Liberty University practicum in Pennsylvania
Every Liberty online nursing track can hold practicum in Pennsylvania. State rules are relaxed for graduate students licensed elsewhere, but Liberty asks for a Pennsylvania or multistate RN license, and that's the rule that decides. New York, over the northern line, is closed to Liberty NP practicum.
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Tell us your Liberty track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
Pennsylvania is open to every Liberty track
Liberty's licensure lookup lists Pennsylvania as approved for practicum across its online nursing programs. Course numbers follow the 2026-27 catalog.
| Track | Practicum courses | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| DNP – FNP | NURS 771, NURS 772, NURS 838, then DNP practicums | Approved |
| DNP – PMHNP (Post-BSN, Post-MSN) | NURS 768, NURS 769, NURS 770, then DNP practicums | Approved |
| PMHNP certificate | NURS 754 and NURS 755 per the catalog; the web page lists 768 to 770 | Approved |
| DNP (post-master's) | NURS 840 to NURS 843 | Approved |
| MSN tracks and dual degrees | Three practicum courses, 300 hours | Approved |
| RN-to-BSN | NURS 440 community observation | Approved |
Liberty approves each site and preceptor on top of this, so an approved state isn't a waiting placement. Totals by track are on clinical hours.
Pennsylvania's clinical rule for nurses licensed elsewhere
49 Pa. Code § 21.118 covers an RN licensed by Canada or another U.S. jurisdiction who is a student in an accredited BSN or graduate nursing program. That nurse may practice nursing in the program's required clinical settings with no Pennsylvania license. The student can't be paid, although stipends, scholarships and program awards are allowed. If that student also wants an RN job in Pennsylvania, they have to apply for a temporary practice permit and for licensure by endorsement.
Liberty's rule is narrower. Its licensure pages ask for an RN license valid in the practicum state, which here means a Pennsylvania or multistate license. Liberty's rule is the one your site approval depends on, so don't lean on § 21.118 without the practicum team's agreement.
We found no regulation or web guidance from the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing requiring out-of-state programs to get approval before they place students. The Distance Education Application covers programs the board has already approved. A rewrite of the board's education rules (IRRC #16A-5141) moved to final form on September 8, 2026, before an October 15 public meeting, and leaves § 21.118 substantially unchanged.
Written agreements shape NP practice here
Pennsylvania is reduced practice in the AANP's ratings. Nurse practitioners must keep a written agreement with physicians for their whole career, and prescriptive authority depends on collaborative agreements with no fewer than two physicians. Your NP preceptor works inside those agreements, but they're the NP's arrangements, not Liberty conditions on who may teach you.
Liberty hasn't published FNP preceptor credentials. An older PMHNP FAQ named PMHNPs and psychiatrists, with a prescriber required for half of each practicum's hours; confirm the current rule on preceptor requirements. No Pennsylvania preceptor incentive appears in our research.
Philadelphia to Pittsburgh: where students look
Geisinger, UPMC, Penn State Health, Jefferson Health and Penn Medicine rank among Pennsylvania's biggest systems. They show where clinical teaching happens, not where Liberty has agreements, and a smaller practice can serve just as well once Liberty approves it.
By Census estimates, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro holds about 4.2 million Pennsylvanians and the Pittsburgh metro about 2.4 million. Next in size are Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton and Harrisburg-Carlisle. The Allentown-area metro reaches into New Jersey, which is approved for every Liberty program.
The northern border is different. A site across the New York line won't work for the FNP, either PMHNP DNP or the PMHNP certificate, because Liberty doesn't place those practicums in New York.
A New York clinic is off the table for Liberty NP tracks, however close it is to your Pennsylvania home.
Licensing: a compact state since July 2025
Since July 7, 2025, when Pennsylvania fully implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact, nurses whose compact home state issued them a multistate license can use it here, alongside Pennsylvania's own license. If your license is single-state from outside the compact, you'll need a Pennsylvania license to meet Liberty's rule. Pennsylvania hasn't enacted the APRN Compact. See RN license for practicum.
Why Pennsylvania students choose us
We look for a Pennsylvania preceptor and site suited to your Liberty track and put together the preceptor and site documents Liberty's Gate course collects. Approval of every site and preceptor stays with Liberty, and the documents we prepare are the ones it asks to see. Start with the form below.
Questions Liberty students ask
Do I need a Pennsylvania RN license for Liberty clinicals in Pennsylvania?
Not if your active multistate license comes from a compact state, since Pennsylvania joined the compact in 2025. Liberty's rule is a license valid in the practicum state. The § 21.118 exemption covering RNs from other states in graduate programs is broader than Liberty's rule, so get the practicum team's view before relying on it.
Does Pennsylvania make out-of-state nursing programs register clinical placements?
No such rule turned up in our research. The board's distance-education application only covers programs it has already approved, and no rule or guidance we found asks out-of-state programs to seek approval before clinicals. A rulemaking under review in fall 2026 keeps the clinical exemption for out-of-state RNs largely as it is.
Can a physician precept a Liberty student in Pennsylvania?
It depends on the track, and Liberty hasn't published a full answer. An older Liberty PMHNP FAQ listed psychiatrists alongside PMHNPs as approved preceptors. For the FNP, Liberty's preceptor credentials aren't public, so ask the practicum team before you approach a physician practice. Pennsylvania's NP practice rules don't settle it; Liberty does.
I live in northern Pennsylvania near New York. Where can my FNP practicum be?
Anywhere Liberty approves for FNP practicum, and New York isn't on that list. Pennsylvania sites, or sites in another approved state where your license is valid, are the options. Liberty's program pages caution that NP students may face long drives, and turning down a Liberty-offered site on distance grounds leaves you to source the replacement.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against Liberty's own published sources. The practicum team and Liberty's current handbook have the final word.
More leads, sooner, for your practicum.
Tell us your Liberty program, your county and when your practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit Liberty's rules for your track, and help you get the Gate-course paperwork right.
- Matched to your track: FNP, PMHNP, DNP or MSN
- Paperwork ready for the Gate course and the site contract
- In person near you, or telehealth where your track allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.