GW clinicals state by state, starting with DC
GW's graduate nursing programs are online, so most students do their clinicals where they live, with preceptors they line up themselves. Start with Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland, where GW is based and where the Acute Care tracks train, then find your own state for the license, board and preceptor details that apply there.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your GW program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your GW course.
What follows you into any state
A few GW rules hold everywhere. You need an RN license for every state where a rotation takes place, your program director approves each site and preceptor, and the Clinical Placement Team completes an agreement with the site before you are cleared. GW says it recruits remote preceptors in most states.
GW also limits where its online programs can enroll students. Its State Authorizations page lists five states whose residents its online programs can't take, a special rule for New York, and a few program-by-program exclusions. The state authorizations guide explains each one, and every state guide below opens with what it means there.
Home region
States with GW limits
Other states
Questions GW students ask
Can I do GW clinicals in my home state?
In most states, yes. GW's online NP students generally train where they live, with an RN license for that state. The Acute Care NP options are the exception: those clinicals stay in DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia.
Which states can't GW's online nursing programs accept?
GW's State Authorizations page names Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and Wisconsin for its online programs, citing clinical placement restrictions, and accepts New York applicants only if they do clinicals in another state. Check the page for your program before you apply.
Do I need a license in DC if my clinicals are in Maryland?
You need an RN license in every state where a rotation happens. GW's 2026 CORE workshop suggests DC-area students hold a multistate license from Maryland or Virginia and a DC license, since students often cross those lines.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
GW asks you to find your own site and preceptor. Hand that search to us.
Tell us your GW program, where you live and which clinical course is next. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, bio and site details GW's review asks for, so your Site Prospector goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice for
NURS 6230toNURS 6232, older-adult primary care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP - License, bio or CV and the site's agreement signatory ready for your CORE submission
- Close to home, in DC, Maryland, Virginia or wherever you live and hold your RN license
Start your placement plan
Your program, city and next clinical term is all we need to begin.