Drexel state authorization: where you can enroll and train

Drexel's wording is that it “is currently unable to admit students living in” the listed states. It's a residency rule, tied to where you live, and each program has its own list. This is how Drexel Online's State Regulations page reads in September 2026.

Maryland residents are admitted to the NP, DNP, advanced-role and RN-to-BSN programs “without restriction.” Tennessee's only restriction applies to a counseling program, not nursing. Residents outside the U.S. can't enroll in CNHP's online nursing programs. Drexel updates this page, so reread your program's row in the month you apply.

New York is the one state where the rule targets clinical hours, not residency. Drexel admits New York residents to its NP programs, then bars them from logging any clinical or practicum hours inside New York for now, and the NP program pages carry the same notice. That covers all NP MSN tracks and certificates.

A New York resident in a Drexel NP program therefore trains in another state and needs a license that reaches it. New York has never joined the Nurse Licensure Compact, and that decides which licenses Drexel's compliance rules call for. The neighboring-state options are on New York clinicals.

The DNP and RN-to-BSN admit New York residents without restriction. Where their practicum or clinical hours may take place isn't spelled out, so ask before planning any in New York.

Washington requires its own approval for practice experiences, and Drexel holds it from the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission for eight MSN tracks: AG Acute, AG Primary, FNP, PNP Acute, PNP Primary & Acute, PNP Primary, PMHNP and WHNP. The same statement also lists Drexel's Leadership, Nurse Educator and CNL MSNs.

Three groups go unnamed: FNP with Emergency Specialization, every post-master's certificate, and the DNP. That doesn't make Washington closed to them; it means the published approval doesn't mention them. If you're in one of those programs and hope to train in Washington, email sara@drexel.edu before you approach a site.

Separately, Washington residents can't enroll in Drexel's RN-to-BSN at all, whatever their clinical plans.

Admission is only the first filter. Several Drexel rules also tie your clinical hours to particular states:

• AGPCNP certificate. Students must complete “640 clinical practicum hours in their state of residency or in the state of Pennsylvania,” and must also be issued a Pennsylvania RN license.
• RN licenses. CNHP graduate students need an RN license “for any state in which they plan to complete clinical hours.” How that meets the Pennsylvania question is on the Pennsylvania RN license page.
• Pediatric tracks. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware licenses are “highly recommended” to widen site choices.
• State rules in general. CNHP's compliance page warns that individual state restrictions “may not allow students to attend clinical” from an out-of-state institution.

Drexel has been a SARA institution since December 2016, which covers distance enrollment across member states. Drexel's own page adds that SARA “has no effect on state professional licensing requirements,” so board and license rules still apply state by state.

Drexel is direct about relocation: moving to another state “may affect the student's ability to complete clinical requirements.” A move can land you in an excluded state, in New York, or somewhere your current license doesn't reach. Even a move between two open states can change which license Clinical Compliance verifies.

Before you sign a lease, tell your academic advisor and ask three things. Can your program keep you if you live in the new state? Can clinical hours happen there? Which license will you need? Then think about your site. A preceptor in the old state stays there, so a move usually means a new site, a new affiliation agreement and fresh onboarding, all before the next clinical course. The moving during clinicals page walks through the order.

1. Find your program's rowOn Drexel Online's State Regulations page, read the list for your exact program, not a similar one.
2. Separate home and clinical stateNote where you live and where you plan to train. For NP students, New York can be home but not a clinical state.
3. Check the licenseAsk each state board whether a single-state or multistate license is needed for your rotations, as Drexel asks you to.
4. Ask about the gapsFor Washington in a certificate, FNP-Emergency or the DNP, or anything else the page leaves open, email sara@drexel.edu.
5. Recheck before each courseDrexel's wording is “at this time,” so the lists can change. Look again if you move and before each clinical course.

Most Drexel NP students live far from Philadelphia, so the search has to fit both Drexel's state rules and the state where you'll train. That's where ours starts. Before a placement advisor contacts a single preceptor, we confirm your program can place you in that state, your license covers it and the site can sign an agreement with Drexel. Then we search close to home for clinicians your track can use.

Drexel approves every site and preceptor. What we send its Clinical Compliance team is complete, checked against its rules and ready for review. If a move or a dropped preceptor changes the plan, we rebuild the search around your new state. Start with the form on this page.