UCCS RN to MSN: from the NURS 4460 bridge to your NP rotations
UCCS's RN to MSN moves associate-degree nurses into the online MSN through one 6-credit bridge course, NURS 4460, which has no clinical hours. After the bridge you join the Family, Adult-Gerontology or Psychiatric-Mental Health NP track, and from then on the practicum rules are the MSN's. Your preceptor search begins with NURS 6730, and it pays to plan it before the bridge ends.
Plan your first NP preceptor
Tell us your track and when your bridge semester ends.
Who the RN to MSN is for
The option serves registered nurses whose education stops at the associate degree. Rather than finishing a BSN first, you complete one bridge course and then take the same MSN core and NP track as students who arrive with a bachelor's degree. The catalog lists it as the RN to MSN Option within the Nursing, MSN.
The college's page puts the full path at 53-54 credits: the 6-credit bridge plus the MSN. Coursework is online, and the program FAQ describes a timeline of 3-5 years with a six-year limit. Up to 12 transfer credits of graduate work can apply.
Residency works the same way as in the MSN. You must live in one of UCCS's 14 approved states, where every class and clinical hour of the program has to happen, and a move partway through can affect your plan. The approved states guide has the list.
Admission items that shape your clinicals
Several RN to MSN admission requirements connect directly to the clinical years that follow.
- A current, unrestricted RN license from an approved state, which is also the license your NP hours will rest on.
- 5,000 hours of professional RN practice, documented in a letter from your employer or employers.
- A 3.0 cumulative GPA.
- A mandatory application essay on what you are doing to find clinical spots.
- An application submitted before the deadline, which the program FAQ sets at two weeks before the semester.
That essay question tells you how the program works. UCCS expects you to arrive with a plan for clinical sites, and years at the bedside can be the start of one: colleagues who became NPs, clinics you know, and professional contacts in your own state. The finding your own preceptor guide explains what UCCS expects of the search.
The NURS 4460 bridge
NURS 4460, the RN (ADN) to MSN Pathway Course: Precursor Concepts for MSN Program, carries 6 credits over 16 weeks and runs fully asynchronous. UCCS states that it is not available part time and has no clinical component, so the bridge semester needs no preceptor. It is offered in the fall, and a spring section may run when applicant demand supports it.
An 84% (B) or better in the bridge is the gate to the MSN. A student who falls short may repeat it once or switch to UCCS's online RN to BSN, where the 6 credits count as electives. The RN to BSN guide covers that path.
Because the bridge has no clinical work, it is the calmest semester of the program for planning. Many of the decisions that shape your clinical years, including your track and where your first preceptor might come from, can be settled while you are in it.
After the bridge: your NP track
Once you pass NURS 4460, the path is the MSN itself. You take the shared core and then one of UCCS's three NP tracks, each with its own clinical courses, settings and preceptor rules.
| Track | MSN credits | Clinical courses | Practicum hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family NP (FNP) | 47 | NURS 6730, NURS 6900, NURS 6915, NURS 6925, NURS 6982 if required, NURS 6980 | 630 or 770 by start term, plus 45 in NURS 6730 |
| Adult-Gerontology NP (AGNP) | 47 | NURS 6730, NURS 6915, NURS 6925, NURS 6950, NURS 6982 if required, NURS 6980 | 630 or 770 by start term, plus 45 in NURS 6730 |
| Psychiatric-Mental Health NP (PMHNP) | 48 | NURS 6730, NURS 6801, NURS 6802, NURS 6803, NURS 6985 | 630 or 770 by start term, plus 45 in NURS 6730 |
Each track has its own guide: the Family NP, the Adult-Gerontology NP and the Psychiatric-Mental Health NP. The primary care tracks count no inpatient or emergency department time, while the PMHNP encourages both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric work.
630 or 770: two figures on one page
On the RN to MSN page, every track description still says it includes 630 contact hours. The same page also announces that, effective Fall 2026, the NP program is raising direct patient care clinical hours from 630 to 770. Both statements appear together, so the page alone cannot tell you which applies.
The 08/2026 practicum handbooks decide it by start term: 630 hours at 45 per credit for students who started before Fall 2026, and 770 at 55 per credit for Fall 2026 starts and later. NURS 6730 adds 45 hours in both cases. If your bridge fell before Fall 2026 and your MSN courses after it, ask the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator which total is yours and check that your degree plan shows it. The 630 vs 770 guide covers the change in full.
The "630 contact hours" line on the RN to MSN page sits next to the Fall 2026 move to 770; your start term decides your total.
Your RN job and your NP clinicals
Working nurses often hope to log NP hours at their own workplace. UCCS allows that only in part: your own unit and any site where a relative works are excluded, while a different campus, clinic or floor of your employer may be approved case by case by the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator. Relatives and close friends cannot precept you. The workplace and family rules explain the approvals.
The setting also has to fit the track. FNP and AGNP rotations are primary care only, which rules out hospital units as NP sites even if you know them well. PMHNP students may use inpatient psychiatric settings.
Timing matters too. The handbooks advise starting the search three to six months before a practicum course, and UCCS warns that legal review for a new site's agreement can stretch to 6 to 8 weeks or beyond. Since NURS 6730 requires only graduate nursing status, your first preceptor may be needed soon after the bridge.
Why RN to MSN students choose us
Your RN network is a real asset, and UCCS's rules narrow it: no home unit, no hospital hours on the primary care tracks, no relatives or friends. We extend it. We search in person near where you live for preceptors who meet UCCS's credential rules for your track, starting with NURS 6730 and running through Synthesis.
For each match we collect what your Clinical Site Sheet has to show: the provider's degree, license and certification, where the practice is, who holds signing authority for contracts, and an exact number of hours. A sheet built that way can go in early, as UCCS asks, rather than at the last minute. Every site and agreement is UCCS's to approve and sign, and we put a complete, rule-ready file in front of it. If a preceptor backs out, your placement advisor restarts the search with your course dates in mind. Use the form below to tell us your track and where you are in the program.
Questions UCCS students ask
Does the UCCS RN to MSN bridge include clinical hours?
No. UCCS states that NURS 4460 has no clinical component, and it runs fully asynchronous over 16 weeks. Clinical hours begin in the MSN, with NURS 6730 Advanced Health Assessment as the first course that needs a preceptor. That makes the bridge semester a practical window to start lining up a primary care site.
What happens if I do not pass NURS 4460?
You need an 84% (B) to move into the MSN. According to the program FAQ, a student who misses that mark can repeat the bridge once or transfer to UCCS's RN to BSN, where the 6 bridge credits count toward electives. Talk with your advisor about which route fits your goals and your timeline.
How do I document 5,000 hours of RN practice for UCCS?
UCCS asks for 5,000 hours of professional registered nurse practice documented in a letter provided by your employer or employers, so experience spread across several jobs can be combined. The requirement sits alongside a 3.0 cumulative GPA and an unrestricted RN license from one of UCCS's approved states.
When does the UCCS RN to MSN start?
The program page says the bridge is offered in the fall semester, and a spring section may be offered depending on applicant demand. Applications close two weeks before the semester begins. The MSN coursework follows the bridge, and UCCS's graduate nursing programs admit students for spring, summer and fall terms.
How long does the UCCS RN to MSN take?
The program FAQ puts it at 3-5 years, with the whole path to be completed within six years. The bridge takes one 16-week semester and cannot be taken part time. After that, your pace through the MSN core and NP track follows your degree plan and depends on having each preceptor approved before the semester starts.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against UCCS's catalog, practicum handbooks and college pages. Your degree plan, the handbook for your cohort and the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
UCCS asks you to find your clinical hours where you live. Let us run that search.
Tell us your UCCS track, your next clinical course and where you live. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the details your Clinical Site Sheet needs, early enough for the agreement to be signed before the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NURS 6900, acute and chronic care forNURS 6915andNURS 6925, psychiatric prescribers forNURS 6801toNURS 6803 - Credentials, license, certification and the site's signer ready for the Clinical Site Sheet
- In Colorado Springs, along the Front Range, or in any of UCCS's approved states
Start your placement plan
Your program, city and next clinical semester is all we need to begin.