Georgia nurses and Ohio University's online programs
Ohio University's graduate nursing programs, from the online MSN tracks to the certificates and MSN-to-DNP, are closed to Georgia residents as of September 2026, because Georgia is not on the approved-state list. The RN-to-BSN is different: every version of its state list includes Georgia. For clinicals here, Georgia's Board takes a light touch with post-licensure programs and a firm one with licenses.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Ohio University program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
The short answer for Georgia
Ohio University admits graduate nursing applicants who live in, and hold an unrestricted RN license from, one of 28 approved states. Georgia is outside that group, and the provost's MSN licensure disclosure also marks it "No".
| Program | Georgia residents | Delivery | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN NP tracks: FNP, PMHNP, AG-ACNP | Not eligible to apply | Online | 750 each |
| Post-master's NP certificates | Not eligible to apply | Online | 750; Emergency NP 450 or 500 |
| MSN-to-DNP | Not eligible to apply | Online | 1,000 post-baccalaureate |
| Nurse Leader or Nurse Educator MSN | Not eligible to apply | Online | 500 |
| RN-to-BSN | Georgia is on every published list | 100% online, 5-week courses | 31.5 |
State lists do change. Confirm with Ohio University before you apply or relocate, and see the approved states page for the 28 states and the RN-to-BSN versions.
A Board that stays out of post-licensure education
Georgia's nursing board sits inside the Secretary of State's office, and its education rules draw a sharp line at licensure. Programs for nurses who are already licensed, from RN-BSN up through APRN, fall outside what the Board approves or oversees, so Georgia adds no program-approval step before an Ohio University RN-to-BSN student starts clinical hours. Pre-licensure schools face the reverse: the Board reports approving none based outside Georgia or online for clinicals here.
The license rule is where Georgia holds firm. Living in Georgia while studying with a school headquartered elsewhere, you may log hours at a Georgia site only with a Georgia-issued license or a fellow compact state's multistate license. Your faculty and preceptor face that same test whenever they teach in Georgia, on site or online. For graduate APRN programs, the Board wants clinical teaching done by nurses who hold Georgia APRN authorization.
Restricted practice and a credit kept for Georgia programs
AANP places Georgia in its restricted category: an NP works under a physician's delegation or supervision, and prescribing Schedule II drugs carries limits. Expect a Georgia NP preceptor's schedule to reflect that physician tie.
PTIP, Georgia's Preceptor Tax Incentive Program, rewards uncompensated community-based teaching by Georgia-licensed physicians, dentists, APRNs and PAs through a state income tax credit tied to 160-hour rotations. HB 144 reworked and lengthened the program, the Augusta University AHEC page reports, and preceptors must register every year starting in 2026. Eligibility follows the student: only learners in Georgia's own schools of medicine, dentistry, NP and PA education count, which leaves an Ohio University student's preceptor outside it.
Atlanta, Savannah and the border metros
The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro held about 6.5 million people in 2025 Census estimates, far ahead of Savannah. Two more metros straddle borders: Augusta-Richmond County spills into South Carolina and Columbus into Alabama. Large systems in the state include Emory Healthcare, Grady Health System, Northside Hospital, Piedmont Healthcare and Wellstar Health System. Read them as a picture of the market, with no known tie to Ohio University students.
Georgia's compact status: in effect since January 19, 2018, with the separate APRN Compact not enacted. The RN license page covers training across a state line.
Why Georgia nurses work with us
For Georgia RNs in Ohio University's RN-to-BSN, your placement advisor lines up a preceptor with a BSN or higher, licensed in Georgia, a community site with patients of every age for NRSE 4585, and a site ready for your NRSE 4595 project, then prepares the Preceptor Agreement details ahead of the deadline. Georgians planning a move to an approved neighbor, Florida, South Carolina or North Carolina, can have the search for their new home started early. Ohio University graduate students thinking of moving to Georgia should check with the School of Nursing first. Share your plan on the contact page.
Questions Ohio University students ask
Can I take Ohio University's online FNP from Atlanta?
Not while you live in Georgia. It is absent from the 28 approved states on Ohio University's MSN application page (checked September 2026), and applicants must live in an approved state and hold an unrestricted RN license there. That single list governs the PMHNP and AG-ACNP tracks, the certificates and the MSN-to-DNP too. Check with Ohio University before you plan around a change of address.
Is there a Georgia Board approval step before Ohio University clinicals?
Not for the RN-to-BSN or other post-licensure study. Georgia's Board says it neither approves nor regulates education for already-licensed nurses, APRN programs included, so a program from outside Georgia files nothing with it before placing those students. You, your faculty and your preceptor still have to meet Georgia's license rules, and hospitals may want agreements of their own.
Would a Georgia preceptor earn PTIP credit for an Ohio University student?
No. PTIP counts only rotations for learners at Georgia's own schools of medicine, dentistry, NP and PA education, and Ohio University is an Ohio school. Preceptors who want the current PTIP rules can read the Georgia Department of Revenue credit page and the Augusta University AHEC program page.
What license do I need for clinical hours in Georgia?
The Georgia Board's rule on residents enrolled in out-of-state programs accepts two credentials: Georgia's own license, or a compact state's multistate license. Since Georgia belongs to the compact, a multistate license issued by Georgia also works at sites in fellow member states such as Florida and the Carolinas, subject to each site's own requirements.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Ohio University's own catalog, program pages and Nursing Knowledge Center. Your syllabus, the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and your faculty have the final word.
Ohio University lets you choose your preceptor. We find the right one.
Tell us your Ohio University program, your community and your next clinical course. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare what faculty review before they approve them.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for the FNP
NRSE 6840sequence, acute care for AG-ACNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP - Your clinical packet details ready ahead of Ohio University's packet deadline
- Close to home, in Ohio or in any state where Ohio University admits graduate nurses
Start your placement plan
Program, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.