UNC Wilmington's programs for nurses in Hawaii

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the UNCW Preceptor placement team

Hawaii's Board of Nursing neither approves out-of-state post-licensure programs nor asks them to check in, so UNCW's educator, RN-BSN and leadership DNP work could take place on the islands. Licensing is the harder part: Hawaii is outside the compact, which shapes admission to UNCW's NP concentrations, whose clinical hours all happen in North Carolina.

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1,500preceptor tax credits Hawaii's Department of Health can certify statewide each year

UNC Wilmington nursing programs for Hawaii residents. DNP NP concentrations: clinicals in nc only; MSN Nurse Educator practicum: where you're licensed; RN-BSN practice experiences: where you work; Post APRN and NEL DNP project: where you're licensed. RN license: not in the compact. NP practice: full — Hawaii and UNCW's programs: DNP NP concentrations: clinicals in nc only; MSN Nurse Educator practicum: where you're licensed; RN-BSN practice experiences: where you work; Post APRN and NEL DNP project: where you're licensed. RN license not in the compact; NP practice full (AANP).

Program by program from Hawaii

UNCW programs for a nurse living and licensed in Hawaii
UNCW program	Does a Hawaii license work?	Where the hands-on work happens
MSN Nurse Educator	Yes, as a distance student licensed at home	A Hawaii educational site and a preceptor licensed in Hawaii
Nurse Educator Post-Graduate Certificate	Yes, by the same route	A site and preceptor you find in Hawaii
RN-BSN	Yes	Practice experiences at work or outside it
Post APRN DNP and Nurse Executive Leadership DNP	Admission asks for an NC or compact license; ask UNCW	The DNP project where you are licensed
FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP and PMHNP certificate	In practice, an NC license is needed	North Carolina only

What Hawaii's board says about distance programs

Hawaii's approval rule is written for pre-licensure education. The licensing exemption in HRS 457-13(2) protects only students enrolled in programs carrying Hawaii Board accreditation, and when a BSN school from North Dakota raised the idea of sending a pre-license student to Hawaii for clinicals in 2016, the Board's education committee turned it down.

Nurses who are already licensed hear something else. The Board's FAQ for distance post-licensure education, which gives RN-BSN and LPN-to-RN as its examples, says the Board does not approve a program that has no Hawaii campus; such a program has no application to file and no notice to give. Its instructors need Hawaii licensure just when they are on the ground in Hawaii teaching or precepting. Hawaii's sources are silent on graduate and APRN programs as such, so confirm your plans through UNCW's state authorization office.

A Hawaii license works only in Hawaii

Hawaii remains outside the Nurse Licensure Compact. Compact privileges issued on the mainland do not reach the islands, and a Hawaii license gives no right to practice beyond them. Hawaii has no APRN Compact law on its books, and AANP counts it among full practice states.

For UNCW, the license question sorts the programs. Distance students in the educator programs may enroll on a home-state license. For the RN-BSN, the license must come from the state you live in. The NP concentrations and both leadership DNPs want a North Carolina RN license or a compact license, which a Hawaii license is not. The NC RN license page covers the options.

The preceptor tax credit, and island settings

Hawaii's Preceptor Tax Credit (HRS 235-110.25) lets resident physicians, APRNs and pharmacists with a primary care practice in the state take a nonrefundable credit for each unpaid rotation they supervise, up to an annual cap. Certification runs through the Department of Health, which can issue 1,500 credits a year across the state. Eligible students must come from academic programs accredited in Hawaii or physically based there, with Hawaii residents making up over half the enrollment, so a UNCW student's preceptor cannot claim it.

Among the main systems are Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health (Straub, Wilcox, Pali Momi and Kapiolani), The Queen's Health Systems and the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation. Urban Honolulu, Kahului-Wailuku and Hilo-Kailua are the population centers. They illustrate where a nurse educator or nurse leader might precept or host a project, not sites with UNCW agreements.

For NP students, the practicum is an ocean away

No part of a UNCW NP practicum can be completed in Hawaii. The 2025-26 DNP Student Handbook fixes FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP clinical and practicum hours in North Carolina, with preceptors practicing or licensed there, and the PMHNP Post-Doctoral Certificate shares those courses. A Hawaii nurse would need a North Carolina RN license, and each practicum semester most likely means staying in North Carolina through the rotation, with transport and housing your own. The North Carolina clinical rule page explains more.

Our work for Hawaii-based students

For NP students, we handle the North Carolina search and schedule so the weeks you spend on the mainland go to hours that count, and we prepare everything UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews. Educator students get help finding a Hawaii-licensed nurse-educator preceptor and a site that fits UNCW's rules. Reach the placement desk through the contact page.

Questions UNCW students ask

Does Hawaii's Board of Nursing need to approve UNCW's online programs?

According to the Board's FAQ, distance post-licensure programs with no campus in Hawaii fall outside its approval process and owe it no notification; it names RN-BSN and LPN-to-RN programs as examples. Hawaii says nothing specific about graduate programs, so check with UNCW before planning a Hawaii practicum.

Can a Hawaii preceptor claim the state's tax credit for precepting a UNCW student?

No. Eligibility rests on the student's program, which must be accredited in Hawaii or physically located there, with a majority of Hawaii residents enrolled. UNCW, based in North Carolina, does not meet that test, so the credit has no bearing on whether a Hawaii educator or APRN agrees to precept you.

Will my Hawaii license get me into UNCW's PMHNP program?

UNCW's NP admission pages ask for an unrestricted North Carolina RN license or a compact state license. Hawaii is not a compact state, so a Hawaii license alone does not match, while a North Carolina license does. PMHNP clinical hours then take place in North Carolina with North Carolina-licensed preceptors.

Can I keep studying with UNCW if I relocate to Hawaii?

UNCW publishes no policy for students who relocate mid-program. NP clinical hours stay in North Carolina whatever your address. For educator or RN-BSN work in Hawaii you would need a license valid there, since compact privileges stop at Hawaii's shoreline. Speak with your advisor before the move.

GuideUNCW programs by stateStudying with UNC Wilmington from another state? Fifty state guides: the North Carolina rule for NP clinicals, online programs, licenses and state rules.RN licenseNC or compact RN licenseUNCW NP students need an unrestricted NC or compact RN license for clinical hours in North Carolina. How the compact works and what online programs require.Out of stateOnline programs outside North CarolinaWhich UNCW nursing programs you can complete from another state, where their practicums happen, and state boards whose approval lists UNCW is not on.NC onlyThe North Carolina clinical ruleUNCW NP students complete every clinical hour in North Carolina: the handbook rule, NC preceptors, NC or compact licenses, border students and exceptions.Single-state licenseAlaskaAlaska sits outside the nurse compact and registers APRN students one by one. What that means for UNCW's online programs and for NP clinicals in North Carolina.Non-SARA stateCaliforniaCalifornia is outside SARA, UNCW's BSN disclosure says Does Not Meet* there, and UNCW is not on the BRN NP list. What California nurses can still do with UNCW.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against UNCW's catalog, handbooks and School of Nursing pages. Your course, your cohort's handbook and UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.

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Tell us your UNCW program, your practicum course and where in North Carolina you can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the CV, license and agency details UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews, well before the deadline.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care, pediatrics and women's health for NSGL 650 to NSGL 653, adult and older-adult care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP
Preceptor CV with dates and site, license number and agency details ready for your submission
In Wilmington, the Cape Fear region or wherever in North Carolina your clinicals can happen

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