EKU nursing from New York: the DNP is open, the NP tracks are closed
Living in New York rules out EKU's online FNP, PMHNP and both post-MSN certificates, and EKU's New York note rules out the RN to BSN too. The one opening is the post-master's DNP, which EKU says it is exempt to offer there. Here are EKU's wording, New York's own rules and where our help genuinely fits.
New York DNP student or planning a move?
Tell us your EKU program and where you will be living. Your placement advisor starts with EKU's current New York status.
EKU's New York entry, program by program
EKU files New York under its SARA states with special restrictions. The note limits EKU's New York exemption to the Doctorate of Nursing and an MSN in Nursing Administration, and names the online RN to BSN, FNP and PMHNP as programs it is not accepting New York students into.
| Program | EKU status for New York | Licensure table result |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Family Nurse Practitioner | Not accepting New York students | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| MSN Psychiatric Mental Health NP | Not accepting New York students | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| Post-MSN FNP and PMHNP certificates | Not accepting (they share the MSN table) | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| Post-master's DNP | Open: EKU says it is exempt to offer the Doctorate of Nursing | No DNP table (the degree does not lead to a license) |
| RN to BSN | Not accepting, per EKU's New York note | Meets Requirements, which conflicts with the note |
Two more lines finish the note: licensure programs need specific New York Board approval before any supervised field placement in the state, while programs leading to no professional license, the DNP among them, may place students.
Two places where EKU's page contradicts itself
- RN to BSN. The RN-BSN licensure table puts New York under Meets Requirements, yet the New York note lists the RN to BSN as closed to New York students. Plan around the more specific note unless EKU tells you otherwise in writing.
- MSN Nursing Administration. The note calls EKU exempt to offer this degree in New York, but the 2026-27 graduate catalog lists only two MSN concentrations, FNP and PMHNP. Ask before counting on an administration track.
How New York polices clinical rotations
Nursing licensure in New York belongs to NYSED's Office of the Professions, and its FAQ leaves little room: out-of-state and online nursing schools must hold NYSED registration or approval to place students at New York clinical sites, with a carve-out only for federal veterans' and military facilities. For NP students NYSED adds that rotations outside a NYSED-registered NP program could be illegal. EKU's note fits that picture, so a DNP student should ask EKU how New York's rules touch DNP Experience hours before choosing a site.
On AANP's map New York shows as full practice, with a catch for newer NPs: anyone short of 3,600 hours practices under a written agreement, plus protocols, with a collaborating physician. Legal reports say the NP Modernization Act behind that rule was extended in May 2026 to July 1, 2030; NYSED's page shows the rule with no end date.
Who we can help in New York
First, DNP students who live in New York. EKU's post-master's DNP in Organizational Leadership needs at least 1,000 clinical hours beyond the BSN, with EKU's share fixed at admission, and projects can sit in your own organization or community. EKU's last posted DNP handbook (June 2020, archived) had a Request for DNP Experience Site Approval Form filed for each clinical course; check the current version with your faculty. We find a DNP preceptor and site that suit your project, downstate or upstate, and prepare what that approval needs.
Second, New York nurses moving to a state where EKU's FNP or PMHNP is open, such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Connecticut. After the move and admission, Kentucky's rule has EKU securing your preceptors while you keep a voice in the choice (how that works), and we build that input around your new home.
Licenses, moves and EKU's attestation process
New York is not a compact state, and no bill to make it one is pending, so an RN license from elsewhere, multistate or not, leaves you needing New York licensure to practice there. EKU also wants every license you hold unencumbered; the license and Nursys guide explains that rule.
Timing matters if you plan to move: EKU warns that relocating after you apply or are admitted could cost you your place. Its page also describes an attestation process for students in Does Not Meet states who plan to be licensed where the program qualifies; whether that helps a New York resident, given the separate New York note, is for EKU's online advisors to say.
Questions EKU students ask
Can I take EKU's online FNP or PMHNP while living in New York?
Not under EKU's current page. The New York note closes both programs to New York students, and the MSN licensure table, which also governs both post-MSN certificates, marks New York Does Not Meet Requirements. If you expect to relocate to an open state, raise the timing with EKU's online advisors before you apply.
Is EKU's online RN to BSN available to New York nurses?
EKU's page points both ways. The RN-BSN table shows New York meeting requirements, while the New York entry names the RN to BSN among closed programs. Until EKU settles it for you in writing, assume the program is closed. The RN to BSN overview describes how the program runs in open states.
Could I live in New York and do EKU NP clinicals in New Jersey instead?
EKU's restriction follows where you are located, not just where you would train, so a New Jersey or Connecticut site leaves the FNP and PMHNP closed to a New York resident. If you are genuinely moving across the border, your new state's status decides, and EKU should hear about the move early.
Can I complete EKU DNP hours at the New York hospital where I work?
EKU's DNP page welcomes projects in your own organization, and the 2020 DNP handbook had the Clinical Placement Coordinator approve each course's site. With NYSED's placement rules in play, ask EKU how a New York site is handled before you log any hours. The DNP guide covers the hour rules.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against EKU's own catalog, program pages and handbooks, and Kentucky's regulations. The current MSN Student Handbook, your course and your faculty have the final word.
EKU secures your preceptor. Your input decides how well it fits your life.
Tell us your EKU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors in your community who fit the course and prepare everything EKU reviews, so the option you put forward is ready to approve.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for
NSC 800andNSC 876, psychiatric care forNSC 886 - Preceptor, license and site details organized for EKU's preceptor information form
- In your own community, wherever EKU enrolls students and you hold your RN license
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