MRU clinical placement: questions and answers
Short answers to the questions Miami Regional University nursing students ask most, drawn from MRU's catalog, addenda and program pages. When a detail lives only in MRU's portal-only nursing student handbook, we point you there instead of guessing.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your MRU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what an MRU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
MRU's preceptor rule
Which MRU programs make me find my own preceptor? Five of them: the MSN-FNP, the post-master's certificates in FNP, PMHNP and AGACNP, and the new Healthcare Systems Leadership MSN. For each, the catalog or the program's addendum states that students are required to secure their own preceptor.
What happens if I can't find one? MRU appoints one and charges its one-time Practicum Affiliation Fee; only students who line up an approved preceptor on their own are exempt from it. MRU-assigned or your own weighs the two routes.
Can I start clinical hours as soon as a preceptor says yes? Not yet. MRU's approval has to come first, and the catalog only counts practicum hours completed with a University-approved preceptor. A verbal yes is the start of the paperwork, not the start of your hours.
Timing and paperwork
When do MRU semesters start? Starting with Fall 2026, each MRU semester lasts 16 weeks and divides into two 8-week modules. Spring 2027 begins January 4, Summer 2027 begins May 3 and Fall 2027 begins August 30. Self-registration opens 20 days before each semester.
What has to be ready before my first clinical day? An approved preceptor, clinical clearance through American Data Bank, a Level II background check with fingerprints, immunization records and your own liability insurance policy, with proof in MRU's hands no later than 15 days before the externship. The placement process page puts these in order. Preceptor forms and paperwork deadlines are in the nursing student handbook on the MRU PORTAL, which MRU does not post publicly.
Where you live and where you train
Can I do MRU clinicals outside Florida? For the online NP programs, RN-to-BSN and the leadership MSN, your home has to stay in Florida or a SARA member state from start to finish, which leaves California out because it is not a SARA member. Clinicals close to home are possible, but the preceptor must meet the rules of the state where the site is. See MRU clinicals outside Florida.
Does my preceptor need a Florida license? Only when the clinical setting is in Florida. Florida rule 64B9-4.001(13) then calls for a Florida-licensed APRN, MD, DO or dentist, with no minimum years of practice in the rule itself. For a site in another state, that state's rules apply instead, and MRU may add criteria of its own.
Working with us
Is this site part of MRU? No. We run independently of the university. MRU approves every preceptor, and nothing we do stands in for that decision.
What do you need from me to start? Your MRU program, your next clinical course, when it starts and the city where you want to train. Anything else, such as a preceptor who has already said maybe, a site you cannot use because you work there, or shifts you cannot do around your job, helps us aim the search.
Can you promise a preceptor by a certain date? No. We look for a course-matched preceptor and site and help you gather what MRU checks, but approval and timing rest with MRU and with the preceptor's own schedule. How it works shows the steps.
Questions MRU students ask
Is Miami Regional University the same as Mount Royal University?
No. Miami Regional University has one campus, in Miami Springs, Florida, and its website is mru.edu. Mount Royal University is a Canadian school at mru.ca. Everything on this site is about Miami Regional University's nursing programs, catalog and clinical rules, so check the web address on any document you rely on.
Does MRU publish a list of clinical sites or partner hospitals?
No such list is public. MRU does not post its clinical sites, partner hospitals or affiliation agreements. Health systems that publish student policies require a school affiliation agreement, so before you plan around a hospital-based site, ask both the site and MRU whether a placement there is possible for you.
Do ASN, BSN and MSN Direct Entry students need to find preceptors?
No own-preceptor rule was found for them. These on-campus programs hold clinicals at contracted externship agencies, with the Office of the Registrar coordinating externship scheduling. Shifts can fall on any day or time, and if an agency changes its sites, MRU adjusts your schedule. The programs guide covers each one.
Does MRU's DNP lead to nurse practitioner licensure?
No. The current 39-credit DNP is a leadership doctorate that does not prepare graduates for APRN licensure. Its 765 practice hours are indirect practice hours logged in myevaluation.com, and the program director assigns each student a DNP Project team mentor. The older 60-credit version is no longer offered from Fall 2026.
Who accredits MRU's nursing programs?
ACEN, not CCNE. ACEN accredits MRU's associate, baccalaureate, and master's and post-master's certificate nursing programs, and the DNP has been an ACEN candidate for initial accreditation since September 4, 2024. The university itself is accredited by SACSCOC and licensed by Florida's Commission for Independent Education.
Does the AGACNP certificate need any time on campus?
Yes. The AGACNP certificate is delivered online but includes a required three-day skills demonstration and simulation weekend on campus in the first semester. Missing or failing it means failing the course, so plan travel to Miami Springs early if you live elsewhere. Its three acute care clinical courses add up to 810 hours.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against MRU's own catalog, addenda and program pages. The nursing student handbook on the MRU student portal and MRU's Office of Academic Affairs have the final word.
MRU says secure your own preceptor. We start the search now.
Tell us your MRU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We look for preceptors who fit the course and help you gather what MRU checks before approving them.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
MSN5700, women's health, pediatrics, psychiatric or acute care - Credentials, license and site details collected before MRU's credential check
- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, or wherever in a SARA state you live
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.