Pennsylvania and your Spring Arbor clinicals
Every SAU nursing program is authorized in Pennsylvania, and no Pennsylvania rule we found makes an out-of-state program apply before placing you. The license side got simpler in July 2025, when Pennsylvania's compact membership took full effect.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Spring Arbor track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what your preceptor and site need to look like for Spring Arbor to approve them.
01Pennsylvania on SAU's list
Spring Arbor's nursing state list, checked September 24, 2026, names Pennsylvania as authorized. Next door, New York sits with Alabama, Arizona and Louisiana on the short list SAU does not serve. SAU's list does not say whether it governs where you live or where you train, so treat New York sites as off the table unless the program tells you otherwise.
| SAU program group | Pennsylvania | Clinical piece |
|---|---|---|
| NP tracks: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP-PC | Authorized | Pennsylvania preceptor you find, approved per rotation |
| Nurse Educator; MSN/MBA | Authorized | NUR 780B practicum, 125 hours |
| Post-master's certificates | Authorized | Same preceptor route as the MSN tracks |
| DNP (Strategic Leadership) | Authorized | Practicum hours, with NUR 880 if needed |
| RN-to-BSN | Authorized | Hours inside the courses, no preceptor |
Course codes here are the 2023-24 catalog's. Before you plan around one, check it against the current course list in Brightspace.
02What Pennsylvania's code says about visiting students
Our research turned up nothing from the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing, in its regulations or on its website, requiring a program based in another state to be approved before its students train in Pennsylvania. The board's Distance Education Application is meant for programs it already approves.
The provision that does speak to students is 49 Pa. Code § 21.118. If your RN license was issued in Canada or another U.S. jurisdiction and you are studying in an accredited graduate or BSN program, you may practice in the clinical settings that program requires without holding a Pennsylvania license, provided the clinical work is unpaid apart from stipends, scholarships or program awards. Someone who also wants to work as a Pennsylvania RN during the program has to apply by endorsement and get a temporary practice permit.
For most SAU students who live and work in Pennsylvania, that is background: you already hold a Pennsylvania license, or a compact license from the state you call home, and it covers you.
03Reduced practice and where to find preceptors
In AANP's ranking Pennsylvania is reduced practice. NPs there keep a written collaborative agreement with physicians for their whole careers, and prescribing needs agreements with two physicians or more. Since SAU's NP preceptors may be physicians or PAs as well as NPs, the physicians in a collaborative practice are candidates too.
Among the major systems are UPMC and Penn Medicine, alongside Jefferson Health, Penn State Health and Geisinger; the population centers include Philadelphia, Allentown-Bethlehem, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg-Carlisle. Begin with what SAU offers: the program director's list of providers who volunteered to host SAU students, sites that already hold an affiliation agreement, and your Student Success Coach. The outreach itself is covered in our guide to finding your own preceptor.
04Your license in a compact state
Pennsylvania's Nurse Licensure Compact membership was fully implemented on July 7, 2025. Since that date, nurses whose home state issued them an active, unencumbered multistate license can work as RNs in Pennsylvania on it. SAU's catalog wants your RN license unrestricted in the state of practice but is silent on compact licenses, so confirm which license the program will verify. Our RN license page walks through it.
05Why Spring Arbor students in Pennsylvania choose us
If the volunteer list and cold calls stall, we take over the search for a Pennsylvania preceptor who fits your track, then get the preceptor's details and SAU's agreement and verification paperwork ready at least a month before the course. SAU's faculty decide on approval with the whole file in front of them. Reach the placement desk.
Questions Spring Arbor students ask
Does Pennsylvania require SAU to register before I start clinicals?
Not as far as we can find. Pennsylvania's board publishes no approval step for schools based elsewhere, and its Distance Education Application is for programs it already approves. SAU's own requirements still apply in full: faculty approve every preceptor and site, and the agreement and verification forms have a four-week lead time.
Can I be paid for SAU clinical hours in Pennsylvania?
If you rely on § 21.118 because your license comes from outside Pennsylvania, the exemption holds only while the clinical work is unpaid; stipends, scholarships and awards tied to the program are the exceptions. SAU publishes nothing about paid clinical hours, so ask faculty before counting hours from a paid role toward your total.
Could a New York practice near the state line precept me?
Treat it as unlikely. SAU's nursing programs have no authorization in New York, and its list does not say whether it applies to where you live or where you train. SAU's FAQ also expects a preceptor in your home state. Keep the search in Pennsylvania unless the program director says otherwise.
Will Pennsylvania's new nursing education rules change anything for me?
Probably not for clinical access. IRRC #16A-5141, the board's broad rewrite of its education rules, reached the regulatory review commission in final form on September 8, 2026; the commission takes it up on October 15, 2026. The student-practice provision, § 21.118, comes through that final text largely unchanged. Watch the board's site for the effective date.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Spring Arbor's own published sources. SAU's nursing faculty and current catalog have the final word.
More preceptor leads, sooner, for your SAU clinicals.
Tell us your Spring Arbor track, where you live and when your clinical course starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit SAU's rules for your track and help you get the paperwork in on time.
- Matched to your track: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP, Nurse Educator or DNP
- Clinical agreement, affiliation and preceptor verification forms ready early
- In your home state, near where you live
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what an SAU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.