UNC Wilmington's nursing programs for Kansas residents
Kansas sets no approval step for out-of-state online nursing programs before Kansans enroll; its Board looks at an NP program when the graduate applies for a Kansas APRN license. UNCW's educator, RN-BSN and leadership DNP students can carry out their practice work in Kansas, while UNCW's NP students complete clinical hours in North Carolina.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UNCW program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UNCW course.
What the Kansas board reviews, and when
Enrolling from Kansas in an online APRN program based elsewhere involves no prior sign-off from KSBN. The Board examines the program afterward, once one of its graduates files for a Kansas APRN license. Nothing in KSBN's guidance sets up a placement approval for undergraduate programs from other states either, and that includes the RN-BSN.
Kansas preceptors for APRN students are expected to receive an orientation, sign an agreement and hold Kansas APRN licensure matching the role being studied; the student, meanwhile, practices on a multistate or Kansas RN license. Online faculty need no Kansas license, and site visits by faculty are left optional. For UNCW NP students, those APRN points describe other schools' placements, since UNCW sends its own NP students to North Carolina.
Where each UNCW program's practice work happens
| UNCW program | Practice work in Kansas? | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Nurse Educator | Yes | A Kansas educational site and nurse-educator preceptor |
| Nurse Educator Post-Graduate Certificate | Yes | Your own Kansas site and preceptor |
| RN-BSN | Yes | Practice experiences at work or elsewhere |
| Post APRN DNP and Nurse Executive Leadership DNP | Yes | DNP project in the state where you are licensed |
| FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP and PMHNP certificate | No, coursework only | North Carolina |
The online programs outside North Carolina guide sets out each program's license wording.
Planning a Kansas APRN license after UNCW
If you picture yourself practicing as an NP in Kansas, KSBN's licensure review is the checkpoint. Its checklist for an out-of-state program includes:
- 3 credit hours or more in each of advanced pharmacology, advanced pathophysiology and advanced health assessment
- a program of at least 45 credit hours
- national accreditation
- clinical hours in the role and specialty: 750 if you were admitted after March 1, 2025, or 500 under the earlier standard
UNCW's 2026-27 catalog lists 750 direct patient care hours for each NP concentration under the new course sequences, and the FNP and AGPCNP course hours add up to 780. UNCW publishes no Kansas determination for its NP programs, so treat that comparison as a starting point and confirm with KSBN and UNCW. The DNP 1,000 hours page explains how UNCW splits its hours.
Kansas coursework, North Carolina clinicals
UNCW's NP tracks stay online until the first practicum, and then North Carolina takes over. The 2025-26 DNP Student Handbook has FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP students complete clinical and practicum hours in North Carolina only, UNCW's preceptor pages look for providers practicing or licensed in that state, and the PMHNP Post-Doctoral Certificate uses the same practica. Kansas started issuing compact licenses on July 1, 2019, so a Kansas multistate license settles UNCW's license condition. Budget instead for the travel, the lodging and the weeks away from home. The North Carolina clinical rule page has more.
Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka and Manhattan
The University of Kansas Health System and Stormont Vail Health lead the list of larger Kansas systems, alongside Ascension Via Christi and Wichita's Wesley Healthcare. The state's four metro areas are Kansas City (its Kansas portion), Wichita, Topeka and Manhattan. Think of these as the kinds of settings where educator practicums and leadership projects happen, not as UNCW sites. AANP rates Kansas a full practice state, and Kansas has not enacted the APRN Compact.
Kansas students and our placement service
We take on the North Carolina search for Kansas NP students, pairing each UNCW course with a preceptor who fits it and building a submission ready for the Graduate Clinical Coordinator's review. Educator students get a Kansas search for a preceptor who meets UNCW's credential rules. Start with the contact form.
Questions UNCW students ask
Does KSBN need to approve UNCW before I enroll from Kansas?
Not before you enroll. KSBN holds its review of an out-of-state online APRN program until a graduate seeks Kansas APRN licensure, and it sets up no placement approval for RN-BSN programs. Check with UNCW about your particular program before you apply.
Can a Kansas APRN precept me for UNCW's FNP program?
Only if the precepting happens in North Carolina. UNCW requires FNP clinical hours in North Carolina with preceptors practicing there, so a Kansas APRN seeing patients in a Kansas clinic falls outside the rule. The AGPCNP and PMHNP tracks work the same way.
Do Kansas faculty-visit rules affect UNCW students?
Kansas leaves faculty site visits optional, and an instructor who does come is treated as a visitor or lay person. For UNCW NP students the point is moot, because faculty site visits happen at their North Carolina sites. Educator students should ask course faculty how practicum oversight works for a Kansas site.
What if I move to Kansas during my UNCW program?
UNCW publishes no policy for mid-program moves. An NP student would still need North Carolina clinicals. Educator, RN-BSN and DNP project students could shift practice work to Kansas under a license valid there. Talk with your advisor before you move.
Related pages
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.
UNCW asks you to find your own North Carolina preceptor. Let us run that search.
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 650toNSGL 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
Start your placement plan
Your program, city and next practicum term is all we need to begin.