From Massachusetts to a UCCS state
UCCS's online nursing programs are closed to Massachusetts residents for now: the NP tracks draw from 14 listed states and the RN to BSN from 21, and neither roster includes Massachusetts. If UCCS is your goal, step one is making a listed state your home, and that state is also where your clinical hours happen.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UCCS program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UCCS course.
The short answer for Massachusetts residents
Each UCCS route below depends on where you physically live at the time you apply.
| UCCS route | Available to a Massachusetts resident? | Where you would complete clinicals |
|---|---|---|
| Online MSN (FNP, AGNP or PMHNP) | No, until you live in one of the 14 NP states | Close to your new home, with a preceptor you secure |
| RN to MSN or Post-Graduate NP Certificate | No, same 14-state rule | Close to your new home |
| BSN to DNP or Post-Master's DNP | Requires an RN license from a UCCS-approved state | NP clinicals follow the residence rule |
| RN to BSN | No; New York is the nearest state on its list | NURS 4450 at a community site you choose, with faculty approval |
A compact state on paper, not yet in practice
Here is the wrinkle. Lawmakers adopted the compact for Massachusetts late in 2024, but the state's nursing board says nothing changes until the rollout is done, and it has set May 2027 as its target now that the FBI has conditionally cleared its background-check process (May 2026). In the meantime, a multistate license issued elsewhere does not authorize nursing work in Massachusetts, and the usual state application still governs.
That timing matters for a move. UCCS's handbooks call for a multistate license for hours in compact states and a state-issued RN license in Alaska, California and Nevada, so settle the license for your new state with its board early; the RN license guide lays out both cases. AANP's ratings count Massachusetts as full practice once an NP clears two years under the supervision of a qualifying APRN or physician, and equivalent experience may stand in.
How Massachusetts handles schools from other states
Outside schools face a two-step filing under 244 CMR 6.03(2). Step one, approval of the parent institution, is renewed annually and lodged at least half a year before the first placement. Step two is placement-specific, lodged at least 30 days out for every student, and the Board's approval letter must be in hand before day one. The criteria are written around NCLEX preparation, with graduate and APRN programs left unmentioned. Neither step would arise for a UCCS student, because UCCS hours stay in listed states.
Among the state's major employers are Baystate Health, UMass Memorial Health, the Boston Medical Center system and Beth Israel Lahey Health, plus Mass General Brigham. Its metros run from greater Boston and Worcester to Springfield and the Massachusetts portion of greater Providence. Experience there is a strong RN foundation to carry west or south.
Making UCCS's model work after the move
New York, next door, is on UCCS's RN to BSN list only; the New York guide covers it. The NP states reach from Florida to Alaska, most of them in the western half of the country.
Wherever you settle, UCCS expects you to find clinical hours near home, then processes a Clinical Site Sheet, signs an Affiliation Agreement and preceptor letter, and emails the go-ahead. Settle for the long term if you can, because a move after admission can affect finishing or later licensure, as moving during the program explains.
Our part after you relocate
Nurses who move for UCCS use us to turn a new city into a working clinical plan. We reach clinicians around your new address whose credentials and specialty match your course and UCCS's rules, lock in exact hours and signatory details, and have the Clinical Site Sheet ready early so the agreement clock starts sooner. Share your plans on the contact page.
Questions UCCS students ask
Can I study UCCS's online NP program from Boston?
Not from a Massachusetts home. UCCS names 14 states for its NP programs and says applicants living elsewhere are not eligible for admission or clinical placement. Relocating to a listed state lets you apply as its resident, though admission remains UCCS's decision.
Will my Massachusetts license work for UCCS clinicals in a compact state?
Massachusetts has enacted the compact, but its Board says the compact is not yet in effect and is targeting May 2027. UCCS asks for a multistate license when hours happen in a compact state, so plan the license for your new state with that state's board well before your first course.
Does 244 CMR 6.03 apply to graduate NP programs?
The Board's out-of-state program page frames the rule around programs preparing NCLEX candidates and does not address graduate or APRN programs. For UCCS students the question has no practical effect, since UCCS clinicals stay in its listed states.
Would UCCS's NP curriculum meet Massachusetts's education requirements later?
UCCS's APRN licensure disclosure marks Massachusetts as a state where its curriculum meets education requirements. That covers coursework only, not admission and not a licensing decision, so confirm with the Board of Registration in Nursing if you plan to return.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against UCCS's catalog, practicum handbooks and college pages. Your degree plan, the handbook for your cohort and the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
UCCS asks you to find your clinical hours where you live. Let us run that search.
Tell us your UCCS track, your next clinical course and where you live. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the details your Clinical Site Sheet needs, early enough for the agreement to be signed before the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NURS 6900, acute and chronic care forNURS 6915andNURS 6925, psychiatric prescribers forNURS 6801toNURS 6803 - Credentials, license, certification and the site's signer ready for the Clinical Site Sheet
- In Colorado Springs, along the Front Range, or in any of UCCS's approved states
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