 in Summer 8 | 120 each |
| MSN PMHNP | NRSE 5409, Summer 3 full time or Summer 6 part time | 120 |
| MSN Nursing Administration | NRSE 5502 Executive Leadership Practicum I, semester 3 | 180 |
| MSN Nursing Education | NRSE 5115 in semester 3 (summer on the part-time page) | 60 |
| BSN-to-DNP, full time | The summer practicums above, then NRSE 6801 in Summer 6 and NRSE 6804 in Summer 9 | 125 per residency |
| MSN-to-DNP | NRSE 6801 and NRSE 6804, Summers 1 and 4 full time or Summers 4 and 7 part time | 125 each |
Summer is also where some programs begin. MSN-to-DNP students are admitted for summer, so Residency I is the first course that puts them at a site, and the Post-Graduate FNP certificate admits for summer as well.
Summer 2027 sessions and dates
Summer 2027 had not reached the registrar's live dates page at our last check, so this table relies on the 2026-27 calendar ETSU's trustees approved in February 2024. Recheck it when the registrar publishes the summer schedule.
| Part of term | Length | Summer 2027 dates |
|---|---|---|
| Complete term | 13 weeks | May 17 to Aug 13 |
| Pre-Summer | 3 weeks | May 17 to Jun 4 |
| AP1 | 7 weeks | May 17 to Jul 2 |
| Pre-Summer+1 | 8 weeks | May 17 to Jul 9 |
| Session I | 5 weeks | Jun 7 to Jul 9 |
| Dual Session | 10 weeks | Jun 7 to Aug 13 |
| Session II | 5 weeks | Jul 12 to Aug 13 |
| AP2 | 7 weeks | Jul 6 to Aug 20 |
Registration opens April 5, the university is closed May 31, June 18 and July 5, and the last day to withdraw from the university is August 11. Your section's dates in GoldLink, or a quick question to course faculty, will show which part of term the practicum uses. A complete-term course gives you about 13 weeks to log its hours, two fewer than a fall or spring term.
Why summer placements run tightest
A summer practicum fits the same hours into fewer weeks. NRSE 5012 and NRSE 5022 together come to 240 hours, about 18.5 a week if spread evenly over 13 weeks, and a 180-hour NRSE 5502 works out to nearly 14 a week. The hours per credit page runs the numbers for every course type.
The approval chain runs on the same clock. Before your first summer clinical day, clinical faculty must approve the preceptor, the Office of Student Services must verify the preceptor's credentials, a contract must be in place and your own clinical requirements must be current. Spring finals end May 6 and the complete term opens May 17, which leaves almost no slack between terms to fix a missing document.
ETSU publishes no submission deadline and no contract lead time, which makes an early start the only safe plan. If the site has never hosted an ETSU student, the clinical contracts page explains why that step deserves the most lead time.
The March 1 window for College clinics
The College of Nursing's nurse-led clinics are one summer option you request directly. The Office of Practice opens summer rotation requests on March 1 for the May start, and requests sent before a window opens are not considered. Its page names five rotation sites: Johnson City Community Health Center, Johnson City Downtown Day Center, University Health Center, Hancock County School Based Health Center and Mountain City Extended Hours Health Center.
Accepted students provide a criminal background check no older than 12 months, current immunizations, a yearly TB test, CPR and several ETSU trainings, and the Office of Practice reviews much of that from your ProjectConcert file. Because the window opens only about 11 weeks before the term, treat a clinic request as one option running alongside an outside search, not the whole plan. The request steps and the full document list are on the Office of Practice clinics page.
A summer countdown
Work backward from May 17. ETSU sets no submission deadline, so these steps are a planning order rather than College rules; the dated items come from ETSU's calendar and the Office of Practice.
- The fall before: mark your summer coursesFind every summer practicum on your plan of study and note its hours and population. Full-time FNP students need preceptors for two courses in the same term.
- Fall into winter: search and gather detailsApproach preceptors near you and collect what the Preceptor Intent Form asks for, from professional credentials and each license's number, state and expiration to the share of children, women, adults and older adults the site sees.
- As soon as you have a yes: submit in ProjectConcertCreate the Preceptor & Clinical Agency Onboarding entry, choose the graduate clinical coordinator, upload the form and the preceptor's CV, and watch the Comment column in case it comes back rejected.
- Early in spring: settle the contract questionAsk the coordinator whether the site already has a contract with ETSU. One must be in place before clinicals start.
- March 1: clinic requests and graduation filingSummer requests for the College's nurse-led clinics open. Graduate students finishing in summer or fall also apply to graduate by this date.
- April 5: register for Summer 2027Registration opens. Check that every clinical requirement in ProjectConcert shows a current status before its due date.
- May 17: the complete term beginsBuild your schedule in the ProjectConcert self-scheduler and start logging hours and the patient journal.
Why ETSU students choose us for summer
Summer placements reward an early start, and we start in the fall. We read your plan, identify every summer practicum and its hours, and search for preceptors near you whose patient mix and calendar can carry the load in 13 weeks. For full-time FNP students we run the young and middle adults search and the women's health search side by side, since both courses share the same summer.
Each match arrives with the details the Intent Form and the ProjectConcert entry require, so your submission can go in the week you get a yes. We flag the contract requirement while there is still room before May, and if a summer preceptor drops out partway through the term, we find a replacement so your hours keep moving. Tell us your summer courses.
Questions ETSU students ask
When does ETSU's Summer 2027 semester start?
ETSU's approved calendar opens the 13-week complete term on May 17, 2027 and closes it on August 13. Shorter sessions start between May 17 and July 12. Because the registrar had not yet put Summer 2027 on the live dates page, confirm it there before you commit a preceptor to a start date.
Do ETSU graduate nursing students have to take clinicals in summer?
Most ETSU graduate plans put at least one practicum in a summer term, and the full-time FNP plans put two there. Your plan of study decides which summers hold clinicals. A change of pace, which needs Office of Student Services approval and an open clinical slot, can move a summer practicum to a different year.
Can I request a College clinic rotation for summer before March 1?
No. The Office of Practice says requests submitted before a window opens are not considered, and the summer window opens March 1 for the May start. Use the time before then to gather the documents the clinics ask for and to keep an outside preceptor search moving in parallel.
Is a summer practicum shorter than a fall or spring one?
The hours are the same, but the term is shorter. ETSU's fall and spring full terms run 15 weeks, while the Summer 2027 complete term runs about 13, so each week carries more clinical time. If your section runs in a shorter summer session, the weekly load rises further.
What if my summer preceptor backs out in April?
Alert course faculty and the graduate clinical coordinator right away, since a replacement still needs approval, a credential check and a contract before May 17. The coordinator keeps lists of past preceptors that may help. We also find replacement preceptors quickly for ETSU students who reach us through the form.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against ETSU's own catalog, College of Nursing pages, plans of study and ProjectConcert guides. Your plan of study, your syllabus, your course faculty and the graduate clinical coordinator have the final word.
ETSU asks you to lead the preceptor search. We make it the fastest part of your program.
Tell us your ETSU concentration, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who fit the course's patient population and prepare everything your Preceptor Intent Form and ProjectConcert entry need.
- Preceptors matched to the course: young and middle adults for
NRSE 5012, older adults forNRSE 5014, women forNRSE 5022, children forNRSE 5024, psychiatric care forNRSE 5405 - Credentials, license numbers, certification dates and the site's patient mix ready for faculty approval
- In your own community, in Northeast Tennessee or wherever ETSU approves your clinicals
Start your placement plan
Program, city and semester is all we need to begin.