The 1,000-hour rule for Loyola's MSN-DNP
Loyola University New Orleans requires 1,000 supervised graduate practicum hours for the MSN-DNP Executive Leader, and it counts hours you earned in your master's program toward that total. The three DNP Scholarly Project courses supply 540. Whatever your verified master's hours leave uncovered, the elective NURS G965 DNP Practicum makes up.
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How the 1,000 hours add up
Loyola's bulletin sets the MSN-DNP Executive Leader at 30 or more credits, with the exact number decided by a transcript review that credits supervised practicum hours from your master's program. The program requires 1,000 supervised graduate practicum hours in all, built from three sources.
| Source | Hours | How it is settled |
|---|---|---|
| Supervised hours from your MSN or post-graduate certificate | As verified | Verification of MSN Specialty Hours form, reviewed by the DNP Program Director |
NURS G939 DNP Scholarly Project I | 180 | Completed in the course, Fall II on the 2-year plan |
NURS G942 DNP Scholarly Project II | 180 | Completed in the course, Spring II |
NURS G944 DNP Scholarly Project III | 180 | Completed in the course, Summer II |
NURS G965 DNP Practicum (elective) | Tied to 1 to 4 credits | Added to your plan only when needed |
| Required total | 1,000 | Supervised graduate practicum hours |
The arithmetic is simple once your master's hours are verified: 1,000 minus the 540 project hours leaves 460. Verified hours at or above that line mean the project courses finish the total; anything below it is the gap NURS G965 exists to fill. The DNP Program Director makes the call, so treat the subtraction as a planning estimate rather than a ruling.
Verifying your master's hours
Loyola documents prior hours on the Verification of MSN Specialty Hours form, which the graduate resources page lists as Verification of Practicum hours. The posted version dates from 2024. It exists so the DNP Program Director can decide whether you need more hours to reach 1,000.
- Collect your master's recordsPull your MSN or certificate transcript and your records of supervised practicum hours, course by course.
- Complete the verification formFill in the Verification of MSN Specialty Hours form for the program where you earned the hours, and follow its instructions for signatures.
- Submit it before you plan your first termThe answer decides whether
NURS G965belongs on your plan and whether your first practicum lands in term 3 or term 4. - Confirm your plan of studyOnce the DNP Program Director has reviewed your hours, confirm the final credit count and practicum order with your advisor.
When NURS G965 enters the plan
NURS G965 DNP Practicum is an elective of 1 to 4 credits, and its hours depend on how many credits you take. On the 2-year Executive Leader plan, it sits in Summer I or Spring II. The plan totals 30 credits and grows only when elective practicum hours are needed.
G965 can also move your start. Without it, the first practicum on the plan is NURS G939 in term 4, Fall II. With it, your first practicum can come a term earlier, in term 3, Summer I. That earlier start pulls the three-month lead time forward as well: a Summer I practicum means the search should be underway by mid-February.
Because G965 hours count as supervised practicum hours, they need a setting and a supervisor just as the project courses do. Ask the DNP Program Director what kind of setting suits G965 and whether it can share an organization with your scholarly project.
Admission items and a conflict to check
Applicants to the Executive Leader track need nursing degrees at both the bachelor's and master's level, an RN license, and graduate statistics passed with a C or better. Loyola's sources disagree on one more item: the program page and the online admission page ask for evidence of NP certification or licensure, while the bulletin's Executive Leader requirements leave it out. If your master's did not lead to NP certification, raise it with admissions and the DNP Program Director before you apply.
The Executive Leader is a leadership track rather than an APRN specialty track, and that shapes the practicum search. The DNP letter's list of possible project preceptors leads with nursing administrators, directors and chief officers. The project practicums page covers who qualifies and the rule against using your employer or direct supervisor.
How BSN-DNP students reach their totals
The verification step belongs to the MSN-DNP, because those students arrive with hours earned in an earlier program. Loyola's BSN-DNP tracks build their totals inside the program instead, adding the same 540 project hours to each specialty's clinical hours.
| BSN-DNP track | Clinical hours | Project hours | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| FNP | 800 | 540 | 1,340 |
| AGACNP | 750 | 540 | 1,290 |
| Nurse Anesthesia | 2,400 | 540 | 2,940 |
| Dual AGACNP/Nurse Anesthesia | 500 acute care plus 2,400 anesthesia | 540 | 3,440 |
For comparison, Loyola's own master's NP programs carry 800 practicum hours in the MSN FNP and 750 in the MSN PMHNP. A Loyola MSN graduate returning for the DNP still submits the verification form, and the DNP Program Director decides what counts. The clinical hours hub lists every program side by side.
Why Executive Leader students choose us
If you are working while in the program, the practicum search competes with your job. We handle it: project organizations and leadership preceptors that fit your project question and sit outside your own reporting line, plus a setting for NURS G965 hours if your verification leaves a gap.
We help you sequence the pieces so the verification answer, the plan of study and the first placement request line up, and we gather the Wishlist items Loyola asks for, from the preceptor's CV and license to the signed agreement. If a preceptor changes roles partway through the project, we find a replacement. Every placement is approved by Loyola's placement office and faculty, and we make sure the request they receive is complete and consistent with Loyola's rules. Tell us where your hours stand.
Questions Loyola students ask
Do my MSN clinical hours count toward Loyola's DNP?
Yes. Supervised practicum hours from your master's program count toward the 1,000 supervised graduate hours the MSN-DNP requires. They go on the Verification of MSN Specialty Hours form, which the DNP Program Director uses to judge whether your total needs topping up. The bulletin says your credit total is set by that same transcript review.
What is NURS G965 at Loyola?
NURS G965 DNP Practicum is an elective practicum of 1 to 4 credits, with hours tied to the credits you take. Executive Leader students take it only if their verified master's hours and the 540 project hours combined leave them below 1,000. On the 2-year plan it falls in Summer I or Spring II.
How long is Loyola's MSN-DNP Executive Leader program?
The posted 2-year plan runs from Fall I to Summer II and totals 30 credits, with more credits only if you need elective practicum hours. The bulletin describes the program as 30 or more credits. Start terms are Fall, Spring and Summer, and the courses are online and asynchronous.
Do I need NP certification for the Executive Leader DNP?
Loyola's sources disagree. The program page and the online admission page ask for evidence of NP certification or licensure, while the bulletin's Executive Leader requirements do not include it. Ask admissions and the DNP Program Director which applies before you apply, especially if your master's in nursing did not lead to NP certification.
What if my master's program kept thin records of my hours?
Start with your transcript and any practicum records the program kept, then complete the verification form as fully as you can and submit it early. The DNP Program Director reviews what you provide and decides whether more hours are needed. If the answer is yes, NURS G965 is the course that adds them.
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.
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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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