Virginia nurses and Kent State's online programs
Virginia residents can enroll in every Kent State online nursing program that publishes a state list: the AGCNS, PMHNP, WHNP, NAHSL and Nurse Educator, as MSNs or certificates, along with the RN-to-BSN and, for doctoral study, the post-master's DNP. Virginia's nursing board stays out of oversight for schools from other states, so what remains is finding the right preceptor close to home.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Kent State program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Kent State course.
Virginia's row on both Kent State pages
Only 13 states outside Ohio appear on all seven of Kent State's approved-states lists, and Virginia is one. The licensure disclosure agrees, marking every licensure program MEETS for Virginia.
| Program | Online enrollment from Virginia | Virginia licensure disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| PMHNP, MSN and certificate | Approved | MEETS |
| WHNP, MSN and certificate | Approved | MEETS |
| AGCNS, MSN and certificate | Approved | MEETS |
| Nurse Educator and NAHSL, MSN and certificates | Approved | No row (no license at the end) |
| Post-master's DNP | Approved | No row |
| RN-to-BSN | Approved | No row |
| FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP (mostly online) | Not on the approved-states page | MEETS |
One caution: the program pages for the PMHNP, WHNP and AGCNS still describe the college's out-of-state licensure decision as pending, so ask Kent State to confirm before you enroll. The FNP, AGPCNP and AGACNP require time on the Kent Campus, and Kent State has not said whether Virginians may join them; the Office of Student Services can advise. The national picture is on Kent State's approved states.
A Board that stays out of outside programs
Virginia's Board of Nursing has said outright that nursing education from other states, or for nurses already licensed, sits beyond its regulation and approval. Its 80-percent-in-Virginia clinical rule and the site approvals in 18VAC90-27 apply to pre-licensure programs Virginia itself approves, not to Kent State.
Virginia Code 54.1-3001 adds a narrow exemption: an RN licensed without restriction in another state may perform the clinical practice an advanced nursing curriculum requires while enrolled in it. Kent State's rule still applies: Virginia residents train on a Virginia license. Kent State's SARA membership, held since 2015, authorizes the program itself.
Matching a Virginia preceptor to your concentration
Kent State's rotation pages describe the preceptor each Virginia student needs:
- PMHNP: Practicum I with a licensed mental health provider who does psychotherapy, medication management with a prescriber (a psychiatrist or PMH APRN), and Practicum IV with a PMH APRN covering half the hours or more; your own employer is off limits.
- WHNP: nurse-midwives, WHNPs, FNPs or OB/GYNs with a busy gynecologic or obstetric caseload.
- AGCNS: a CNS in acute or ambulatory care, later one working across all three spheres with a quality or evidence-based project.
- Nurse Educator and NAHSL: for teaching, a nurse educator with real experience; for leadership, a master's-prepared manager or executive positioned one or two rungs above you.
- DNP and RN-to-BSN: a site that supports your scholarly project hours, or a setting for the
NURS 43001clinical component.
Carilion Clinic and VCU Health rank among the largest systems, as do Inova, UVA Health and Sentara Health. Virginia's part of the Washington metro holds about 3.2 million people, Virginia Beach-Norfolk about 1.7 million, Richmond about 1.4 million and Roanoke about 320,000. These describe the market, not places that take Kent State students. More on the PMHNP rules is on the PMHNP page.
Patient care teams and Virginia's preceptor payments
AANP classes Virginia as restricted. Virginia NPs belong to a patient care team and keep an agreement with its physician member; that ends only once they attest to clinical practice equal to three full-time years. Physicians remain part of the pool.
Payments under Virginia's Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program go to physicians, PAs, APRNs, RNs and LPNs on an hours-based sliding scale, but only for students of Virginia nursing schools (public or private nonprofit), which leaves out anyone precepting a Kent State student. Since July 1, 2026 it runs through the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center under SB 405. Kent State's own offer, including continuing education through PreceptED, is what applies.
License, then a search that fits Virginia
Virginia's compact membership for RNs began January 19, 2018; for APRNs, no compact appears in Virginia law. When Kent State needs proof of your license is covered on RN license for practicum.
Virginia students choose us because every program is open to them and each needs a different preceptor. We search in person near you, from Northern Virginia to Roanoke, for the preceptor your concentration calls for, and hand your faculty a preceptor packet with credentials, license and site details, plus an early read on whether the site needs an affiliation agreement. Start with the form below.
Questions Kent State students ask
Does Kent State's online DNP accept Virginia residents?
Yes; Virginia is one of the 16 post-master's DNP states. Coursework is fully online, and practicum hours are earned through three scholarly project courses, which Kent State's DNP FAQ allows you to carry out in your own state of residence and licensure. The course sequence is on the DNP page.
Is the Nurse Educator MSN a licensure program in Virginia?
No. Kent State's catalog treats the Nurse Educator and NAHSL credentials as optional everywhere, so neither shows up on the licensure disclosure. Virginia residents can still enroll in both online, since Virginia sits on both approved-states lists, and their practicums follow Kent State's usual path: you identify the educator or leader, and faculty approve.
Who finds my preceptor for a Virginia practicum?
Kent State's handbook makes you responsible for identifying qualified preceptors, with your concentration coordinator helping in the semester before your first practicum and faculty helping after. Practicum faculty and the coordinator give final approval, and our job is to make every file that reaches them complete and correct.
Does Virginia's out-of-state exemption replace a Virginia RN license?
Not for a Virginia resident in a Kent State program. The exemption in Va. Code 54.1-3001 covers RNs licensed elsewhere, and only for the clinical practice a curriculum requires, while Kent State asks for the license of the state where you live and train.
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.
Kent State says the preceptor search is yours. We make it the fastest part of your practicum.
Tell us your Kent State concentration, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare everything your practicum faculty and coordinator review before they approve.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for
NURS 61292, acute care forNURS 61092, psychiatric care forNURS 61592, women's health forNURS 66192 - Credentials, license and site details ready for your practicum faculty and coordinator
- In your own community, in Ohio or wherever you live and hold your RN license
Start your placement plan
Program, city and semester is all we need to begin.