NKU lists Arizona as not authorized for its MSN tracks, its post-master's DNP and its RN-to-BSN, and Arizona is not among the 11 states its NP programs recruit from. Arizona nurses therefore can't study or train with NKU from home. Nevada and Colorado, both NKU NP states, are the nearest open doors.
Tell us where you're moving and which NKU program interests you.
| Program group | Arizona |
|---|---|
| MSN FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP and NP certificates | Applications not accepted |
| MSN Nursing Education, MSN Nurse Executive Leadership | Not authorized |
| Post-master's DNP | Not authorized |
| Online RN-to-BSN | Not authorized |
NKU's graduate copy and its older online copy both list Arizona this way. For the full picture of how NKU publishes these tables, see state authorization.
Every NKU preceptor has to practice in a state NKU approves, so Phoenix, Tucson and the rest of Arizona are off the map for NKU practicums of any kind. Educator and leadership practicums are no exception: they have no NP-style admissions list, but they still follow the state table.
The same rule works in reverse for NKU students living next door. A Las Vegas student on NKU's FNP, for example, cannot count hours with an Arizona preceptor, even one close to the state line.
The Arizona State Board of Nursing regulates pre-licensure and APRN programs, including those based in other states. Its APRN advisory opinion (revised November 2020) has every program seek Board approval before its first student starts clinicals in Arizona, with a faster review when the home-state board approves the track and the school is nationally accredited. Approved programs then track the licensure of their director, faculty, preceptors and students, and report placement data. RN-BSN programs are not addressed.
Licensing is layered too: APRN students must hold an Arizona or multistate RN license with no encumbrance, and APRN preceptors need Arizona APRN certification on top of their RN license. Arizona has been in the compact since January 19, 2018, and AANP rates it full practice.
Nevada is the western neighbor on NKU's NP list, and every other NKU online program is cleared there as well. Colorado shares a corner with Arizona and has the same full set of open programs. New Mexico welcomes NKU's education, leadership, doctoral and BSN-completion students but not its NP applicants; Utah takes the MSN tracks and DNP only. California is not authorized.
Moving to one of them? Before you apply, ask NKU admissions whether the new address makes you eligible, and line up an RN license that works in that state. Nevada sits outside the compact, so it needs a Nevada license. See Nevada, Colorado and NP admission states.
Arizona nurses bound for an NKU-approved state get a head start with us. When NKU has cleared your new address, a placement advisor begins scouting preceptors near your new home, collects the preceptor's credentials and signed responsibilities form, and secures a site contact for NKU's agreement, so your first self-placement request is ready early. Reach the placement desk through the contact page.
No. NKU restricts NP applications, for both the MSN concentrations and the certificates, to 11 states, and Arizona is outside that group. NKU's other online nursing programs are also not authorized in Arizona, so none of NKU's online nursing programs is open to Arizona residents at present.
No. NKU requires every preceptor to practice in an NKU-approved state, and Arizona is on the not-authorized side of each table. A Nevada student near the border should find a Nevada preceptor, keeping in mind that Nevada is outside the compact and uses its own RN license.
It appears unfunded. For Arizona's Preceptor Grant Program for Graduate Students, created under A.R.S. § 36-1806, the state's FY 2027 appropriations report lists nothing for FY 2026 or FY 2027. NKU's own preceptors, in approved states, receive a professional development provision from NKU after each term.
NKU's BSN-completion program is available in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado. Utah and California are not authorized for it. The RN-to-BSN is a project-based program whose NRP 478P leadership practicum still needs a preceptor, so the state you live in during that course matters.
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against NKU's own published sources. NKU's School of Nursing and your Canvas clinical shells have the final word.
Tell us your NKU track, where you live and which 7-week session your clinical starts. We find a preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for your track and have your self-placement request ready well inside the 90-day window.
A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for you.