Studying with Kent State from Hawaii
Hawaii is one of the few states on every list Kent State publishes for online nursing, so the AGCNS, PMHNP, WHNP, Nurse Educator, NAHSL, post-master's DNP and RN-to-BSN all enroll from the islands. Two details set Hawaii apart: Kent State's own licensure pages disagree about its APRN programs there, and Hawaii stands outside the Nurse Licensure Compact.
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Kent State's Hawaii entries, side by side
Every fully online program names Hawaii on Kent State's approved-states page; the licensure column is where you need care.
| Program | Online enrollment from Hawaii | Licensure result for Hawaii |
|---|---|---|
| PMHNP, MSN and certificate | Approved | MEETS (program listing); not determined (state page) |
| WHNP, MSN and certificate | Approved | MEETS (program listing); not determined (state page) |
| AGCNS, MSN and certificate | Approved | MEETS (program listing); not determined (state page) |
| Nurse Educator, MSN and certificate | Approved | Not a licensure program |
| NAHSL, MSN and certificate | Approved | Not a licensure program |
| DNP (post-MSN) | Approved | No row on the listing; not determined (state page) |
| RN-to-BSN | Approved | Not a licensure program |
| FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP (mostly online) | Not on the page | MEETS (program listing); not determined (state page) |
Two Kent State answers on Hawaii licensure
The Programs Leading to Licensure list from Kent State Online puts Hawaii in the MEETS column for the MSN nurse practitioner concentrations, the MSN AGCNS and both certificate groups. A second Kent State page, organized state by state, reads otherwise: for Hawaii, it says Kent State has not determined whether its MSN, APRN certificates or DNP satisfy Hawaii's NP and CNS requirements. The concentration pages add that the college has not yet decided on APRN licensure outside Ohio.
All three pages are undated, so none wins on freshness. If you want a Hawaii APRN license after graduating, get the Office of Student Services to say which answer governs your program, in writing, before you enroll. Our licensure disclosures guide explains the table.
Hawaii is the one approved state where Kent State shows both a MEETS answer and a not-determined answer for the same APRN programs.
What Hawaii's Board says about distance programs
Hawaii's Board of Nursing belongs to the licensing division of the state's commerce and consumer affairs department. One of its FAQs covers post-licensure programs run from other states, naming RN-to-BSN and LPN-to-RN programs as its examples. Where the school has no Hawaii campus, the Board neither approves it nor expects to hear from it, and there is no form to file. Program faculty must hold a Hawaii license only while physically teaching or precepting there.
Graduate and APRN programs go unmentioned in Hawaii's published material, so MSN and DNP students should read that FAQ as the closest guidance, not a ruling. Pre-licensure is stricter: Hawaii's statute covers only students of programs the Board accredits, and in 2016 its Education Committee turned down an out-of-state school that wanted to send a pre-license BSN student to Hawaii.
Preceptors on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island
Under AANP's full practice label, Hawaii NPs need no physician agreement, which puts NP-owned practices on your list next to hospital clinics. Most searches begin in Urban Honolulu, a metro of nearly a million; Maui's Kahului-Wailuku and the Hilo-Kailua area of Hawaii Island come next. The large employers are Queen's, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, HHSC and Hawaii Pacific Health, which runs Pali Momi, Kapiolani, Wilcox and Straub. They show where island NP students tend to search, and every Kent State site, island or mainland, operates under a College of Nursing affiliation agreement.
Hawaii's Healthcare Preceptor Income Tax Credit pays off only for rotations of APRN students from Hawaii-accredited or Hawaii-based programs whose enrollment is mostly local, so precepting a Kent State student earns nothing under it.
A Hawaii RN license comes first
Hawaii is outside both nursing compacts, with no Nurse Licensure Compact bill pending, which leaves an Ohio multistate license without force on the islands. For a Hawaii resident, Kent State's license rule (unrestricted, and issued where you live and train) can only mean a Hawaii-issued license. The RN license guide has Kent State's proof deadlines.
Why students in Hawaii choose us
Kent State students in Hawaii choose us because we build the search on your island, not from a map of Ohio. We find in-person preceptors who fit your exact Kent State course, confirm each one's Hawaii license, hand your faculty and coordinator a complete preceptor file, and tell you at once when a site will need a new College of Nursing agreement. Start your Hawaii search.
Questions Kent State students ask
Can I do Kent State PMHNP clinicals in Hawaii?
Yes. Hawaii is one of the 14 PMHNP states, and your practicum runs there under a Hawaii RN license. Kent State's PMHNP preceptor rules still apply: a psychotherapy-experienced provider for the first practicum, a prescriber for the second, a PMH APRN for at least half of the fourth, and never your own workplace.
Does Hawaii's preceptor tax credit cover a preceptor who teaches a Kent State student?
Not as the program describes itself. It counts rotations only for students of Hawaii-accredited or Hawaii-based programs where most students are residents. Kent State is an Ohio school, so a Hawaii preceptor's reward comes from Kent State's thank-yous to preceptors, PreceptED continuing education among them.
Does Hawaii's Board have to approve Kent State's online program?
The Board's FAQ on distance post-licensure programs with no campus in Hawaii says there is no approval, no application and no notice. It names RN-to-BSN and LPN-to-RN programs; graduate APRN programs are not addressed, so take MSN or DNP questions to Kent State.
Will an Ohio compact license cover clinical hours in Hawaii?
No. A multistate license from Ohio or any compact state gives no practice privilege in Hawaii, since Hawaii is not a member. You need a Hawaii RN license, and Kent State's advising office verifies it at admission and again at every renewal.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Kent State's own catalog, handbooks and program pages. Your MSN or DNP handbook, your syllabus, your practicum faculty and your concentration coordinator have the final word.
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