NKU does not currently authorize Hawaii for its online MSN tracks, post-master's DNP or RN-to-BSN, and Hawaii is outside the 11-state list for its NP programs. Hawaii nurses cannot enroll or complete NKU practicums from the islands. For a nurse relocating to the mainland, several states are fully open.
Tell us your destination state and the NKU program you're weighing.
| Program group | Hawaii |
|---|---|
| NP concentrations and NP certificates | Not an NP application state |
| MSN Nursing Education and Nurse Executive Leadership | Not authorized |
| Post-master's DNP | Not authorized |
| RN-to-BSN | Not authorized |
Hawaii appears the same way on both of NKU's state tables. See state authorization for how those tables are built and where they disagree for other states.
An NKU preceptor must be based in an authorized state, and every online nursing program here involves preceptor work: NP rotations, the Nursing Education and Nurse Executive Leadership practicums, the DNP project site and the RN-to-BSN's NRP 478P leadership practicum. With Hawaii off that list, none of those can take place with a Hawaii preceptor.
NKU's disclosure also warns that moving into a restricted state carries a risk that a student may not be able to complete the program.
Hawaii treats pre-licensure and post-licensure study differently. HRS 457-13(2) shields only students of Board-accredited programs, and at a September 2016 meeting the Board's Education Committee ruled against a North Dakota BSN program placing a pre-license student in Hawaii. Distance programs for licensed nurses that have no Hawaii campus, the RN-BSN for instance, face no approval step and no notice requirement, per the Board's FAQ. Graduate and APRN programs aren't addressed in any Hawaii source found.
Hawaii is outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, and AANP rates it full practice.
Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, NKU's home region, are open to every online NKU nursing program. So are Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia. Georgia and Virginia are open to the NP tracks, with a mixed picture on the other rows. Texas, Wisconsin and New Mexico, among others, host NKU's education, leadership, DNP and BSN-completion students but not its NP applicants.
Because Hawaii licenses carry no multistate privilege, a move means licensing in the new state first. Also ask NKU admissions to confirm that your new address qualifies before you apply. Experience at The Queen's Health Systems, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health or an HHSC hospital still builds toward the 1,000 hours of RN practice NKU's FNP page asks applicants to bring. The NP admission states and RN licensing for NKU clinicals pages cover the rest.
Distance makes early planning more valuable. Once you know your new state and NKU has confirmed eligibility, a placement advisor researches preceptors in your new area that fit your track, collects each preceptor's resume, license and signed responsibilities form, and arranges a site contact for NKU's affiliation agreement. That way your first self-placement request is ready soon after you arrive. Begin on the contact page.
No. NKU's MSN and post-master's certificate table lists Hawaii as not authorized, and that row covers the Nursing Education and Nurse Executive Leadership tracks. The DNP and RN-to-BSN rows say the same, and NKU's NP programs accept applicants only from 11 other states.
For post-licensure programs with no Hawaii campus, the Hawaii Board's FAQ says there is no approval process and no notice is required. NKU's own state table is a separate matter, and it leaves Hawaii unauthorized for all of NKU's online nursing programs, so NKU's rules decide the question.
Generally not on its own. Hawaii has no compact membership, so its licenses stay single-state. NKU's MSN pages expect an RN license that is current and unencumbered in the state where you reside and work, which after a move means licensing there before enrolling.
No. HRS 235-110.25 limits Hawaii's preceptor income tax credit to rotations for programs accredited or physically based in Hawaii whose students are more than half Hawaii residents. NKU pays its own preceptors, in approved states, a professional development provision after each term.
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.