Liberty's MSN/MBA and MSN/MSHA: fitting 300 practicum hours into a dual degree
Both of Liberty's nursing dual degrees run 60 credits, and both place their practicum hours in the same three nursing administration courses: NURS 674, 675 and 676, 300 hours in all. The practicum is the same as the stand-alone administration MSN. What changes is how you time it around a heavier load of business courses.
Plan your dual-degree practicum
Tell us which dual degree you're in, your state, and roughly when NURS 674 falls in your plan. A placement advisor will reply about nurse leader preceptors nearby.
NURS 674 to 676
Two dual degrees, one practicum
Liberty pairs its MSN with either a Master of Business Administration or a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration. Each dual degree is 60 credits, online, in 8-week courses with eight start dates a year. Upcoming starts are October 26, 2026, January 18, 2027 and February 15, 2027. The MSN/MBA page adds that there are no required on-campus intensives and no thesis.
For clinical placement, the two programs are identical. The catalog plans for both use the Nursing Administration practicum trio, with 300 practicum hours under an MSN- or doctorally prepared preceptor, taken after the MSN Practicum Gate, NURS 527. Liberty's catalog ties those hours to the three nursing courses, so your preceptor search is the same whichever business degree you chose.
Because the practicum matches the administration MSN, this page focuses on what's different for dual-degree students and links to the Nursing Administration page for the preceptor detail.
The practicum sequence
The three practicums run in order, and the catalog gives only the 300-hour total, not a split by course.
| Course | Focus | Must come first |
|---|---|---|
NURS 527 Practicum Gate (MSN) | Zero-credit course where you hand in practicum requirements | Must be passed before any practicum |
NURS 674 The Role of the Nurse Administrator | Stepping into the administrator role at a site you select | NURS 527, BUSI 610 and other core courses, plus a signed site agreement and practicum contract |
NURS 675 Management of Resources | Managing people, finances, materials and technology | NURS 674, then BUSI 642 as well |
NURS 676 Nursing Administration Capstone | Your capstone project and closing experience | Finishing NURS 675 |
The course pages above are the same ones stand-alone administration students use, so anything you read there about the courses applies to you too.
Timing the business courses around practicum
Two business courses gate the practicum: BUSI 610 is a prerequisite for NURS 674, and BUSI 642 is a prerequisite for NURS 675. In a 60-credit plan, if either of those lands later than you expected, the practicum moves with it.
Map your terms early. Put the Gate, BUSI 610 and the site agreement on one timeline, and work backward from the term you want to start NURS 674. The 2022-23 MSN handbook allowed only one practicum course per sub-term and counted hours only between the course's start and end dates, so three practicums take at least three sub-terms.
Tell a prospective preceptor the exact dates of each practicum sub-term, not just the semester. A nurse leader can plan around a fixed window far more easily than an open-ended request.
Missing BUSI 610 or BUSI 642 blocks the next practicum even if your site is ready. Check both in your plan before you sign a start date with a facility.
Preceptor and site
You choose the facility. Your site affiliation agreement and practicum contract, with an approved nurse leader preceptor holding an MSN or doctorate, have to be in place before NURS 674. The older handbook preferred sites that accept Liberty's Clinical Program Affiliation Agreement, since a facility's own contract can slow approval. The site contract page covers the documents.
Your business studies may open doors to executives without nursing degrees. They can be valuable contacts at your site, but the approved preceptor still needs to meet Liberty's nursing wording. If you're thinking of your own employer, the last published rule required unpaid hours in a different unit or department under an agreement; the employer site page has the detail. Before you search cold, ask the MSN practicum coordinators whether Liberty already works with a facility near you; the older handbook invited MSN students to ask about sites already approved.
Paperwork and proof of coverage
Liberty's MSN catalog requires a complete compliance file before any practicum: an AHA CPR card, the listed immunizations, HIPAA and bloodborne pathogens training, and both a criminal background check and a 10-panel drug screen. Your site may ask for more. Students pay all practicum-related costs. The 2022-23 handbook sent compliance documents to CastleBranch and listed preceptor paperwork in the same packet: Preceptor Verification and Agreement Forms showing the preceptor's work contact details, and a preceptor CV with license numbers, education and employment history. Ask for them early, since a busy leader may need time to pull them together.
If a site asks about insurance, Liberty has a process for that. Its Risk Management office can issue Certificates of Insurance for student off-campus placements, with requests due three business days ahead. The 2022-23 MSN handbook said Liberty's malpractice coverage applies only to Liberty-scheduled practicum, not to your employment or volunteer work. The malpractice page explains what that means in practice.
States for dual-degree practicum
Liberty's Washington page names the MSN/MBA and MSN/MSHA among the MSN programs approved for practicum there, with an active Washington RN license. The exclusions are the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories, where students must complete practicum in the 50 states.
The license rule is the one Liberty applies across nursing: your RN license must be valid in the practicum state, or you need a multistate license that state accepts. Liberty also cautions that a state may keep some clinical sites for its own residential students. If you move partway through, Liberty's licensure FAQ says your enrollment isn't affected as long as you stay enrolled, but your practicum state and your license still have to line up. The state restrictions page lists every program side by side.
Why dual-degree students choose us
With 60 credits to schedule, much of our help here is about sequencing and paperwork. We look for nurse leader preceptors near you, collect the preceptor's CV, license details and the site facts the Gate course asks for, and keep the affiliation agreement moving toward your NURS 674 date.
We work alongside the MSN practicum office, so every lead we find goes through Liberty's normal approval with its paperwork ready. If a preceptor leaves between courses, we stay on call to find a replacement. Approval of each site and preceptor is Liberty's call. Once you know which term NURS 674 falls in, use the form below.
Questions Liberty students ask
Do the MBA or MSHA courses have their own practicum hours?
Liberty's catalog attaches the 300 practicum hours in both dual degrees to the nursing courses NURS 674, 675 and 676. The business courses matter for timing, because BUSI 610 and BUSI 642 are prerequisites for the first two practicums, but the catalog's 300-hour requirement sits entirely within the three nursing practicums.
Is the practicum any different in the MSN/MSHA than in the MSN/MBA?
No. Both catalog plans use the same three nursing administration practicums, the same 300 hours and the same MSN- or doctorally prepared preceptor standard. The differences between the two degrees are in the non-nursing coursework. Your site, preceptor and agreement requirements are the same either way.
My site wants proof of insurance before I start. Who provides it?
Liberty's Risk Management office issues Certificates of Insurance for student off-campus placements such as practicums, and asks for requests three business days in advance. Send the request well before your first day, and confirm with the MSN office that your practicum is Liberty-scheduled, since the last published coverage wording applied only to Liberty-scheduled hours.
Can I do the dual-degree practicum in Washington state?
Yes. Liberty's Washington licensure page says MSN/MBA and MSN/MSHA students are approved to complete practicum in Washington, alongside Nurse Educator and Nursing Administration students. You need an active Washington RN license. This differs from Liberty's Community Health, Health Policy and Informatics tracks, which aren't approved for practicum there.
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
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