TTUHSC School of Nursing academic calendar, 2026-27
TTUHSC's School of Nursing runs three terms a year. For 2026-27, classes open Sept. 8 for fall, Jan. 11 for spring and May 24 for summer, and the terms close on Dec. 18, April 23 and Aug. 13. The SON calendar shows no 8-week sessions for graduate nursing. Below are the dates that matter for a practicum, the start term for each program, and how to time a preceptor search against them.
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Key dates for 2026-27
The School of Nursing's live calendar lists one set of dates per term, and TTUHSC notes that all dates are subject to change. Check it again before you fix a preceptor's start date.
| Date | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 | Summer 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last day to register or withdraw without penalty | Sept. 7 | Jan. 10 | May 23 |
| First day of class | Sept. 8 | Jan. 11 | May 24 |
| Add/drop period | Sept. 8 to 22 | Jan. 11 to 26 | May 24 to June 9 |
| Last day to drop a course for a refund | Sept. 22 | Jan. 26 | June 9 |
| Last day to withdraw with a partial refund | Oct. 5 | Feb. 8 | June 14 |
| Last day to drop with an automatic W | Oct. 15 | Feb. 18 | June 24 |
| Last day to drop a course or withdraw | Dec. 7 | April 12 | Aug. 2 |
| Advance registration for the next term | Nov. 10 | April 6 | June 15 |
| Semester ends (official diploma date) | Dec. 18 | April 23 | Aug. 13 |
| Final grades due, graduating / all others | Dec. 16 / Dec. 21 | April 21 / April 26 | Aug. 11 / Aug. 15 |
| Commencement | Dec. 12 | May 7 | To be announced |
Holidays and how long each term runs
The 2026-27 calendar marks Labor Day (Sept. 7), Thanksgiving (Nov. 26 and 27), Dec. 24 and 25 and Dec. 31 in the fall, then Jan. 1, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18) and a spring break holiday on March 19. Summer holidays are Memorial Day (May 31) and July 5. Clinics keep their own schedules, so agree with your preceptor ahead of time on the days that fall inside your term.
Those dates give fall and spring roughly 15 weeks each and summer close to 12. TTUHSC's sources describe term length a little differently: the 2025-26 SON calendar listed 15-week fall and spring terms and a 14-week summer, and the Leadership practicum descriptions speak of 16 weeks per semester. For a clinical course, the current calendar and your syllabus govern.
Eight-week sessions appeared only for the RN to BSN on the 2025-26 nursing calendar. The 2026-27 calendar shows none, and none has been found for graduate nursing courses, so plan any NP or DNP practicum across the full term.
Adding and dropping a clinical course
The Student Handbook lets you add a course up to the 12th class day of fall, spring or the full summer session, or the 4th class day of a shorter summer session, with the Enrolled Student Advisor's approval. The full-refund drop window closes on the same days. To drop, you contact course faculty first, get the advisor's approval and then drop in the WebRaider Portal.
TTUHSC warns that dropping a course may delay progression through the curriculum, and for clinical courses that warning has teeth: later clinical courses list earlier ones as prerequisites, as the FNP sequence does, and a preceptor lined up for this term may not be available next time.
Drops inside the first five weeks earn a W, as do later drops by students who are passing; a later drop while failing earns a WF, which weighs like an F in the GPA. Dropping every course counts as withdrawing from the School of Nursing. The grades and progression guide covers both rules in full.
Start terms and application windows
Your start term fixes when every later clinical course falls. The 2026-27 catalog sets these admission terms and application windows:
| Program | Start term | Application window |
|---|---|---|
| MSN tracks, fall entry | Fall, every MSN track except Informatics and Intelligent Systems | Nov. 1 to Feb. 15 |
| MSN APRN and Leadership tracks, spring entry | Spring; the PMHNP track starts in spring only | May 1 to Aug. 1 |
| MSN Informatics and Intelligent Systems | Spring only | May 1 to Aug. 1 |
| BSN to DNP (FNP and PMHNP) | Summer only | Sept. 1 to Jan. 15 |
| Post-Master's DNP | Summer only | Sept. 1 to Jan. 15 |
| Traditional BSN | Fall, spring or summer | Feb. 15 to April 15 (fall); June 15 to Aug. 15 (spring); Oct. 15 to Dec. 15 (summer) |
| Second Degree and Veteran to BSN | Spring only | May 1 to July 15 |
| RN to BSN | Fall, spring or summer | May 1 to Aug. 1 (fall); Aug. 15 to Nov. 15 (spring); Jan. 1 to April 1 (summer) |
No MSN track admits in summer. For a summer start, look at the BSN to DNP or the Post-Master's DNP, both of which open each summer.
How clinical courses sit in the year
Every graduate clinical course spans the whole semester, summers included. The midwifery immersion practicum falls in Summer Two, the MSN PMHNP adult rotation is a summer course, and BSN to DNP students take clinical courses in three different summers. The DNP and midwifery plans use all three terms every year, which leaves little slack between courses for a last-minute preceptor search.
Full-time graduate status means at least 9 credits in fall or spring and 6 in the full summer session. Sitting out a fall or spring term, or dropping all your courses, ends graduate enrollment in the SON and means reapplying; a leave of absence is the route to ask about instead. When practicum hours run past the last class day, the handbook's PR grade is the tool faculty use. See clinical hours by program for each program's totals and the first clinical course guide for where clinicals begin.
Timing your preceptor search to the calendar
The calendar gives you fixed points to plan against. Advance registration opens Nov. 10 for spring, April 6 for summer and June 15 for fall. By the time you register for a clinical course, your preceptor and facility should already be moving through SON approval, with that term's electronic preceptor agreement close behind.
We plan backward from the first class day of your clinical term. Our search starts early enough that the preceptor is committed, the facility's details are with SON staff and the agreement paperwork is complete before add/drop closes, so you are not left choosing between a rushed placement and a dropped course. If a preceptor falls through close to a term, the placement desk moves quickly on a replacement. TTUHSC's staff and faculty hold the approval; we make sure the materials they review are complete and in order. Need a preceptor fast covers the late-start case, or use the form below.
Questions TTUHSC students ask
Does TTUHSC nursing have 8-week courses?
TTUHSC's 2025-26 nursing calendar listed two 8-week sessions, for the RN to BSN only, and the 2026-27 SON calendar shows none. Graduate nursing courses, including NP and DNP clinical courses, run across the full fall, spring or summer term.
Can I start TTUHSC's MSN FNP in summer?
No. MSN tracks admit in fall, and the APRN tracks in spring as well, but none in summer. TTUHSC's BSN to DNP, with its FNP and PMHNP tracks, admits in summer only, as does the Post-Master's DNP.
When are final grades due at TTUHSC nursing in 2026-27?
For graduating students, final grades are due Dec. 16, April 21 and Aug. 11; for everyone else, Dec. 21, April 26 and Aug. 15. If a clinical course still has hours outstanding near those dates, talk with course faculty about a PR grade well before the deadline.
What counts as full-time for TTUHSC graduate nursing students?
Nine or more credits in fall or spring and six in the full summer session. Dropping a clinical course can change your enrollment status as well as push back later courses in your sequence, so talk with the Graduate Enrolled Student Advisor before you drop.
When is spring break for TTUHSC nursing in 2027?
The 2026-27 SON calendar lists a spring break holiday on March 19, 2027. Clinical sites run on their own schedules, so settle with your preceptor ahead of time whether you will be at the site that day.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against TTUHSC's catalog, Student Handbook, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your course faculty, your program director and the plan of study for your cohort have the final word.
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