Augusta University's academic calendar for nursing students, 2026-27
Augusta University runs a fall and a spring full term, plus a summer with one 10-week and one 11-week full term. Every DNP nurse practitioner track begins in fall, the AGACNP and PMHNP certificates begin in spring, and each clinical course sits in a fixed term of your plan, so the calendar tells you when a preceptor has to be ready.
Plan your clinical terms
Tell us your Augusta University track and your first clinical term. A placement advisor maps the dates and starts your preceptor search early.
The 2026-27 terms at a glance
Every date here comes from the registrar's Fall 2026, Spring 2027 and Summer 2027 pages. A course can run the full term, one 8-week half or a five-week summer part, so check your own section's part of term in POUNCE before you schedule clinical shifts.
| Term | Full-term dates | Start and add/drop | Last day to withdraw | Breaks and closures | Exams and grades |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | Aug 18 to Nov 24, 2026 | Tue Aug 18; add/drop Aug 18 to 24 | Wed Oct 21 | Labor Day Sep 7; Thanksgiving Nov 25 to 27 | Finals Nov 30 to Dec 4; grades due Dec 11 |
| Spring 2027 | Jan 13 to Apr 30, 2027 | Wed Jan 13; add/drop Jan 13 to 19 | Wed Mar 24 | MLK Day Jan 18; Spring Pause Mar 11 to 12; Spring Break Apr 5 to 9 | Finals May 3 to 7; grades due May 10 |
| Summer 2027, 10 weeks | May 17 to Jul 22, 2027 | Mon May 17 | Jun 22 | Memorial Day May 31; Juneteenth Jun 18; closed Jul 5 | Finals Jul 26 to 27; graduation Aug 4, no ceremony |
| Summer 2027, 11 weeks | May 10 to Aug 3, 2027 | Mon May 10; add/drop printed as May 11 | See the registrar's summer page | See the registrar's summer page | Classes end Aug 3 |
Fall 2026's halves run Aug 18 to Oct 9 (withdraw by Sep 14) and Oct 12 to Dec 4 (withdraw by Nov 4). Spring 2027's run Jan 13 to Mar 8 (withdraw by Feb 3) and Mar 9 to May 7 (withdraw by Apr 2). Summer 2027 adds five-week parts from May 17 to Jun 17 and Jun 25 to Jul 28.
Two slips appear on the published pages: the spring second half is printed as ending 5/7/2026, meaning 2027, and June 22 is labeled a Monday, though in 2027 it is a Tuesday. Confirm any date you act on with the registrar.
Start terms by program
All DNP concentrations open in fall, the two post-graduate certificates open in spring, and the BSN admits in both. The dates below are the ones posted for the next admission cycle; as of this update the Spring 2027 certificate deadline has already passed.
| Program | Starts | Published application dates |
|---|---|---|
| DNP-FNP, DNP-AGACNP, DNP-PNP, DNP-PMHNP | Fall | Fall 2027 cycle opens Aug 7, 2026 on the program pages (Aug 6 on the Graduate School page); deadline May 15, 2027; documents by May 29, 2027 |
| DNP Nurse Anesthesia | Fall | Fall 2027 applications Aug 7 to Sep 21, 2026 |
| Post-master's DNP, Traditional and Nurse Executive | Fall | Plans of study begin in fall; dates on the Graduate School pages |
| Post-graduate certificates, AGACNP and PMHNP | Spring | Spring 2027 deadline was Sep 15, 2026 |
| MSN Clinical Nurse Leader, Augusta and Athens | Fall | Fall 2027 application opens Aug 6 |
| BSN, Augusta and Athens | Fall and spring | Spring 2027 deadline Sep 11; Fall 2027 opens Aug 7 and closes Mar 15 |
| RN to BSN, online | Fall | First students accepted Fall 2027 |
Accepted DNP students also attend a face-to-face orientation, per the Graduate School. On the full-time NP plans, the first clinical practice course arrives in the second spring, as the next table shows.
Where the NP clinical courses land in the year
The full-time plans that begin in Fall 2026 put each track's four clinical courses in the same four terms, for 840 direct clinical hours in all. The part-time plans spread the same courses and totals over four years instead of three.
| Plan term | FNP | AGACNP | PNP | PMHNP | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring, year 2 | NURS 8312 | NURS 8332 | NURS 8322 | NURS 8342 | 180 |
| Summer, year 2 | NURS 8315 | NURS 8335 | NURS 8325 | NURS 8345 | 180 |
| Fall, year 3 | NURS 8318 | NURS 8338 | NURS 8328 | NURS 8348 | 240 |
| Spring, year 3 | NURS 9192 | NURS 9192 | NURS 9192 | NURS 9192 | 240 |
Laid over real semesters, our reading of that plan puts a fall 2026 full-time entrant's first clinical course in spring 2028 and NURS 9192 in spring 2029; those years are our arithmetic, not a posted schedule. The 840-hour guide breaks down what each course asks of a preceptor.
Certificate students reach clinicals much sooner. The AGACNP certificate schema opens with NURS 8333 in the first spring and the PMHNP schema with NURS 8350, each followed by a summer and a fall clinical course, so a spring entrant needs a preceptor in place for term one.
The DNP plans count clinical hours as if every semester, summer included, lasted 15 weeks. Summer 2027's full terms last 10 or 11, so by our arithmetic a 180-hour Practice II course means about 16 to 18 hours a week rather than 12. The summer terms guide shows how to plan those weeks.
Registration, graduation and DNP Project dates
Beyond the term dates, a handful of recurring deadlines decide whether a semester starts cleanly.
- Registration for summer and fall opens in March, and for spring in October. Spring 2027 registration runs Oct 26 to 28, 2026; add/drop changes go through POUNCE.
- Spring 2027 graduation applications are due Oct 5, 2026. Health Sciences students file in POUNCE, per the Graduate Student Handbook.
- The DNP handbook fixes the project course order with no exceptions:
NURS 7150in fall,NURS 8550in spring,NURS 9050with its corequisiteNURS 9060in summer, thenNURS 9061in fall andNURS 9062in spring. - DNP poster day lands about a month before your graduation semester ends, on campus or by web conference.
- Compliance dates conflict. CON12 asks for the background check and drug screen three months before matriculation, the Graduate School at least four weeks; CON14 wants the immunization form six weeks before the semester, the Student Health form two. Meeting the earlier date keeps you covered; the compliance guide has the full list.
Health system request windows run on their own clock
A clinical site can close its door weeks or months before an Augusta University term opens. These dates come from the health systems' own student pages, not the university, and apply however your course arranges its clinical experiences.
- Wellstar Health System, according to its ACEMAPP pages: advanced practice student applications are due March 30 for summer, June 30 for fall and November 15 for spring.
- Northside Hospital, according to its ACEMAPP calendar: graduate nursing requests for Spring 2027 are due October 9, 2026 and for Summer 2027 by March 5, 2027, with advanced practice students fully compliant 30 days before a rotation.
- Piedmont Healthcare, according to its ACEMAPP notes: students must be fully compliant at least 10 days before the rotation begins.
- Emory Healthcare, according to its student page: a new school affiliation can take several months to set up.
A spring 2028 Practice I rotation at a Wellstar site, for example, would need its application in by mid-November 2027. The clinical agreements guide explains why the agreement behind a site often takes longest.
How we build your preceptor search around these dates
We plan backward from your first clinical term. Whatever part your program plays in placement, a preceptor confirmed early turns every date on this page into a checkpoint you clear on time.
- Map your terms. We place Practice I to III and
NURS 9192on real semesters from your plan of study, full time or part time, and flag any summer course that runs short. - Match each site's window. For every candidate site we note its own request deadline, such as Wellstar's or Northside's, and start early enough to meet it with room left over.
- Line up compliance. You get a dated checklist of what the site and Augusta University's policies ask for, so nothing expires in the middle of a term.
- Confirm, then stay on call. Once a preceptor agrees, we prepare complete preceptor and site details for your faculty's review, early, and we find a replacement if a preceptor drops before or during the term.
Send your track and first clinical term through the request form, or read how it works for the whole process.
Questions Augusta University students ask
When do Augusta University classes start in spring 2027?
Full-term spring classes begin Wednesday, January 13, 2027, with add/drop through January 19, and the second 8-week half starts March 9. Full-term classes end April 30, finals run May 3 to 7, and grades are due May 10, ahead of the summer terms.
How long is summer term at Augusta University?
Summer 2027 has two full terms: a 10-week term from May 17 to July 22 and an 11-week term from May 10 to August 3, plus two five-week parts. The nursing plans of study count clinical hours as if summer ran 15 weeks, so summer clinical weeks are heavier than the credit ratio suggests.
Can I start an Augusta University NP program in spring?
The four DNP nurse practitioner tracks list fall starts only. If you already hold a master's or doctorate and national NP certification, the post-graduate AGACNP and PMHNP certificates begin in spring; the Spring 2027 deadline was September 15, 2026. Their first clinical course runs in that opening spring term.
Do clinical hours continue during spring break?
The calendar lists Spring Pause on March 11 and 12 and Spring Break from April 5 to 9, 2027, but Augusta University does not publish whether clinical hours may be logged on those days. Ask your course faculty before you book shifts with your preceptor over a break.
When should I start looking for a preceptor for my first clinical course?
Start from the clinical site's deadline, not the term. Some systems close requests months ahead, such as mid-November for Wellstar's spring rotations, and a new school affiliation can take longer. We open a search as soon as a student knows the first clinical term, so the site request, compliance and faculty review all fit comfortably.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Augusta University's own catalog, program plans, DNP handbook and program pages, and Georgia and South Carolina rules. Your course faculty and the College of Nursing have the final word.
Whatever your program arranges, we find the preceptor who fits.
Tell us your Augusta University track, where in Georgia or South Carolina you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and Augusta University's rules, and hand you everything your faculty and the site need, well before the semester.
- Adult, pediatric and older-adult preceptors for
NURS 8312toNURS 8318, acute care forNURS 8332toNURS 8338 - Pediatric primary care for the PNP courses and psychiatric preceptors for
NURS 8342toNURS 8348 - Across Georgia and South Carolina, from the CSRA to Savannah, Atlanta and Columbia
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.