WilmU's RN to BSN and the community site of your choosing
Wilmington University's RN to BSN has three courses with a practice element: credentialing in NUR 303, a practice-focused learning opportunity in NUR 363, and the community learning experience in NUR 430, where WilmU says you will "volunteer at a site of your choosing". This guide walks through each one and how to pick a community site that fits the capstone.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your WilmU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your WilmU course.
The program in brief
The RN to BSN is built for registered nurses finishing a bachelor's. WilmU says most associate-degree RNs complete it in 18 months, taking 15 courses at two courses per block, and classes start every 8 weeks.
| Item | What WilmU lists |
|---|---|
| Credits | 120 in total, including 31 upper-division nursing core credits |
| Formats | Classroom, online or hybrid, at New Castle or online |
| Starts | Every 8 weeks |
| Admission | An RN license for full admission; students still finishing an associate degree in nursing may apply |
| Courses with a practice element | NUR 303, NUR 363, NUR 430 |
| Hours stated | None for NUR 363 or NUR 430 |
The baccalaureate program sits under WilmU's CCNE accreditation. The College directory lists a Chair and Assistant Chair for the RN to BSN and MSN Leadership Programs and an Adjunct Program Coordinator for the RN to BSN, the right people for questions this page cannot settle.
NUR 303 comes first: credentialing
NUR 303 Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing Practice is a 4-credit course that carries the program's mandatory credentialing: a background check, a drug screen and an immunization record, all due during the course, with a one-time outside vendor fee paid by you. WilmU does not accept previous results. The instructions sit on the BSN student Canvas site, and our NUR 303 credentialing guide covers the steps in order.
The College's policy has undergraduates finish the background check and drug screen in their first core course, which is why it lands here. Treat NUR 303 as the key that opens the rest of the program. A community site you pick later will ask what screening you have on file, and having WilmU's credentialing complete gives you a clear answer.
NUR 363 Chronic and Palliative Care
NUR 363 is a 3-credit course on chronic and palliative care that WilmU describes as including a practice-focused learning opportunity. The catalog does not state hours, a setting type or how the experience is arranged, so your course faculty are the source for what it involves in your section.
If the experience takes place outside your own workplace, the settings that suit the course title are the ones where long-term illness and end-of-life care happen every day: home health, hospice, palliative care teams, long-term care and chronic disease clinics. Ask faculty early whether your current job can count, whether a new setting is expected, and what documentation they want back.
Because hours are not published, plan for the experience inside a normal block rather than assuming it is light. A short conversation with your instructor in the first week keeps it from colliding with your work schedule.
NUR 430 and the community site of your choosing
NUR 430 Community and Population Health: Senior Capstone is the program's 6-credit capstone. It runs in the semester format only, and NUR 413 may be taken at the same time. The course includes a community learning experience in a community-based care setting, and the RN to BSN page describes community learning experiences "where you'll volunteer at a site of your choosing".
That wording gives you real room. What the catalog names is a community-based care setting, so the choice reaches well beyond hospital units, and the site also has to take you on as a volunteer for the weeks your capstone runs.
The catalog does not state hours for NUR 430. Ask course faculty how many hours, what the site contact signs off on and whether a site you already volunteer with can count.
Community-based settings worth considering
- Community health centers and clinics serving low-income or uninsured patients
- Local health department programs such as immunization, screening or outreach
- School health offices and school-based health programs
- Shelters, food programs and faith community nursing programs with a health focus
- Senior centers, adult day programs and home-visiting services
Your course faculty confirm whether a given site fits the course outcomes, so run your top choice by them before you commit.
The RN to BSN Pathway and a credit conflict
WilmU also offers an RN to BSN Pathway for RNs who already hold a bachelor's in another field. It is online, accepts up to 90 transfer credits and starts new cohorts three times a year. It uses the same eight NUR courses, including NUR 363 and NUR 430.
WilmU lists those eight courses as 31 nursing core credits for the RN to BSN and 28 for the Pathway. The Pathway page also leaves out the site-of-your-choosing sentence. Neither point changes the courses themselves, but if you are in the Pathway, ask the Adjunct Program Coordinator for the RN to BSN which credit total applies to your plan and how NUR 430 sites work for your cohort.
Where you live, and what comes after the BSN
WilmU's State Licensures by Program table marks the RN to BSN as meeting educational licensing requirements in every state except three: Washington does not meet, and Idaho and Wyoming read Not Determined Yet. That table is a licensure-education determination, not a rule about where a community site may be. The full table and what it means are on our licensure by state page.
If a master's is next, WilmU's Accelerated BSN to MSN Option is a dual-credit route into MSN in Nursing Leadership. If a nurse practitioner track is the goal instead, the MSN-FNP asks for a BSN with a 3.0 GPA and an undergraduate health assessment course with a B or better, so your BSN grades matter for the next step.
How we help RN to BSN students
The capstone site is yours to choose, and we make the choosing fast. Tell us where you live, when NUR 430 starts and the population you want to work with. We shortlist community-based settings near you, confirm each one takes volunteers, find the right contact and note what the site asks for before a first day, from screening to orientation.
You get a short list with contact details and requirements in one place, ready to run by your course faculty, who have the final word on whether a site fits. If you are heading on to a nurse practitioner program, we can plan those later practicums too. Start with the form below or read how it works.
Questions WilmU students ask
Does WilmU's RN to BSN have clinical hours?
WilmU's pages do not state clinical hours for the RN to BSN. Two courses carry a practice element: NUR 363 Chronic and Palliative Care has a practice-focused learning opportunity, and NUR 430 has a community learning experience in a community-based care setting. Your course faculty set the specifics.
Who picks the NUR 430 community site?
WilmU's RN to BSN page says you will "volunteer at a site of your choosing" for community learning. You choose the site, and your course faculty confirm that it fits NUR 430. Pick a community-based care setting that serves a population and can host you for the semester.
Can I use my old background check for WilmU's RN to BSN?
No. WilmU says previous results are not accepted. The background check, drug screen and immunization record are completed during NUR 303 through an outside vendor, with a one-time fee paid by the student. The step-by-step instructions are posted on the BSN student Canvas site.
How long does WilmU's RN to BSN take?
WilmU says most associate-degree RNs finish in 18 months by taking two courses per block, 15 courses in all. Classes start every 8 weeks. NUR 430 runs in the semester format only, so plan the capstone around a 15-week term rather than a 7-week block.
Can I do the RN to BSN if I live outside Delaware?
The RN to BSN is offered online, and WilmU's licensure table marks it as meeting educational licensing requirements everywhere except Washington, which does not meet, and Idaho and Wyoming, which are not yet determined. For questions about your state, ask the Online Learning office. Your community site can be near your home.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Wilmington University's own program and curriculum pages, the 2026-27 graduate catalog, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences policies and the State Licensures by Program page. Your NP Program Chair, your course faculty and the College have the final word.
A WilmU practicum coming up? Your preceptor search starts here.
Tell us your WilmU program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. Whether WilmU's faculty help with your placement or you are starting the search yourself, we find preceptors who fit the course, check the health system's own intake steps, and organize the preceptor's license and credentials well before the first day.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan for
GRN 7121toGRN 7124, psychiatric mental health forGRN 7221toGRN 7224, doctorally prepared for the DNP - Clinicians who meet Delaware's rule for APRN program preceptors: an active APRN, PA, pharmacist or physician license in a comparable focus
- Close to home, in a state where you hold an RN license, with each system's onboarding mapped out early
Start your placement plan
Program, city and semester is all we need to begin.