Liberty's DNP-FNP: preceptors and sites for 1,050 practicum hours
Liberty's Family Nurse Practitioner track is a doctorate with 1,050 practicum hours: 750 nurse practitioner hours across three primary care practicums and 300 in the DNP practicum courses. Telehealth sites are not allowed, so every NP hour is in person. Your practicum paperwork starts in Gate 1, a semester before NURS 771.
Plan your FNP practicum
Tell us your state and the term you expect to start NURS 771. A placement advisor will reply with what an in-person primary care match could look like near you.
NURS 771, 772 and 838
The program in brief
Liberty trains family nurse practitioners at the doctoral level only; there is no MSN route to the FNP. The 2026-27 catalog lays out 69 credits over nine semesters across three years, and the degree must be finished within five years. The program page describes it as both a BSN-to-NP and an MSN-to-NP option.
Most coursework is online, in 8-week and full-semester sub-terms. Several courses, including the DNP practicums, are marked synchronous, so some weeks come with set login times. The next listed starts are October 26, 2026, January 18, 2027 and March 22, 2027.
One intensive is required. The program page says it is offered virtually, but Liberty's in-person components page still lists the FNP among programs with on-campus intensives, so confirm the format for your year. The intensive page lays out both readings. To graduate, you pass the comprehensive exam, NURS 820, and complete all 1,050 practicum hours.
Your practicum courses, in order
Three FNP practicums carry the 750 nurse practitioner hours, and four DNP practicums carry the other 300. The current catalog gives totals only, with no per-course split, so treat each course's hour target as something to confirm in the syllabus at the start of the term.
| Course | What it covers | Where it sits | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
NURS 731 Gate 1 | You submit practicum requirements (0 credits) | Semester 6 | None |
NURS 771 FNP Practicum I | Primary care wellness and acute visits across the lifespan (3 credits) | Semester 7, with Gate 2 (NURS 738) | Part of the 750 NP hours |
NURS 772 FNP Practicum II | Chronic and complex acute care, diagnostics and prescribing (3 credits) | Semester 8, with Gate 3 (NURS 739) | Part of the 750 NP hours |
NURS 838 FNP Practicum III | Wellness exams plus episodic, acute and chronic care (4 credits) | Semester 9, with NURS 820 | Part of the 750 NP hours |
NURS 840 to 843 DNP Practicum I to IV | Faculty-guided systems leadership work (2 credits each) | Check your own plan grid | 300 DNP hours in total |
The course list lets you attempt NURS 843 up to three times if DNP hours are still short. Students who began under the 2024-25 plan may still be on a different map: 78 credits, 1,232 hours, practicums numbered NURS 740, 741, 743 and 744, and NURS 838 at 280 hours.
Who precepts you, and in what setting
Every FNP practicum is primary care across the lifespan. NURS 771 builds history taking, physical exams and diagnostic reasoning in wellness and acute visits. NURS 772 moves to chronic and complex acute conditions, ordering and reading diagnostics, and prescribing. NURS 838 combines wellness exams with episodic, acute and chronic care. All three descriptions ask for physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care, in line with the School of Nursing's mission.
Liberty has not published a list of who may precept FNP students. A few state pages set rules of their own: Missouri requires an APRN with prescribing authority or an MD or DO with unrestricted prescriptive authority, and Oregon requires direct supervision by an appropriately licensed Oregon preceptor. Elsewhere, ask the practicum team before you commit to a clinician. Our preceptor requirements page tracks what is public and what isn't.
FNP telehealth sites are not allowed at Liberty. A virtual-only clinic can't host your NP hours, however willing the clinician is. See the telehealth rules for how this differs from PMHNP.
What Liberty's practicum team does
Liberty calls FNP placement a collaborative partnership between you and its dedicated practicum team. The team's stated goal is to match each student with a preceptor and site, and it describes itself as committed to helping students identify suitable ones. The School of Nursing staff list includes an Assistant Director of Practicum Experiences and several Practicum & Clinical Coordinators for the online programs, reachable at APRN.DNPPracticum@liberty.edu.
Liberty is also candid about the limits. The assigned term may not match your first preference, and because preceptors are scarce you may need to travel. If you decline a provided site because of distance, you will be asked to identify a new site yourself. Liberty encourages you to bring leads from your own area, since you know it better than anyone in Lynchburg does.
Any fee a site or preceptor charges is yours, negotiated directly with the site. The practicum team page covers how to work with the coordinators without stepping on their process.
Admission rules that reach into practicum
Several FNP entry rules decide where and when you can start clinical hours, so check them against your plans early.
- An active, unencumbered RN license in the state where the practicum will be held. If your site is across a state line, your home license may not cover it.
- One year of professional nursing experience before you enroll in the practicum, verified with your recent employers. The catalog still ties this to
NURS 740, the older course number. - AHA BLS for Healthcare Providers with AED at admission, then a background check and immunization records after acceptance. The catalog adds a drug screen and an Immunization/Physical Exam Form.
- Every step of the placement process finished and full compliance in place before practicum begins.
The paperwork itself moves through Gates 1, 2 and 3 in Canvas. The Gate course guide explains what each one collects and why Gate 1 sits a full semester ahead.
States where FNP practicum is not allowed
Liberty can't place FNP students in practicum in California, New York or Washington, citing each board's educational and license regulations for nurse practitioners. Liberty is also not approved to offer clinicals in the District of Columbia, and students in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa or the Northern Mariana Islands must complete practicum within the 50 states.
Those same pages say Liberty meets education requirements there and that students may be able to do practicum in an approved state. That usually means holding an RN license for the practicum state, or a multistate license where that state accepts one. Liberty's pages for Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Oregon ask for that state's own RN license.
Some approved states add steps. Alabama needs Liberty's notice at least 15 days before APRN clinicals, sent once your practicum paperwork is approved, and Louisiana must approve the facility before your start date. The state restrictions page lists every exclusion by program.
Why Liberty FNP students choose us
We look for primary care preceptors and sites near you, in person only, and we check each lead against Liberty's course descriptions and your state's page before you approach anyone. That search runs alongside the practicum team's matching, and every lead goes through Liberty in the usual way.
We also gather the preceptor and site details the Gate course asks for, such as a CV and license information, and stay reachable if a preceptor drops mid-term. Liberty approves each FNP site and preceptor; our job is a lead that suits primary care across the lifespan and a file with nothing missing. If Gate 1 is on your calendar, use the form below and a placement advisor will look at your state and term.
Questions Liberty students ask
Can a physician or PA precept a Liberty FNP student?
Liberty hasn't published an FNP preceptor list, so there is no public yes or no for physicians or physician assistants. The Missouri state page accepts an MD or DO with unrestricted prescriptive authority for practicum there, alongside prescribing APRNs. Anywhere else, send the clinician's name and credentials to the practicum team and wait for an answer before you plan hours around that person.
How many hours is each Liberty FNP practicum course?
The 2026-27 catalog doesn't break it down. It gives 750 nurse practitioner hours across NURS 771, 772 and 838 with no per-course split. The only per-course figure found comes from the older 2024-25 plan, where NURS 838 carried 280 hours. Read the syllabus in Canvas during week 0 so you can tell a preceptor how many shifts you need.
Does Liberty pay FNP preceptors?
It isn't clear. A 2023 Liberty preceptor orientation page linked a document on FNP and PMHNP preceptor stipends, but the file couldn't be opened, so current practice is unknown. What Liberty does state is that any fee a facility or preceptor charges falls to the student and is negotiated directly with the site. Ask the practicum team before you promise a preceptor anything.
I started the FNP before fall 2026. Do I need 1,050 or 1,232 hours?
It depends on the plan attached to your start term. The 2026-27 catalog lists 1,050 hours for students starting from fall 2026. The 2024-25 degree completion plan listed 1,232 hours with different course numbers, and students who started then may still be on it. DNP advising at dnp@liberty.edu can confirm which plan governs your degree.
Can I complete FNP hours at the clinic where I work?
Liberty hasn't published an employer-site rule for its NP tracks. The only written rule found is in the 2022-23 MSN handbook, which allows unpaid hours in a different unit under an affiliation agreement, and it was written for MSN students. For the FNP, ask the practicum team whether your workplace can serve as a site before you build a schedule around it.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against Liberty's own published sources. The practicum team and Liberty's current handbook have the final word.
More leads, sooner, for your practicum.
Tell us your Liberty program, your county and when your practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit Liberty's rules for your track, and help you get the Gate-course paperwork right.
- Matched to your track: FNP, PMHNP, DNP or MSN
- Paperwork ready for the Gate course and the site contract
- In person near you, or telehealth where your track allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.