Graduate Nursing

Navigating Your Degree Program

As a student, you need to fulfill both curricular and procedural requirements for your degree. This page contains information applicable to all graduate nursing degree programs, including explanations of:

  • Gonzaga’s schedule– semesters and sessions
  • Course length (8, 12, 16 weeks)
  • Didactic and Practicum (clinical) courses
  • Progression Plans
  • Points in Your Degree program with Procedural Requirements
  • Graduation & Commencement
  • Detailed information on Practicums, Immersions, and Graduation and Commencement may be found in the navigation links. 

Gonzaga Schedule 

Gonzaga has a semester schedule—fall, spring, and summer.

  • Fall and spring semesters are 16 weeks in length
  • Summer semester is 12 weeks in length
  • Fall and Spring semesters are further divided into A session (first 8 weeks) and B session (second 8 weeks) 

Course length 

  • Most graduate nursing courses are full semester courses
  • 16 weeks in fall or spring
  • 12 weeks in summer (same amount of content, condensed into a shorter time period)
  •  Some graduate nursing courses are 8 weeks in length
  • 8 week courses may be offered in A session (first 8 weeks) or B session (second 8 weeks) of fall or spring semesters
  • There is no A session or B session in summer—8 week courses are offered only once in summer, starting the first day of summer term 

Progression Plans 

Your progression plan is your roadmap to completing curricular degree requirements. Save this document and refer to it when registering for classes. Progression plans serve as a planning tool both for the student (for your degree program) and for the Department (in planning courses).

  • If a course is on your progression plan in a specific semester, we are reserving a seat for you in that class
  • The Department uses progression plans to ensure students get the classes they need, and class sections are not overloaded 
  • If you need to alter your progression plan (or go ‘off plan’) contact staff and your faculty advisor before doing so.