Augusta University placement questions, answered briefly
These are the questions Augusta University nursing students bring to our placement desk most, each answered in a few lines and linked to the guide that covers it in full. Where Augusta University publishes a rule, we give it; where its documents are silent, we point you to the person who can answer.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Augusta University program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Augusta University course.
Who is this service for?
Nurse practitioner students at Augusta University: all four DNP nurse practitioner tracks (family, adult-gerontology acute care, pediatric primary care and psychiatric mental health) and the two post-graduate certificates. They all live in Georgia or South Carolina, and every track runs a sequence of clinical courses that each call for a fitting preceptor. Finding that preceptor is our work.
Other College of Nursing students have different setups. Nurse Anesthesia clinicals run at the program's list of more than 40 sites across Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee, faculty lead the clinical experiences in the BSN and the MSN Clinical Nurse Leader program, and post-master's DNP students earn residency hours tied to a project site. The programs overview sorts each one.
Who arranges preceptors for Augusta University NP courses?
Augusta University does not publish who finds nurse practitioner preceptors, and the DNP Handbook states that it leaves out each program's clinical requirements. Your course faculty, or the College of Nursing's DNP program office, can speak to your own course.
Whatever part your program plays in placement, we locate a preceptor who fits the course and meets Augusta University's published rules, and we assemble the documents your faculty and the clinical site ask for. The clinical process lists everything Augusta University does publish, step by step.
Why must I live in Georgia or South Carolina?
Augusta University's DNP pages tie the rule to clinical requirements and to faculty travel: instructors come out to see each student along with the preceptor and the site. The certificate page adds that clinical experiences take place at ambulatory practices in the two states.
So every preceptor we propose practices in Georgia or South Carolina, within reach of faculty. If you plan to move during the program, speak with your faculty before you do. The two-state rule covers moves and border towns.
How many clinical hours will I complete?
Each DNP NP track has 840 direct clinical hours across four courses (180, 180, 240 and 240) plus 360 DNP residency hours, which the catalog totals as 1,200. Separately, the DNP Handbook asks every DNP student to document at least 1,000 supervised hours after the bachelor's level, and post-master's students finish no fewer than 540 residency hours in the program regardless of prior hours.
Certificate students complete at least 540 clinical hours, up to 750 when a gap analysis calls for more. The clinical hours planner breaks it down by program.
How early should I ask for a preceptor?
Three to six months before the course is a sound window, and earlier for pediatric, psychiatric or acute care courses. Some health systems stop taking student requests well ahead of each term, and compliance and site onboarding take weeks of their own.
If your course is close or already running, start now with what to do this week. How it works shows our steps from first message to first clinical day.
What does a preceptor need to hold?
Preceptor qualifications for the NP courses are not in any public Augusta University document. Georgia's Board of Nursing expects a preceptor in Georgia to be licensed there or through a multistate license, and it reserves APRN clinical teaching for nurses authorized as APRNs in Georgia. South Carolina NPs practice under a physician practice agreement.
On top of that, the clinical site may have its own rules, such as peer precepting or a physician signature. Preceptor requirements lays out all three layers.
Questions Augusta University students ask
What does a placement cost?
Each quote is built for one student and course plan from five factors: track and population, region, start date, course hours and site onboarding. Your placement advisor explains them before you decide. Augusta University's own costs, such as the tracking system and background checks, are separate. See cost.
Is the placement desk part of Augusta University?
We are an independent placement service that builds every search around Augusta University's published rules. Augusta University's faculty set course objectives, visit placements and grade each clinical course; we make sure what reaches them is complete and early. About us explains how we work.
Where do I log my clinical hours?
In the College of Nursing's approved clinical tracking system, which DNP students subscribe to and pay for; NP students record clinical hours there as well as residency hours. The system's name is not on Augusta University's public pages, so look for it in your course materials. The tracking system guide covers keeping clean logs.
Which compliance items must be current before a clinical course?
Immunizations with TB testing and a yearly flu vaccine, BLS from the American Heart Association taken in person, criminal background and drug screening, HIPAA training renewed each year, liability and personal health insurance, plus any site extras. Published deadlines conflict, so follow the earlier one. See compliance requirements.
What happens if my preceptor drops out mid-term?
Tell your course faculty and your placement advisor right away. We search for a replacement with the same population in your area, prepare the new preceptor's paperwork and plan how the remaining hours fit the term. Behind on clinical hours covers catching up.
Can I do clinical hours at my own workplace?
No published Augusta University policy covers clinical hours with your own employer, so check with your course faculty first. Some health systems give employees priority for student spots, while others put them through full student onboarding. Clinicals where you work lists what to ask.
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.