UTA clinical systems

How UTA's clinical machinery actually works

Updated September 23, 2026 · Reviewed by the UTA Preceptor placement team

UTA runs graduate clinicals through a chain of people, policies and one system, Exxat. Each page below takes one link in that chain, names it the way UTA does, and says what UTA publishes and what it leaves to your course.

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How UTA's clinical machinery actually works. UTA runs graduate clinicals through a chain of people, policies and one system, Exxat. Each page below takes one link in that chain, names it the way UTA does, — Every UTA clinical system in one place: self-placement and approval, Exxat and hour logs, clearance and compliance, and each clinical course by number.

Start here if your clinicals are a term or two away

Read the placement process first, then the timeline. Together they show the order UTA works in: clearance in Exxat, a preceptor and site you find, approval by the Clinical Coordinator, a signed Preceptor Agreement, and an affiliation agreement with the site.

Someone already lined up as your preceptor? Skip ahead to UTA's preceptor requirements and how approval works. For students who are behind or stuck, the placement help pages are the place to go.

Placement and approval

UTA clinical placement processHow UTA clinical placement works for graduate nursing students: clearance, an Exxat MyRequest, faculty approval, the Preceptor Agreement and day one.Clinical Coordinator approvalHow UTA's Clinical Coordinator and course faculty review a proposed preceptor and site, what they check, and the published rules that get a request denied.Preceptor AgreementUTA's Preceptor Agreement: every preceptor signs it, it must reach the Clinical Coordinator by your first clinical day, and what the old preceptor packet was.Affiliation agreementsWhy a site needs an affiliation agreement with UTA before you start, what Texas health systems publish about new ones, and the DNP project-site contract.Clinical placement timelineThe order of UTA placement deadlines: the 60-day clearance clock, 12–16 weeks out, the Pharmacology cutoff, Exxat's 12-month window and the Wishlist close.Preceptor requirementsWho can precept a UTA nursing student: UTA's license and one-year minimums, per-course preceptor categories, and what UTA leaves unclear on MD, DO and PA.UTA placement assistanceWhat UTA's help for students experiencing difficulty with clinical placement covers, the Exxat policy behind it, how to ask, and what it does not promise.Clinicals at your employerCan you do UTA clinical hours where you work? Yes, with limits: not your department, not your supervisor, no pay, and an affiliation agreement still applies.Out-of-state clinicalsWhere UTA nursing students can do clinicals: the seven NP and DNP states, RN-to-BSN and MSN limits, NursingSOA@uta.edu, and licensure in the clinical state.UTA clinical policies in ExxatThe six UTA graduate clinical policies posted in Exxat, from the Practicum Acknowledgement to Clearance Requirements: what each governs and which are public.Asking a preceptorAsking a preceptor to take you for a UTA clinical course: what to send, how to follow up, and what UTA offers preceptors, from library access to CE courses.

Exxat and hour logs

Exxat at UTAHow UTA graduate nursing uses Exxat: logging in at steps.exxat.com, buying it on entry, what each tile holds, and why some UTA pages still say InPlace.Exxat MyRequestHow to submit a self-placement request in UTA's Exxat MyRequest: where it lives, why a course may be missing, Wishlist close dates and request limits.Clinical hour logsHow UTA nursing students log clinical hours in Exxat timesheets and logbooks, what counts as a direct-care hour, where simulation fits, and why to log fast.

Clearance and compliance

Clinical clearance policyUTA's Graduate Nursing Clinical Clearance Requirements: the 60-day deadline, every item Exxat tracks, who pays, and why clinical agencies can add more.Background check and drug screenWhen UTA graduate nursing students can order the background check and drug screen, why the 30-day window matters, and what a flagged result can cost you.Immunizations and exemptionsWhat UTA graduate nursing students need for vaccines, titers and TB, where the full list lives in Exxat, and how medical and conscience exemptions work.CPR, ACLS, PALS and NRPWhich life-support cards UTA nursing students need: CPR for everyone, what UTA does and does not say about ACLS, PALS and NRP by track, and who pays.Liability and health insuranceHow UTA graduate nursing students are covered in clinicals: liability insurance via a yearly student fee, health insurance with needle-stick care, parking.RN license for clinicalsUTA requires an unencumbered RN license in every state where you do clinicals. How compact licenses, NURSYS checks and Board investigations affect you.DFW hospital onboardingHow DFW and Texas hospitals onboard nursing students: the DFW Hospital Council's CCPS and orientation, plus each system's rules, marked confirmed or not.

Courses and hours

Clinical hours by trackClinical and practicum hours for every UTA nursing track in one table, which totals come from UTA's 2020-21 course lists, and UTA's direct-care hour rules.NURS 5337 Family Clinical Practice 1UTA NURS 5337: 180 clinical hours in 11 weeks online, the prerequisites, the primary care site and preceptor it needs, and what UTA approves before day one.NURS 5338 Family Clinical Practice 2UTA NURS 5338: the second 180-hour FNP course, 11 weeks online, which can run alongside NURS 5337. How to keep one preceptor and what to re-check first.NURS 5660 FNP Advanced PracticumUTA NURS 5660, the FNP final practicum: 360 clinical hours in 13 weeks online, its prerequisites, planning for more than one preceptor, and finishing on time.AGACNP clinical coursesUTA AGACNP clinical courses NURS 5354, 5355 and 5640: credits, online length, the 720-hour track total, hospital sites, and the newer 5454, 5455 and 5560.AGPCNP clinical coursesUTA AGPCNP clinical courses NURS 5352, 5353 and 5645: credits, online length, prerequisites, the 720-hour track total, and primary and long-term care sites.PNP clinical coursesUTA's pediatric NP clinicals: NURS 5371, 5372 and 5685 for primary care, 5373, 5374 and 5680 for acute care, with credits, weeks and the 720-hour totals.PMHNP clinical coursesUTA's PMHNP clinical sequence: NURS 5324, NURS 5325 and the NURS 5650 practicum, with credits, prerequisites, the 720-hour total and psychiatric site types.Online clinical scheduleUTA's accelerated online calendar for 2026-27: start dates, clinicals in year two, 11- and 13-week clinical courses, and how to line a preceptor up to them.NURS 5362 Teaching PracticumUTA's NURS 5362 Teaching Practicum: 135 precepted hours, 3 credits, Pass/Not Pass, and a preceptor who has to work in nursing education. What to line up.NURS 5340 Management SeminarNURS 5340 at UTA: 90 hours in a health care setting plus a community partnering project, how it fits with 5339, 5341 and 5342, and who can precept it.DNP practice hoursHow UTA counts DNP practice hours: 1,000 after the bachelor's, up to 500 from your MSN, 180 from NURS 6326, logged in Exxat and outside your paid job.DNP project siteYour UTA DNP project site must be in the clinical management system by the end of NURS 6323 so UTA can contract with it. Then GNRC review and any site IRB.RN-to-BSN practice experiencesUTA's RN-to-BSN needs no preceptor, but NURS 3315, 3325, 4455, 4465 and 4685 still need a workplace, a community agency, a nurse leader or a capstone focus.

FAQ

Questions UTA students ask

Which platform handles UTA's graduate clinical placement?

UTA's graduate nursing department uses Exxat, reached at steps.exxat.com, for clearance documents, self-placement requests, timesheets and logbooks. A few older UTA pages still name InPlace, and syllabi from around 2016 to 2018 used Typhon. The Exxat page explains the difference.

Does UTA find preceptors for NP students?

UTA asks students to locate a preceptor that fits their program requirements, and says the Department of Graduate Nursing helps when a student is having difficulty. See what UTA's placement assistance covers.

Where are UTA's clinical policies?

The full policies, including the Graduate Student Clinical Placement Policy and Procedure and the Clinical Site and Preceptor Policy, are posted inside Exxat after admission. The clinical policies page lists each one and what it controls.

Last checked 2026-09-23

We check these pages against UTA's own sources. UTA's current handbook and your course faculty have the final word.

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