Hawaii and JSU: what an island address means
An island address keeps you out of JSU's online FNP and AGACNP tracks, which Jacksonville State holds for residents of Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Its Population Health MSN and Post-Master's DNP print no state list at all; for those, JSU's instruction to anyone outside Alabama is to talk with the School of Nursing before applying.
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Tell us your JSU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your JSU course.
What Hawaii residents can apply to at JSU
| Program | Hawaii residents | Clinical detail |
|---|---|---|
| Family Nurse Practitioner, BSN-DNP | Not eligible | Five-state residency rule applies |
| Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP, BSN-DNP | Not eligible | Five-state residency rule applies |
| Post-Master's DNP | Contact the School of Nursing first | 630 residency hours and a July Dissemination Day on campus |
| MSN Population Health | Contact the School of Nursing first | Summer and fall practicums of 254 hours |
JSU's NP licensure disclosure (October 15, 2021) labels Hawaii not yet determined, a label it gives every state but Alabama. The licensure disclosure page walks through that document.
A Hawaii license is the only one that counts here
A Jax State nurse carrying an Alabama multistate license would find it gives no practice rights in Hawaii, which has stayed out of the compact. Any nursing there, clinical hours included, rests on a license Hawaii itself issues. AANP rates Hawaii full practice.
How the Board treats programs from the mainland
For RN-level post-licensure study, Hawaii's Board of Nursing keeps its distance. Its FAQ, built around LPN-RN and RN-BSN examples, says an online or distance program from out of state, lacking a Hawaii campus, is not something the Board approves; there is no form to file and no notice to send. That program's faculty need Hawaii licensure only for teaching or precepting done physically in the state.
Pre-licensure students get less room, since HRS 457-13(2) covers student practice only inside Board-accredited programs. Neither rule speaks to graduate or APRN study, which leaves a JSU practicum or DNP residency on the islands as a question for the School of Nursing, asked early.
Hawaii's preceptor credit, and who it leaves out
Hawaii created a preceptor income tax credit in 2018 (Act 43; HRS 235-110.25). It targets Hawaii residents who practice primary care in the state as physicians, APRNs or pharmacists; a qualifying rotation earns the credit once the Department of Health certifies it, within a personal yearly limit and a statewide cap.
For JSU students the snag is eligibility on the school side. An APRN student's program must be accredited in, or physically based in, Hawaii, and more than 50 percent of its students must be Hawaii residents, so a preceptor teaching a JSU student would not qualify.
Honolulu and the neighbor islands
Close to 989,000 people lived in the Urban Honolulu metro in the 2025 census estimates, several times the Kahului-Wailuku metro or the Hilo-Kailua micro area. The islands' systems include the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and The Queen's Health Systems, and Hawaii Pacific Health operates Pali Momi, Wilcox, Straub and Kapiolani.
Leaving the islands for a JSU NP state
A permanent move to Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi or Tennessee places you among the residents JSU considers for its NP tracks, while admission itself stays with JSU's review. The license shift is bigger than from most states: a Hawaii-only license gives way to a compact multistate license from your new home state. The Southeast also puts JSU's on-campus events within driving distance; see on-campus requirements.
Our placement work for JSU students
Whatever JSU's role in your placement, our search turns up a preceptor and site within JSU's rules, close to your future home. We build a complete file on each preceptor and site for JSU's faculty to review, and your CastleBranch requirements and JSU-approved malpractice coverage are settled before any site contact. DNP students get a preceptor able to commit to the full 16 months, and a fast replacement if one withdraws. Tell the desk your timeline on the contact page.
Questions JSU students ask
Can I study JSU's FNP track while living in Honolulu?
No. JSU's NP tracks look only at applicants whose home is in Alabama or one of the four states around it, a rule posted on the School of Nursing's graduate page. Relocate to one of those states and your application comes from there, with JSU's admissions review making the call.
Would my Alabama or Georgia multistate license let me practice in Hawaii?
No. Because Hawaii stays out of the compact, other states' multistate licenses give no privilege there, and any nursing in Hawaii, clinical hours included, calls for a Hawaii-issued license. How JSU words its own RN license rule is covered on the RN license page.
Does the Hawaii Board need to approve a JSU MSN practicum?
For RN-level post-licensure programs without a Hawaii campus, the Board says it neither approves them nor needs notice, and its guidance never turns to graduate or APRN programs. JSU asks non-Alabama residents to contact the School of Nursing before applying anyway, so ask there how a Hawaii practicum would be handled.
Is the Post-Master's DNP realistic from Hawaii?
JSU prints no state list for it, so start with the School of Nursing. Plan for travel too: every July, JSU's DNP timeline brings students, faculty and project-site staff to the Jacksonville campus for Dissemination Day. Residency details sit on the Post-Master's DNP page.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against JSU's 2026-27 catalog, nursing handbooks, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
- JSU School of Nursing: Graduate Nursing, State Approval of Online Programs
- JSU consumer information: professional licensure disclosures
- Hawaii Board of Nursing: out-of-state post-licensure program FAQ
- Hawaii Department of Taxation: Form N-358 instructions, preceptor credit
- AANP: state practice environment
Whether JSU helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your JSU program, your next practicum or residency and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather what JSU's faculty need to clear them, early enough for the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan, adult-gerontology acute care, DNP residencies
- License, certification and site details ready for JSU's clearance, with your CastleBranch and malpractice items in order
- Across Alabama and in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee
Start your placement plan
Your program, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.