Loyola New Orleans 2026-27 calendar for practicum planning
Loyola University New Orleans holds Fall 2026 classes August 17 through December 4, starts Spring 2027 on January 19 and ends it May 7, with a Mardi Gras holiday February 8-12, then opens its Summer 2027 sessions on May 17. Fall and Spring each also split into two 8-week online sessions. Here are the dates that shape a practicum term, and how to count your placement lead time back from them.
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Fall 2026: the dates that shape a practicum term
The full Fall 2026 semester runs from Monday, August 17, to Friday, December 4, with finals December 7-11. Online courses also run in two 8-week sessions, the first from August 17 to October 15-18 and the second from October 19 to December 10-13.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| August 17 | Classes begin; online Session 1 opens |
| August 28 | Last day to drop |
| October 2 | Course withdrawal deadline, online Session 1 |
| October 12-13 | Fall break |
| October 19 | Online Session 2 opens |
| November 3 | Election Day, no classes |
| November 24 | Course withdrawal deadline, full semester and online Session 2 |
| November 25-27 | Thanksgiving holiday |
| December 4 | Last day of classes and last day for university withdrawal |
| December 7-11 | Final exams |
| December 15 | Grades due |
Loyola's fall calendar plans for storms: Fall Break days may be used to replace instruction lost to hurricanes, and a semester can be extended after emergency closings. If your practicum hours are tight, a closure week is worth a quick note to your course faculty.
Spring 2027 and the Mardi Gras week
Spring 2027 begins on Tuesday, January 19, and the last day of classes is Friday, May 7. The online sessions run January 19 to March 18-21 and March 22 to May 13-16. Two holiday blocks fall inside the term: Mardi Gras, February 8-12, and the Easter holidays, March 25-29.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| January 19 | Classes begin; online Session 1 opens |
| February 1 | Last day to drop |
| February 8-12 | Mardi Gras holiday |
| March 5 | Course withdrawal deadline, online Session 1 |
| March 22 | Online Session 2 opens |
| March 25-29 | Easter holidays |
| April 23 | Course withdrawal deadline, full semester |
| April 30 | Course withdrawal deadline, online Session 2 |
| May 7 | Last day of classes and last day for university withdrawal |
| May 10-13 | Final exams |
| May 15 | Commencement |
| May 18 | Grades due |
University holidays and your preceptor's schedule are two separate calendars. Whether you may log practicum hours during Mardi Gras week depends on your course, so ask your course faculty. The AGACNP guide, for one, allows weekend and holiday shifts (see AGACNP practicums).
Summer 2027 sessions and the practicums inside them
Loyola's Summer 2027 calendars, dated 08/10/26, offer several session lengths. The 14-week session runs from May 17 to finals on August 18-19, the 10-week session from June 1 to finals on August 4-5, the first 7-week session from May 17 to July 1 and the second from July 6 to August 19. Shorter 2- and 5-week sessions are posted too, and the last day for university withdrawal is August 13, 2027.
Graduate practicums that fall in a summer term on Loyola's posted plans
- AGACNP, certificate and dual:
NURS G902in Summer I - MSN PMHNP and certificate:
NURS G866in Summer I andNURS G858in Summer II - Nurse-Midwifery:
NURS G746in Summer I - Nurse Anesthesia and dual:
NURS G926in Summer II andNURS G934in Summer III - BSN-DNP tracks:
NURS G939in Summer II; FNP, Nurse Anesthesia and dual addNURS G944in Summer III - MSN-DNP Executive Leader:
NURS G944in Summer II, plusNURS G965in Summer I if needed
The four FNP practicums fall in Fall and Spring terms on the posted MSN plan, and the FNP certificate plan has no summer courses at all.
Which calendar your nursing course follows
Graduate nursing plans of study run by semester, Fall, Spring and Summer, but a given course can follow either the full-semester dates or an 8-week online session. The Nursing Student Handbook separates full-term-session courses from courses shorter than a full term, so both patterns exist. Your course's dates in Canvas and its syllabus tell you which one applies.
The difference matters for two rules. An online student who has not participated in Canvas by 11:59 PM Central on the session's seventh day risks an administrative drop, and course withdrawal deadlines differ by session, as the tables above show. Our student systems page covers Canvas and LORA.
Looking further ahead, the Registrar lists the Spring 2028 calendar as TBD, so confirm dates past Summer 2027 closer to the time.
Counting back three months from each start
Loyola's guidance is to open the placement process no later than three months ahead of the practicum. Laid against the 2026-27 calendar, that gives three working targets.
- Spring 2027 practicumClasses begin January 19, so start by about October 19, 2026, the same day online Session 2 opens.
- Summer 2027 practicumSessions open May 17, so start by about February 17, 2027. Begin in early February so the Mardi Gras week does not eat into your window.
- Fall 2027 practicumOnce the Registrar posts the first day of Fall 2027 classes, subtract three months. If the term opens in mid-August as Fall 2026 did, the target falls in mid-May, just as summer sessions begin.
Those dates are the minimum, since affiliation agreements that a site edits heavily can take several months on their own. Our three-month lead time plan turns the timing into a month-by-month checklist.
The three-month clock runs from the first day of the practicum term, not from the day your course faculty first mention placements.
Incomplete deadlines on the same calendars
The Registrar's 2026-27 calendars also mark when Incomplete grades turn into F grades: September 28, 2026 for Summer 2026 Incompletes, March 1, 2027 for Fall 2026, and June 28, 2027 for Spring 2027, although the Summer 2027 5-week calendar lists June 25 for that last one. University withdrawal follows a similar rhythm: in Fall and Spring its last day matches the last day of classes, December 4 and May 7.
Those dates reach into the next term. Finishing leftover Fall 2026 hours means booking preceptor time in January and February 2027, alongside any Spring practicum and around Mardi Gras, before the March 1 cutoff. Staying ahead of pace from the first week is the easier path. The rules behind Incompletes, leave and withdrawal are on our Incompletes, leave and time limits page.
Why students plan their placements with us
We build your search around Loyola's calendar. When you tell us your practicum term, we work backward from its first day, allow for the Thanksgiving and Mardi Gras weeks, and aim to have your site and preceptor identified early enough for the Exxat Wishlist, the affiliation agreement check and Placement Approved to finish before classes begin.
For students with back-to-back practicums, we keep the next term's search running while you are still logging hours in the current one. Summer placements get the same early start as Fall and Spring, since several graduate practicums land in a summer term. Loyola's placement office and faculty approve each placement, and we deliver requests to them already complete and aligned with Loyola's rules. Share your practicum term and we will map the dates with you.
Questions Loyola students ask
When does Loyola's Fall 2026 semester start and end?
Fall 2026 classes begin Monday, August 17, and the last day of classes is Friday, December 4, with final exams December 7-11 and grades due December 15. Fall break is October 12-13 and the Thanksgiving holiday runs November 25-27. Online courses on the 8-week calendar split the term at October 19.
Is Mardi Gras a holiday at Loyola New Orleans?
Yes. The Spring 2027 calendar gives students a Mardi Gras holiday from February 8 to 12. Whether practicum hours can be logged that week depends on your course and your site, so ask your course faculty. If you are starting a summer placement search, the holiday week falls just before the mid-February point that marks three months out from summer.
Do Loyola's online nursing courses run in 8-week sessions?
Loyola runs two online 8-week sessions inside each Fall and Spring semester, and the Nursing Student Handbook recognizes both full-term and shorter courses. Your course's dates in Canvas and its syllabus show which pattern it follows. Either way, you must post participation in Canvas by day 7 of the session to avoid an administrative drop.
When does Summer 2027 start at Loyola?
The 14-week and first 7-week sessions begin Monday, May 17, 2027; the 10-week session begins June 1 and the second 7-week session July 6. The 14-week session's finals are August 18-19. Several graduate practicums, including the first AGACNP and PMHNP practicums, fall in a summer term on Loyola's posted plans.
When is Loyola's Spring 2027 commencement?
Commencement is Saturday, May 15, 2027, after final exams May 10-13, and grades are due May 18. Students carrying an Incomplete are not certified for graduation, so finishing every practicum hour on time in your last term matters if you plan to complete the program in May.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Loyola's own bulletin, program pages, practicum guides, forms and licensure disclosures. Your plan of study, your practicum guide, your program director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
Loyola asks you to select your own preceptor and site. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Loyola program, where you live and which term your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check whether the site already has a Loyola affiliation agreement, and prepare everything your Exxat Wishlist needs.
- Preceptors matched to the course: outpatient primary care for
NURS G823, pediatrics and obstetrics forNURS G829, acute care forNURS G902, psychiatric care forNURS G856 - Preceptor CV, license and Nursys PDF, the Preceptor Agreement and the site's signer details ready for the Wishlist
- In your own community, in Louisiana or any state where Loyola approves your practicum
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