Gonzaga's Second MSN with the Family Nurse Practitioner option

Who the Second MSN FNP fits

Gonzaga designed the Second MSN, which its department page says was formerly the Post-Master's Certificate, for registered nurses who already earned a nursing master's at a regionally accredited school. There is no separate post-graduate NP certificate at Gonzaga, so this degree is the route to a new NP specialty. You might hold a master's in nursing leadership, for example, or already practice as a psychiatric NP and want family practice as well.

The residency rule carries over unchanged. Gonzaga accepts Second MSN FNP students only from the same ten western states as the MSN, and practicums happen wherever you hold your license. If you are unsure how that applies to you, the ten-state admission rule guide sets it out.

On timing, the Fall 2026 intake closed May 1, 2026, and the current posting is a Summer 2027 start with a Feb 1, 2027 deadline.

Why your first practicum arrives quickly

In the full MSN, a year of core courses separates admission from the first clinical term. The Second MSN removes that buffer. Once NURS 523 and NURS 524 are behind you, NURS 600 and its 60-hour practicum NURS 601 follow, likely in your second or third term, since each plan is individualized. The NURS 600 and 601 guide explains that semester's load.

In practice, the preceptor search should start close to the day you accept your seat. If a Summer 2027 start follows that pattern, health assessment lands in fall 2027 or spring 2028, and the pediatric, gender-based and adult practicums come right behind it.

1. At acceptanceConfirm your progression plan with your faculty advisor and note the term NURS 601 begins.
2. During pathophysiology and pharmacologyApproach primary care providers near you for health assessment and, ideally, the first specialty practicum.
3. Before each practicum termSubmit the site request early enough that faculty review, the affiliation agreement and CPNW clearance are done by the first day of the term.

The first clinical course guide compares this timing with the other Gonzaga programs.

Immersions, site visits and preceptor rules

Second MSN FNP students attend six on-campus immersions, which Gonzaga describes as two days or more, on the MSN pattern: health assessment first, then one with each specialty course. Site visits follow the four-state line. In Washington, Idaho, Oregon or Montana, faculty come to your clinical site; anywhere else among the ten states, you add a Spokane day, timed with an immersion, for every practicum course.

Preceptor rules match the MSN as well. Nurse practitioners, physicians and physician assistants are all eligible unless your state limits the role to an MD or NP, at least half your hours belong with nurse practitioners, and you may have two approved preceptors per semester at most.

If you already work in a clinic or hospital, precepting there is possible. Faculty can approve it when someone other than your direct supervisor precepts, the practicum hours fall outside your paid shifts and the unit is not your own. The workplace practicum rules cover the details.