Tennessee and UC nursing: no clinicals, no enrollment

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Cincinnati Preceptor placement team

UC's College of Nursing can't accept applications from Tennessee or allow clinical activity there. Unlike Arizona and New York, Tennessee gets no RN-to-BSN exception, because it also sits on that program's own exclusion list. If you live in Tennessee, UC's online nursing programs are closed to you for now; if you're a UC student thinking of moving there, talk to your Clinical Site Coordinator (CSC) before you sign a lease.

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UC nursing programs for students in Tennessee (UC state authorization, Sept 2026): open for none. RN license: in the compact. NP practice: restricted. — Tennessee: 0 of 5 UC program groups open for clinicals; RN license in the compact; NP practice restricted (AANP).

What UC's exclusion covers

Tennessee is one of the seven states, with Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island, where UC can neither enroll online graduate students nor allow clinical activity. The RN-to-BSN runs its own shorter list, and Tennessee is on that one too.

UC programs and Tennessee, from UC's Clinical Planning page, program pages and 2026-27 handbook
UC program	Tennessee	Note
Online MSN: FNP, AGPCNP, Nurse-Midwifery, WHNP, Nursing Education	Excluded	No applications, no clinicals
FNP and PMHNP post-master's certificates	Excluded	Same seven-state list
BSN-to-DNP tracks and post-MSN DNP	Excluded	Same list, plus Washington
AGACNP, AGPCNP and PNP-AC certificates	Excluded	Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana residents only anyway
Online RN-to-BSN	Excluded	Tennessee is on the RN-to-BSN list as well

UC publishes no rationale for any of the seven, and the list is UC's to revise. Check UC's state authorization summary and the Clinical Planning page before you make plans.

If you're applying from Tennessee

UC's rule turns on where applicants are. While you live in Tennessee, the online MSN, DNP and certificate programs can't take your application, and neither can the RN-to-BSN.

If you work in Tennessee but live in an open state, such as Kentucky, the residence rule may not stop you, but the clinical rule still does: hours at your Tennessee workplace can't count. You'd need sites on the Kentucky side or elsewhere. Ask UC admissions about your situation before you apply.

If you're a UC student moving to Tennessee

Nothing done at a Tennessee site can count toward a UC clinical course. UC's pages don't say whether a student who relocates to Tennessee mid-program may stay enrolled and travel to an open state for clinicals, so get an answer in writing from your CSC, and from UC's state authorization mailbox, constateauth@uc.edu, before you commit to the move.

Plan the license side too. Tennessee is a compact state, so moving your primary residence there changes which state issues your multistate license. The moving during clinicals page covers the CastleBranch and preceptor knock-on effects.

What Tennessee itself is doing

Tennessee has been tightening its own stance on out-of-state programs. A 2026 bill, SB 2013/HB 1905, orders a two-year pause: during it, the Board of Nursing may not take in or sign off on applications from nursing programs based elsewhere, and that includes requests to place students for clinicals. Its findings say many such programs place students without adequate oversight. A secondary source reports it took effect on April 27, 2026; the legislature's own record is the place to confirm enactment.

UC's pages don't tie their exclusion to this bill, so treat it as background. Tennessee's hospital-association preceptor incentive is also closed to UC: it covers students of accredited Tennessee programs and of schools in seven listed neighboring states, and Ohio isn't among them.

How we help from an open neighbor

Tennessee is closed to UC, and all eight of its neighbors are open, so that's where our help goes. If you live near the line in Kentucky, we search Kentucky sites that meet UC's rules for your track, keeping your hours on the right side of the border. If you're choosing where to settle, we map what a search looks like in the open state you pick and have it under way as soon as UC okays the location. Your CSC gives the final approval.

Questions UC students ask

Would my Tennessee multistate license let me train in Kentucky?

The license would work there, since both states are in the compact, but the license isn't the obstacle. UC won't accept your application while you live in Tennessee. If you later move to an open compact state, that state becomes your home state and issues your multistate license, and UC's programs open up to you.

Does the RN-to-BSN exception for Arizona and New York cover Tennessee?

No. The Arizona and New York exception exists because UC's RN-to-BSN keeps a shorter exclusion list than the graduate programs. Tennessee is still on that shorter list, together with Washington, Rhode Island, Oregon, Massachusetts and Louisiana. So no UC nursing program accepts applicants from Tennessee right now.

Could a telehealth visit with a Tennessee patient count?

UC's pages don't address this directly. UC ties telehealth licensing to the patient's location and allows no clinical activity in Tennessee, so assume it won't count unless your CSC says otherwise in writing. Only some UC tracks may count telehealth at all, and each case needs the program director's approval.

Will UC reopen Tennessee?

UC hasn't said. Its pages list the excluded states without reasons or dates. Tennessee's pause runs two years, and a state nursing center has until June 30, 2027 to propose how outside programs relying on Tennessee clinical sites and preceptors should be approved. Watch UC's Clinical Planning page rather than Tennessee news.

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.Moving during UC clinicalsRelocating during your UC nursing program? Check state authorization, your RN license, CastleBranch and new preceptors before you move, not after.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.KentuckyKentucky is open to every UC track and allows PA preceptors under UC's rules, but KBN wants Kentucky APRN licenses and Norton goes through your CSC.

Last checked 2026-09-24

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