WGU NP Clinical Hour Requirements
WGU FNP and PMHNP students complete 650 direct patient care clinical hours across three Clinical Internship courses, split roughly 215, 215, and 220, and must secure a minimum of two clinical sites. Kansas residents seeking Kansas licensure who started on or after March 1, 2025 complete 750 hours instead. This page lays out the numbers, the telehealth caps that differ by track, and where those hours are logged, using only WGU's published requirements. Always confirm the exact per-course split against your current WGU handbook, because WGU can adjust it.
How many clinical hours does WGU require for FNP and PMHNP?
WGU requires 650 direct patient care clinical hours for both the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and MSN Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) tracks. Those hours fall in Term 5 of a five-term, roughly 2.5-year path, and they are split across three Clinical Internship courses.
The one exception is Kansas: residents seeking Kansas licensure who started on or after March 1, 2025 complete 750 hours rather than 650. Every WGU NP student, regardless of state, must secure a minimum of two clinical sites.
How are the 650 hours split across the three Clinical Internships?
The 650 hours are distributed across Clinical Internship I, II, and III at roughly 215, 215, and 220 hours. The table below shows the standard split alongside the Kansas total. Confirm these per-course numbers against your current WGU handbook before you plan your term, because WGU can revise them.
| Course | Standard hours (approx.) | Kansas hours |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Internship I | 215 | see handbook |
| Clinical Internship II | 215 | see handbook |
| Clinical Internship III | 220 | see handbook |
| Total | 650 | 750 |
The Kansas per-course breakdown is not something we publish here; confirm it with your Placement Coordinator and handbook. What is fixed is the total: 650 standard, 750 for qualifying Kansas students.
Can I do these hours by telehealth?
Only partly, and the cap depends on your track. FNP students may complete up to 10 percent of hours (65 hours) via telehealth. PMHNP students may complete up to 75 percent of hours via telehealth. The balance in each case must be in person.
This difference matters when you and we secure sites. A PMHNP student can lean heavily on telehealth-capable sites, while an FNP student needs sites that support almost entirely in-person care. Both tracks still need a minimum of two clinical sites to cover the full 650 (or 750) hours.
Why do I need at least two clinical sites?
WGU requires a minimum of two clinical sites for NP students, so one preceptor at one location is not enough on its own. Planning for two sites from the start prevents a gap if a single site cannot cover all three internships or all your required hours.
Because each site's Affiliation Agreement is a separate legal contract that can take up to six months to negotiate, securing two sites is part of why WGU tells students to engage the Placement Coordinator about a year before Clinical Internship I.
Where do I log my clinical hours?
You log every hour in WGU's own Field Experience Page and Activity Log inside the Student Portal. There is no third-party hour tracker; the logging system is WGU's.
Before you can log against it, your preceptor and both sites must be approved and your Affiliation Agreement in place. Compliance, meaning your background check and immunizations, runs through DISA Healthcare Technology on the Complio platform, and individual sites may add ACEMAPP, CastleBranch, or a similar onboarding step before you can begin accruing hours.
Do these hours count toward a DNP?
No. WGU confers no DNP through the Leavitt School of Health; the highest nursing credential is the MSN plus a post-master's APRN certificate. Your 650 (or 750) clinical hours satisfy the MSN NP requirement, not a doctoral one.
The FNP and PMHNP programs are accredited by CCNE (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education), not ACEN, for the baccalaureate, master's, and post-graduate APRN certificate, through June 2034. Note that the FNP and PMHNP programs are not available to residents of California, DC, Louisiana, New York, North Dakota, or Washington.
Good to know
Is it always 650 clinical hours at WGU?
For most FNP and PMHNP students, yes: 650 direct patient care hours across three Clinical Internships. Kansas residents seeking Kansas licensure who started on or after March 1, 2025 complete 750 hours instead.
How much of my rotation can be telehealth?
It depends on your track. FNP allows telehealth for up to 10 percent of hours (65 hours); PMHNP allows up to 75 percent. The rest must be in person.
Why does WGU want two clinical sites?
WGU requires a minimum of two clinical sites so your full hour requirement is covered even if one site cannot host all three Clinical Internships. Each site needs its own Affiliation Agreement.
Where do I record my hours?
In WGU's own Field Experience Page and Activity Log inside the Student Portal. There is no outside app; the system belongs to WGU.
Is the 215 / 215 / 220 split guaranteed?
Treat it as approximate. The total (650, or 750 for qualifying Kansas students) is fixed, but confirm the exact per-course split against your current WGU handbook, since WGU can adjust it.
Sources: WGU MSN FNP program, WGU FNP clinical experience, WGU PMHNP clinical experience, WGU CCNE accreditation.
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