Washington State is off UTA's nursing map
UTA's state-authorization map lists none of its nursing programs for Washington, not even the online RN-to-BSN. On top of that, Washington's Board of Nursing must sign off on a distance program from another state before any of its students start clinical or practice experiences in Washington, and the Board's approved list dated September 21, 2026 did not include UTA.
Planning around a Washington move?
Tell us your UTA program and your timeline. A placement advisor replies with how we can line up your clinicals in a state UTA lists.
Every UTA nursing program is unlisted here
Your MyMav mailing address is what places you in a state for UTA. As of September 23, 2026, UTA's state map listed no program at all for Washington:
| Program | Listed for Washington? | What the program's practice work involves |
|---|---|---|
| RN-to-BSN | No | Workplace and community assignments, capstone project; no preceptor |
| MSN Nursing Administration | No | 90, 90, 45 and 45 hours in NURS 5339 to NURS 5342 with senior nurse leaders |
| MSN Nursing Education | No | 135 precepted hours in NURS 5362 |
| NP tracks and post-master's NP certificates | No | Precepted hours, 720 in the FNP track |
| DNP | No | Practice hours and a project site |
Washington, Wisconsin and Tennessee are the only states where UTA's map leaves out even the RN-to-BSN.
WABON's approval rule for out-of-state programs
WAC 246-840-571 is the rule. A distance learning nursing program based out of state needs WABON (the Washington State Board of Nursing) to approve it ahead of any clinical or practice experience it arranges for students in Washington. To get there, a program files an application and demonstrates equivalency to Washington's program standards; afterward it has to supervise and evaluate its Washington students, keep national accreditation and send in annual reports. RN-to-BSN, MSN and NP tracks all appear on WABON's approved list, and an approved placement is authorized for Washington residents only; anything else is decided case by case.
UTA does not appear on that list as dated September 21, 2026. WABON asks programs placing students in Washington without being listed to contact its education unit. Neither UTA's map nor WABON's list explains the gap, and this page cannot tell you whether UTA has applied. Ask UTA's state authorization team at NursingSOA@uta.edu.
Other Washington rules that touch out-of-state programs
On December 5, 2025, WABON opened rulemaking with a CR-101 covering WAC 246-840-500 to WAC 246-840-571, and one of the topics is easing barriers around clinical placements. These rules could therefore change. Nothing on this page assumes they will.
For NP students, the same rule requires out-of-state faculty who teach ARNP practice in Washington to hold a Washington ARNP license. Relatives and personal friends of an ARNP student are barred from precepting that student, and the preceptor must be licensed as an ARNP, MD or DO (active and unencumbered) or hold the equivalent in another state.
Washington also runs the Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant, which WABON administers for ARNP, RN and LPN preceptors. WABON states that out-of-state programs do not qualify, even when the hours take place in Washington, and RN-to-BSN programs are excluded.
Licensing is not the obstacle
January 31, 2024 marked Washington's implementation of the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN license from Texas or another compact state now covers RN practice in Washington, and a Washington multistate license reaches other compact states. Washington has not enacted the separate APRN Compact.
For a UTA student in Washington, then, the question is less about the license than about program authorization: UTA's map and WABON's approval rule. RN license for clinicals covers UTA's own license rule for other states.
Already a UTA student and moving to Washington
Whether the move is to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Spokane, the Washington side of the Portland metro or Kennewick-Richland, and whether the job is at Providence, UW Medicine, MultiCare, PeaceHealth or Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, UTA's map reads the same. UTA's online RN-to-BSN page says enrolled students living in ineligible states need approval to continue uninterrupted, and that approval may not be given.
Graduate students face a second layer. Living or working where UTA lacks approval can, per the MSN handbook, end one of four ways: a placement that is slowed or refused, travel back to Texas or some other approved state for clinical work, withdrawal from a course or the whole program, or no degree at all. Email NursingSOA@uta.edu before you accept the job or sign a lease. The out-of-state clinicals page lists what to include.
How we help when Washington is off UTA's map
Until UTA's map lists Washington and WABON approves UTA, UTA clinicals inside the state are off the table. Our help starts wherever UTA points you instead. If UTA lets you continue and sends you back to Texas, or to any state on its list, for clinicals, a placement advisor lines up a preceptor there who fits your course, with the paperwork ready for UTA's approval. If the move is still ahead of you, talk to NursingSOA@uta.edu first and then to us, and we can plan the preceptor for any course you will finish in a listed state. Contact us as soon as UTA names the state.
Questions UTA students ask
Can I enroll in UTA's online RN-to-BSN if I live in Washington?
Washington is missing from the RN-to-BSN column of UTA's state map, and the online program page warns that residents of certain states cannot enroll. Separately, WABON must approve an out-of-state program before that program places students in practice experiences in Washington. Put the question to NursingSOA@uta.edu before applying.
Could I do UTA clinicals in Oregon or Idaho while living in Washington?
Oregon and Idaho do appear on UTA's map, with the RN-to-BSN and the Education and Administration MSNs available, though neither state has an NP track or the DNP. Your MyMav address still makes you a Washington student, and the MSN handbook wants border-area students to write to NursingSOA@uta.edu before chasing clinicals over the state line. The decision is UTA's.
Can my Washington preceptor get the state preceptor grant for precepting a UTA student?
Not according to WABON. Its Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant page says out-of-state programs do not qualify, even when the clinical hours take place in Washington, and RN-to-BSN programs are excluded altogether. The legislature created the grant, which pays eligible preceptors with at least one year of experience in quarterly cycles.
Could Washington change how it treats out-of-state programs?
They might. WABON filed a CR-101 notice on December 5, 2025 to start rulemaking on its nursing education rules, including clinical placement barriers. Until new rules are adopted, WAC 246-840-571 still requires approval before placements, and UTA's own map still decides which programs you can take from Washington.
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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