UC state authorization: where your clinicals can happen

The seven states closed to graduate clinicals

UC's Clinical Planning page says the College of Nursing is authorized for clinical activity in every state except seven: Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee. The MSN, DNP and post-master's certificate pages carry the same list as an admissions rule, so online graduate applicants located in those states can't enroll.

The rule follows the clinical, not only your address. If you live in an open state beside a closed one, a site across the line is still off the table. A Kentucky student can't take a preceptor in Tennessee, and a Connecticut student can't cross into Rhode Island or Massachusetts for a rotation.

UC's pages don't give a reason for each state, and lists like this can change. Check the Clinical Planning page for the current version before you commit to a site near a state line.

Program by program

U.S. territories are excluded for every program. The Kansas, California, North Dakota and Wyoming steps further down sit on top of this table.

Washington: open for MSN and certificates, closed for DNPs

Washington is the one split state. UC's Clinical Planning page and the 2026-27 Student Handbook authorize MSN and post-master's certificate clinicals there, while the DNP pages exclude Washington from admission. An MSN FNP student and a BSN-to-DNP FNP student living on the same Tacoma street would get different answers.

There's a second wrinkle for some specialties. UC's professional licensure disclosures list the programs the Washington Nursing Commission has approved: AGPC, FNP, Nurse Midwifery, Nursing Administration, Women's Health and Nursing Education. PMHNP, PNP Acute Care, AGACNP and NNP aren't named. A PMHNP certificate student in Washington should ask UC before lining up a preceptor there.

Washington also appears on UC's list of states that need a supplemental background check, for MSN and certificate students only.

Tracks limited to Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana residents

Three groups of programs restrict who can enroll, which in practice keeps their clinicals in the tri-state area. The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP, in every form (MSN, DNP and post-master's certificate), is open only to residents of Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana. So are the AGPCNP and Pediatric Acute Care NP post-master's certificates.

The residency limit belongs to those programs, not to the specialty. The AGPCNP MSN and DNP and the PNP Acute Care DNP don't carry it. AGACNP students also come to campus for weekly labs, one reason the track stays close to Cincinnati.

For clinicals across the river, Kentucky and Indiana clinicals covers licensing and preceptor differences, including where UC allows physician assistants to precept.

Territories, embassies, overseas and military bases

UC doesn't allow clinicals in U.S. territories, at U.S. embassies or in other countries, and the online graduate program pages exclude territories from admission. International students in UC's online programs must complete clinicals in the United States and must hold, or be able to obtain, U.S. work authorization.

Military bases are the exception. The Clinical Planning page allows a base, but the contract can take six months to a year or more, and UC doesn't promise it will come through. If you're a service member or military spouse hoping to train on a base, raise it with your CSC as early as you can and keep an off-base option moving in parallel.

Open states with extra steps

An open state can still carry its own UC requirements. These are the ones to know about:

• Kansas. APRN students admitted from Kansas take NURS8098 Clinical Elective, a variable-credit course covering the extra clinical hours Kansas requires, a rule in effect since March 1, 2025.
• California, North Dakota and Wyoming. Each needs its own state paperwork, emailed to constateauth@uc.edu no later than a week before term; see the CA, ND and WY forms.
• Supplemental background checks. UC's handbook lists 18 states, Ohio among them, where APRN students need an extra state-specific check; background check and drug screen has the list.
• Every state. Your RN license has to be current, active, unrestricted and valid wherever the clinical happens; for telehealth, that means the patient's state.

License questions, including compact licenses, are covered on RN license for clinicals.

Moving, or unsure about a state

State authorization moves with you. If you relocate mid-program, the new state has to be open for your program, you need an RN license valid there, and your CastleBranch package may need a new purchase, since UC ties a repurchase to relocation.

UC routes state-authorization questions to a shared mailbox, constateauth@uc.edu, listed on the Clinical Planning page. Ask there, or ask your CSC, before you sign a lease or accept a preceptor in a state you're unsure about. Moving during UC clinicals walks through a relocation step by step.