UTA clinicals for Virginia residents
With a Virginia mailing address in MyMav, UTA's map opens every program to you, from the RN-to-BSN and the Education and Administration MSNs to the NP tracks, post-master's NP certificates and DNP. Virginia's Board of Nursing does not approve out-of-state programs, so the rules that decide your clinicals are licensing and UTA's own approvals.
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Tell us your UTA track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what a UTA-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
Your UTA options with a Virginia address
Virginia is one of the seven states on UTA's NP and DNP list. The state-authorization map, checked September 23, 2026, shows:
| UTA program | Virginia on the map? | Clinical piece |
|---|---|---|
| RN-to-BSN | Listed | Workplace assignments (NURS 3315, NURS 4455), community assignments (NURS 3325, NURS 4465) and the NURS 4685 capstone; you do not find a preceptor |
| MSN Nursing Education | Listed | 135 precepted hours in NURS 5362 with someone who works in nursing education |
| MSN Nursing Administration | Listed | 90 hours in each of NURS 5339 and NURS 5340, 45 in each of NURS 5341 and NURS 5342, alongside senior nurse leaders |
| NP tracks and post-master's NP certificates | Listed | 720 hours with approved preceptors in most tracks; FNP is 180 + 180 + 360 |
| DNP | Listed | 1,000 post-baccalaureate practice hours, up to 500 credited from your MSN, at a project site with no preceptor |
Virginia's Board stays out of out-of-state programs
Out-of-state and post-licensure nursing education programs sit outside what the Virginia Board of Nursing regulates or approves, by the Board's own description. UTA therefore files nothing with the Board before you start clinicals in Virginia. Two Board rules you may hear about, the 80%-in-Virginia clinical rule and the clinical-site approval rules in 18VAC90-27, govern pre-licensure programs Virginia has approved; a UTA MSN or DNP is not one of them.
That leaves UTA's own gates: an affiliation agreement with the clinical agency, a preceptor and site approved by UTA's Clinical Coordinator or course faculty, and an email to NursingSOA@uta.edu before you look outside Virginia. If you live near the District line, note that neither Maryland nor DC is on UTA's NP or DNP list.
Licensing: the compact and a Virginia exemption
Virginia's compact start date was January 19, 2018. Hold a multistate license issued by Texas or any other compact home state and you can practice in Virginia on it, which meets UTA's requirement to hold a license valid wherever your clinicals take place.
Virginia law adds a wrinkle. Under Va. Code § 54.1-3001, an RN whose license from DC, a U.S. territory or another state is current and unrestricted does not need Virginia licensure during enrollment in an advanced professional nursing program that requires clinical practice, though the exemption reaches only the clinical practice the curriculum calls for. UTA's handbook asks for a license in the clinical state, so if your only license is single-state and comes from outside the compact, ask NursingSOA@uta.edu which rule UTA applies before relying on the exemption. More on RN license for clinicals.
Practice agreements and Virginia's preceptor incentive
Virginia counts as restricted on AANP's map. Its NPs work under a practice agreement with a physician on their patient care team until they attest to clinical experience that equals three full-time years. A preceptor may sit on either side of that line. UTA's bar is the same for both: an active provider license without encumbrances and one or more years in the specialty role.
Through its Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program, Virginia pays preceptors who hold a Virginia license (physicians, PAs, APRNs, RNs and LPNs), with semester payments set on a sliding scale. The program changed hands under SB 405, signed March 31, 2026: the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center took it over from the Virginia Department of Health and accepts applications covering hours completed from July 1, 2026 onward. Eligibility depends on the student attending a Virginia school of nursing, which rules out the preceptor of a UTA student.
Virginia regions and systems
Census Bureau 2025 estimates count about 3.2 million Virginians in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro (that is Arlington, Virginia), 1.7 million in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, 1.4 million in Richmond and about 317,000 in Roanoke. Sentara Health, Inova, Carilion Clinic, UVA Health and VCU Health are among the state's health systems. They mark where NP and nursing-leadership work happens, not sites that have agreed to take UTA students.
DNP students face a different search: a project site rather than a preceptor, with practice hours outside the normal scope of your paid employment, as the DNP program page explains. NP students recruit for each clinical course, starting with the FNP preceptor sequence if you are in that track.
Where we come in for Virginia students
We look for a preceptor and site close to your Virginia address that fit the UTA course you are in, help you gather the documents UTA's clinical team reviews, and keep looking if a preceptor falls through. UTA alone approves preceptors, sites and agreements. Use the form below to begin.
Questions UTA students ask
Must UTA get Virginia Board of Nursing approval before my clinicals?
No. Post-licensure and out-of-state nursing education programs fall outside the Board's regulation and approval, so UTA has no Virginia approval step to clear. Its 80% in-state clinical rule and site-approval rules apply to Virginia-approved pre-licensure programs. UTA's own approvals and affiliation agreements still apply to every site you use.
Do I need a Virginia RN license for UTA clinicals?
Usually not if you hold a multistate license, because Virginia and Texas are both compact states. Separately, a Virginia statute lets RNs licensed in other states skip Virginia licensure while in an advanced nursing program, limited to the clinical practice that program requires. UTA's handbook asks for licensure in the clinical state, so confirm with NursingSOA@uta.edu if your license is single-state.
Can my Virginia preceptor be paid through the Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program?
No. Payments go to Virginia-licensed preceptors only when the student is enrolled at a Virginia school of nursing, public or private nonprofit. Since SB 405, applications for hours completed from July 1, 2026 go to the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center; VDH stopped taking them after April 30. A UTA student's preceptor does not qualify, whatever license the preceptor holds.
Can I live in Northern Virginia and do NP clinicals in Maryland or DC?
UTA's map does not list Maryland or DC for the NP tracks or the DNP, and the handbook lets you complete the program only in states where CONHI can operate. Email NursingSOA@uta.edu before you approach any preceptor outside Virginia, and plan your search around Virginia sites unless UTA tells you otherwise.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against UTA's own sources. UTA's current handbook and your course faculty have the final word.
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Tell us your UTA track, your county and when your clinical course opens. We look for a preceptor and a site that fit what UTA asks for, and we help you put the approval packet together.
- Matched to your track's population and setting
- Paperwork prepared the way UTA's clinical team expects it
- In person near you, or a virtual option where your course allows it
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