UL Lafayette's 2026-27 calendar, read for a practicum
Fall 2026 runs Aug 24 to Dec 11, with an A-term from Aug 24 to Oct 13 and a B-term from Oct 19 to Dec 8. Spring 2027 runs Jan 13 to May 7, with an A-term from Jan 13 to Mar 9 and a B-term from Mar 15 to May 4. Summer 2027 dates are not yet published, and an ICMSN course taught at a partner school can follow that school's dates instead.
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Fall 2026 at a glance
These dates come from the Fall 2026 calendar PDF the registrar posted with a July 22, 2026 update. The full term spans the whole semester, and the A-term and B-term split it into two halves for shorter courses.
| Fall 2026 | Full term | A-term | B-term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term dates | Aug 24 to Dec 11 | Aug 24 to Oct 13 | Oct 19 to Dec 8 |
| Last day to drop without a W | Sep 2 | Aug 27 | Oct 22 |
| Census day | Sep 11 | Sep 1 | Oct 27 |
| Last day to drop or resign with a W | Nov 16 | Sep 21 | Nov 16 |
| Last day of classes | Dec 4 (finals Dec 7-8 and 10-11) | Oct 13 | Dec 8 |
| Final grades due (noon) | Dec 14 | Oct 15 | Dec 14 |
The fall also brings Labor Day on Sep 7, the Fall Holiday on Oct 8-9, Thanksgiving on Nov 26-27 and commencement on Friday, Dec 18. Graduate students finishing in fall must apply to graduate by Sep 25, spring advising runs Oct 26 to Nov 6, and Nov 30 is the last day to complete graduate written and oral exams.
Spring 2027 at a glance
The Spring 2027 PDF carries the same July 22, 2026 update. Its drop/add dates are counted in class days: the eighth for the full term and the fourth for each half term.
| Spring 2027 | Full term | A-term | B-term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term dates | Jan 13 to May 7 | Jan 13 to Mar 9 | Mar 15 to May 4 |
| Last day to drop/add without a W | Jan 25 | Jan 19 | Mar 18 |
| Census day | Feb 2 | Feb 2 | Mar 23 |
| Last day to drop or resign with a W | Apr 12 | Feb 15 | Apr 12 |
| Last day of classes | Apr 30 | Mar 9 | May 4 |
| Final grades due (noon) | May 10 | Mar 11 | May 10 |
Spring's days off come in three pieces: Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan 18, Mardi Gras on Feb 8-10, when classes do not meet, and Easter/Spring Break from Friday, Mar 26 through Sunday, Apr 4. Spring graduates apply to graduate by Feb 26. Registration for Summer Intersession 2027, Summer 2027 and Fall 2027 opens Apr 5, and spring commencement is Friday, May 14.
Trust the PDF over the web table
The registrar's web table and the official calendar PDFs disagree on when the fall half terms begin. One row of the web table is labeled as the start of classes and shows Aug 28 for the A-term and Oct 22 for the B-term, but those are the days the late registration fee kicks in. The Fall 2026 PDF shows A-term classes starting Aug 24 and B-term classes Oct 19, so count your clinical weeks from those dates.
The drop/add window has the same kind of split. The registrar's schedule-adjustment page says drop/add ends on the fifth class day in fall or spring, and on the third in a summer session or part-of-term course. The Spring 2027 PDF gives the eighth class day for the full term and the fourth for A-terms and B-terms. When a dated calendar exists for your term, follow the dated calendar.
What the calendar leaves open
Three gaps matter for anyone planning a practicum. First, Summer 2027 and Winter Intersession 2026 dates had not been posted as of late September 2026, and the registrar's academic-year summaries stop at 2025-26. Check the registrar's page before promising a preceptor any summer dates.
Second, UL Lafayette does not publish whether a given graduate practicum, such as NURS 582 or NURS 821, runs as a full-term course or inside an A-term or B-term. Ask course faculty, or check your schedule once you register. Third, MSN courses taught at McNeese, Nicholls or Southeastern may keep that school's start and end dates; the ICMSN handbook asks students to know those dates so they are ready to join, while home-school rules and calendars govern everything else. See the ICMSN consortium for how partner-school courses reach you.
The calendar also says nothing about practicum hours over breaks. Classes do not meet during Mardi Gras, but your preceptor's clinic keeps its own schedule, so agree with course faculty before logging hours on a university holiday.
Withdrawal, resignation and the two-W limit
Dropping some of your classes is a withdrawal; dropping all of them is a resignation, and both post a W. Graduate students start either one through the Graduate School, and the electronic request stays open until 11:59 PM on the calendar deadline. After that, a late withdrawal (through the last day of classes) or a retroactive one (after the term, with documentation of an extenuating circumstance) also goes through the Graduate School, and tuition stays your responsibility either way.
The consortium caps Ws: an MSN student may not receive more than two. Dropping a practicum because a preceptor fell through spends one of them, which is why a replacement found in the first weeks of a term is worth far more than a clean restart next semester. Preceptor dropped out covers that situation step by step.
Incompletes, leave and the hard stops
An incomplete is given at the instructor's discretion to a student doing passing work whom unforeseen circumstances kept from finishing. It must be changed by the posted deadline or it becomes an F automatically. In 2026-27 those deadlines are Nov 16, 2026 for incompletes from Spring 2026, Summer Intersession 2026 or Summer 2026, and Apr 12, 2027 for incompletes from Fall 2026 or Winter Intersession 2026.
An extension needs sign-off from you, the instructor, the department head, the course's academic dean and the Graduate School dean, and it cannot run past the incomplete deadline in the following semester. Since an F leaves a graduate student ineligible to continue, unfinished practicum hours have a real deadline; behind on clinical hours explains how to close the gap in time.
A leave of absence is the formal way to pause: up to one calendar year, requested at least 30 days ahead, never retroactive, and extending your time limit. Grades and progression covers the limits themselves.
Other dates that shape a practicum year
- MSN and PMHNP certificate admission: apply by Oct. 30 for a spring start and by June 30 for a fall start.
- DNP admission: a single fall cohort, with a May 1 application deadline.
- Drug screening for the first clinical course: the School of Nursing's drug policy, which covers graduate and undergraduate students, set proof due Aug 1 for fall entry and Jan 5 for spring entry in its 2022 handbook.
- Traditional BSN: applications for
NURS 208are due Nov 1 or Apr 1, and clinical health documents are due Aug 1 before fall and Jan 5 before spring.
We build preceptor schedules around these dates. Your placement advisor starts from your course's term, notes the breaks your preceptor's clinic observes, and plans the weekly hours so the total lands before final grades are due. To see where your own first practicum sits, read first clinical course, then send your program and start term through the form below.
Questions UL Lafayette students ask
When does Fall 2026 start at UL Lafayette?
Fall 2026 classes begin Aug 24 for both the full term and the A-term, and the B-term begins Oct 19, according to the official calendar PDF. The registrar's web table shows Aug 28 and Oct 22 in one row, but those are the days the late registration fee starts, not the first class days.
Do UL Lafayette classes meet during Mardi Gras?
No. The Spring 2027 calendar lists Mardi Gras from Feb 8 to Feb 10, and classes do not meet. Whether you may log practicum hours over the break is a question for course faculty, since your preceptor's clinic keeps its own schedule. Easter/Spring Break follows from Mar 26 through Apr 4.
Where are UL Lafayette's Summer 2027 dates?
As of late September 2026 the registrar had posted only the Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 calendars, and its academic-year summaries end at 2025-26. Registration for Summer Intersession 2027 and Summer 2027 opens Apr 5, 2027. Check the registrar's academic calendar page before committing a preceptor to summer dates.
What happens to an incomplete in a UL Lafayette practicum?
It must be changed by the next posted deadline or it becomes an F. For Fall 2026 incompletes that deadline is Apr 12, 2027. An extension needs approval up to the Graduate School dean and cannot pass the following semester's deadline, and an F makes a graduate student ineligible to continue.
Do consortium courses follow UL Lafayette's calendar?
Mostly. ICMSN students follow their home school's catalog and calendar, but a course taught at McNeese, Nicholls or Southeastern may start and end on that school's dates. The handbook asks students to know those dates so they are ready to join each course on time.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UL Lafayette's 2026-27 catalog, its online program and state authorization pages, the ICMSN student handbook and Louisiana's nursing rules. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
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