NU 5980 and NU 5985: JSU's population health practicums
Every JSU MSN student, in the Population Health major or either of its concentrations, completes two six-credit practicums: a summer course, NU 5980 (Population Health I), then NU 5985 (Population Health II) that fall. The 2026-27 catalog attaches 254 practicum hours to each, and JSU shapes the experiences around each student's learning needs rather than one fixed setting.
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Tell us your JSU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your JSU course.
Two practicums, back to back
The two courses form one stretch from May to December. NU 5980 runs each summer and at no other point in the year, NU 5985 runs each fall, and the fall course stays closed until the summer one is passed.
| Course | Credits | Hours | Offered | Must come first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NU 5980 Population Health I | 6 | 254 | Summer only | NU 5101, NU 5204, NU 5207, NU 5213, NU 5218, NU 5227, NU 5744 |
NU 5985 Population Health II | 6 | 254 | Fall only | NU 5722 and NU 5980 |
Taken together that is 508 practicum hours, a sum we worked out; JSU does not print a total. The catalog's own framing is worth knowing before you talk to a site: "Clinical experiences will be designed to meet individual learning needs of the MSN student." In practice that means your goals and your course faculty's guidance decide what a good site looks like.
Where the practicums fall in each MSN plan
JSU's web sample plans start in the fall, and the practicums arrive later in the concentrations because their specialty courses come first.
| MSN plan | NU 5980 | NU 5985 |
|---|---|---|
| Population Health (38 credits) | Semester 3, summer | Semester 4, fall |
| Nursing Education concentration (53 credits) | Semester 6, summer | Semester 7, fall |
| Emergency Management concentration (53 credits) | Semester 6, summer | Semester 7, fall |
By our mapping, a Fall 2026 Population Health entrant meets NU 5980 in Summer 2027 and NU 5985 in Fall 2027, while a Fall 2026 entrant to either concentration reaches them in Summer and Fall 2028. Start term and part-time study move these dates, JSU says, and MSN students may begin in any of the three semesters, so your own plan may differ.
Nursing Education students take the teaching practicum just before these two; see the NU 5982 guide. Emergency Management courses carry no practicum hours of their own, as the Emergency Management concentration page explains.
Fitting 254 hours into a summer
Summer is the harder of the two terms. The 2027 summer session at JSU starts May 6 and ends with finals on July 29, about twelve weeks, so by our arithmetic NU 5980 averages a little over 21 practicum hours a week. If you work full time as a nurse, that pace needs a site with flexible hours or a schedule you can plan months ahead.
Fall gives more room. The Fall 2026 term runs from August 19 to finals in early December, roughly sixteen weeks, which spreads the second 254 hours to about 16 a week (again our figure, not JSU's). Priority registration for graduate students opens in March for summer and in late October for spring, so having your site settled before March keeps the summer practicum on schedule.
NU 5980 runs only in summer and NU 5985 needs it first, so a practicum that slips by one term costs a full year of the plan.
What kind of site suits population health work
JSU does not publish a list of approved practicum settings or preceptor qualifications for these courses, so your course faculty and the MSN program coordinator are the ones who confirm a site fits. What the courses reward is work with a population rather than one patient at a time.
That usually points to settings such as county health departments, community health centers, school or employer health programs, and hospital departments that run population health or quality work. Northeast Alabama has plenty of that need: HRSA lists primary care shortage designations in Calhoun, Etowah, Talladega and several neighboring counties. Emergency Management students may want a site with preparedness duties, if their faculty agree it meets the course aims.
The MSN is described by JSU as "100% Online with required practicum," so the practicum is the one part of the program that happens in person, near where you live.
Grades and progression around the practicums
The graduate nursing rules apply here as they do in the NP tracks. Coming into either practicum, all previous graduate nursing work needs a B or higher; a C earns no credit toward the MSN and gets one retake, which must produce an A or B; and C grades totaling over three credit hours end enrollment. MSN students have six years to finish. The full picture is in the grades and progression guide.
Unfinished hours are the other risk. An Incomplete is possible under JSU's catalog only in extraordinary circumstances and only for a student who is passing after the withdrawal deadline, and the graduate handbook bars registration for the next semester until an incomplete is resolved. For NU 5980 that bites hard, because NU 5985 opens in August, only a few weeks after the summer term closes.
How we set up your population health practicums
Whether or not JSU assists with your practicum, we locate a site and preceptor who satisfy JSU's requirements and suit your learning goals, close to home. We plan summer and fall together, and where your faculty agree, we look for one site that can host both courses so the fall picks up where the summer left off.
- Clearance in orderYour CastleBranch file and your JSU malpractice approval come first, because the graduate handbook requires that approval before a practicum site is contacted. The CastleBranch guide lists what goes in.
- Goals first, then the searchWe start from your course goals and faculty guidance, then search for population-focused sites near you that can carry 254 hours in a summer.
- A complete fileWe gather the preceptor's license and background and the site's details so JSU's faculty can review a finished file.
- Support through DecemberIf a site or preceptor changes plans, we look for a replacement right away so the fall course stays on track.
Your faculty make the final call on every site. Share your plan of study using the form below and we start with NU 5980.
Questions JSU students ask
What is the practicum hour total for JSU's population health MSN?
Each practicum carries 254 hours in the 2026-27 catalog, NU 5980 in summer and NU 5985 in fall. That comes to 508 by our count, though JSU publishes no program total. Students in the Nursing Education concentration also complete the 100-hour teaching practicum, NU 5982, on top of those two courses.
Can I take NU 5985 before NU 5980?
No. The catalog lists NU 5980 and NU 5722 Nursing Research as prerequisites for NU 5985. Since Population Health I runs only in summer and Population Health II only in fall, the two always run in that order, one term after the other.
Do Emergency Management students complete the same practicums?
Yes. The Emergency Management concentration uses NU 5980 and NU 5985, placed in semesters six and seven of JSU's sample plan, and its EM courses carry no practicum hours. Ask your course faculty whether a site with emergency preparedness work can serve your population health goals.
Is JSU's MSN fully online if it has practicums?
JSU describes the MSN as online with a required practicum, and its MSN pages also mention possible campus visits, orientation among them. The coursework runs in Canvas, while practicum hours take place at a site you attend in person. The on-campus requirements guide covers the rest.
What did older JSU documents call Population Health I?
JSU's 2024-25 graduate handbook uses the older three-digit numbering, and its sample plan lists Population Health I as NU 540 with 254 hours. The 2026-27 catalog now calls the course NU 5980. The catalog's NU 5980 is the number to register under and to give a site.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against JSU's 2026-27 catalog, nursing handbooks, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether JSU helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your JSU program, your next practicum or residency and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather what JSU's faculty need to clear them, early enough for the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan, adult-gerontology acute care, DNP residencies
- License, certification and site details ready for JSU's clearance, with your CastleBranch and malpractice items in order
- Across Alabama and in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee
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