New York residents at USU: which programs are open and why the FNP isn't
New York requires NP programs to teach its state and federal prescription and record-keeping law, and USU doesn't offer that course, so it doesn't enroll New York residents in the FNP. The DNP is closed too. The RN-to-BSN and the Nurse Educator and Health Care Leadership MSNs are open, subject to New York's own clinical rules.
Taking USU's RN-to-BSN or an MSN from New York?
Tell us your course and your part of the state.
What a New York address lets you take at USU
| Program | Open to New York residents? | Practicum hours |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Family Nurse Practitioner | No | 540 across FNP592, FNP594, FNP596, FNP597 |
| DNP (post-master's) | No | 1,000 post-baccalaureate |
| MSN Nurse Educator | Yes | 100 in MSN578 |
| MSN Health Care Leadership | Yes | 100 in MSN587 |
| RN-to-BSN | Yes | 90 in NUR378 and NUR499 |
USU's board list approves New York for all its nursing programs except the DNP, the FNP and the closed Post-Master's FNP. The RN-to-BSN and Nurse Educator pages cover how those practicums run.
One missing course closes the FNP
USU's Board of Nursing and State Authorization disclosures give the reason: New York requires coursework on New York State and federal laws governing prescriptions and record keeping, and USU does not offer it. The same lists exclude the DNP without a separate explanation, so if that reason matters to you, ask USU admissions.
New York enforces the point from its side as well. NYSED's Office of the Professions says an NP program must itself be registered with NYSED for its students to do NP clinical rotations in the state, and warns that doing them otherwise could be illegal, with an exception for federal VA and US Armed Forces facilities.
If you finish USU's FNP while living elsewhere and later want to practice in New York, NYSED decides what you'd need. The prescription-law course USU names is the obvious gap to raise with NYSED first.
NYSED's rule for every out-of-state practicum
New York puts its own gate in front of every out-of-state practicum. Per NYSED, any nursing program that is online or based out of state needs NYSED registration or approval before it places students in New York clinical rotations. According to its Office of College and University Evaluation, such placements count as a physical presence that needs prior approval or exemption, even for SARA schools like USU.
So USU's SARA membership doesn't settle a New York practicum by itself. What USU's board list shows for New York is approval of the RN-to-BSN and non-FNP MSN programs, and before you commit to an agency for NUR378 or a teaching site for MSN578, confirm with your Clinical Placement Coordinator that your program's New York approval covers it.
No compact: you need a New York license
New York remains a non-compact state, and NYSED points RNs licensed elsewhere to its own licensure checklist. A multistate license from New Jersey or Pennsylvania doesn't cover a practicum in Buffalo or Albany. USU requires an active license where you do practicum hours, which at a New York site means New York RN licensure. Our RN license page walks through the rest.
AANP rates New York full practice, with a condition: until an NP logs 3,600 practice hours, a collaborating physician must be in place under a written practice agreement and protocols. For leadership or teaching residencies, the state's large systems include Northwell Health, NewYork-Presbyterian, NYC Health + Hospitals, Mount Sinai and UR Medicine's University of Rochester Medical Center, with Buffalo, Rochester and Albany the main metros outside New York City.
Neighbors, travel nurses and movers
About 13 million of the New York City metro's 20 million people live in New York; much of the rest live in New Jersey. A New Jersey resident in USU's FNP can ask for clinicals only in other states where USU is approved, and New York isn't one of them for this program, so a New York City practice can't host FNP hours, however short the commute.
USU's FNP handbook tells travel nurses to update their address to wherever they'll do clinicals, which makes a New York contract during FNP clinicals unworkable. A permanent move is harder still, because the catalog bars finishing a program after relocating to a state where it isn't offered. Speak to your Clinical Placement Coordinator before you accept either.
Why New York students choose us
USU doesn't enroll New York residents in its FNP or DNP, so our New York searches focus on the programs open to you. For an RN-to-BSN practicum or a Nurse Educator or Health Care Leadership residency, a placement advisor looks for an agency, preceptor or mentor near you that fits USU's criteria and helps you put together what USU's Office of Field Experience reviews. USU approves every site. Tell us what you need.
Questions USU students ask
Can I do my USU RN-to-BSN practicum at a New York agency?
Yes, if you hold a New York license and USU approves the agency. The practicum is 90 hours across NUR378 and NUR499 with one agency leader, at an agency that serves vulnerable community populations and is open to the public. Because NYSED regulates out-of-state programs' placements, confirm the site with your Clinical Placement Coordinator early.
Can hours from my New York teaching job count toward USU's Nurse Educator residency?
No. USU's practicum handbook says hours that are part of your own job don't count toward MSN578. Your preceptor needs an MSN or doctorate, a year as an RN in the specialty and a healthcare or academic employer, and can't be your direct supervisor or a relative. The residency runs 100 hours at a 1:1 ratio.
Does a New Jersey multistate license let me do USU practicum hours in New York?
No. New York has no Compact membership, which means a multistate license from New Jersey or another compact state carries no authority to practice there. You'd need a New York RN license before any practicum hours in the state, alongside the license from your state of residence that USU also requires.
Does USU's SARA membership cover clinical placements in New York?
Not on its own. According to NYSED, placements in any of New York's licensed professions require its Office of the Professions to grant approval or an exemption beforehand, and that applies to out-of-state SARA schools as well. USU's Board of Nursing list shows New York approval for the RN-to-BSN and non-FNP MSN programs; ask your Clinical Placement Coordinator how that applies to your site.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against USU's own catalog, handbooks and disclosures. USU's current handbook and your Clinical Placement Coordinator have the final word.
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