Your Ball State preceptor, found near home and cleared before the semester.

Ball State tells its family nurse practitioner students that they will find their own preceptors in their community, and its graduate handbook advises planning a year ahead because students compete for sites. We find a preceptor near you who fits the exact NUR course, confirm the practice will sign Ball State's affiliation agreement, and keep a backup ready, so the School of Nursing can clear everything well before your clinical course opens.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your Ball State track, where you live and when your next clinical course begins. A placement advisor answers with preceptor options near you.

690clinical hours in Ball State's MS in Nursing FNP (2026-27 catalog)

6FNP clinical courses, from NUR 634 to the NUR 673 practicum

26places, Indiana included, where Ball State's MS in Nursing is authorized

Ball State clears the site. Finding it is the part we handle.

The School of Nursing expects graduate students to take an active role in securing every clinical placement, with faculty ready to help if something goes wrong. Once you have a willing preceptor, the practice signs the standard Ball State affiliation agreement, you work through the clinical packet in the Nursing Grad Students Canvas Community, and American Data Bank and CORE must show you compliant before a single hour counts.

We start at the hardest step. We look for an NP or physician whose practice suits the course ahead of you, whether that is pediatrics in NUR 682, women's health in NUR 684 or adult primary care in NUR 681, outside your own unit or clinic and in a state where Ball State's program is authorized. Then we hand you every detail the paperwork needs. The guide to finding your own preceptor sets out Ball State's own words.

Ball State's course faculty and School of Nursing staff review every preceptor and site. We make sure what reaches them is complete, well matched and early.

From your Ball State track to hours that count

Four steps, planned around Ball State's affiliation agreement and its six FNP clinical courses.

Your track and semester

MS in Nursing FNP, the post-master's certificate or the DNP, the NUR course that comes next and the term it opens.

A preceptor near you

Family, adult, pediatric or women's health preceptors in your area who fit that course and Ball State's rules.

An agreement under way

The practice ready to sign Ball State's standard affiliation agreement a semester ahead, with a backup in reserve.

Cleared and counting

American Data Bank and CORE compliance done and the clinical packet filed, so every hour you work counts.

Pick your Ball State program

Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From the 2026-27 Ball State catalog, handbook and program pages.

690clinical hours in the MS in Nursing FNP (2026-27 catalog), plus 45 in NUR 610

NUR 63460 h NUR 681120 h NUR 682120 h NUR 683120 h NUR 68490 h NUR 673180 h

Who precepts: Primary care NPs and physicians Ball State approves, adult, pediatric and women's health
Where: Family, internal medicine, pediatric and women's health practices where you live
Start looking: At least a year ahead, as Ball State's graduate handbook advises

Plan my MSN FNP placement MSN FNP guide

390-690clinical hours in the post-master's FNP certificate, depending on your prior degree

NUR 681120 h NUR 682120 h NUR 683120 h NUR 68490 h NUR 673180 h

Who precepts: The same primary care preceptors as the MSN FNP, fewer courses if you are already an adult NP
Where: Primary care practices in the states the certificate accepts
Start looking: Before your first clinical course, a year ahead where you can

Plan my FNP certificate placement FNP certificate guide

180practicum hours in NUR 672 (Nurse Educator or Leadership and Management)

NUR 672180 h

Who precepts: A nurse educator or nurse leader who fits the practicum
Where: A school of nursing, staff development department or health care organization
Start looking: Before NUR 672, the last course in the concentration

Plan my Educator or Leadership placement Educator or Leadership guide

The Ball State steps between you and your first clinical day

Named the way Ball State names them, from the catalog, graduate handbook and program pages.

Ball State systemPlacement processBall State's graduate clinical route in order: plan a year out, find the preceptor, the affiliation agreement, the Canvas packet, ADB and CORE, then hours.Ball State systemFinding your own preceptorBall State's own words on finding your own preceptor: the FNP and certificate pages, the MS FAQ and the handbook's one-year advice, plus how we run the search.Ball State systemAffiliation agreementsHow Ball State's standard affiliation agreement works for clinical sites: why agencies should sign it, originals only, a semester of lead time, a backup agency.Ball State systemClinical packetsBall State's graduate clinical packets live in the Nursing Grad Students Canvas Community: what the handbook says they hold, when they open, how grading works.ComplianceAmerican Data Bank and COREHow Ball State nursing students clear health requirements in American Data Bank, link CORE in their first clinical semester and keep clinical hours counting.Ball State systemClinicals where you workBall State bars FNP clinicals in your own unit or clinic, yet lets NUR 672 run at your workplace: the conflict, the likely reading and how to use an employer.Ball State systemClinicals outside IndianaBall State clinicals outside Indiana: the authorized-state rule, the certificate's state lists, travel contracts, 7-day move notices and the Muncie campus day.Ball State systemWho does whatEvery Ball State role in a graduate clinical course, from the placement and compliance coordinators to the DNP Project Committee, and what to ask each one.

All Ball State clinical systems

Your Ball State track, your clinical plan

Every Ball State graduate track with clinical hours, and the preceptors each one calls for.

48 credits · 690 hoursMS in Nursing FNPBall State's online MS in Nursing FNP: 48 credits, 690 clinical hours over six courses, one 8-hour day in Muncie, 26 open jurisdictions and preceptor planning.390-690 hoursPost-master's FNP certificateBall State's post-master's FNP certificate: 13-23 credits, 390-690 clinical hours set by your prior degree, three different state lists and preceptor planning.Fall start · 6 statesDNPBall State's online DNP: BS-DNP and MS-DNP, FNP, Nurse Executive and Nurse Educator cognates, 1,000 or 750 hours, fall start only and six authorized states.40 credits · NUR 672Nurse EducatorBall State's online Nurse Educator concentration: 40 credits, the 180-hour NUR 672 practicum plus NUR 634 and NUR 610 hours, and the post-master's certificate.40 credits · 180 hoursLeadership and ManagementBall State's online Leadership and Management concentration: 40 credits (40-48 on the web), the 180-hour NUR 672 practicum and the Nurse Administrator rename.ProgramRN-to-MS optionBall State's RN-to-MS option for associate-degree RNs with a non-nursing bachelor's: NUR 303, 404 and 405 at 45 clinical hours each, then the MS concentration.

All Ball State programs

Each clinical course, and the preceptor it needs

What every Ball State FNP clinical course asks of a preceptor and a site.

Ball State systemNUR 634 Health AssessmentNUR 634 Advanced Health Assessment at Ball State: 3 credits and 60 clinical hours before primary care, the setting that fits, and why an Incomplete stalls you.Ball State systemNUR 681 Adult 1NUR 681 Primary Care of the Adult 1 at Ball State: 4 credits, 120 clinical hours including one required 8-hour day on the Muncie campus, preceptors and travel.Ball State systemNUR 682 ChildrenNUR 682 Primary Care of Children at Ball State: 120 clinical hours with a pediatric or family practice preceptor, why those are scarce, and when to start.120 hoursNUR 683 Adult 2Ball State's NUR 683 needs 120 adult primary care hours after a B in NUR 681: prerequisites, timing, the right preceptor and how we find one for you.90 hoursNUR 684 WomenBall State's NUR 684 needs 90 women's health clinical hours. Why OB-GYN and women's health preceptors are scarce in Indiana and how to plan for one early.180 hoursNUR 673 FNP practicumNUR 673 is Ball State's last FNP course: 180 clinical hours at about 1.5 to 2 days a week, a required board review and the final paperwork for graduation.

When the semester is close

Quick help for the weeks that decide whether a clinical starts on time.

Placement helpNo preceptor yetBall State clinical course close and no preceptor? This week: tell faculty early, know the faculty-site rule, widen the search and get the agreement moving.Placement helpBehind on hoursBehind on hours in a Ball State clinical course? How Incompletes, ADB compliance and course faculty approval shape your options, and how to add time safely.Placement helpYour own search or oursA fair side-by-side for Ball State nursing students: searching for a preceptor alone versus using a placement service, from time and cold calls to agreements.Placement helpHow it worksHow our placement desk finds a Ball State nursing student a preceptor who fits the NUR course, the state rules and the affiliation agreement, step by step.

Before you start

Does Ball State find preceptors for nurse practitioner students?

Ball State's FNP and certificate pages tell students they will find their own preceptors where they live, and the School of Nursing expects an active role in securing placements, with faculty support if problems come up. We do the finding for you.

What exactly do you do for a Ball State student?

We find preceptors near you who fit your Ball State course, check the site against Ball State's rules, confirm the practice is ready for the affiliation agreement and gather what your clinical packet needs. If a preceptor steps away, a replacement search starts right away.

Who approves the preceptor you find?

Ball State does. Course faculty and the School of Nursing review each preceptor and site, the agency signs Ball State's affiliation agreement, and you must be compliant in American Data Bank before hours count. An early, complete submission matters.

Can I do Ball State clinicals outside Indiana?

Yes, if you live in and train in a state where Ball State's program is authorized. The MS in Nursing is authorized in Indiana and 25 other places; the certificate and DNP lists are shorter. See the clinicals outside Indiana guide.

When should I start looking for a preceptor?

Earlier than feels necessary. Ball State's graduate handbook advises planning clinical experiences at least a year ahead, and its student resources page suggests starting the affiliation agreement about a semester before the course, with a backup agency in reserve.

Ball State asks you to find your preceptor. We find one near you.

Tell us your Ball State track, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course, confirm the practice will sign Ball State's affiliation agreement, and line up a backup, so the School of Nursing can clear the site before the semester.

Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for NUR 682, women's health for NUR 684, adult primary care for NUR 681 and NUR 683
Outside your own unit or clinic, in a state where Ball State's program is authorized
Across Indiana, from Muncie to Evansville, and in the other states Ball State accepts

Start your placement plan

Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.