Studying with Miami Regional University from Hawaii
Because Hawaii takes part in SARA, you can enroll in MRU's online nurse practitioner programs, RN-to-BSN or leadership MSN from any of the islands. Distance is the real issue: Hawaii sits outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, MRU's AGACNP has a campus weekend in Miami Springs, and MRU's catalog asks for immunization proof from a provider licensed in Florida.
Plan your Hawaii clinicals
Tell us your MRU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what an MRU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
MRU programs a Hawaii resident can take
MRU's licensure disclosure for NC-SARA rates Hawaii "Meets" for FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP. The catalog is more guarded: its licensure commitment stops at Florida's border, and students elsewhere are pointed to their own board first. Here that is the Hawaii Board of Nursing, within the DCCA's Professional and Vocational Licensing Division.
| Program | Hawaii residents | Delivery | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN-FNP and FNP Post-Master's Certificate | Open | Online | Four clinical courses; no printed total |
| PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate | Open | Online | 765 |
| AGACNP Post-Master's Certificate | Open, with a trip to Miami Springs | Online plus a 3-day skills weekend in semester I | 810 |
| DNP | Only with a Florida RN license, since Hawaii licenses are not Compact | Offsite and online | 765 practice |
| MSN Healthcare Systems Leadership | Open | Online | 180 |
| RN-to-BSN | Open | Online | 135 |
| ASN, BSN, MSN Direct Entry | Not from Hawaii | Onsite in Florida | 450, 675, 495 |
What Hawaii's Board says about out-of-state programs
For post-licensure programs, the Board's FAQ is brief. A distance, online or out-of-state program without a Hawaii campus gets no Board approval, files no application and does not have to notify the Board. Faculty require a Hawaii nurse license only for in-person work, meaning they teach or precept a student while on the ground in Hawaii. The FAQ gives RN-to-BSN and LPN-to-RN as its examples; no Hawaii source addresses graduate or APRN programs specifically, so ask MRU how it reads that gap for NP clinicals.
Pre-licensure is closed. HRS 457-13(2) exempts students, but only those in programs the Hawaii Board has accredited. In September 2016, the Board's Education Committee also agreed that a pre-licensure BSN student from an out-of-state program could not be placed in Hawaii for clinicals.
Full practice on the islands, and where students look
AANP rates Hawaii as full practice, so Hawaii NPs practice without a physician agreement. MRU's preceptor qualifications are in its student handbook, and MRU approves every preceptor before hours count; see MRU's preceptor requirements.
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, The Queen's Health Systems, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and Hawaii Pacific Health (Pali Momi, Kapiolani, Wilcox and Straub) make up the large systems. Urban Honolulu leads the metros with about 989,000 people in 2025. Kahului-Wailuku has about 161,000, while the Hilo-Kailua area counts about 210,000. Nothing links any of them to MRU; they are simply the state's main systems.
Licensing: a Hawaii license, not a multistate one
With Hawaii outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, a multistate RN license from another state gives no privilege to practice there, and Hawaii clinicals call for a Hawaii-issued license. The same fact shapes the DNP: a Hawaii license does not meet MRU's Florida-or-Compact condition, so applying would mean first holding a Florida RN license.
The AGACNP's on-campus skills and simulation weekend (three days in Miami Springs, semester I) is mandatory, and missing or failing it means failing the course, so plan the travel before you enroll. For the general rules, see clinicals outside Florida.
MRU's catalog says immunization proof must come from a Florida-licensed provider. Ask how that works from Hawaii before you book any shots or titers.
Our role for Hawaii students
On Oahu, Maui or Hawaii Island, we look for a Hawaii-licensed preceptor and a site that matches your MRU course, then help you organize the details MRU needs to verify that preceptor. A preceptor who withdraws sends us back to the search. MRU approves or declines every preceptor and site. Send your details.
Questions MRU students ask
Will my Hawaii preceptor get the state preceptor tax credit?
No. HRS 235-110.25 sets up Hawaii's Healthcare Preceptor Income Tax Credit for volunteer rotations that the Department of Health certifies, and eligible preceptors are Hawaii residents with a primary care practice in the state: physicians, APRNs and pharmacists. The student must be in an academic program accredited in or located in Hawaii with mostly Hawaii-resident students, which rules out MRU.
How do I meet MRU's Florida-provider immunization rule from Hawaii?
MRU's catalog requires immunization proof from a healthcare provider licensed in Florida and does not explain how students far from Florida should meet it. Ask the Office of Academic Affairs first, so nothing needs repeating. MRU Health on the Miami Springs campus handles these checks for local students. See immunizations and health records.
I just moved to Hawaii on a multistate license. Can I start clinicals?
Not on that license alone. A multistate license issued elsewhere carries no Hawaii privilege, because Hawaii is not a Compact state, and the Board's position is that you need a license Hawaii has issued. Get the Hawaii license in place first, and tell MRU about your move, since MRU's residency rule follows where you live.
Can I do MRU clinicals on Maui or Hawaii Island instead of Oahu?
Nothing in Hawaii's rules limits you to Oahu. What matters is a Hawaii-licensed preceptor whose practice fits your MRU course, a site willing to host you, and MRU's approval before any hours count. Kahului-Wailuku and the Hilo-Kailua area are smaller markets, so start earlier there than you would in Honolulu.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against MRU's own catalog, addenda and program pages. The nursing student handbook on the MRU student portal and MRU's Office of Academic Affairs have the final word.
MRU says secure your own preceptor. We start the search now.
Tell us your MRU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We look for preceptors who fit the course and help you gather what MRU checks before approving them.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
MSN5700, women's health, pediatrics, psychiatric or acute care - Credentials, license and site details collected before MRU's credential check
- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, or wherever in a SARA state you live
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.