GW's Nursing Leadership and Management MSN: two practicums, two sites
GW's Nursing Leadership and Management MSN has no nurse practitioner rotations. Its practice side is two 150-hour practicums, NURS 6258 and NURS 6259, each with a preceptor who holds a master's degree or higher, and the second must use a different preceptor and site. The program is 36 credits online, admits in fall, and can be taken full- or part-time.
Plan both leadership practicums
Share your city, start term and leadership interests. Your placement advisor lines up two master's-prepared preceptors in two settings.
The leadership MSN in brief
Coursework covers nursing leadership, policy and quality, patient safety, health economics and finance, the healthcare enterprise, leadership coaching and informatics, ahead of the two capstone practicums. The part-time plan's PDF has not been archived, so the term in which NURS 6258 falls is not public; your advisor maps it with you. Once you know it, count back about four months to the CORE request date on our deadlines page.
| Item | What GW publishes |
|---|---|
| Credits | 36 |
| Practicum hours | 300, as two 150-hour practicums |
| Format | Online |
| Start term | Fall only |
| Pace | Full- or part-time (Bulletin); the program page posts a fall part-time plan |
| Campus events | A virtual new student orientation; no on-campus event listed |
| State limits | Arizona is excluded from this MSN and the MSN/MPH |
Two practicums, two preceptors, two sites
Both capstone practicums carry 150 hours. For NURS 6258, GW asks for a leadership practicum with a preceptor who holds a master's degree or higher. For NURS 6259, GW is explicit that the preceptor and associated site must be different from the ones chosen for the first practicum.
The Bulletin frames each course as a mentored internship practicum in a setting and practice area that you and your instructor agree on, so planning starts with a conversation about your goals. The different-site rule gives you two views of leadership, for example a hospital nursing department in one term and a health system office or community agency in the next.
Both settings need a contract with GW before you begin, since GW requires a completed agreement for every clinical site. The leadership practicum page goes through the two courses one at a time, and our affiliation agreements page explains the contract step.
Book two separate placements from the start. The NURS 6259 preceptor and site must differ from those in NURS 6258, so the site that hosts your first practicum cannot host the second.
Who can precept a leadership practicum
The leadership rule is about education rather than advanced practice licensure. Where GW's NP courses look for NPs, physicians or CNMs with two years in advanced practice, the leadership practicum asks for a preceptor with a master's degree or higher. Nurse executives, directors, managers and quality leaders with graduate degrees are natural candidates, provided the setting lets you meet the course objectives.
GW's review works as it does for any graduate placement. The 2026 CORE workshop told students to file a Site Prospector submission per preceptor, per site, per rotation and per term, with the preceptor's license and bio or CV attached, and it names a Clinical Placement Program Associate who handles leadership placements alongside midwifery, acute care and PMHNP. A CV that shows the master's degree clearly saves a round of questions. See preceptor requirements.
NURS 8351 or NURS 8402?
One course in the leadership plan changed between catalogs. The Bulletin 2025-26 listed NURS 8402 Knowledge Management in Nursing; the Bulletin 2026-27 lists NURS 8351 Healthcare Informatics in its place. Yet the Bulletin still names NURS 8402 among the prerequisites for NURS 6258, together with NURS 6203, NURS 6205, NURS 6207, NURS 6208 and NURS 6262.
That mismatch matters because a missing prerequisite can delay your first practicum, and with it the whole placement timeline. If you entered under the 2026-27 list, ask your advisor to confirm in writing that NURS 8351 satisfies the NURS 6258 prerequisite. The MSN/MPH course list still shows NURS 8402, so dual-degree students should ask the same question the other way round.
The MSN/MPH@GW dual degree
GW's dual degree pairs this MSN with MPH@GW, the Master of Public Health from GW's Milken Institute School of Public Health. It totals 60 credits: GW Nursing accepts up to 9 MPH credits toward the MSN, and Milken accepts up to 18 MSN credits toward the MPH. The Bulletin says it normally takes two years including summer sessions; the program page says six semesters of full-time study.
The practicums keep the two-site pattern with a public health slant. NURS 6258 carries a public health focus with a preceptor who holds a master's degree or higher, and NURS 6259 again needs a different preceptor and site.
Its admission status is unclear. The newest copy of the dual-degree page shows only Fall 2025 deadlines, and the program was missing from GW's MSN hub and deadlines page in June 2026, yet it remains in the Bulletin 2026-27. Check with GW Nursing admissions before you plan around it.
Clearance before practicum hours count
A leadership practicum is still a GW clinical placement, so the clearance rules apply. GW's compliance page carries a section for graduate programs with a clinical component, and graduate students clear through Complio, bought no more than four months before the placement starts. The Bulletin requires a background check and drug screen before any clinical course, proof of health insurance for graduate students, and GW's own HIPAA and OSHA modules. Ask the Clinical Placement Team which items apply to your practicum and when to upload them.
Timing follows the same pattern as the NP tracks. Your request goes into CORE months ahead, the agreement with each site has to be complete, and hours count only from the start of the term after your clearance notification, all inside semester dates. With two different sites, you go through that cycle twice.
How we set up both practicums
Leadership students need something different from NP students: two master's-prepared leaders in two separate settings, each willing to mentor a capstone project. We plan both at once. Your placement advisor finds leaders near you in hospitals, health systems, ambulatory networks and, for MSN/MPH students, public health settings, then confirms each can host you in the right term.
For each practicum we prepare the preceptor's CV showing the graduate degree, the site's signatory for GW's affiliation agreement and a note on how the setting fits the course, so both requests go into CORE complete. If a preceptor changes roles mid-term, we start on a replacement at once. Your instructor and GW's program director sign off on each setting, and our preparation gives them everything they need to do it quickly. Send your city and start term through the contact form.
Questions GW students ask
Can my manager at work be my leadership preceptor?
Possibly, but ask before you count on it. GW's current pages state no workplace rule; a 2017 GW FAQ steered students toward preceptors outside their employer unless an adviser approved. For leadership, the Bulletin has you and your instructor agree on each setting, so that conversation settles it. Our workplace sites page has the history.
Does a leadership preceptor need a nursing master's degree?
GW's wording asks for a master's degree or higher without naming a field. A nurse leader with an MBA, MPA or MPH may therefore fit, as long as the setting and preceptor let you meet the course objectives. Your instructor agrees the setting with you, so confirm any non-nursing degree with them before you file the request.
Do leadership students attend CLASI or OSCEs?
No. CLASI and OSCEs belong to GW's nurse practitioner tracks. The leadership program lists only a virtual new student orientation, with no on-campus event, so your in-person commitments are the practicum hours themselves, completed where you live and inside semester dates.
Can I complete the leadership practicums outside the DC area?
From most states, yes. The program is online and you arrange practicum sites where you live, but GW's State Authorizations page excludes Arizona from this MSN and the MSN/MPH, and GW's online programs cannot take applicants from several other states. Keep your RN license current in the state where you complete practicum hours.
What paperwork does a leadership preceptor complete?
GW's Clinical Preceptor Biography form asks for degrees, licensure, specialty certifications, the three most recent employers, areas of expertise and a signature; CORE also accepts a bio or CV. The 2026 CORE workshop has the preceptor sign the last page of GW's preceptor guide, which you upload. See preceptor bio and guide.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against GW's Bulletin and GW Nursing's own program and clinical pages. Your course, CORE and GW's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
GW asks you to find your own site and preceptor. Hand that search to us.
Tell us your GW program, where you live and which clinical course is next. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, bio and site details GW's review asks for, so your Site Prospector goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice for
NURS 6230toNURS 6232, older-adult primary care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP - License, bio or CV and the site's agreement signatory ready for your CORE submission
- Close to home, in DC, Maryland, Virginia or wherever you live and hold your RN license
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