Sacred Heart University MSN in Nursing Management & Executive Leadership: the 120-hour practicum
Sacred Heart University's online MSN in Nursing Management & Executive Leadership (NMEL) is 36 credits with 120 practicum hours, 60 in NU 672 and 60 in NU 673, completed under a preceptor in your own community. The separate NMEL advanced certificate carries no practicum hours at all. We find the nurse leader and the organization for both courses and prepare the file your academic advisor approves.
Plan your leadership practicum
Tell us your module and the kind of organization you want to learn in.
The NMEL track at a glance
At 36 credits, NMEL is the shortest of Sacred Heart's online MSN tracks: a 12-credit core and 24 specialty credits. The specialty courses read like a management curriculum: NU 511 Role Development for Nursing Management and Executive Leadership, NU 521 Creating a Professional Work Environment, NU 575 Healthcare Information Systems, NU 576 Management of Financial Resources, NU 617 Health Care Delivery Systems and NU 665 Quality and Safety in Practice, followed by the two practicum courses.
The whole track is online and has no campus residency. Courses run in 8-week modules, the practicum pair included; the NMEL page quotes a two-year duration, and two intakes are offered each year.
On hours, the sources line up for once. The catalog sets a minimum of 120 practicum hours, and the MSN student guide and SHU Online give the same figure, so NMEL students plan to one number instead of a range.
The practicum pair: NU 672 and NU 673
Both practicum courses use a designated preceptor, and the MSN student guide assigns each one 60 hours.
| Course | What the practicum asks | Hours | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
NU 672 Nursing Management and Executive Leadership Practicum | A designated clinical practicum with a preceptor at the macrosystem level, including an organizational assessment; Part I of the capstone | 60 | NU 511, NU 521, NU 617, NU 665, NU 576, NU 575 |
NU 673 Capstone: Nursing Management and Executive Leadership | A designated role practicum with a preceptor covering human resources, budgeting, informatics and regulation | 60 | NU 672 |
| Total | Two 8-week courses | 120 |
The two courses may not share a module, so the practicum stretches across at least 16 weeks. At 60 hours per 8-week course, you average 7 to 8 hours a week with your preceptor.
NU 672 opens Part I of the capstone and NU 673 completes it. Keeping one preceptor and one organization across both avoids restarting the project and needs only one affiliation agreement, a plan your academic advisor can confirm in advance.
A preceptor in your community
SHU Online sums it up: the 120 hours happen "under the supervision of a preceptor in your community." The search is yours, as with every non-NP MSN track, and approval sits with your academic advisor once the preceptor's CV and RN license(s) arrive. Beyond that, no written credential list surfaced in research; the Blackboard organization for graduate nursing requirements and your advisor hold any specifics.
The course content sets the profile. Macrosystem work, organizational assessment, human resources, budgeting, informatics and regulation sit with nurse leaders who carry real organizational authority: a chief nursing officer, a nursing director, a service-line manager, or an administrator in a health system, long-term care organization or home care agency. A preceptor whose role stops at a single unit may not reach the macrosystem view NU 672 expects.
The CRF probes two employment points: your job at the organization, if any, and any working tie to the preceptor. Research found no written rule for MSN students on being precepted by a supervisor, so your advisor decides; see clinicals where you work. Family members and close friends are excluded.
Deadlines, compliance and the agreement clock
The Clinical Placement Team sets NMEL placement deadlines and sends them to students; they are not posted publicly, and the deadlines page explains how they differ from the FNP's week-10 rule. After your advisor approves the preceptor, the Contract Request Form reaches the Clinical Contract & Compliance Coordinator, and an organization with no existing Sacred Heart contract may need as long as nine months. Read affiliation agreements before choosing an organization with no Sacred Heart history.
Due in your Health Account two weeks before the practicum course
- Physical exam, TB test, CPR verification, Statement of Responsibility and Allergy Form
- RN liability insurance (NMEL uses RN coverage, not the NP student policy)
- An active RN license in the practicum state
- The CT Hospital Association Health & Safety Test, 85 or better, for a practicum in Connecticut
- A seasonal flu vaccine by November 1
Miss a published compliance date and you are removed from the practicum course. Registration windows for each module are on registration and modules.
The NMEL advanced certificate has no practicum
Sacred Heart also offers a 12-credit online Advanced Graduate Certificate in Nursing Management & Executive Leadership, built from NU 511, NU 576, NU 617 and NU 665. The catalog is explicit that no practicum or clinical hours are required, and it encourages certificate students to select a mentor.
That makes the placement steps on this page an MSN matter only. Certificate courses run eight weeks and are offered on an ongoing basis, so you can begin without lining up a preceptor or waiting on an affiliation agreement.
If you weigh the certificate against the full MSN, note that all four certificate courses appear among the prerequisites for NU 672. The MSN's practicum pair is where preceptor planning begins, and the programs hub sets every Sacred Heart option side by side.
Where NMEL students can train
NMEL leads to no advanced practice license, so the NP limits do not apply. Sacred Heart's State Authorizations page allows students in non-FNP MSN programs to complete required preceptorships at New York agencies, a sharp contrast with the New York rule for NP students. Whichever state hosts the practicum, hold an active RN license there with no encumbrance.
Moving during the program changes the picture. Sacred Heart's disclosures warn that relocating without checking the new state's requirements may leave you unable to get clinical placements there, so talk to your advisor before you choose a site after a move; clinicals outside Connecticut covers the details.
Sacred Heart's global programs page adds an option abroad: an optional fortnight at University Hospital Kerry, in Tralee, Ireland, that can supply part of the capstone hours. The student guides let each track limit hours earned abroad, so confirm the count with your advisor before relying on it.
Why NMEL students choose us
Leadership preceptors are busy, and the ask is specific: 120 hours of access to budgets, staffing and quality decisions across two modules. Your placement advisor finds a nurse leader whose role reaches the organizational level, confirms that the organization will contract with Sacred Heart, and hands you the CV, RN license and contract contact your CRF needs.
We track the placement deadline the Clinical Placement Team sends you against your module calendar, aim for one preceptor across both courses so the capstone stays intact, and replace a preceptor promptly if one leaves mid-course. Sacred Heart signs off on each leader and organization; we deliver a packet built to pass that review. Tell us your module on the contact page.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Can my own nurse manager precept my NMEL practicum?
For NMEL, Sacred Heart's written requirement is advisor approval based on the preceptor's CV and RN license. The CRF asks about employment at the organization and any working relationship with the preceptor, and research found no written rule barring a supervisor for MSN students. Your advisor decides, so raise it early and keep a backup preceptor in mind.
Does the NMEL certificate need a preceptor?
No preceptor is required. The catalog says no practicum or clinical hours are required for the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Nursing Management & Executive Leadership, and it encourages students to select a mentor instead. The practicum courses, NU 672 and NU 673, belong to the MSN track, so the affiliation agreement and Health Account steps apply there.
Can I complete NMEL practicum hours in New York?
Yes. The State Authorizations page groups non-FNP MSN programs with the RN-BSN and the post-master's DNP as non-licensure programs whose preceptorships may use New York agencies. You need an active New York RN license for it, and the organization still needs an affiliation agreement. Confirm with your advisor, since the NP tracks follow the opposite rule.
How many hours a week does the NMEL practicum take?
Each practicum course holds 60 hours inside an 8-week module, which averages 7 to 8 hours a week. Your preceptor's schedule decides how those hours fall, so settle the pattern in week one. Because NU 672 and NU 673 cannot run in the same module, you repeat that commitment in two separate modules.
What kind of organization works for NU 672?
One where your preceptor can show you the macrosystem: organizational assessment, strategy, staffing and quality across more than a single unit. Hospitals, health systems, home care agencies and community-based organizations can all fit if the preceptor's role reaches that level. The organization must also be willing to sign an affiliation agreement with Sacred Heart.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Sacred Heart's own catalog, program pages and 2026-27 student guides. Your student guide, your academic advisor and your course faculty have the final word.
- Sacred Heart University 2026-27 Graduate Catalog: Master of Science in Nursing
- Sacred Heart University 2026-27 Graduate Catalog: Advanced Graduate Certificate in Nursing Management and Executive Leadership
- Sacred Heart University MSN and Post-MSN Certificate Online Student Guide, 2026-27
- Sacred Heart University Online: Nursing Management & Executive Leadership specialization
- Sacred Heart University Online: State Authorizations
Sacred Heart asks you to secure your clinical placement. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Sacred Heart program, your city and your next clinical course. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare what your advisor, the NP clinical coordinator and the Contract Request Form ask for, early enough for the affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care of adults, women and children for FNP, psychiatric care across the lifespan for PMHNP
- Preceptor CV, license, board certification and the site's contract contact ready before your week-10 deadline
- Close to home in any state where Sacred Heart's program meets licensure requirements, with New York's rule planned around
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