Utah residents and UCCS: the NP route and the question to ask first
Utah sits on UCCS's approved list, so a Utah resident can take UCCS's online NP tracks or its RN to BSN and log clinical hours without leaving the state. Utah, though, makes out-of-state nursing programs satisfy its licensing division and Board before they place students, and no public list showing UCCS surfaced in the research behind this guide. Confirm with UCCS early.
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.
Which UCCS programs a Utahn can take
UCCS grants access by state of physical residence, and Utah counts for the graduate NP list as well as the RN to BSN list. Classes are online; rotations happen where you live. The overall rule is set out on UCCS's approved-states page.
| Program | Utah residents eligible? | Location of clinical hours |
|---|---|---|
| MSN tracks: FNP, AGNP, PMHNP | Yes | Utah, at a site and with a preceptor you secure |
| RN to MSN | Yes | Bridge without clinicals, then Utah NP rotations |
| Post-Graduate NP Certificate | Yes | Utah, as your GAP analysis lays out |
| BSN to DNP or Post-Master's DNP | Yes, given an RN license from a state UCCS approves | Utah rotations and DNP project work |
| RN to BSN | Yes | NURS 4450 at a Utah community site |
| Traditional or Accelerated BSN | Only for people living in or headed to Colorado | Colorado placements UCCS assigns |
R156-31b-609 and UCCS's standing in Utah
Utah's rule, R156-31b-609, applies whenever a school based outside Utah sends nursing students to Utah facilities for clinical or practicum experience, graduate programs included. Utah's licensing division and its Board must be satisfied first on four fronts:
- Credentials: a green light from the school's home-state board, and a nursing accreditor, recognized by the federal Education Department, vouching for it.
- Faculty: on the program's payroll, qualified under its accreditor's and home state's standards, attached to a higher-education institution, and, for anyone supervising face to face in Utah, licensed in Utah or a compact state.
- Oversight: a written plan for choosing and overseeing faculty or preceptors, and for picking clinical sites.
- Preceptors: every one used in Utah licensed in good standing there or in another compact state.
Then, by August 1 each year, the school owes the Board a report: how many students it placed in Utah, a statement that the faculty and preceptors working with them in person hold Utah or compact licenses, and proof its accreditation is current.
Research for this guide found no public Utah record showing UCCS has satisfied these steps. That is a gap in public information, and only UCCS can close it, so put the question to the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator before you accept a Utah preceptor.
Get UCCS's answer on Utah's out-of-state program rule before you sign on with a Utah site, not after.
Compacts, full practice and preceptor standards
Utah belongs to the revised Nurse Licensure Compact, live since January 2018. Its APRN Compact signature dates to March 2022, but that compact stays idle until seven states are in, and only five are. AANP puts Utah in the full practice group. License rules for UCCS clinicals show how compact membership plays into your hours.
UCCS's preceptor standards run alongside Utah's. FNP and AGNP students need an NP, MD, DO or PA licensed in Utah with two years of experience; PMHNP students work with psychiatric prescribers and, with Option Coordinator approval, may log a limited number of hours with an LCSW, licensed counselor or psychologist. The preceptor requirements page lists the rest.
Salt Lake City to St. George
Most Utahns live along the Wasatch Front. Salt Lake City-Murray tops the list at about 1.3 million, Provo-Orem-Lehi follows near 773,000 and Ogden sits around 673,000, while St. George anchors the southwest at roughly 214,000. Intermountain Health is the name most Utahns know, with MountainStar Healthcare (an HCA Healthcare system) and University of Utah Health also major; read them as a guide to where clinicians practice rather than as UCCS partners.
FNP and AGNP rotations belong in primary care, so outpatient clinics matter more than hospital units; PMHNP students may use both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings. For the RN to BSN's NURS 4450, public health programs tied to Utah's Department of Health and Human Services are one starting point, with faculty approving the final site.
Our Utah search, start to finish
Utah students have one more item to settle than most, and our process makes room for it. Your placement advisor tracks down a clinician suited to your UCCS course who is licensed to practice in Utah, fills in every detail the Clinical Site Sheet calls for, and gets it to UCCS early so the college has time for its agreement steps. When a preceptor pulls out, the hunt for a new one starts at once. See how it works.
Questions UCCS students ask
Can I enroll in UCCS's PMHNP track while living in Utah?
Yes. Utah is on UCCS's list for the online MSN, including Psychiatric-Mental Health, and for the RN to MSN and certificate. PMHNP hours are done in Utah with psychiatric prescribers, and UCCS allows only providers in its approved states even when care happens by telehealth. Admission decisions rest with UCCS.
Has UCCS met Utah's requirements for out-of-state nursing programs?
Public records located for this guide do not say either way. Utah asks out-of-state programs to satisfy its Division and Board before placing students and to report every August, yet no public list showing UCCS turned up. Ask UCCS directly before you commit to a Utah site.
Must a Utah preceptor hold a Utah license specifically?
Utah's rule lets out-of-state programs use preceptors in good standing with a Utah or compact-state license, and UCCS wants preceptors licensed in the state where your hours happen. For a Utah rotation, plan on a preceptor fully licensed to practice in Utah in their role.
Is UCCS's NP curriculum recognized for Utah APRN licensure?
UCCS's APRN licensure disclosure includes Utah among the states where its curriculum meets educational requirements. That is a statement about coursework, separate from admission and from Utah's placement rule, and Utah's licensing division makes the actual licensing decision. See the disclosure explained.
What if I move from Utah to Idaho or Colorado mid-program?
Both are listed states, but UCCS ties your enrollment to where you physically live, and relocating can change your clinical plan or your licensing path. Speak with UCCS before you move and read moving during the program.
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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