FIU Nurse Educator: the MSN and the dual NP plus Nurse Educator certificate
Florida International University (FIU) prepares nurse educators two ways: a 38-credit MSN Nurse Educator with 280 practicum hours in classroom and clinical teaching, and a dual MSN NP plus Nurse Educator certificate that adds 210 teaching hours to an NP track. FIU's pages do not say who arranges the teaching practicum, so your course faculty are the first stop. We find teaching preceptors and, for dual students, NP preceptors as well.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your FIU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your FIU course.
Two nurse educator paths at FIU
The two paths serve different careers. The MSN Nurse Educator is a stand-alone master's for nurses who want to teach. The dual certificate is for NP students who want to practice and teach, and FIU says its graduates can sit for both the NP certification exam and the Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) exam from the National League for Nursing.
| Path | Credits | Teaching hours | NP practicums |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN Nurse Educator | 38 | 280, in classroom and clinical teaching | None |
| Dual certificate with the Adult-Gerontology, Pediatric or Psychiatric NP track | 64 | 210, on top of the NP hours | The NP track's practicums |
| Dual certificate with the Family NP track | 66 | 210, on top of the NP hours | NGR 6601L, NGR 6602L, NGR 6604L |
The 38 credits and 280 hours come from FIU's 2025-2026 graduate handbook; the dual figures come from FIU's MSN pages. The Graduate Nursing Advisor can confirm which options admit students for your entry term.
The teaching courses and how the hours divide
FIU's handbook names three teaching courses for the MSN Nurse Educator. Two split the craft into its settings, and the third is the specialty practicum itself.
NGR 6714CClinical Teaching Strategies, the clinical-setting half of the teaching work.NGR 6708CClassroom Teaching Strategies, the classroom half.NGR 6710LClinical Specialty Practicum for the Nurse Educator, a 1-credit course.
An older plan from 2021, reproduced in FIU's 2022 preceptor manual, gave NGR 6714C and NGR 6708C 105 clinical hours each, NGR 6910C 70 and NGR 6002C 45. Treat that split as dated; your current syllabus and course faculty have the working figures.
The research piece has moved too. FIU's MSN FAQ offers a thesis, master's paper or research practicum, the handbook core lists NGR 6910C Research Project, and the 5-2026 NP plan of study has no research course at all. Ask your course faculty which applies before you plan a semester around it.
Who arranges the teaching practicum
FIU's Clinical Education page says nurse educator students work with nursing faculty and staff preceptors in education programs and clinical agencies. It does not say whether FIU assigns those placements or expects you to propose them, so raise it with your course faculty in your first semester, long before the practicum.
The paperwork is worth asking about too. The Preceptor Request Form used for NP rotations offers course boxes for the two clinical practicums, Role Synthesis, Research and the DNP Residency, and none for a teaching practicum. Your course faculty will tell you which form and approval route the teaching hours use.
If your teaching happens inside a hospital or clinic, ask whether FIU already holds an agreement with it. For NP rotations FIU allows no rotation before the site contract is in place, and its handbook puts a new agreement at 6-8 weeks. Ask as well whether your clinical clearance in Complio or FIU Express covers the teaching placement; the clearance guide lists every item.
The NP side of the dual certificate
Dual students carry two sets of clinical work, and the NP set follows the rules of the NP track you chose. On the online primary care tracks, FIU makes you responsible for identifying the clinical site and working with its clinical department on the contract. On the hybrid Family and Psychiatric tracks, placement help comes one-on-one from the clinical department. The online vs hybrid tracks page lays out both.
Your NP hours also carry the conflict every FIU NP track shares: 770 on the MSN web pages, against a 630-hour minimum in the handbook for Adult-Gerontology, Pediatric and PMHNP (Family stays at 770). The 770 vs 630 page explains it.
The NP practicums start in semester 4 after the clinical education seminar, and each rotation is set up the semester before it runs. Teaching hours then have to fit around patient care, which is why a single plan covering both saves dual students the most time. The semester-before planner helps with the calendar.
What makes a strong teaching preceptor
The best teaching preceptor for an FIU student covers both kinds of teaching FIU's courses name: clinical, where you coach learners through real patient care, and classroom, where you plan and deliver instruction. We look for nurse educators in nursing programs and educators inside hospitals and clinics who can give you real teaching time, not only observation.
FIU's handbook writes its preceptor standards with NP rotations in mind: a year or more of practice, a current license, board certification, a master's in nursing, and no family members or close friends. It also keeps students off their own work unit. Ask your course faculty which of those they apply to a teaching preceptor, and bring a candidate who meets all of them so the question never slows your approval.
Dual students gain a second benefit from a strong NP preceptor, who models clinical teaching every day you spend together and gives you material for NGR 6714C.
Why nurse educator students choose us
- Teaching preceptors with real teaching to share. Educators in nursing programs and clinical agencies who can give you both classroom and clinical teaching time.
- One plan for dual students. NP preceptors for each practicum and a teaching preceptor, scheduled so the two sets of hours never compete for the same weeks.
- Details ready for FIU. Name, facility, specialty, address, email, license and schedule, organized for the Preceptor Request Form on the NP side and for whatever form your course faculty use on the teaching side.
- An early agreement check. We find out whether a hospital or clinic already holds an FIU contract before you count on it.
- Replacement help. If a preceptor on either side steps away partway through a term, a new candidate reaches your faculty quickly.
Your course faculty, clinical faculty and FIU's Office of Clinical Education decide on preceptors and sites. We make sure the candidates you bring them are complete and fit FIU's rules from the first look. Begin with the form here, or contact us.
Questions FIU students ask
Can I train as an NP and a nurse educator at FIU at the same time?
Yes, through the dual MSN NP plus Nurse Educator certificate. It runs 64 credits with the Adult-Gerontology, Pediatric or Psychiatric track and 66 with Family, and adds 210 teaching hours to the NP track's clinical hours. FIU says graduates can sit for both the NP certification exam and the NLN Certified Nurse Educator exam.
Do FIU teaching hours count toward NP clinical hours?
FIU describes the dual certificate's 210 teaching hours as added to the NP track, so plan them as a separate requirement rather than part of your patient care total. Your course faculty will explain how teaching hours are recorded and signed off, since the NP logging rules in Typhon are written for patient encounters.
Does FIU place nurse educator students for the teaching practicum?
FIU's pages say students work with nursing faculty and staff preceptors in education programs and clinical agencies, but they do not say who arranges the placement. Ask your course faculty early. If you are expected to propose a site, bring an educator who can offer both classroom and clinical teaching, with their details complete.
Is FIU's MSN Nurse Educator online?
FIU's pages do not give a delivery format for the stand-alone MSN Nurse Educator. The dual certificate takes the format of its NP track: mostly online for the two primary care tracks, which may need 1-3 trips to campus each semester, and hybrid for Family and Psychiatric-Mental Health. The Graduate Nursing Advisor can confirm the format for your cohort.
Which certification does FIU's nurse educator path prepare you for?
For dual certificate graduates, FIU names the Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) exam from the National League for Nursing alongside the NP certification exam in your specialty. FIU does not name the NP certifying body on its pages, so check your track's options with your track program leader well before graduation.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against FIU's own graduate handbook, preceptor manual, plans of study, catalog and licensure pages. Your plan of study, your course faculty, your clinical faculty and FIU's Office of Clinical Education have the final word.
FIU asks you to identify your clinical site. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your FIU track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check early whether the site already holds an FIU contract, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult and older-adult primary care for
NGR 6201L, pediatric primary care forNGR 6301L, an organizational mentor forNGR 7940C - Preceptor, facility, license and schedule details ready for the Preceptor Request Form, weeks ahead of the contract clock
- Across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe, or beyond them where FIU approves your site
Start your placement plan
Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.