None of NKU's online nursing programs with clinical hours can enroll a Massachusetts resident today; the state is off NKU's authorized list and its NP application list. The state is also in the middle of joining the Nurse Licensure Compact, which changes how licenses work but not NKU's tables. Connecticut and Vermont are the nearest states where NKU's MSN, DNP and RN-to-BSN are open.
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.
Read across NKU's graduate state-authorization table and every nursing row gives Massachusetts the same no.
| NKU program group | Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Massachusetts spells out its approach in 244 CMR 6.03(2). When a nursing program's parent institution does business mainly outside the state, the Board must approve any didactic or clinical learning held in Massachusetts. Part A approves the institution and is renewed each year, filed six months or more before the first placement. Part B covers each individual placement and is due at least 30 days out, with changes filed two weeks ahead and the Board told of changes within 7 days. Nobody starts until the Board's approval letter arrives.
The Board's criteria picture schools readying graduates to sit the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN, and they say nothing about RN-to-BSN or graduate study. It also expects faculty-student ratios no higher than 1:10 and preceptor-student ratios no higher than 1:2.
The legislature enacted compact membership in November 2024, but the Board treats the law as dormant until the rollout work is done. Its target is May 2027; FBI background checks received a conditional green light in May 2026, and NCSBN's implementation table still reads TBD. Until then, a multistate license from New Hampshire or any other member state does not cover practice in Massachusetts, and new arrivals follow the state's usual license application. More on how licenses and NKU's approved states interact is on our RN license page.
AANP lists Massachusetts as full practice once an NP completes two years of supervised practice with an eligible APRN or physician; equivalent experience can sometimes stand in for it. Major systems include Baystate Health, UMass Memorial Health, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Mass General Brigham and Boston Medical Center Health System, in the Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Providence-Warwick markets. Because Massachusetts is off NKU's approved list, clinicians at any of them are outside NKU's preceptor pool.
Two neighbors are open for NKU's non-NP programs: Connecticut and Vermont. Rhode Island, New York and New Hampshire are closed, and no New England state appears on the NP application list. Nurses who are relocating anyway should verify the new state with NKU for their start term, apply for the license there early, and, once enrolled, notify their advisor ahead of the move; NKU says moving can affect where a student stands.
A placement advisor can lay out which NKU tracks open in the state you are moving to, then map educators, nurse leaders or NP preceptors near your new home once you are admitted. We gather the preceptor documents and time a complete Medatrax request to your first session. Talk to the placement desk.
Not in any program with clinicals. NKU's tables list Massachusetts as not authorized for master's study, the doctorate and the RN-to-BSN, and the eleven-state NP list leaves it off. The closest open states are Connecticut and Vermont, for everything except the NP tracks.
Not in practice. The law passed in November 2024, and the Board holds that nothing changes for licensees until the rollout is complete, which it hopes to reach in May 2027. Until then, multistate licenses from other states do not give a privilege to practice in Massachusetts.
No. The preceptor's own state has to be NKU-approved, and Massachusetts is not. A Connecticut student in NKU's educator or leadership track, for example, would look for a preceptor who works in Connecticut or another approved state and has a year in the role.
Under 244 CMR 6.03(2), Board approval for any clinical learning in the state: an annual Part A for the institution at least six months before placements, and a Part B filed for every single placement no later than 30 days before it begins. The Board's page frames this around pre-licensure programs.
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.