UNCW's DNP orientation and on-campus intensives
UNCW's DNP is taught online, but it is not entirely remote. Every new DNP student attends the DNP New Student Orientation, and BSN-DNP students also attend on-campus intensives in Wilmington during concentration-specific semesters. UNCW does not publish the dates, number or length of the intensives, so plan around them early and confirm the schedule through your program.
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What UNCW requires on campus
UNCW's graduate application describes the BSN-DNP FNP and AGPCNP concentrations as distance education, online "except for the mandatory on campus orientation and designated on campus intensives scheduled throughout the program as indicated for each concentration." The DNP Student Handbook 2025-2026 says the same in its BSN-DNP degree requirements: attendance at the DNP New Student Orientation is required, and so are on-campus intensives.
The handbook's orientation section adds the timing, such as it is: students attend the on-campus orientation and the on-campus intensive days during concentration-specific semesters. UNCW's DNP overview presents the intensives as extra hands-on learning for BSN-DNP students. Both take place at UNCW in Wilmington, where the School of Nursing is based in McNeill Hall at 601 S. College Road.
Which programs list campus visits
The requirement is not the same across UNCW nursing. Here is what each program's own materials say:
| Program | What UNCW lists | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP FNP and AGPCNP | Mandatory orientation plus designated intensives; online classes mix asynchronous and synchronous | Graduate application program details; DNP Student Handbook |
| BSN-DNP PMHNP, MSN-DNP PMHNP, PMHNP Post-Doctoral Certificate | Mandatory orientation plus designated intensives; asynchronous online classes | Graduate application program details |
| Post APRN and Nurse Executive Leadership DNPs | Orientation required; the application wording mentions intensives, but the handbook's degree requirements list only orientation | Graduate application; DNP Student Handbook |
| MSN Nurse Educator and Nurse Educator certificate | No campus visits listed; the practicum is on site with a preceptor | Program and practicum pages |
| RN-BSN | "There are no required campus visits" | RN-BSN FAQ |
| BSN Prelicensure and ABSN | On-campus programs with simulation labs and off-campus clinical sites | Program pages |
An older DNP FAQ, dated January 2021, called the DNP a fully online program with possible on-campus skills labs specific to each program. The newer application wording and the 2025-26 handbook both list required attendance, so if the 2021 page is what you read, confirm with your concentration lead.
What UNCW has not published
The public record stops at the requirement itself. UNCW does not publish the date of the DNP New Student Orientation, how many intensives each concentration holds, how long each one runs, what they cover or which semesters they fall in beyond "concentration specific". Nothing public says whether the end-of-program DNP Presentation Day, where project posters are shown, is held in person; the DNP project guide covers what is known.
For the real schedule, watch your admission and new-student communications, check Canvas, where UNCW posts much of the working detail for DNP students, and ask your concentration lead or program coordinator. Get the intensive dates as soon as you can, because they are fixed points your work schedule and your clinical placements have to fit around.
The summer before orientation
- Watch for your compliance accountUNCW's clinical hours handbook says credentialing setup emails arrive around May 15. New DNP students complete compliance through Castle Branch or Certiphi Screening, depending on cohort.
- Finish compliance by July 15The handbook sets July 15 as the deadline for every compliance item unless late admits are told otherwise, from the background check and 12-panel drug test to the RN license, CPR, health insurance and immunizations. The compliance guide explains each one.
- Pass the drug screen before orientationThe DNP Student Handbook requires a passing urine drug screen no later than two weeks before fall orientation, then once a year after that.
- Arrive ready for TyphonAccess to Typhon, the system for clinical and immersion hours, encounter logs and evaluations, comes during DNP orientation. It opens the record you will keep through every practicum, so learn the logging rules early.
Planning the trip to Wilmington
UNCW's NP students complete every clinical hour in North Carolina, but they can live anywhere from the coast to the mountains, and UNCW's published admission rules set no residency requirement. Each campus visit is a trip to plan, and because UNCW does not publish how long orientation or the intensives last, build a plan that flexes once dates arrive:
- Ask for time off as soon as dates are posted. Intensives are fixed, and employers and preceptors both need notice.
- Allow for travel on both ends. UNCW's clinical hours handbook excludes travel time from clinical and immersion hours, and since clinical hours are direct patient care only, campus days will not add to your practicum totals.
- Book your own lodging for multi-day visits. NC AHEC's student housing is built for community-based clinical rotations, not campus events.
- Protect your practicum schedule. If an intensive falls in a clinical semester, tell your preceptor early so the missed days are made up in time, since UNCW expects hours to be finished before the last day of classes.
Why DNP students choose us around campus visits
Intensive dates are fixed, and in the NP plans they can land in the same semesters as your practica. We plan for them from the start: when we match you with a North Carolina preceptor, we share your known campus dates and the course hour target so the clinical schedule allows for the days you spend in Wilmington. We prepare the preceptor and site details UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews, and we stay on call if a preceptor drops.
Begin well before your first practicum; the first clinical semester guide shows when that falls in each plan of study. See how it works, or send your concentration and start term through the form below.
Questions UNCW students ask
Is UNCW's DNP program fully online?
The coursework is online, but the program is not fully remote. UNCW requires every new DNP student to attend the DNP New Student Orientation, and BSN-DNP students also attend on-campus intensives in Wilmington. A 2021 UNCW FAQ called the DNP fully online, but the current application wording and the 2025-26 handbook both list required campus attendance.
Do Post APRN and NEL students attend on-campus intensives?
The DNP Student Handbook 2025-2026 lists only the New Student Orientation in the degree requirements for these two concentrations, while UNCW's application wording mentions intensives for every concentration as indicated. Plan on orientation for certain, and ask your program coordinator whether any intensive applies to your cohort.
How long is UNCW's DNP New Student Orientation?
UNCW does not publish its length or date. What is published sits around it: compliance is due by July 15 for new students, a passing drug screen is due at least two weeks before fall orientation, and Typhon access comes during orientation. Watch your admission communications and ask your program for the schedule.
Do on-campus intensive days count toward my clinical hours?
Not as clinical hours. UNCW's clinical hours handbook defines clinical hours as direct patient care only and excludes travel time from both clinical and immersion hours. Whether any intensive activity counts toward immersion hours is not published, so ask course faculty before you log anything from a campus visit.
Does the MSN Nurse Educator program have on-campus requirements?
UNCW lists none. The MSN Nurse Educator and the Nurse Educator Post-Graduate Certificate run online in 7-week sessions, and the in-person part is the practicum, completed on site with a preceptor where you are licensed. The educator practicum guide covers it.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against UNCW's catalog, handbooks and School of Nursing pages. Your course, your cohort's handbook and UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
UNCW asks you to find your own North Carolina preceptor. Let us run that search.
Tell us your UNCW program, your practicum course and where in North Carolina you can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the CV, license and agency details UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews, well before the deadline.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care, pediatrics and women's health for
NSGL 650toNSGL 653, adult and older-adult care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP - Preceptor CV with dates and site, license number and agency details ready for your submission
- In Wilmington, the Cape Fear region or wherever in North Carolina your clinicals can happen
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