NKU's online nursing programs with clinicals are not open to Maryland residents at the moment. Maryland sits in NKU's not-authorized column for graduate study, the doctorate and the RN-to-BSN alike, and the NP list passes it by. Across its borders the picture changes: West Virginia and Virginia take NKU NP applicants, and Delaware is open for the MSN and DNP.
Tell us your NKU track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for you.
Maryland's row-by-row result on NKU's graduate state-authorization table is the same each time, and the NP admission list leaves it out.
| NKU program group | Maryland |
|---|---|
| NP programs: MSN FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP and the four NP certificates | Not open |
| MSN Nursing Education and Nurse Executive Leadership | Not authorized |
| Post-master's DNP | Not authorized |
| RN-to-BSN | Not authorized |
Maryland's Board of Nursing pages, as researched, carry no approval hurdle for a school elsewhere that wants to place students in Maryland; out-of-state programs show up there mostly when their graduates seek a license. Graduate APRN students enrolled in accredited programs are exempt from licensure while practicing within the program under Health Occupations §8-301(d)(2). Maryland's Higher Education Commission expects online schools from other states to register (COMAR 13B.05.01.02), with an exception for institutions in SARA.
One Maryland rule reaches past graduation. No graduate is certified as an advanced practice nurse in Maryland until the Board has reviewed and approved the NP program they finished, and if that program is not yet on the Board's list, it is the school's job to file the Program Approval Form. Anyone who expects to practice as an NP in Maryland someday should keep that in mind when choosing a school.
AANP lists Maryland as full practice, with one entry condition: a new NP declares 18 months of mentoring by a physician or certified NP. The state also runs a preceptor tax credit, Md. Code, Tax-General §10-739, aimed at unpaid NP and physician preceptors whose Board-approved, community-based rotations sit in areas the health department names as short of workers. The statute runs to June 30, 2030.
Big employers include LifeBridge Health, the University of Maryland Medical System, MedStar Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Luminis Health, across the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Washington, Hagerstown-Martinsburg and Lexington Park metros. With Maryland off NKU's approved list, clinicians there cannot precept NKU students.
Compact licenses have worked in Maryland since January 19, 2018; under COMAR 10.27.01.03(B), a nurse holding a multistate privilege practices here subject to Maryland law. The license is portable; NKU's program eligibility is not, because it follows where you live. Our RN license page explains the difference.
West Virginia and Virginia are both on NKU's NP application list. Virginia carries a caveat: NKU's newer graduate table authorizes it for the MSN, while an older online-program copy still does not, so confirm with NKU. Delaware is authorized for NKU's MSN, DNP and RN-to-BSN but not the NP tracks. Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia are not authorized.
If you are going anyway, match the new state against NKU's lists for your intended start term and get licensed for that state before applying. Current students should clear any move with their advisor, since NKU notes it can affect program status.
When your new address is in West Virginia, Virginia or Delaware, a placement advisor maps preceptors in that state for your NKU track, checks them against NKU's rules and builds the paperwork for a complete Medatrax request well before your first session. Share your plans.
No. Eleven states feed NKU's NP applicant pool, and Maryland is not one of them. The rest of the online lineup, from the educator and executive MSN tracks to the DNP and RN-to-BSN, is also marked not authorized for Maryland.
No. Even in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg metro, which straddles the line, NKU looks at where the preceptor practices, and Maryland is not an approved state. A West Virginia student's preceptor has to work on the West Virginia side or in another approved state.
Only after its Board has approved the NP program you completed. For a program not yet on the Board's list, the school, not you, files the Program Approval Form. Check the list for any school you are considering if you plan to practice in Maryland.
The credit under Tax-General §10-739 covers unpaid NP preceptorships approved by the Maryland Board of Nursing in shortage areas. With Maryland off NKU's approved list, no NKU rotations take place in Maryland, so the question does not arise for NKU students today.
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.