Where you must live to study nursing at MRU
Six MRU programs make residence in Florida or another SARA member state a condition that lasts the entire program: the MSN-FNP, the three post-master's certificates, RN-to-BSN and the MSN in Healthcare Systems Leadership. The DNP frames its rule around your license instead, asking for a Florida or Compact RN license. California sits outside SARA and outside MRU's licensure table, so anyone living there should ask MRU admissions before applying.
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The rule, program by program
MRU's wording is specific: students must "Reside in Florida or a SARA member state for the duration of the program." It appears in the admission requirements of each program below, and the catalog's general section adds that licensure-track students must keep an active RN license and live in Florida or an NC-SARA member state throughout.
| Program | Requirement | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| MSN: Family Nurse Practitioner | Reside in Florida or a SARA member state for the whole program | Onsite and online |
| FNP Post-Master's Certificate | Same residence rule | Onsite and online |
| PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate | Same residence rule | Online |
| AGACNP Post-Master's Certificate | Same residence rule | Online, plus a required 3-day on-campus skills weekend |
| RN-to-BSN | Same residence rule | Onsite and online |
| MSN Healthcare Systems Leadership | Residence in Florida or a SARA state | Onsite and online |
| DNP | Active, unencumbered RN license from Florida or a Nurse Licensure Compact state | Offsite and online |
| ASN, BSN, MSN Direct Entry | No residence rule published; taught on campus in Miami Springs | Onsite |
What SARA does, and what it does not
SARA, the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, is the framework that lets a college in one member state enroll online students who live in other member states without separate approval from each one. MRU's catalog says it is approved to participate, and MRU's accreditation page lists NC-SARA, the national council that runs the agreement.
SARA covers permission to offer distance education. It does not decide whether your state will license you when you finish. MRU draws that line itself: its catalog says it vouches for licensure requirements only in Florida, and it tells out-of-state students to check with their home-state board before enrolling.
SARA also leaves some clinical questions open. Certain states treat an in-person clinical placement as a physical presence that needs its own approval, even for SARA schools; New York's education department says so for its licensed professions. Our page on clinicals outside Florida goes through those state rules and the license questions that come with them.
California: why the answer looks like no
California is the one state MRU's own documents leave out. It is not a SARA member, so the SARA route in MRU's residence rule does not reach it. MRU's NC-SARA professional licensure disclosure, reviewed in August 2025, lists 49 states plus DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands; California is not among them.
Reading the two documents together, a student living in California does not meet the residence requirement for the MSN-FNP, the certificates, RN-to-BSN or the MSN in Healthcare Systems Leadership. That is our reading of MRU's own documents, not a sentence MRU publishes about California. If you live there, ask MRU admissions directly before you apply, and get the answer in writing.
California also has strict rules of its own for NP clinicals run by out-of-state schools, including prior approval of the program by its Board of Registered Nursing and a California RN license for the student. Our California guide sets out what that Board requires.
The DNP's license-based rule
The 39-credit leadership DNP asks for an active, unencumbered RN license issued by Florida or by a state in the Nurse Licensure Compact. MRU's published admission list frames the requirement around your license rather than around where you live.
Florida belongs to the Compact, so a Florida license qualifies either way. If your only license comes from a state outside the Compact, you would need a Florida license to meet the rule. According to the Compact's own map, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York and Oregon are not members. Massachusetts has enacted the Compact but is targeting implementation for May 2027.
The DNP is a leadership degree that MRU says does not prepare graduates for APRN licensure, and MRU describes its 765 practice hours as leadership-focused scholarly work. Our DNP program page explains how those hours and the project courses fit together.
Moving during the program
The residence rule covers the whole program, not only the day you are admitted. A move from one SARA state to another keeps you inside the rule, but it changes whose board rules apply to your clinicals, possibly what license your preceptor needs, and possibly which RN license you need. A move to California takes you outside the rule altogether.
MRU does not publish a process for reporting a move. Tell the Office of Academic Affairs and your program chair in writing before you relocate, and ask how it affects your current preceptor approval. If you are in a clinical course, a preceptor in your old state cannot follow you, and every hour still has to be finished by the course's last day.
Living outside the United States is a separate problem. The catalog limits access to university email and Microsoft Teams from outside the country to one-week windows opened by the IT Help Desk, which would make an online program very hard to follow from abroad.
Questions to settle before you enroll
- Is my state a SARA member today, and will I live there for the entire program?
- Will my state's board accept an MRU credential for licensure? MRU's disclosure says Meets for the states it lists, but its catalog limits its own assurance to Florida.
- Does my state require out-of-state programs to be approved before NP students train there?
- Which RN license will I need where I do clinicals: my home-state license, a multistate license, or another one?
- How will I get immunization proof from a Florida-licensed provider, as MRU's catalog asks?
Put these to MRU admissions before you commit. Once you are enrolled, the same answers decide where a preceptor can be, which is also where we search for yours.
Questions MRU students ask
Can I do an MRU online nursing program from outside Florida?
Yes for most online programs, as long as you live in a SARA member state and stay in one for the whole program. That covers the MSN-FNP, the three post-master's certificates, RN-to-BSN and the MSN in Healthcare Systems Leadership. Check your state's SARA status and its licensure rules before you apply.
Can California residents enroll in MRU's FNP program?
MRU's documents point to no. The FNP's residence rule points to Florida or a SARA state, California does not belong to SARA, and MRU's licensure disclosure leaves California off its list. MRU does not state this in a sentence about California, so ask MRU admissions for a written answer before you apply.
Do I have to live in Florida for MRU's DNP?
MRU's DNP admission requirements focus on your license: an active, unencumbered RN license from Florida or a Nurse Licensure Compact state. A multistate license from a Compact state qualifies. If your only license comes from a state outside the Compact, such as New York, you would need a Florida license as well.
Does SARA mean my state will license me as an NP?
No. SARA covers a school's authorization to enroll distance students, while licensure is up to your state's board. MRU's disclosure marks its FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP programs as meeting requirements in the states it lists, yet its catalog says it vouches for licensure only in Florida. Check with your board directly.
Who do I ask about MRU residency questions?
Before you enroll, start with MRU admissions. MRU's licensure disclosure lists MRUCompliance@mru.edu for licensure questions. Once enrolled, the Office of Academic Affairs and your program chair handle changes such as a move. Put every question in writing so you have the answer on record.
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.
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