Delaware clinicals for UC nursing students
UC can place graduate clinicals in Delaware, yet Delaware's Board of Nursing asks a lot of schools from other states: advance notice, copies of agreements and preceptor details, and its own approval of each facility before students are assigned. Delaware is also a full-practice state and one of five to have enacted the APRN Compact.
Training in Delaware?
Tell us your UC track, term and Delaware town. A placement advisor replies with what a Delaware search involves, Board steps included.
5states that have enacted the APRN Compact, Delaware among them
Which UC programs reach Delaware
Delaware is open under UC's state authorization. What can block a Delawarean is program residency: the AGACNP in all its forms, plus two certificates (AGPCNP and PNP Acute Care), admit only Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana residents.
| UC program | In Delaware |
|---|---|
| MSN online (FNP, AGPCNP, WHNP, nurse-midwifery, nursing education) | Allowed |
| Post-MSN certificate: FNP, PMHNP | Allowed |
| DNP routes: BSN-to-DNP, post-MSN | Allowed |
| AGACNP; AGPCNP certificate; PNP-AC certificate | Tri-state residents only |
| RN-to-BSN | Allowed |
What Delaware wants from a school based elsewhere
Under 24 Del. Admin. Code 1900, a school from another state gives Delaware's Board advance word that it intends to use a clinical facility there, and it files a document set first:
- evidence that its home-state board has approved it, or that it holds national accreditation
- the written agreement it holds with each clinical agency
- its own rules for who may serve as clinical faculty or preceptor
- a list naming those faculty and preceptors, with the site each will use
- current license copies for each of them, Delaware or compact multistate
Facilities need their own Board approval, based on the school's forms, before any student is assigned, and the Board may send people to visit. The standards are written for every kind of nursing program and don't set graduate study apart, so name a Delaware site to your Clinical Site Coordinator early and ask how Delaware applies them to UC and what UC has to file.
In Delaware the facility itself needs Board approval before you're assigned there.
Preceptors under Delaware's definition and UC's
In Delaware's rulebook, a preceptor is any nurse with a valid license and a BSN or more. Anyone from an online program who teaches in a Delaware facility, as clinical instructor or preceptor, needs a license or privileges matching or exceeding the level the student is preparing for. UC's bar for NP tracks sits higher: a master's or doctorate, national certification, a year or more practicing in the role and an unencumbered Delaware license.
Delaware is a full-practice state in AANP's rating, so NPs practicing on their own authority are fair candidates. PAs can't precept UC students here, since Delaware isn't among UC's 14 PA states, and UC's rule that an NP in your population focus covers 20% or more of NP-track hours still applies; see UC preceptor requirements.
The APRN Compact, and what it doesn't do yet
The APRN Compact became Delaware law on August 4, 2021. It isn't operating: five states have enacted it, and it switches on only once seven do. It changes nothing for your clinicals today, since UC checks your RN license. Delaware has been part of the RN compact since January 19, 2018, and a multistate RN license from any member state works here; see RN license for clinicals.
Wilmington, Dover and the neighbors
The Delaware end of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro holds roughly 588,000 people, and Dover and the Seaford micropolitan area account for much of the rest. Systems in the state include Beebe Healthcare, ChristianaCare, Bayhealth and the pediatric Nemours Children's Health, which runs its Delaware hospital in Wilmington. Any of them would need Board approval as well as UC's agreement before your hours count.
Crossing a state line changes UC's checklist. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland are all on UC's supplemental background-check list, while Delaware isn't.
Why UC students bring Delaware searches to us
Delaware's Board wants a thick file before a single hour, and that is the work we take off your plate. We find Delaware NPs and physicians who meet UC's rules, gather the preceptor names, sites and license copies the Board's list calls for, and get them to your CSC early enough to leave room for facility approval. UC approves the preceptor and the Board the facility, and both reviews start from a complete file. Contact us.
Questions UC students ask
Does Delaware's Board need to hear from UC before my clinicals?
Delaware's rules require a school from another state to give the Board notice before it uses a Delaware clinical facility, along with agreement, faculty and preceptor details, and facilities need Board approval before students arrive. Graduate programs aren't singled out, so ask your CSC how UC handles Delaware for your site.
Does the APRN Compact help me as a UC student in Delaware?
No, not today. Although Delaware adopted it in 2021, the compact only takes effect after a seventh state enacts it, and five have. For UC clinicals what counts is an RN license valid in Delaware, which a multistate compact RN license already provides.
Will UC make me do a Delaware background check?
No. UC's handbook names 18 states for a supplemental state-specific check, and Delaware isn't one. A site across the line in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Maryland would add one, so factor that in if you live near a border and are weighing sites in two states.
Could Nemours work for a pediatric UC student?
Nemours Children's Health runs its Delaware hospital in Wilmington, which is why pediatric students ask there; your CSC can check whether it could host a UC student. Note the residency rule: UC's PNP Acute Care certificate is limited to Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana residents, while the PNP Acute Care DNP is not.
Is there a Delaware preceptor tax credit?
Our research found no Delaware preceptor incentive. UC doesn't pay preceptors but does offer CE webinars and annual awards, so a strong request rests on clear dates, hours and paperwork rather than a state benefit. Mention up front that Delaware may need facility details from the site.
Related pages
By stateWhere UC nursing students can do clinicals, state by state: the seven excluded states, residency-only tracks, PA preceptor states and extra UC forms.State authorizationUC runs graduate clinicals in all but seven states, keeps Washington closed to DNPs, limits three tracks to OH, KY and IN residents and rules out territories.UC preceptor requirementsUC's preceptor rules: master's or higher, accepted certification, a year in the role, a clean license in the clinical state, and the 20% NP and 50% CNM rules.RN license for clinicalsWhich RN license UC clinicals need: one valid in the clinical state, compact multistate licenses, the patient's state for telehealth, and NCSBN QuickConfirm.MarylandMaryland is open to UC graduate clinicals. Plan for UC's extra Maryland background check, MBON's NP program review and a tax credit with open questions.PennsylvaniaPennsylvania is open to UC clinicals and joined the nurse compact in July 2025. UC adds a Pennsylvania background check and won't use PA preceptors there.
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against UC's own sources. Your Clinical Site Coordinator, your course faculty and UC's current documents have the final word.
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