Keiser's MSN in Nursing: a master's without a practicum course
Keiser's generalist MSN is a 33-credit online program for nurses heading toward leadership and educator roles, and the 2026-27 Graduate Catalog lists no practicum or clinical course in it. What it does require is one on-campus residency weekend and a capstone built in your own practice setting. This guide covers both, the admission rules, and the point where a preceptor search enters your plans.
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The MSN at a glance
Keiser prints this program in its Graduate Catalog as "Nursing, MSN", the Graduate School's generalist master's for nurses moving toward leadership and educator roles. It shares its advanced science courses with the nurse practitioner tracks but stops short of clinical practice, which is why its requirements look so different from the FNP's.
| Item | What Keiser says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Credits | 33 credits across 11 courses | Catalog and program page |
| Length | About 22 months; the program page says 12 to 22 | Catalog; program page |
| Course format | 8-week online courses, one or two at a time | Catalog |
| Residency | One required on-campus intensive weekend | Catalog (the program page omits it) |
| Clinical | No practicum course; supplemental course hours instead | Catalog |
| Final project | NUR690 capstone set in your practice setting | Catalog |
Keiser gives three time frames for the same 33 credits. The catalog says about 22 months, the program page says 12 to 22, and the Graduate School FAQ describes roughly 18 months of coursework with no clinical and an applied capstone. The catalog governs; your transfer credit and whether you take one or two courses per term decide where you land.
No practicum course, and what takes its place
Here is the short answer most applicants want: the MSN has no precepted clinical course. Keiser marks most of its practicums with an "A" suffix in the nurse practitioner and doctoral outlines (NUR602A, NUR612A, NUR801A), and nothing in the MSN outline carries one.
What the catalog asks for instead is supplemental course hours. Its examples include agency visits, conferences, volunteer work and "preceptor training", and the list is open-ended. Because the catalog gives examples rather than a course-by-course tally, each syllabus is where you find what a given course expects and how to document it.
One older document muddies the picture. Keiser's graduate clinical manual mentions MSN "mentorship immersion courses", yet the 2026-27 catalog lists none. Treat that phrase as a leftover and plan from the catalog.
No practicum does not mean no campus time. The catalog requires one residency weekend for the MSN even though the program page leaves it out.
The capstone: NUR690 in your practice setting
NUR690, Translating Research into Practice, is the MSN's capstone course. The catalog places the capstone project in the student's own practice setting, so the unit, clinic or department where you already work becomes the ground for the project rather than a site someone assigns.
That design asks for a setting and a workable question, not a preceptor match. Before you reach the course, think about a practice problem your workplace would welcome help with, whether your manager will back a project there, and what information you could realistically gather. NUR680, the research course in the same outline, builds the methods the capstone draws on.
The capstone is also a graduation requirement. The catalog asks MSN graduates for a cumulative GPA of 3.0, no more than two grades of C, the final 27 credits earned at Keiser and completion within five years. The grades and progression guide explains Keiser's graduate grading scale and repeat rules.
The residency weekend
The 2026-27 catalog requires one residency for the MSN: on-campus instruction delivered over an intensive weekend. The Graduate School FAQ adds that residencies are completed in person. Budget for travel and time off for that weekend, and ask the Graduate School which campus hosts it and where it falls in your sequence.
The MSN outline includes three of the advanced courses Keiser's nurse practitioner students take: NUR650 Advanced Pathophysiology for Practice, NUR661 Principles of Pharmacology for Advanced Practice II and NUR671 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning II. In the FNP, NUR671 carries the first residency along with simulation and an OSCE; the NUR671 guide describes the course as the NP tracks meet it.
Courses run 8 weeks and you take one or two at a time. The graduate calendar lists the 2026 and 2027 term start dates.
Admission and licensing
Admission follows the Graduate School's pattern for its master's programs, with one licensing detail to read closely. The catalog lists:
- A BSN with a cumulative GPA of 3.0
- An active unrestricted RN license in Florida (the program page asks for an unrestricted RN license without naming a state)
- A Level 2 background check
- An interview
The catalog also tells applicants living outside Florida to check clinical practicum rules with their State Board of Nursing. Because the catalog's Florida wording and the program page differ, confirm the license requirement with admissions before you apply; the Florida RN license guide explains how Keiser's graduate programs treat Florida licensure.
On transfer credit, the catalog requires the final 27 of the 33 credits at Keiser, while the program page mentions transferring up to 12. Ask for an evaluation of your transcript before you count on either figure.
Where the MSN leads: the DNP or the FNP
The MSN also qualifies you for Keiser's post-master's DNP, which admits nurses holding a master's in nursing, a 3.0 GPA and an active RN license in their state of residence. Unlike the MSN, it is clinical. NUR801A and NUR802A each carry 120 hours with a preceptor, first in an organizational setting and then in a community one, and the degree calls for 1,000 clinical practice hours in total.
If nurse practitioner licensure is your goal, read the program page with care. It says MSN graduates can become FNPs through a DNP "with a family nurse practitioner track", but the 2026-27 catalog shows no such track, and Keiser's catalogs list no post-master's NP certificate. Keiser's route to FNP is the MSN FNP. Ask admissions how a completed MSN would count toward it before you settle on either program.
The shared courses matter here. The FNP requires a B or better in NUR650, NUR661 and NUR671 before its first practicum, and the MSN outline already contains all three.
Why MSN students plan their next clinical step with us
Your MSN runs without a preceptor, which makes it the right time to prepare for the program that will need one. Keiser's DNP clinical practice courses and its FNP practicums both depend on a site and a qualified clinician that you bring to Keiser for approval, and students who begin that search a term or two early get the widest choice.
Our placement desk is built around Keiser's process. We search for a preceptor and site near where you live that fit the course you are heading into, gather the CV or resume, license and certification details Keiser reviews, and line up the site and agreement contact so everything is ready about three months before the course starts. Keiser's faculty give the final approval; we see to it that the file reaching them is complete and matches their rules the first time.
When you know which program follows your MSN, contact us or use the form below, and a placement advisor will set out your timeline.
Questions Keiser students ask
Does Keiser's MSN in Nursing require clinical hours?
Not in the form of a practicum. The 2026-27 Graduate Catalog lists no clinical course in the MSN. It asks instead for supplemental course hours, which can mean conferences, visits to agencies, volunteering or preceptor training, plus a capstone set in your practice setting. The Graduate School FAQ describes the program the same way: coursework, no clinical, and an applied capstone.
Is the Keiser MSN fully online?
Nearly. The catalog lists it as online only at every Florida campus, with 8-week courses taken one or two at a time. It also requires one residency, on-campus instruction over an intensive weekend, and the Graduate School FAQ says residencies are done in person. The program page skips the residency, so plan by the catalog.
Can I enroll in the Keiser MSN with an RN license from another state?
The 2026-27 catalog asks for an active unrestricted RN license in Florida, while the program page asks only for an unrestricted RN license. Applicants outside Florida are also told to check clinical practicum rules with their own State Board. Because the two Keiser sources differ, confirm the license requirement with Graduate School admissions before you apply.
Does Keiser's DNP have a family nurse practitioner track?
Not in the 2026-27 Graduate Catalog. The MSN program page mentions a DNP with a family nurse practitioner track, but the catalog's post-master's DNP has no such track, and Keiser lists no post-master's NP certificate. The route to FNP licensure at Keiser is the MSN FNP, which has five practicums with preceptors that students find.
What is the capstone course in Keiser's MSN?
It is NUR690, Translating Research into Practice, a 3-credit course in the catalog's MSN outline. The catalog sets the capstone project in your own practice setting, so it relies on the workplace you already have rather than a placement. Completing it is one of the MSN's graduation requirements, alongside a 3.0 GPA and no more than two grades of C.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Keiser's catalogs, graduate nursing manuals, licensure disclosures and program pages. Your course, the Clinical Coordinator and the 2026-27 Graduate Catalog have the final word.
Keiser asks you to find your own preceptor. Let us run that search.
Tell us your Keiser program, your next practicum and where you live. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the CV, license and site details your Preceptor/Mentor Information Form needs, about three months ahead.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult and older-adult primary care for
NUR602AandNUR603A, pediatrics forNUR604A, women's health forNUR605A - CV, license, certification and site contact ready for Keiser's review and the affiliation agreement
- Across Florida, from Miami to Jacksonville, and in the other states where you are licensed
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