Doing Troy University clinicals in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania shows up with a plain Yes, no extra step, on Troy University's online nursing clinical table, a document whose rows all carry the date December 15, 2020. Pennsylvania law lets an RN from another state finish program-required graduate clinicals on a home-state license, yet Troy's own license rule reads more narrowly. Settling that gap with your faculty advisor comes before any preceptor call.
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Tell us your Troy program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Troy course.
Pennsylvania in Troy's own documents
None of these rows decides licensure, and the clinical table is years out of date. Check Pennsylvania's current status twice, once with the Clinical Placements Specialist and once with the Coordinator of State Authorizations, and compare it with neighboring options on Troy's clinicals by state if you live near a border.
| Document | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Online Nursing Programs disclosure | Yes for RN to BSN, MSN and DNP clinicals, no note, dated 12/15/2020 |
| State authorization page | Among the 40 states Troy lists under SARA |
| MSN Student Orientation Manual and DNP manual | Licensure in the clinical state, unencumbered and current through the semester, before out-of-state preceptor requests are processed |
| MSN program page | Warns that the online MSN may not be available in every state |
What the Pennsylvania Board asks of visiting programs
Little is written down. Pennsylvania's nursing regulations, as published, give out-of-state and distance programs no approval hurdle ahead of clinicals, and the Distance Education Application on the Board's site serves schools already holding Board approval.
The key provision is § 21.118 of Title 49 of the Pennsylvania Code. Someone holding a current RN license from another U.S. jurisdiction or from Canada, who is a student in an accredited nursing program at the BSN or graduate level, may practice, unlicensed by Pennsylvania, in any clinical setting the program calls for. The catch is pay: apart from stipends, scholarships or program awards, the student cannot be compensated. Taking an RN job there while enrolled is another matter, calling for a Pennsylvania license by endorsement, with a temporary permit in the meantime.
IRRC #16A-5141, a sweeping rewrite of the Board's education rules, was submitted as a final-form regulation on September 8, 2026, with the Independent Regulatory Review Commission setting October 15 for its public meeting. In that final text, § 21.118 survives with little change.
Troy's license rule and the Pennsylvania exemption
Here two sources point different ways. Section 21.118 would let a nurse holding only an Alabama or Georgia license train in a Pittsburgh clinic, yet Troy's graduate manuals want an unencumbered license issued for the clinical state and hold out-of-state preceptor requests until that proof is filed.
A second path opened on July 7, 2025, when Pennsylvania finished implementing the Nurse Licensure Compact: anyone holding a multistate license in good standing can now practice there. Whether Troy counts the exemption or a compact license as proof is your faculty advisor's call, so get it in writing before recruiting. Pennsylvania has not adopted the APRN Compact. Troy's side of the rule is on RN license for clinicals.
Ask Troy which license proof it accepts for Pennsylvania before a preceptor commits; the state exemption and Troy's rule are not the same test.
Two-physician prescribing and the Pennsylvania map
AANP rates Pennsylvania reduced practice. By AANP's summary, a Pennsylvania NP never outgrows the physician agreement, and prescribing only happens under collaborative agreements signed with two or more physicians. Physicians and physician assistants are acceptable FNP preceptors at Troy as well, which widens your options; the full list is under who can precept an FNP student.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the two giant metros; Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton and Harrisburg-Carlisle trail well behind. Big system names recur in any search: UPMC and Geisinger, for example, alongside Penn State Health, Jefferson Health and Penn Medicine. Each keeps its own rules for student requests, so use them to decide where to look, not as sites committed to Troy students.
Where we come in for Pennsylvania students
Every Pennsylvania search we run starts by pinning down the license question with you. Then we recruit preceptors near your home who suit your course, sit outside your workplace and haven't worked with you as a preceptor before, and we have the Preceptor Information Form and Biosketch material ready well before Troy's deadline. If a practice lacks a formal contract with Troy, you know early. Start with the form.
Questions Troy students ask
Is Pennsylvania on Troy's list of states for online nursing clinicals?
Yes. Troy's Online Nursing Programs disclosure marks Pennsylvania Yes, no condition, for the RN Mobility BSN, the MSN and the DNP alike. Every row in it dates from December 15, 2020, so a quick confirmation from the Clinical Placements Specialist is worth having before you build a search.
Is a Pennsylvania license required for my Troy clinicals?
Pennsylvania itself may not require one: § 21.118 covers unpaid, program-required clinicals for RNs licensed elsewhere, and multistate compact licenses have been honored since July 2025. Troy's manuals, though, want a license from the state you train in. Your faculty advisor decides which proof Troy will take.
Can I work as a paid RN in Pennsylvania during my Troy program?
The § 21.118 exemption is for unpaid clinical practice the program requires, with stipends, scholarships and program awards allowed. For paid RN work in Pennsylvania, the Board expects a Pennsylvania license by endorsement, bridged by a temporary permit, unless your multistate compact license already covers you.
Will Pennsylvania's nursing education rulemaking change my clinicals?
The rewrite landed in final form in September 2026, with the Independent Regulatory Review Commission meeting on it in mid-October. The graduate-student exemption comes through the final text in substantially its current form. Watch the Board's announcements, and ask Troy whether anything shifts for your semester.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Troy's own 2026-27 MSN, DNP, AMSN and RN to BSN orientation manuals, program pages, degree maps and state authorization pages. Your faculty advisor, your course faculty and the School of Nursing have the final word.
Troy asks you to recruit your preceptor. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Troy program, where you live and which semester your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors who meet Troy's rules for the course, check the setting against Troy's limits, and prepare everything the Preceptor Information Form and biosketch ask for, well ahead of the form deadline.
- Preceptors matched to the course: a graduate-prepared NP or physician for
NSG 6619, pediatrics and women's health forNSG 6666, adults and older adults forNSG 6668 - Preceptor Information Form details, a biosketch and a copy of the preceptor's license, ready for your faculty advisor
- In your own area, in Alabama or a state where Troy can offer clinicals, never in your own work setting
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