Lewis DNP residency hours: 504 on top of your MSN
Every Lewis DNP student completes at least 504 residency hours in addition to the practicum hours from their MSN. The catalog builds them from NURS 79600 DNP Residencies, at 168 clock hours for every 3 credits, and from the 168 practicum hours in NURS 79200, all completed in person at a selected practice setting.
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Tell us your Lewis program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Lewis course.
Where the 504 hours come from
The 2026-27 catalog says each DNP student must complete "a minimum of 504 residency hours beyond their MSN practicum hours." Three course enrollments carry printed practicum time in the 30-credit post-master's program, and the DNP program guide covers the rest of the curriculum.
| Course | Credits | Clock hours printed |
|---|---|---|
NURS 79600 DNP Residencies, first enrollment | 3 | 168 |
NURS 79600 DNP Residencies, second enrollment | 3 | 168 |
NURS 79200 DNP Scholarly Project Implementation | 3 | 168 |
NURS 79000 Scholarly Project Planning; NURS 79300 Evaluation and Dissemination | 3 each | None printed |
Three blocks of 168 make 504, matching the minimum; the addition is ours, since Lewis does not lay out the breakdown in one place. The word "beyond" is the part people miss: hours logged in your MSN practicums do not count toward the 504.
NURS 79600 can run past two enrollments. Lewis's BSN to DNP pages warn that students can end up needing more than 6 credits of it, and the course repeats until the hours are met. The course list also shows a 4-credit NURS 79604 DNP Residency without a description, and no program plan includes it, so ask before you register for it.
The individualized learning contract
Lewis describes NURS 79600 as individualized collaborative experiences among a preceptor, the student and the faculty member, guided by an individualized learning contract. That contract is the one residency document Lewis names in public. No DNP handbook, template or form is posted, so its format comes from your course and your faculty.
Because three people sign on to it, the contract comes together faster when you and your preceptor arrive with the substance agreed. Our suggestion, not a Lewis requirement, is to settle these points before drafting:
- The practice question your scholarly project addresses, which your 1,000-word admission essay already had to name as a planned focus
- What the preceptor's role opens to you: data, quality committees, organizational leaders or patient populations
- A realistic hours plan for each
NURS 79600enrollment, and howNURS 79200implementation time will follow - Who at the setting approves student access, and how long that step takes
Pick a residency setting where your project can actually be carried out. NURS 79200 puts 168 hours of practicum time into implementing the project, so a site that suits residency but cannot host the project leaves you searching again halfway through.
Where residency happens and who sets it up
The DNP is an online program, but the residency is not. Lewis's DNP page says the residency and the project implementation course are in person at the selected practice setting, while the yearly immersions and Health Assessment lab sessions are held at Oak Brook.
Lewis's pages do not say who selects the setting or the preceptor. Two details point toward you doing the groundwork: admission asks for a license in the state where you intend to complete the residency, and the admission essay names your planned project focus. The CONHS contract portal also calls itself mandatory for all students going into clinical practicums, and the DNP page labels the residency a clinical practicum, so ask the Clinical Placement Office whether your setting needs a contract request.
Your license has to follow the residency. Lewis admits DNP students holding an RN license, current and unencumbered, in the state where they plan to complete the residency, so a site across a state line is a licensing question before it is a scheduling one.
Immersions, time limits and the calendar
You must attend at least two DNP Immersions to graduate, and one of those is where you present your final project. Lewis holds them once a year at Lewis University at Oak Brook but does not post their dates, so hold room in your residency schedule and confirm the dates with your program as soon as they are set.
The DNP carries a 5-year limit to finish every requirement, the same as the MSN, and taking a leave of absence does not stop that clock. With at least two residency enrollments plus project implementation, a stalled search for a setting costs time that the limit does not give back.
One more thing to know when you read Lewis's pages: the DNP web page markets the degree by NP specialty or a leadership focus and names a Healthcare Ethics course, while the catalog describes one post-master's DNP of 30 credits, with no tracks and no ethics course. The catalog is the document that sets out the residency courses above.
BSN to DNP: NP practicums first, then residency
BSN to DNP students (FNP 75 credits, AGACNP and AGPCNP 73, PMHNP 76) complete their NP track's practicums first and then the same 30-credit DNP block, including two enrollments in NURS 79600 and one in NURS 79200. Lewis markets the route as 4.5 years.
Lewis gives no combined hour total for these tracks. By our arithmetic, the FNP's 630-hour minimum plus 504 comes to 1,134, and the 540-hour tracks plus 504 come to 1,044; treat both as planning figures, not Lewis numbers. Two different kinds of preceptor are involved: an NP-specialty preceptor for each practicum, then a residency preceptor whose setting fits your project. The BSN to DNP guide walks through the full sequence.
On this route the handoff between the two phases is the easiest place to lose a semester. Settle the residency setting while you are still in your last NP practicum, so the first NURS 79600 enrollment can open on schedule.
How we find residency settings
We look for a residency preceptor and practice setting in your own state that fits the project you plan to carry out, with a preceptor whose role gives you real access. Before we bring you a match, we confirm your RN license is valid in that state, that the setting can host both residency enrollments and project implementation, and what the site requires before a student starts.
You receive the setting and preceptor details organized for your learning contract and for any portal request Lewis asks you to file, with immersion dates built into the plan. For BSN to DNP students, the same team carries the search from your NP practicums into the residency, so your license, history and project focus never have to be explained twice. If a setting falls through, we go straight back to searching. Tell us your project focus and timing on the placement request form.
Questions Lewis students ask
Do my MSN clinical hours count toward Lewis's DNP residency?
No. The catalog requires a minimum of 504 residency hours beyond the practicum hours you completed in your MSN. Those earlier hours are part of what qualified you for admission, not credit toward the 504. The new hours come from NURS 79600 and NURS 79200, completed in person at the practice setting.
How many times do I take NURS 79600?
Lewis's program plans list it twice, 3 credits each, at 168 clock hours per 3 credits. The BSN to DNP pages add that students may be required to take more than 6 credits of it, and the course repeats until you have met the hours, so plan for at least two enrollments and possibly a third.
Can I complete my Lewis DNP residency at my own workplace?
Lewis publishes nothing specific about residencies at a student's employer. Its DNP page says only that the residency is done in person at the chosen practice setting, and the course runs on a learning contract that you, your preceptor and your faculty member shape together. Ask your faculty early, and read our notes on clinicals where you work.
Does the Lewis DNP lead to a license?
No. Lewis's DNP state disclosure says the degree carries no separate state license, and the table shows enrollment authorization only, for the 18 jurisdictions on all of Lewis's graduate nursing tables. You still need an RN license that is valid in your residency state.
Is any of the DNP residency online?
Not according to Lewis. The coursework is online, synchronous or asynchronous, but the DNP page puts the residency and project implementation on site, in person, at the practice setting, and the immersions and Health Assessment lab experiences at Oak Brook.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Lewis's own catalog, program pages and FAQ, its contract portal and Illinois law. Your course, your track coordinator and the Clinical Placement Office have the final word.
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