Gonzaga's 2026-27 online graduate calendar for nursing students
Gonzaga's online graduate courses run on their own calendar: fall from September 1 to December 18, 2026, spring from January 12 to May 7, 2027, and a 12-week summer from May 17 to August 6, 2027. Fall and spring split into 8-week A and B sessions, but practicum courses run the whole term, and the gaps between terms are time when clinical hours do not count.
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The 2026-27 dates
These are the dates on Gonzaga's Online Graduate Academic Calendar for 2026-27. They govern online graduate courses, which covers online MSN, Second MSN and Post-Master's DNP study.
| Term | Full term | A session | B session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | Sep 1 to Dec 18 | Sep 1 to Oct 16 | Oct 19 to Dec 18 |
| Spring 2027 | Jan 12 to May 7 | Jan 12 to Mar 5 | Mar 15 to May 7 |
| Summer 2027 | May 17 to Aug 6 (12 weeks) | May 17 to Jul 9 (8 weeks) | None |
Gonzaga's main campus calendar for 2026-27 says it does not pertain to the Online Graduate Courses Calendar, so use the dates above for online nursing terms rather than the campus ones. The main calendar does list graduate commencement on Saturday, May 8, 2027.
A and B sessions, and where practicums sit
Fall and spring each run 16 weeks, divided into an A session for the first eight weeks and a B session for the second. The MSN core courses are 8-week courses, so each sits in one session or the other. Specialty track courses run the full 16 weeks in fall and spring and 12 weeks in summer.
Practicum courses run the full semester whatever the session split. A course like NURS 663P or NURS 662M spreads its hours from the first day of term to the last, beside its paired didactic course. Spring has a gap between sessions, from March 5 to March 15; Gonzaga bars clinical hours during any university break, so ask course faculty how that window is treated before you book clinic days in it.
Courses are asynchronous, with no set log-in times, which leaves room to build study around a preceptor's clinic week. Gonzaga still expects you to fit the preceptor's availability, not the other way around.
Summer is shorter
Summer 2027 runs 12 weeks, from May 17 to August 6. Track courses compress into those 12 weeks, and 8-week summer courses run once, from the first day through July 9, with no second session.
For a practicum, summer means the same hour target in fewer weeks. A 120-hour course over 12 weeks averages ten hours a week, against seven and a half across a 16-week term, so confirm early that your preceptor can take the heavier weekly load. Preceptor vacations in the summer months deserve a question at the first conversation, too.
DNP students have a different summer. The Post-Master's DNP offers courses in summer, but its project courses are not offered then, so the practicum and seminar pairs move through fall and spring. The DNP practicum courses page shows how that sequence runs.
The gaps between terms
Three stretches fall outside the terms: December 19 to January 11 between fall and spring, May 8 to May 16 between spring and summer, and the weeks after August 6 before fall 2027 begins. Gonzaga does not count practicum hours during university breaks or between semesters, and hours neither start early nor continue after the course closes unless faculty approve an extension.
Use the gaps for the paperwork side of the next practicum instead: finishing a site request, renewing compliance items and confirming the next schedule. The hour accrual rules page explains what can happen to hours logged outside Gonzaga's rules, including hours that do not count and a delay to your progression plan.
Clinic days between December 18 and January 12 do not count toward any Gonzaga practicum, even with a preceptor already approved for spring.
Working back from each start date
No public date exists for submitting the Practicum Site Placement Request; look for it in the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook or ask the Clinical Placement Team. The published materials do give you fixed anchors around each term.
- Schedule confirmed about two weeks outGonzaga's preceptor guides expect the schedule settled roughly two weeks before each rotation: about mid-August for fall 2026, late December for spring 2027 and early May for summer 2027.
- Clearance before day oneApproval of the site, a live affiliation agreement and full CPNW compliance must all be settled before the first hour counts, so they come first.
- Hours inside the termLog from the first day of term through the course end date, weekly, in Typhon or in CORE if your cohort has moved.
- Evaluations after the endPreceptor evaluation emails from CORE arrive within two weeks after the practicum ends, for the courses Gonzaga has moved there.
Add, drop and withdrawal dates
Online graduate deadlines to add, drop or withdraw are published term by term in the Registrar's Graduate Online Action Guides, listed on Gonzaga's Important Dates and Deadlines page. The main campus calendar's dates for those actions do not apply to online graduate courses, so check the guide for your own term.
A few other calendar-linked rules come from the graduate catalog. An Incomplete can stand for up to one year before it turns into an F, and full-time study means six or more credits a semester. Registration itself happens in ZagWeb; the student systems page explains where each task lives, and grades and progression covers what a late or unfinished course means for your plan.
Why Gonzaga students choose us for term planning
A preceptor who agrees in principle still has to fit Gonzaga's dates: a start no earlier than the first day of term, no clinic days in breaks, and enough weeks to reach the hour target, especially in a 12-week summer. We plan every placement against the term it belongs to and shape the proposed schedule around the calendar before it goes to the preceptor.
Your placement advisor prepares what the Practicum Site Placement Request needs well ahead of each start date, so the two-week schedule confirmation is a formality rather than a scramble. Gonzaga's faculty approve the site; our job is getting the request to them early and already matched to the calendar. Tell us your next term with the form below.
Questions Gonzaga students ask
When does spring 2027 start for Gonzaga online graduate nursing?
January 12, 2027. The full spring term runs to May 7, with the A session from January 12 to March 5 and the B session from March 15 to May 7. Practicum courses run the full term, so clinical hours can begin on January 12 once your site, preceptor, agreement and CPNW clearance are in place.
Can I log Gonzaga clinical hours over winter break?
No. Gonzaga does not count practicum hours during university breaks or between semesters. Fall 2026 ends on December 18 and spring 2027 begins on January 12, so clinic days in between do not count, even with a preceptor who is already approved for the coming term.
Do practicum courses follow the A or B session?
Neither. The 8-week A and B sessions carry the MSN core courses, while practicum courses run the whole semester: 16 weeks in fall and spring and 12 weeks in summer. Specialty didactic courses also run the full term, so each practicum sits beside its paired course from start to finish.
Where are Gonzaga's online graduate add and drop deadlines?
In the Registrar's Graduate Online Action Guides, which Gonzaga publishes for each term and links from its Important Dates and Deadlines page. The university's main academic calendar lists campus deadlines, but it states that it does not pertain to the online graduate courses calendar.
How long is the summer term for Gonzaga online nursing?
Twelve weeks in 2027, from May 17 to August 6. Eight-week summer courses run once, from May 17 to July 9. Summer practicums fit the same hours into fewer weeks, and the Post-Master's DNP project courses are not offered in summer at all.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Gonzaga's catalog, FAQs, preceptor packets and Department of Nursing pages. Your course, the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
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