Virginia and Rivier University's NP programs
Virginia gives Rivier University's online students a straightforward regulatory setting. The State Guide marks it green for every graduate program, and Virginia's Board of Nursing tells schools outside the state that approving them is not its role. What remains is the search, whether you live near Richmond, Roanoke, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk or the Virginia side of the Washington metro.
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Tell us your Rivier program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Rivier course.
Virginia's State Guide colors
| Program | Virginia | Key |
|---|---|---|
| FNP (MSN and post-master's certificate) | Green | OK to accept |
| PMHNP (MSN and post-master's certificate) | Green | OK to accept |
| Nursing Education (MSN and certificate) | Green | OK to accept |
| Leadership in Health Systems Management | Green | OK to accept |
| DNP (Professional Practice and Systems Leadership) | Green | OK to accept |
| ASN/BSN pre-licensure | Yellow | Limiting criteria: call the undergraduate program director |
| RN-BSN | Green | OK to accept |
Pre-licensure is yellow; everything else is green. Acute care is absent from the chart, so AG-ACNP applicants in Virginia should raise it with the Program Director. About the State Guide.
No Board approval, and a narrow student exemption
Virginia's Board of Nursing leaves schools from other states, and post-licensure programs of any origin, out of its regulation and approval work. The clinical-site rules in 18VAC90-27, and the rule keeping 80 percent of clinical experience inside Virginia, bind the pre-licensure programs the Board itself approves.
There is also a statutory carve-out. Va. Code § 54.1-3001 exempts nurses enrolled in an advanced professional nursing program who hold a current, unrestricted RN license issued by some other state, and it covers only the clinical practice the curriculum requires. Rivier still asks for a license from the practicum state; the FAQ below covers how the two fit.
Restricted practice, with an experience route
AANP rates Virginia restricted. Virginia NPs practice under an agreement with a patient care team physician, unless they attest that their clinical experience adds up to three full-time years. So there are two kinds of NP preceptor to approach, those still working with a team physician and those practicing on their attestation, and either can serve if the practice fits your track and the NP has Rivier's two years in practice.
In 2026, SB 405 handed the Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program to the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center, and only preceptors whose students attend Virginia schools can use it. Leave it out when you ask a preceptor.
Where Virginia students search
By population, the Virginia portion of Washington-Arlington-Alexandria leads the four metros; Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk comes next, then Richmond, then Roanoke. Systems to research include Carilion Clinic, VCU Health and UVA Health, along with Inova and Sentara Health.
DNP students choosing a Virginia project site need an unencumbered Virginia or multistate RN license, and those in the Professional Practice track add a Virginia APRN license.
Licensing and the Nashua trips
Virginia joined the current Nurse Licensure Compact at its 2018 launch. With a multistate Virginia license you cover the practicum at home and campus days in New Hampshire alike. The APRN Compact has no Virginia enactment. License rules.
The FNP brings you to Nashua three times for nine days in all; PMHNP students attend three weekends, and the AG-ACNP asks for ten campus days.
Why Virginia students choose us
Virginia's light regulation puts the weight on the search, and the search is where we excel. We line up preceptors across your metro who meet Rivier's rules, gather what Rivier's request form asks of them, and deliver it ahead of the four-month mark. Rivier's graduate faculty approve the site, and we make their review straightforward. Start with the form.
Questions Rivier students ask
Does Virginia require Rivier to be approved before my practicum?
No Board approval applies. The Board's education page places schools from other states outside its approval work, and its clinical-site rules belong to Virginia's own pre-licensure programs. Plan around Rivier's steps instead: your faculty must approve the site and preceptor, and a contract between Rivier and the site must be signed.
Will my Virginia preceptor qualify for the Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program?
No. The program pays only for precepting students of Virginia's own nursing schools, public or private nonprofit, and Rivier is based in New Hampshire, so even a Virginia-licensed preceptor of a Rivier student is outside it. Administration passed from VDH, which took its last applications at the end of April 2026, to the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center.
Is Virginia green for Rivier's Leadership MSN?
Yes. Virginia's cell for Leadership in Health Systems Management is green. Its practicum needs an RN preceptor with a master's degree, business included, in a nurse leadership role. Rivier's course numbers for that practicum disagree: the 2026 program sheet shows NURS 571P, while the 2025-26 catalog lists NURS 562 and NURS 564. Your Program of Studies settles it.
Can I rely on Virginia's student exemption instead of a Virginia license?
Virginia's § 54.1-3001 does let RNs licensed in other states handle the clinical practice their advanced nursing program requires. Rivier's Handbook, however, wants your RN license issued by the state where the practicum takes place. Treat a Virginia or multistate license as the requirement, and take any other arrangement to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator first.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against Rivier's own Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog, academic calendar and State Guide. Your program of study, your course faculty, your Program Director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
Rivier asks you to identify a qualified preceptor. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Rivier track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who meet your track's rules, check early whether the site can contract with Rivier, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for, well ahead of August 1 and December 1.
- Preceptors matched to the track: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice for
NURS 511, a psychiatrist or PMH-certified NP forNURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist forNURS 638P - Preceptor license, credentials and CV ready for the Preceptor Request Form, with the site's contact details for the contract
- In your own area, in New Hampshire or any state Rivier's State Guide accepts
Start your placement plan
Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.