NUR 672 Practicum of Role Expectations: 180 hours for educators and leaders
NUR 672 Practicum of Role Expectations is the 4-credit, 180-hour capstone for Ball State's two master's role concentrations, Nurse Educator and Leadership and Management, and for the post-master's Nurse Educator certificate. Ball State lets you do it at your own employer, supervised by an RN who holds a master's or doctorate, with the hours spent on teaching or leadership rather than bedside care.
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NUR 672
What Ball State says about NUR 672
The 2026-27 catalog lists NUR 672 at 4 credits, and its one-line description lets the practicum take place in an educational setting or an administrative one. Its prerequisite is every other course in your concentration, so it is the last course you take. The 180-hour figure comes from the two concentration pages.
| Item | Nurse Educator | Leadership and Management |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration credits | 40 | 40 in the catalog; 40-48 on the program pages |
Practicum hours in NUR 672 | 180 | 180 |
| Other clinical hours | NUR 610 (45) and NUR 634 (60) | NUR 610 (45 on other Ball State pages; the L&M page lists none) |
| Focus Ball State names | Education-focused | Leadership-focused, not bedside clinical care |
| Supervisor | A master's- or doctoral-prepared RN in your community | A master's- or doctoral-prepared RN in your community |
| Workplace | Allowed | Allowed, at your place of healthcare employment |
The post-master's Nurse Educator certificate, listed in the catalog at 13 to 25 credits, also ends with NUR 672. It has no marketing or admissions page, and nothing public says who arranges its practicum; its 180 hours are taken from the MS Nurse Educator page.
Your supervisor: a master's- or doctoral-prepared RN
Both concentration pages set the same bar: an RN with a master's or doctoral degree, based in your community. The rest of the detail sits in Ball State's educator and administrator packets, posted in the Canvas community for graduate nursing students, which cover preceptor qualification and responsibilities, the evaluation forms and the time sheet. Read the packet for your concentration before you ask anyone to supervise you.
The graduate handbook also mentions a clinical supervisor, a second evaluator Ball State uses for students in some states. Ball State's archived 2018 information packet went further for the role concentrations, having students choose both a master's- or doctoral-prepared RN preceptor and a clinical supervisor in their community. That packet is dated, but it explains why your current paperwork may ask for two names. More on credentials in our preceptor requirements page.
Your workplace: the rule and the conflict
Both role-concentration pages say the 180 hours can be completed in your workplace. The MS FAQ, written for all three concentrations, rules out clinical hours on your own unit or in your own clinic. Ball State has not published how the two statements fit together.
The reading that fits both is that your employer is acceptable but your own unit is not. An ICU nurse might complete an educator practicum with the hospital's clinical education department, or a leadership practicum alongside a director in another service line, without ever working hours on the home unit. Confirm your plan with your course faculty before the hours start. Our guide to clinicals where you work covers the rule across every program.
Working in your own unit under your usual manager is the arrangement most likely to be questioned. Pick a supervisor and a setting outside your home unit, even inside your own organization.
Settings that fit each concentration
Ball State names the focus of each practicum, and suitable settings follow from it. The examples below are our suggestions matched to Ball State's wording; your course faculty approve the actual site.
- Nurse Educator: a school or college of nursing, planning and delivering teaching alongside a master's- or doctoral-prepared RN on the faculty.
- Nurse Educator: a hospital's clinical education or professional development department, running orientation, competency checks or continuing education.
- Leadership and Management: a nurse manager's, director's or chief nursing officer's office, working on staffing, budgets and policy.
- Leadership and Management: a quality, patient experience or operations team at a health system, where the work is improving how care is organized.
One caution about the Nurse Educator page: it describes the practicum as focusing on nursing administration under a heading about an administration practicum, and it prints the assessment course as "NURS 634". The same page calls the practicum education-focused, and the catalog allows an educational or administrative setting. Build an educator practicum around teaching, and let your faculty settle any doubt.
Planning the 180 hours
The handbook's one-year planning horizon applies to the role practicum as well. For the agency side, the School of Nursing suggests starting arrangements around a semester before the term and keeping a fallback agency ready. Ask early whether your employer or chosen site already has an agreement with Ball State; if not, getting the standard Ball State affiliation agreement signed, in original form, is part of your timeline. See the affiliation agreement guide.
American Data Bank compliance applies here as in any clinical course: a noncompliant student cannot accumulate practicum hours, and any logged while noncompliant must be repeated. Ball State's MS page suggests 8 to 12 hours a week for clinical courses; our arithmetic puts 180 hours over a 15-week term at 12 hours a week.
Hour totals for the two concentrations differ by source. The Nurse Educator page's course list adds to 285 hours, while the MS FAQ still says 270; the FAQ's 225 for Leadership and Management equals NUR 610 plus NUR 672. The clinical hours hub compares every program.
How we help with a role practicum
Some educator and leadership students already have a site in mind at work; others want one outside it. Either way, we find a master's- or doctoral-prepared RN whose daily work matches your concentration, check the setting against Ball State's own-unit rule and its authorized states, and prepare what the educator or administrator packet and the affiliation agreement ask for. When your employer has no fitting role outside your unit, we find an education or leadership setting near you instead.
Expect the supervisor's credentials, the name of the person who signs agreements and an ADB and CORE checklist well before the term, so the School's staff have time to review. Course faculty give the final approval. Start on the request form.
Questions Ball State students ask
Can my own manager supervise my NUR 672 practicum?
Ball State requires a master's- or doctoral-prepared RN, and its MS FAQ bars clinical time on your own unit, so a manager who oversees you there is a doubtful choice even when the degree fits. A director or educator outside your unit is a cleaner match. Confirm with your course faculty, since the clinical packet holds the full qualifications.
Does the post-master's Nurse Educator certificate include NUR 672?
Yes. Both tracks of the certificate, the traditional track and the advanced practice track for NP, CNS, CRNA or CNM graduates, include NUR 672, and the MS Nurse Educator page sets it at 180 hours. The certificate has no public page on placement, so treat it like the MS practicum and ask your advisor about supervisor rules.
Is NUR 672 the same as the DNP leadership practicums?
No. DNP Nurse Executive and Nurse Educator students take NUR 787 and NUR 788, the Leadership Immersion Practicums, which carry 600 hours for post-master's students and host the DNP Project. NUR 672 is the master's-level practicum. Our DNP clinical hours guide sets the two side by side.
Does NUR 672 require a trip to the Muncie campus?
Ball State's only required campus clinical day belongs to the FNP course NUR 681. Ball State describes both role concentrations as 100% online, and the practicum takes place in your own community. The graduate handbook describes the mandatory orientation as virtual, and nothing Ball State publishes ties a campus visit to the role practicum.
Can I split NUR 672 hours between two organizations?
Nothing Ball State has published covers a split practicum. Each organization would need its own affiliation agreement and each supervisor would go into your packet paperwork, so a split adds work and time. If one site cannot give you 180 hours of education or leadership work, raise a two-site plan with your course faculty before either agreement is signed.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against Ball State's own catalog, graduate handbook, program pages and State Authorization Map, and Indiana rules. Your course faculty, your advisor and the Graduate Clinical Placement Coordinator have the final word.
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 forNUR 684, adult primary care forNUR 681andNUR 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
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