Utah clinicals for Samford FNP and PMHNP students
Utah residents can apply to all of Samford's nurse practitioner tracks, and Samford's disclosure says the tracks meet Utah's licensure requirements. Utah also writes down what it expects of schools from elsewhere: before placing students, a program must satisfy Utah's licensing division and nursing board, rely on preceptors holding Utah or compact licenses, and report every year.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Samford program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Samford course.
Samford and Utah applicants
Utah is not on Samford's list of 16 states closed to NP applicants. In the disclosure dated September 3, 2025, Utah's row points to the Division of Professional Licensing's nursing page, and Utah falls under the disclosure's finding that the NP tracks clear the state's educational bar for licensure.
| Program | Utah applicants | Licensure |
|---|---|---|
| FNP: MSN, ADN to MSN, BSN to DNP, MSN to DNP | Accepted | Meets (September 3, 2025) |
| PMHNP: MSN, ADN to MSN, MSN to DNP | Accepted | Meets (September 3, 2025) |
| FNP and PMHNP post-graduate certificates | Accepted | Not covered by a published disclosure |
| Nurse Anesthesia DNP | No state bar; online only for the first two semesters | Meets (August 28, 2025) |
| Online RN to BSN | Accepted | Meets (BSN disclosure) |
Our state authorization page explains Samford's lists in full.
Rule R156-31b-609 in plain words
Rule R156-31b-609 tells a nursing school based elsewhere to satisfy two bodies, Utah's licensing division (DOPL) and its nursing board, before any of its students begin clinical or practicum work in a Utah agency. The checklist covers the school's standing (approval from its home board and an accrediting body for nursing that the federal education department recognizes), its instructors (on the program's payroll, qualified under accreditor and home-state standards, tied to a college or university, and holding a Utah or compact license whenever they supervise face to face), and a written approach to how preceptors and clinical sites get chosen and supervised.
Nothing in the rule separates first-license programs from graduate ones, so NP clinicals appear to fall inside it. A yearly report is due August 1, giving the school's Utah student count, vouching for the licenses of faculty and preceptors who work with students in person, and verifying accreditation. Samford's programs are CCNE accredited through June 30, 2035 (details). All of this is Samford's paperwork. Before you lock in a preceptor, ask how a Utah rotation fits, since Samford's handbook lists state rules among the reasons a rotation request may be denied.
Preceptor licenses and where students look
The rule reaches preceptors directly. Utah wants each one used by a visiting school to hold either its own license or a compact-state license, and that license has to be in good standing. AANP rates Utah full practice, which brings NP-owned clinics into the pool with physician offices, each one subject to Samford's approval. Match the setting to the course: adult primary care for NURG 723, a practice seeing children for NURG 724, psychiatric care for NURG 788 to NURG 790.
Census estimates for 2025 put Salt Lake City-Murray near 1.3 million people, Provo-Orem-Lehi near 773,000, Ogden near 673,000 and St. George near 214,000. Intermountain Health, the University of Utah's health system and HCA's MountainStar Healthcare are examples of where NP students look, as are community clinics and private practices.
Licenses for a Utah rotation
Under Samford's handbook, an unencumbered RN license must cover both your practice state and each rotation state. Utah entered the Nurse Licensure Compact when it began in January 2018. It also enacted the APRN Compact in March 2022, but that compact sits idle: five states have joined, seven are required, and NCSBN told boards in May 2026 that it wants a redesign.
Look at the borders before planning a rotation near St. George or the Four Corners. Arizona, Colorado and Nevada are all states whose residents Samford's NP tracks decline, and Nevada has no compact membership either, so ask Samford before planning a clinic across those lines. Idaho and Wyoming are accepted Samford states with their own guides.
Why Utah students choose us
Utah's rule makes a well-documented preceptor worth more. Samford calls personal and professional connections essential to placements near home, and we bring them: a preceptor along the Wasatch Front or in southern Utah whose license fits the state's rule, matched to the exact Samford course, with the preceptor and site details Samford needs for an affiliation agreement delivered early. If a preceptor leaves partway through a course, your placement advisor already has the next search moving. Begin at the form below.
Questions Samford students ask
Can I enroll in Samford's online NP program from Utah?
Yes. Utah is not one of the excluded states, so you may apply to either specialty as a master's, doctoral or certificate student. Clinical rotations take place in Utah, and the last question on this page covers the trips to Birmingham.
Is an NP rotation covered by Utah's rule for outside schools?
It appears so. The rule treats clinical and practicum placements alike, with no carve-out for graduate study, and the obligations it lists fall on the school rather than the student. Samford reviews each rotation request, so confirm with Samford how it handles a Utah site before you commit to a preceptor.
What license must a Utah preceptor hold?
Either Utah's own license or a compact-state license, as long as it is in good standing. Samford then applies its own review, guided by the policies in its NP Clinical Manual. Check both before you ask a clinician to precept you, and see our preceptor requirements page for what Samford publishes.
How many trips to Birmingham should a Utah student plan?
It depends on the track. Samford's FNP MSN and certificate pages list two to three on-campus intensives, the FNP BSN to DNP lists three sessions of two to four days, and the PMHNP pages list one or two, some described as on-campus or telehealth. The intensives guide shows where they fall.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Samford's own program pages, plans of study, the 2026-27 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Alabama rules. Your course, your program coordinator and Graduate Student Services have the final word.
Samford says connections are essential. We are the connection.
Tell us your Samford track, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare the details Samford needs to approve the rotation, including a new affiliation agreement where one is needed.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
NURG 723, family practice across the lifespan forNURG 724, psychiatric care forNURG 788 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your clinical rotation request
- In your own community, anywhere Samford accepts you and your RN license is valid
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.