"Secure their own preceptor": what MRU's rule means for you
MRU's catalog tells MSN-FNP students and FNP, PMHNP and AGACNP certificate students to find their own preceptor, and the 2026 MSN in Healthcare Systems Leadership uses the same model. MRU approves that person before the preceptorship begins. If you arrive without one, the University appoints one for an additional fee.
Need a preceptor you can put forward?
Tell us your MRU program, course and where you live. MRU makes the approval decision; we help with the search.
MSN5855 with a nurse-leader preceptor
The rule in MRU's words
The sentence is short: "Students are required to secure their own preceptor." It appears in the catalog's section for each nurse practitioner program, on pages 121 to 122 for the MSN-FNP, 126 for the FNP certificate, 136 for PMHNP and 140 for AGACNP.
The paragraph around it says the same things each time. A clinical preceptorship runs through several courses. The preceptor must be approved before it starts, and for AGACNP and PMHNP the preceptorship itself needs approval too. Details are left to the student handbook.
The paragraph closes with the alternative: students without a preceptor "will be appointed one by the University for an additional fee". That charge is the one-time Practicum Affiliation Fee, explained on the fee page.
Which MRU programs it covers
Five programs print the rule. For the rest, MRU either describes a different arrangement or says nothing about who finds the preceptor.
| Program | Own-preceptor rule? | Where MRU says so |
|---|---|---|
| MSN: Family Nurse Practitioner | Yes | Catalog pp. 121 to 122; October 2025 international FNP sheet |
| FNP Post-Master's Certificate | Yes | Catalog p. 126; October 2025 international FNP-PMC sheet |
| PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate | Yes | Catalog p. 136; October 2025 international PMHNP sheet |
| AGACNP Post-Master's Certificate | Yes | Catalog p. 140; the AGACNP program web page |
| MSN in Healthcare Systems Leadership | Yes | 2026 program addendum and web page |
| DNP | Not stated | A project mentor is assigned by the program director |
| RN-to-BSN | Not stated | Preceptorship model; who finds the preceptor is not named |
| MSN Direct Entry, BSN, ASN | No rule found | Clinicals at contracted externship agencies |
Why the program web page may not mention it
If you read only mru.edu, you may have missed the rule. Of the NP program pages, only the AGACNP certificate page carries the full own-preceptor paragraph.
The MSN-FNP, FNP certificate and PMHNP pages give two shorter lines instead: applicants must "Be eligible to meet externship/preceptorship requirements", and all practicum hours must be completed with a University approved preceptor. Neither line says who finds that preceptor.
The full rule for those three programs is in the catalog and in the international program sheets MRU published in October 2025. The addenda issued through September 2026 update fees, the calendar, the DNP and the new leadership MSN, and the leadership addendum repeats the own-preceptor model rather than dropping it.
What securing a preceptor involves
Securing a preceptor means more than a verbal yes. You find a clinician whose practice fits the course, confirm they can supervise the hours within the course dates, hand MRU the details it needs to verify their credentials, and wait for approval before starting.
Because the preceptorship runs through several courses, you may need more than one person. The MSN-FNP moves from adult and geriatric primary care in MSN5700 to women's health in MSN6050, pediatrics in MSN6150 and one setting across the lifespan in MSN6400. PMHNP hours must include 115 with children and adolescents and 150 of psychotherapy within the 765 total.
The leadership MSN asks for a different kind of preceptor: MSN5855 carries 180 practicum hours supervised by a master's-prepared (or higher) nurse working in administration and management. What makes a preceptor acceptable for each track is covered on the requirements page.
Your three routes
The rule leaves you three practical choices. None is wrong; they trade money, time and control in different ways.
- Find your own. You search, contact and confirm a preceptor, and MRU approves them. MRU ties the waiver of the Practicum Affiliation Fee to students who secure an approved preceptor.
- Let MRU appoint one. You pay the one-time Practicum Affiliation Fee and MRU assigns the preceptor. Ask how and when the assignment is made before you choose it.
- Get help finding your own. An independent service searches for you and helps assemble the preceptor's details, while you still submit them and MRU still decides. Ask MRU how it treats a preceptor found with outside help for the waiver.
The decision guide compares the three routes in more depth.
When to start looking
MRU sets no public deadline for naming a preceptor, so count back from the semester start. Fall 2026 began on August 31, Spring 2027 starts on January 4 and Summer 2027 on May 3. Approval and the credential check must land before day one, and your insurance proof is due at least 15 days before the externship.
On the full-time MSN-FNP plan, MSN5700 falls in semester III, the women's health and pediatrics pair in semester IV and MSN6400 in semester V. Part-time students spread the four across semesters V to VIII, one per term. Either way, the search for your first preceptor belongs in the semester before, and the women's health and pediatric searches can run side by side.
Every new preceptor needs MRU's approval before hours with them count, including a replacement found partway through a course.
Questions MRU students ask
Does MRU help students find preceptors?
The public route MRU describes is appointment for a fee: students who do not bring a preceptor are assigned one, and the Practicum Affiliation Fee is charged. MRU publishes no list of clinical sites and no placement request portal. MRU Health helps with compliance requirements and the clinical department helps with liability insurance, but neither is described as finding preceptors.
Do MRU DNP students have to find their own preceptor?
MRU does not say so directly. The program director assigns each DNP student a project team mentor, the program page describes students applying their learning in their own practice environments, and the 2025 catalog says program faculty approve preceptors and mentors. Check the handbook or ask the program director. The DNP page has the program detail.
Is the own-preceptor rule different for online students?
No. The catalog text is the same for onsite and online MSN-FNP and FNP certificate students, and PMHNP is taught online. Because online students must reside in Florida or another SARA state for the length of the program, most look for preceptors near home. The preceptor's license has to satisfy the rules of the state where the clinical site is.
Can I use a preceptor at the place I work?
MRU publishes no rule on this, so check the handbook. Some South Florida hospitals set their own limits: Baptist Health does not let employees rotate at the facility that employs them, and Nicklaus Children's keeps employees out of their own department and their scheduled work hours. Ask both MRU and the site before relying on an employer arrangement.
Does the own-preceptor rule apply to RN-to-BSN clinicals?
MRU does not say. The three RN-to-BSN clinical courses, NUR4269, NUR4679 and NUR4689, each carry 45 hours under indirect supervision in a preceptorship model, but no source names who arranges the preceptor. Ask your program chair before the first course. The RN-to-BSN page covers the courses.
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.