Virginia and EKU's online NP programs: enrollment, law and preceptors
EKU places Virginia among the SARA states it serves without restriction, and both of its licensure tables rate Virginia Meets Requirements, so a Virginian can enroll in any of them, from the RN to BSN to the nurse practitioner tracks and the DNP. The Virginia Board of Nursing has no approval role over graduate programs based in other states, and Virginia law excuses a nurse licensed elsewhere from Virginia licensure for the clinical work an advanced program requires.
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Tell us your EKU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your EKU course.
What EKU's page shows for Virginia
| Program | Virginia | Licensure table |
|---|---|---|
| MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner | Open | Meets Requirements |
| MSN, Psychiatric Mental Health NP | Open | Meets Requirements |
| Post-MSN FNP and PMHNP certificates | Open | Meets Requirements, under the MSN table |
| DNP (Organizational Leadership) | Open | No table; not a licensure program |
| RN to BSN | Open | Meets Requirements |
No Virginia note appears on the page as modified September 23, 2026. EKU's catalog makes you report the location of any supervised placement beyond Kentucky's borders, and EKU's state authorization rules explain the rest.
Virginia's rules for an out-of-state program's students
The Virginia Board of Nursing says it neither regulates nor approves nursing education programs based outside Virginia or aimed at nurses already licensed. Two Virginia rules that online students sometimes hear about, the 80 percent in-state clinical requirement and the site approval provisions of 18VAC90-27, govern the prelicensure schools the board approves. Neither reaches EKU's online graduate or RN to BSN students.
Your footing in Virginia comes from the Code. Section 54.1-3001 lets an RN with a current, unrestricted license from another state practice without a Virginia license during the clinical work their advanced nursing program requires, and for nothing beyond it. Most Virginia residents simply train on their Virginia license; the exemption matters if your license comes from somewhere else.
Within those rules, the Kentucky regulation that governs EKU keeps preceptor sourcing on EKU's side and lets you shape the search with input of your own, as using your input describes.
Restricted practice at a Virginia site
AANP rates Virginia Restricted, a step tighter than Kentucky's Reduced rating. Virginia NPs practice within a patient care team, under an agreement with a team physician, unless they attest to clinical experience equal to three full-time years. Your preceptor may be an NP inside a physician-led team or a seasoned NP who has made that attestation, and the arrangement shapes which decisions you watch being made.
Northern Virginia holds about 3.18 million people within the Washington metro, the Virginia side of Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk about 1.74 million, the Richmond metro about 1.39 million and Roanoke about 317,000. Carilion Clinic, VCU Health, Inova, UVA Health and Sentara Health are among the state's biggest systems; each runs its own student onboarding, and none publicly confirms or rules out EKU students.
Virginia also runs a Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program, moved by a 2026 law to the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center, but it is limited to preceptors of students at Virginia nursing schools, so it plays no part in an EKU placement.
Near a border, check the neighbor first
Virginia's big metros spill into other states, and EKU treats those states differently. In Hampton Roads, a North Carolina site raises a gap on EKU's page: North Carolina is missing from both of EKU's SARA lists even though its licensure tables say Meets, and its DNP status is unpublished. Around Washington, a Maryland site brings EKU's condition that unpaid or low-paying placements there be approved before admission.
EKU's public pages also set no rule on training in a state other than your home state. If a cross-border site is the best fit, raise it with your faculty before anything is signed.
Licensing for Virginia clinicals
Virginia entered the current compact in January 2018, the same month as Kentucky. A Virginia resident's multistate RN license covers practice in Kentucky and every other member state, while APRN licensure stays with each state because the APRN Compact is not operating. EKU needs each RN license issued to you to stay unencumbered, as RN license and Nursys explains.
Why Virginia students in EKU's programs choose us
Your placement advisor looks for a Virginia preceptor whose team structure, specialty and weekly schedule fit your EKU course, checks the license with the Virginia Board, and confirms the site's willingness to sign EKU's clinical contract before you put it forward. We prepare the preceptor information EKU reviews and remain on call until your hours are finished, with another preceptor lined up quickly if one has to step down. Tell us where in Virginia you live.
Questions EKU students ask
Is EKU in Richmond, Virginia?
No. Eastern Kentucky University's campus is in Richmond, Kentucky, in Madison County. Virginians study with EKU online, with no campus visits required, and complete their clinicals in Virginia. The Richmond metro in Virginia, with about 1.39 million residents, is just one of the places a Virginia student might look for a preceptor.
Can my Virginia preceptor be an NP without a practice agreement?
Yes. After attesting to clinical experience equal to three full-time years, a Virginia NP may practice without a team physician's agreement. A newer NP working under a practice agreement can be a strong preceptor too. EKU reviews every preceptor, so describe the practice arrangement in the details you submit.
Can I do EKU DNP hours at a Virginia health system?
EKU lists no DNP restriction for Virginia. EKU's DNP, a post-master's degree with an Organizational Leadership focus, runs its practice hours through a site approval step: the June 2020 DNP handbook, now archived, asked students to submit a site approval request for each clinical course and to wait for the go-ahead before logging hours. See DNP clinical hours.
What if I move to Virginia partway through my EKU program?
Virginia is open for every EKU program, which helps, but EKU's page cautions that relocating once you have applied or been admitted may lead to removal from the program, so clear the move with your advisor first. A move also resets your home state for compact purposes, which can change the license you train on.
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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