Pennsylvania: open to GW's online programs, with one question pending
GW's online programs accept Pennsylvania applicants, and none of GW's state limits mention the state. The open question is licensure: GW's disclosures call Pennsylvania "not yet determined" for its NP and midwifery programs. For clinicals, Pennsylvania asks little of graduate students from other states.
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What "not yet determined" means for you
GW's professional licensure disclosures say, state by state, whether a program meets that state's educational requirements for licensure. Pennsylvania reads "not yet determined" on all four: the MSN NP, post-BSN DNP, NP certificate and Nurse-Midwifery pages, the same status GW gives California, Rhode Island and Texas. GW judges an online student's state by where they live now, so the status applies to anyone living in Pennsylvania.
| Program | Pennsylvania applicants | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| MSN and post-BSN DNP NP tracks | Accepted | Not yet determined |
| Post-master's AGPCNP or PMHNP certificate | Accepted (the FNP certificate is not admitting) | Not yet determined |
| MSN Nurse-Midwifery | Accepted | Not yet determined |
| Leadership MSN and post-MSN DNP | Accepted | Not covered |
| Acute Care NP options | Not open | Residents of DC, Maryland or Virginia only |
GW's state limits leave Pennsylvania open, so the disclosure concerns licensure after graduation, not whether you may apply. If you plan to practice as an NP in Pennsylvania, ask GW admissions what it knows before you enroll.
Section 21.118: Pennsylvania's exemption for graduate students
Under 49 Pa. Code § 21.118, a nurse whose RN license comes from elsewhere in the U.S. or from Canada can train in Pennsylvania without a Pennsylvania license, provided the clinical work is required by an accredited graduate or BSN program. The catch is pay: stipends, scholarships and program awards are fine, other compensation is not, and a student who wants paid RN work in Pennsylvania while studying needs an endorsement license, with a temporary practice permit in the meantime.
We found no Pennsylvania requirement for programs based elsewhere to win approval before placing students; the Board's Distance Education Application is meant for programs it has already approved. The Board also has a large nursing-education rulemaking in progress (IRRC #16A-5141). Its final-form text went to the IRRC on September 8, 2026, the IRRC meets publicly on October 15, 2026, and § 21.118 survives in the final annex largely unchanged.
Section 21.118 is Pennsylvania's rule, not GW's. GW's clearance still depends on holding an RN license valid in the rotation's state.
Collaboration rules for Pennsylvania NPs
Pennsylvania lands in AANP's reduced-practice group. Its NPs sign written collaborative agreements with physicians that last their whole careers, and prescriptive authority takes agreements with two or more physicians. An NP who precepts you works inside those agreements, and GW's own standards apply as well; see who can precept a GW student. Pennsylvania runs no statewide preceptor incentive that our sources record.
Systems, metros and the compact
Pennsylvania's side of the Philadelphia metro holds about 4.2 million people and Pittsburgh's metro adds about 2.4 million; after those come Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton and Harrisburg-Carlisle. Penn Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, is one of five large names NP students weigh; Geisinger, UPMC, Penn State Health and Jefferson Health are the others.
Full implementation of the Nurse Licensure Compact arrived on July 7, 2025, so a multistate license from any member state now reaches Pennsylvania sites. For GW's NP on-campus events, southern Pennsylvania is a regional trip: the 2026-27 FNP and AGPCNP OSCEs run October 5-6, 2026 and February 27-28, 2027 at Ross Hall in Foggy Bottom.
Why Pennsylvania GW students choose us
Pennsylvania's exemption and GW's license rule point in different directions, and we plan to GW's stricter standard every time. Your placement advisor looks near where you live, checks every preceptor's license, names the person who signs GW's affiliation agreement for the site, and finishes the submission ahead of your deadline. How it works lays out the steps; the contact form starts yours.
Questions GW students ask
Is a Pennsylvania license required for a site in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia?
Pennsylvania's § 21.118 lets RNs licensed elsewhere train in their program's clinical settings without one, but GW asks for a license in every state where you rotate. A multistate license from a compact state satisfies both, since Pennsylvania joined the compact in 2025. Without one, plan on a Pennsylvania license; our RN license guide explains why.
Will the pending Pennsylvania rulemaking affect my clinicals?
The final annex of IRRC #16A-5141 leaves § 21.118 essentially intact. The IRRC's public meeting is scheduled for October 15, 2026; after it, look for the adopted version on the State Board of Nursing's website before you lean on the exemption for a rotation.
Can New York residents in GW programs do clinicals in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania is one of the states a New York resident can use to meet GW's condition that New York applicants train elsewhere. New York is outside the compact, so a New York nurse would hold a single-state license and need a Pennsylvania license to satisfy GW's rule. See our New York guide.
Can a Pennsylvania resident join GW's Acute Care NP track?
No. GW's Acute Care NP options take only residents of DC, Maryland and Virginia, and their clinicals stay in DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia. From Pennsylvania, the realistic NP choices are GW's FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP options, each with 600 precepted hours.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against GW's Bulletin and GW Nursing's own program and clinical pages. Your course, CORE and GW's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
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