Gonzaga's MSN in Nursing Leadership in Healthcare

A discontinued track with a closing date

Gonzaga's program page is direct: "Gonzaga University is no longer offering the MSN in Nursing Leadership in Healthcare program." Course descriptions remain online for enrolled students, and the catalog still carries the leadership courses. The RN to MSN bridge, which once led associate-degree RNs into this track, is not admitting either; its page describes the program as on hold while it is restructured.

The Washington State Board of Nursing's in-state program list, dated August 24, 2026, marks the leadership MSN as closing in Fall 2028. Separately, Gonzaga gives graduate students five years from acceptance or first graduate enrollment to finish. Read both dates against your progression plan now, because a practicum that slips late in a closing program leaves little room to recover. Your advisor and program director can confirm when NURS 634A and NURS 683A will last be offered.

180 or 360 practicum hours

Gonzaga's sources give two totals. The catalog's practicum block, NURS 634A and NURS 683A together, comes to 3 credits and 180 hours, and the 2026 MSN FAQ also says 180. The 2026 Second MSN FAQ, however, lists 360 hours for the leadership track.

One more figure belongs in the picture. RN to MSN students were told to expect 180 hours in the undergraduate Community Health Practicum plus 360 at the graduate level. The number that binds you may depend on how you entered, so take the question to your syllabus and course faculty rather than to a general web page. Gonzaga's graduate practicums work out to about 60 clock hours per credit, which helps when a syllabus states credits but not hours.

NURS 683A is the safety valve. If NURS 634A ends short of your target, the extension adds 60 to 120 hours on its own 1 or 2 credits. The practicum extension courses guide explains how Gonzaga's extensions fit into a plan.

Precepting inside your own organization

Many leadership students already work in a hospital or health system, and Gonzaga's MSN FAQ allows practicum hours at your employer with faculty approval. Three conditions come with it: your preceptor cannot be your direct supervisor, practicum hours stay separate from the hours you are paid for, and the practicum happens on a unit other than your own.

For a leadership student, the organization chart is the best planning tool. A director in another service line, a leader in quality or nursing practice, or an executive outside your chain of command may fit those conditions far better than your own manager, subject to faculty approval. The workplace practicum rules page sets out each condition in full.

After the leadership MSN

Gonzaga's Post-Master's DNP is open to nurses holding a master's in nursing who work in nursing leadership or administration, as well as to advanced practice nurses, and it asks for a 3.3 master's GPA. It runs online with virtual immersions, and a System Management concentration is listed as coming in Fall 2027. Your leadership practicum hours matter there too, because the DNP counts master's practicum hours toward its 1,000-hour total. The Post-Master's DNP guide covers eligibility.