Lewis MSN in Nursing Education
Lewis's Nursing Education MSN is 40 credits with 450 clinical hours, according to the graduate nursing FAQ. The hours are spread across the role transition course, NURS 54700, and the two capstone courses. Lewis does not say who arranges these practicum sites, so this page sets out what is published and how we help you secure them.
Line up your educator practicum
Tell us where you live and when NURS 54700 starts for you.
The track at a glance
After the 18-credit MSN core, the Nursing Education specialty adds seven courses. Like the core, they run in Lewis's accelerated 8-week sessions, and Lewis lists the track among its graduate programs also available online. Its sister track, Healthcare Systems Leadership, follows the same format.
| Course | Title | Credits | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
NURS 53700 | Integrated Advanced Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Physical Assessment for the Nurse Educator | 4 | None (advanced physical assessment competencies) |
NURS 54000 | Educational Theory and the Scholarship of Teaching | 3 | None |
NURS 54300 | Curriculum Development and Evaluation | 3 | None |
NURS 54500 | Teaching Methodology and Delivery Systems | 3 | None |
NURS 54700 | Role Transition for the Nurse Educator | 3 | 150 (75 educator role + 75 direct care) |
NURS 57600 | NE Capstone Project Part 1 - Planning | 3 | Practicum hours begin to accumulate |
NURS 57700 | NE Capstone Project Part 2 - Implementation and Planning | 3 | Counts toward 300 clinical hours |
The FAQ's 450 matches 150 hours in NURS 54700 plus the 300 clinical hours the capstone work counts toward. That fit is our arithmetic; Lewis does not print the breakdown in one place.
Two kinds of hours in NURS 54700
The role transition course divides its 150 clock hours evenly. Seventy-five are role immersion as a nurse educator, which the catalog places in a clinical, community or academic setting. The other 75 are advanced direct care clinical practice. In practice that usually means two hosts: an experienced educator who lets you teach alongside them, and a clinical setting where you practice at an advanced level.
Educator settings can include a school of nursing's clinical or lab teaching, a hospital's clinical education or professional development team, or a community health education program; those are examples, and your faculty decide what fits. NURS 54700 runs together with NURS 57600, so your capstone planning starts in the same session. A setting able to host both your teaching hours and your capstone can reduce the number of agencies you need.
Pace matters too. If NURS 54700 runs in a single 8-week session, 150 hours works out to close to 19 hours a week by our arithmetic, alongside your job and a second course.
The capstone pair
NURS 57600 NE Capstone Project Part 1 - Planning is where practicum hours begin to add up, and NURS 57700 NE Capstone Project Part 2 - Implementation and Planning comes last in the track. The catalog says the work completed in NURS 57700 counts toward 300 clinical hours.
A capstone needs a real place to run: a nursing program, a unit education team or a community partner that will let you design, deliver and evaluate an educational project. The project you plan in Part 1 is the one you carry out in Part 2, so choose a setting that will still welcome you when implementation comes around, with a contact who has authority to say yes.
Neither the NP placement rule nor the BSN clinical-group model automatically describes this track. Ask the Nurse Educator track coordinator early how NURS 54700 and capstone sites are arranged, and bring a proposed site to that conversation.
Who sets up the practicum site
That question has no published answer. Lewis's FAQ addresses placement for MSN and CAS nurse practitioner students alone, and the Nursing Education pages are silent on who picks or approaches a teaching site. Two things are published: the college's contract portal describes the preceptor contract request as mandatory for all students taking part in clinical practicums, and the nursing staff directory lists a Nurse Educator track coordinator.
That leaves you well placed to arrive with a proposed site and educator, and that is where we fit. We find the settings, confirm the educator and the clinical host are willing and suited to the course, and give you complete details to take to your track coordinator and, if your course uses it, the contract portal. Your faculty decide. Who does what at Lewis maps the roles involved.
Getting cleared for your practicum settings
Under the graduate catalog, all CONHS students must file a physical examination form and meet the bloodwork and immunization rules tied to their clinical agency. Background check and documentation fees are yours to pay; student clinical insurance is paid by the university. CastleBranch is the compliance system Lewis's contract legend names, and falling behind on it is one way a contract request ends in denial.
Education settings can surprise students here. A nursing school or hospital education department may ask for its own onboarding on top of Lewis's requirements, and any documents an agency adds should reach both that agency and the Clinical Placement Office. Build that time into the weeks before NURS 54700 begins. Clinical compliance requirements lists the full clearance picture.
Where you can do it
Lewis's March 2026 disclosures treat Nursing Education as an enrollment-only program: it is open in Lewis's 18 authorized jurisdictions and is described as not leading to a separate state license. To be admitted you need an RN license from Illinois or from the state or country where you practice.
The catalog cautions that a practicum site in another state may need sign-off from Lewis, that state or Illinois's boards, so mention any out-of-state setting early. Lewis's state authorization gives the full list. The MSN also has a five-year completion limit, counted from your first graduate course after admission, which is worth remembering if a practicum slips. If you live in Illinois, the Illinois regions guide shows the health systems and settings around you, from Will County to downstate.
How we help Nursing Education students
- Plan the placementsWe map the educator hours, the direct care hours and the capstone setting onto your 8-week sessions and mark when each search has to start.
- Find the educator hostWe approach nursing programs, hospital education departments and community educators near you who can host 75 hours of role immersion.
- Find the direct care settingWe line up an advanced clinical practice host for the other 75 hours, ideally in your own clinical specialty so the teaching and the practice reinforce each other.
- Hand over a complete proposalYou take contact, license and site details to your track coordinator in one place, and we stay on call until your hours are finished.
Start on the request form and tell us which session NURS 54700 falls in.
Questions Lewis students ask
Can I complete the Nursing Education MSN online?
Lewis lists Nursing Education as also available online, with specialty courses in 8-week sessions. The practicum hours are in person at the settings approved for your course, so your location still matters. Plan those hours around your work schedule early, since the sessions move quickly.
Is there a shorter Nursing Education option at Lewis?
Only if you have finished a master's already. The post-master's Nursing Education non-degree program is 9 credits (NURS 54000, NURS 54300 and NURS 54500), takes about one year and includes no practicum course, so it needs no placement at all.
Does the Nursing Education MSN lead to a license?
No. The track's disclosure lists where you may enroll and nothing about licensure, because the degree carries no license of its own. Lewis adds that graduates can look to the relevant certifying body for professional certification, which is a separate step you take after the degree.
Can I complete my teaching hours at my own hospital?
Lewis publishes no rule about practicums at your employer. Many nurses have an education department or partner school close at hand, so ask your track coordinator whether your workplace can host role immersion and how to keep it distinct from your paid role. Clinicals where you work lists what to confirm.
Who is the faculty contact for Nursing Education?
The Nurse Educator track coordinator listed in Lewis's nursing staff directory, together with your course faculty for NURS 54700 and the capstones. Portal questions belong with the Clinical Placement Office, which Lewis names as the contact for portal requests and which facilitates the contract process itself.
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.
Lewis asks you to identify your preceptor. We do the searching.
Tell us your Lewis program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare every detail the contract portal asks for, so your request goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the practicum: primary care for
NURS 61100andNURS 61800, acute care forNURS 62500, psychiatric care forNURS 63300 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your preceptor contract request
- In your own community, anywhere Lewis enrolls you and your RN license is valid
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.