Sacred Heart University residencies in Fairfield, program by program
Online NP students at Sacred Heart University travel to campus in Fairfield, Connecticut for clinical competency residencies, the hybrid DNP programs meet on campus through each term, and the non-NP online MSN tracks and the RN-BSN have no residency at all. Residencies are graded pass/fail, a failed one fails your clinical course, and no public page lists the dates.
Residency coming up?
Tell us your course and residency term, and your placement advisor will build the preceptor schedule around it.
Residencies by program at a glance
Sacred Heart University asks for campus time only in its nurse practitioner and doctoral programs. The online FNP, PMHNP and post-master's NP certificates meet in Fairfield for competency residencies, the two hybrid DNP programs hold campus class days inside each term, and every other online track runs without a campus visit. Where Sacred Heart's own pages give different counts, the table shows both versions.
| Program | What Sacred Heart describes | Where the sources differ |
|---|---|---|
| Online MSN FNP | Virtual orientation in week two of the first semester, then two one-to-two-day clinical competencies residencies in Fairfield: one during NU 552, one at the end of the program in NU 621 (SHU Online FAQ) | The catalog also says "a yearly daylong residency each year" |
| Online MSN PMHNP | A virtual orientation and two onsite competency residencies (catalog); the program page mentions in-person residencies | Same catalog conflict as the FNP; the FAQ's course-by-course timing is written for the FNP |
| Post-master's FNP and PMHNP certificates | One in-person residency per year (SHU Online FAQ) | The catalog's certificate pages say all coursework can be completed online and name no residency |
| Online MSN CNL, NMEL and Nursing Education | None: SHU Online calls the MSN 100% online with no campus residencies | No conflict found |
| Online RN-BSN | None (SHU Online FAQ) | No conflict found |
| Online RN-BSN-MSN | None in the FAQ | The RN-BSN-MSN page says FNP and PMHNP students also complete an on-campus residency |
| Hybrid BSN-to-DNP (FNP) | An average of six on-campus classes per semester, including 8-hour intensive days; attendance at every intensive day is required | No conflict found |
| Post-master's DNP | Occasional full-day meetings on campus once per term (program page) | The catalog says an orientation and one required residency over the whole program |
The online FNP and PMHNP residencies
For the online MSN FNP, the SHU Online FAQ sets out the rhythm. Orientation is virtual and happens in week two of your first semester. The first trip to Fairfield comes during NU 552 Advanced Health Assessment for NP, a course with a laboratory component, and the second closes out the program in NU 621, the last of the four clinical courses. Each visit lasts one to two days.
Lab hours are tied to that first visit. The catalog lists "10 (completed during residency 1)" for the FNP and PMHNP, while the MSN guide instead sets 15 lab hours for FNP students, on top of 540 clinical hours. Either figure sits outside the precepted total, which the FNP clinical hours page breaks down course by course.
PMHNP students share the catalog's wording but not the FAQ's course map, because NU 621 is an FNP course. Ask your academic advisor which PMHNP courses hold your two residencies, and read each course site in Blackboard as the term opens.
Certificates, non-NP tracks and the RN programs
Post-master's certificate students have a lighter campus load on paper: the FAQ gives both the FNP and the PMHNP certificate "one in-person residency per year." The certificate pages in the catalog mention no residency at all, so reconcile the two with your advisor before booking travel.
The Clinical Nurse Leader, Nursing Management & Executive Leadership and Nursing Education tracks have no campus residencies, and neither does the RN-BSN. For those students the only in-person obligation is the practicum itself, completed with an approved preceptor near home.
The RN-BSN-MSN deserves a second look. Its FAQ entry lists no residency, yet the program page says students heading into the FNP or PMHNP also complete an on-campus residency. If the MSN half of your plan is an NP track, budget for at least one trip to Fairfield.
Campus days in the hybrid DNP programs
The hybrid BSN-to-DNP (FNP) is built around regular campus time rather than occasional residencies. The catalog describes online work paired with on-campus intensive classes, the program page averages six on-campus classes a semester, and the guide defines an intensive day as 8 hours of direct classroom education. Hands-on sessions include an ultrasonography clinic and the skills lab.
Attendance rules are strict. The FNP/DNP guide requires students "to be present at all intensive on-campus days and clinical experiences." Absence warnings begin at two or more missed 3-hour campus classes or a single missed 8-hour intensive day. One intensive day missed without an emergency may mean repeating the course, and two missed days can end in a failing grade and dismissal.
Post-master's DNP students come to campus far less often. The program page describes occasional full-day meetings once per term, and the catalog describes an orientation plus one required residency. The course calendar shows which registrar calendar your DNP version follows.
Pass/fail, and what a residency failure does
The MSN guide grades clinical residency pass or fail, with no letter grade to average into the course. The weight comes from the sentence that follows: "Failure to pass a clinical residency will result in failure of any clinical course." A residency is part of your clinical record, not a stand-alone event.
The FAQ calls the FNP visits clinical competencies residencies, so expect hands-on demonstration of the skills your courses have been building. The specific competencies, how they are checked and what preparation is expected come from course faculty and the course site; Sacred Heart's public pages leave them out.
A failed clinical course then falls under the progression rules, which the grades and progression guide lays out. The practical lesson is short: prepare for a residency the way you would prepare for a clinical rotation.
Residency days are graded days. Put them on the calendar first, then fit clinic shifts, work and travel around them.
Planning clinical days around a residency
No public Sacred Heart page gives residency dates for 2026-27. They reach you through the same channels as every other clinical notice, so the plan begins with knowing where to look.
- Find the course that holds each visitMatch the rows in the table above to your plan of study. Online FNP students look for
NU 552andNU 621; everyone else confirms the course with the academic advisor. - Watch SHU email and the course siteSHU email is Sacred Heart's official channel, and the MSN guide asks you to check it every 48 hours. Logistics also appear in the Blackboard course for that term.
- Tell your preceptor at the first meetingShare the residency days before the clinic schedule is set, so the week you travel is planned into the rotation rather than lost from it.
- Spread hours around the gap
NU 621carries 180 clinical hours, and its residency takes days out of the same term. Front-load a little so a one-to-two-day absence leaves you on pace. - Arrange travel to Fairfield earlyResidencies take place on campus in Fairfield, Connecticut. The building is not named on public pages, so confirm the location in your course materials before you go.
How we schedule around your residency
Sacred Heart students who work with us get a preceptor schedule that already accounts for the Fairfield dates. We ask for your residency term when the search begins, favor preceptors whose clinics can absorb a short absence in the heaviest course, and confirm the arrangement with the preceptor before your first shift. Hybrid DNP students get the same care around intensive days, since those fall inside the very terms your clinical hours must fit.
Around that sits the core service: a nearby clinician matched to the course, a preceptor packet with the CV, license and board certification Sacred Heart's reviewers expect, and the name of whoever handles contracts at the site, which your CRF requires. Should a preceptor pull out mid-course, the replacement search begins immediately. The form on this page starts a search, and how it works describes each step.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Are Sacred Heart's online FNP residencies in person?
Yes. According to the SHU Online FAQ, FNP students make two campus visits to Fairfield, Connecticut, each lasting one to two days: one during NU 552 and the other in the final course, NU 621. Only the orientation is virtual, held in week two of the first semester. The catalog words it differently, as a yearly daylong residency, so confirm the count with your advisor.
Does the online CNL or Nursing Education track require a residency?
No. SHU Online describes the non-NP online MSN tracks (Clinical Nurse Leader, Nursing Management & Executive Leadership and Nursing Education) as fully online, without campus residencies. What happens in person is the practicum, which you complete with an approved preceptor at a site near where you live.
What happens if I fail a Sacred Heart clinical residency?
Sacred Heart's MSN guide grades residency pass or fail and states that failing one results in failure of any clinical course. That turns a residency into a progression matter rather than a missed event. Ask course faculty beforehand what will be assessed, and contact your academic advisor straight away if a residency does not go well.
Do post-master's DNP students have to come to campus?
Yes, though Sacred Heart describes it two ways. The program page mentions occasional full-day meetings on campus once per term, while the catalog instead describes a single required residency plus an orientation, spread over the whole program. Ask your advisor which applies to your cohort before you plan work and travel for the year.
When are the 2026-27 residency dates?
Sacred Heart's public pages do not publish them. Dates reach students through SHU email and the Blackboard course site once a residency course is scheduled. If a residency course sits on your plan of study for the coming term and no date has arrived, ask your academic advisor rather than waiting.
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 Online, FAQ
- Sacred Heart University 2026-2027 Graduate Catalog, Master of Science in Nursing
- Sacred Heart University, MSN and Post-MSN Certificate Online Programs Student Guide, 2026-2027
- Sacred Heart University, FNP/DNP Hybrid Nursing Program Student Guide, 2026-2027
- Sacred Heart University, Post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice
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
Start your placement plan
Program, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.