Your UNCW preceptor, found in North Carolina and ready before the deadline.

UNC Wilmington asks its nurse practitioner students to "locate and secure their own sites and preceptors," and every hour has to happen in North Carolina. That search is exactly what we do. We find North Carolina preceptors who fit your UNCW practicum course and prepare what UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews, so your submission goes in complete and early.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your UNCW program, your city and your next practicum term. Your placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options that fit the course.

1,000clinical and immersion hours in every UNCW DNP concentration

8weeks before the semester UNCW wants your placement details

4preceptors at most in a single UNCW clinical course

What UNCW handles, and what it leaves to you

UNCW gives you the courses, a Graduate Clinical Coordinator who approves each site and preceptor, site lists as a resource, and help when you ask for it. The search itself is yours: the DNP handbook asks FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP students to find their own preceptors, all of them in North Carolina, and to send the details at least 8 weeks before the semester.

That search is our specialty. We line up North Carolina preceptors who fit each practicum, from NSGL 650 through the last PMHNP course, and assemble what UNCW asks for: the preceptor's CV with dates and the site, the license number, the agency's name, address and county, and an email for evaluations. UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator makes the call; we make sure what reaches them is complete.

UNCW's handbook says to start looking 6 to 12 months before a practicum. Agreements alone can take 6 weeks or more.

From "I need a preceptor" to hours in Typhon

In the order UNCW's own clinical process runs.

Your program and course

Program, practicum course, which curriculum you follow, and where in North Carolina you can travel.

The search

North Carolina preceptors who fit the course: primary care, pediatrics, women's health, older adults or psychiatric care.

Your submission

CV, license and agency details ready for UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator, well before the 8-week line.

Approved and logging

Hours start after orientation and approval, and a replacement is ready if a preceptor steps away.

Pick your UNCW program

Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From UNCW's own catalog and nursing pages.

780direct patient care hours in NSGL 650 to 653 (1,000 total with 250 more; the catalog says 750 + 250)

NSGL 650180 h NSGL 651180 h NSGL 652180 h NSGL 653240 h

Who precepts: NPs, CNMs, MDs, DOs or PAs practicing in North Carolina, board certified, a year or more as a provider
Where: Primary care, pediatrics and women's health, in North Carolina only
Start looking: 6 to 12 months ahead; details to UNCW at least 8 weeks before the semester

Plan my FNP placement FNP guide

780direct patient care hours in NSGL 660 to 663 (plus 250 non-patient hours)

NSGL 660180 h NSGL 661180 h NSGL 662180 h NSGL 663240 h

Who precepts: NPs, MDs, DOs or PAs in North Carolina, with at least one NP preceptor during the program
Where: Primary care for ages 13 to end of life, including frail-elderly care
Start looking: 6 to 12 months ahead; the first practicum is spring of year 2 on the full-time plan

Plan my AGPCNP placement AGPCNP guide

750direct patient care hours, 187.5 in each of four practica

NSGL 646187.5 h NSGL 647187.5 h NSGL 648187.5 h NSGL 649187.5 h

Who precepts: PMHNPs, psychiatrists or PAs with a psychiatric focus; therapists for therapy hours; one student per preceptor per day
Where: Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings in North Carolina, more than one site across the program
Start looking: 6 to 12 months ahead; PMHNP practica can't be repeated, so start early

Plan my PMHNP placement PMHNP guide

186practicum and practice hours in the MSN Nurse Educator

NSG 588hours: see course page NSG 589hours: see course page

Who precepts: A nurse educator with a master's or higher, three years of teaching, licensed where the practicum is
Where: Schools of nursing, staff development and patient education settings where you are licensed
Start looking: Site and preceptor approved at least 5 weeks before the practicum course

Plan my Nurse Educator placement Nurse Educator guide

1,000clinical and immersion hours required in every UNCW DNP concentration

NSGL 696120 h NSGL 697120 h NSGL 698120 h

Who precepts: NP tracks: your practicum preceptors; Post APRN and Nurse Executive Leadership: immersion hours without an assigned preceptor
Where: The DNP project setting, in the state where you are licensed for the non-NP concentrations
Start looking: Project courses run alongside the last practica on the NP plans

Plan my DNP hours placement DNP hours guide

The UNCW pieces you will work with

Named the way UNCW names them, from its catalog, handbooks and School of Nursing pages.

Start hereThe UNCW clinical placement processHow a UNCW NP clinical placement runs, from a search 6 to 12 months out through GCC approval, agreements, compliance, orientation and Typhon logs.Locate and secureFinding your own preceptorWhat UNCW means when NP students must locate and secure their own sites and preceptors, how its FAQ and tips read, and how to search North Carolina well.NC onlyThe North Carolina clinical ruleUNCW NP students complete every clinical hour in North Carolina: the handbook rule, NC preceptors, NC or compact licenses, border students and exceptions.DeadlinesThe 8-week submission deadlineUNCW's 8-week clinical submission rule, the 90-day line on its process chart, 2026 and spring 2027 dates, agreement lead times and what a late packet costs.PreceptorsPreceptor requirementsUNCW's preceptor rules by track: NC licensure, Approval to Practice, board certification, a year as a provider, and the FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP extras.TyphonTyphon logs and time recordsHow UNCW nursing students log clinical encounters and hours in Typhon: the 5-day window, what counts, semester dates, telehealth limits and faculty review.

All UNCW clinical systems

Your program, your practicum

Every UNCW nursing program with practicum hours, and who you need for it.

FNPDNP Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)UNCW's BSN-DNP Family Nurse Practitioner track: 74 credits, four NSGL practica, 1,000 hours, North Carolina-only clinicals and how to plan your preceptors.AGPCNPDNP Adult-Gero Primary Care NPUNCW's AGPCNP DNP: 72 credits, NSGL 660 to NSGL 663, patients from age 13 to end of life, frail-elderly care, an NP preceptor and North Carolina clinicals.PMHNPDNP Psychiatric Mental Health NPUNCW's PMHNP DNP has two routes, BSN-DNP and MSN-DNP, leading to four 187.5-hour practica with North Carolina psychiatric preceptors, one student per day.PMHNP certificatePMHNP Post-Doctoral CertificateUNCW's new PMHNP Post-Doctoral Certificate: 31 credits for DNP-prepared NPs, the NSGL 646 to 649 practica in North Carolina, and what UNCW has yet to publish.MSNMSN Nurse EducatorUNCW's online MSN Nurse Educator: 36 credits, six starts a year, 186 practicum hours, the August 2026 curriculum and the educator preceptor you arrange.Post APRNDNP Post APRNUNCW's Post APRN DNP: 33 credits, 1,000 hours with 500 from your master's, immersion hours with no assigned preceptor, and a project where you're licensed.

All UNCW programs

Practicum courses, one page each

Hours, settings and the preceptor each course calls for, old and new curriculum.

CurriculumCurriculum transition: old vs newUNCW's Fall 2025 change moved DNP NP students to new practicum and project courses. Compare both sequences and learn how to tell which one is yours.FNPFNP practicum coursesUNCW's FNP practica, NSGL 650 to 653: hours per course, the patient mix each one adds, the prerequisite conflict, and the older NSGL 620 to 622 sequence.AGPCNPAGPCNP practicum coursesUNCW's AGPCNP practica, NSGL 660 to 663: hours, patients aged 13 to end of life, the frail-elderly minimum, the NP preceptor rule and the older courses.PMHNPPMHNP practicum coursesUNCW's PMHNP practica, NSGL 646 to 649: 187.5 hours each, inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings, therapy hours, preceptor rules and no repeats.DNP projectDNP project coursesUNCW's DNP project runs through NSGL 696, 697 and 698, about 120 immersion hours each, ending in a written and oral exam. How project sites are chosen.Nurse educatorNurse educator practicumUNCW's nurse educator practicum: NSG 588 and 589 from August 2026 or NSG 596 and 597, 186 hours, preceptor rules and the 5-week approval deadline.

If the clock is already running

The pages UNCW students open when a term is close.

StuckCan't find a preceptorNo preceptor yet for your UNCW practicum? Use UNCW's site lists and team first, see why North Carolina searches stall, and let us search the state for you.RushNeed a preceptor fastClose to UNCW's 8-week or 90-day placement line with no preceptor? See what is still possible, which NC sites move faster, and how we run a rush search.ReplacementPreceptor dropped outLost your preceptor before or during a UNCW practicum? Tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator, stay within 4 preceptors per course, and line up a replacement.DeadlinesThe 8-week submission deadlineUNCW's 8-week clinical submission rule, the 90-day line on its process chart, 2026 and spring 2027 dates, agreement lead times and what a late packet costs.Cape FearNP preceptors in WilmingtonWhere UNCW NP students find preceptors around Wilmington: Novant NHRMC, county hospitals, health centers, SEAHEC and NP supply in all five Cape Fear counties.StatewideNP preceptors across North CarolinaHow North Carolina's health systems take NP students, which ones name UNCW as a partner, and the windows, platforms and orientation rules UNCW students meet.

Before you start

Does UNCW find preceptors for DNP nurse practitioner students?

UNCW offers help and site lists, but its DNP handbook asks FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP students to locate and secure their own sites and preceptors, and its FAQ puts "a great importance on empowering the students to seek clinical placement." That search is what we take on for you. See finding your own preceptor.

Can I do my UNCW clinicals outside North Carolina?

Not in the NP concentrations. UNCW's DNP handbook says NP students complete clinical hours in North Carolina only, with preceptors practicing in the state. The nurse educator programs are different. See the North Carolina rule.

When should I start looking?

Six to twelve months before the practicum, per UNCW's handbook. The details go to UNCW at least 8 weeks before the semester, and a new affiliation agreement can take 6 weeks or more. Our deadline page lays it out.

What exactly do you do?

We find North Carolina preceptors and sites that fit your UNCW course, gather the CV, license and agency details UNCW reviews, and line up a replacement if a preceptor steps away. How it works.

Who approves the preceptor you find?

UNCW does. The Graduate Clinical Coordinator approves each site and preceptor, and you start only after course orientation and that approval. We prepare everything so the review moves quickly. See the placement process.

UNCW asks you to find your own North Carolina preceptor. Let us run that search.

Tell us your UNCW program, your practicum course and where in North Carolina you can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the CV, license and agency details UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews, well before the deadline.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care, pediatrics and women's health for NSGL 650 to NSGL 653, adult and older-adult care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP
Preceptor CV with dates and site, license number and agency details ready for your submission
In Wilmington, the Cape Fear region or wherever in North Carolina your clinicals can happen

Start your placement plan

Your program, city and next practicum term is all we need to begin.