Studying at Gonzaga from Tennessee: the doctoral listing, the board and the 2026 bill
Gonzaga's disclosures mark Tennessee "Does not meet" for the nurse practitioner MSN and let Tennessee residents into just two programs, the Post-Master's DNP and the Nursing Leadership in Healthcare MSN. The leadership degree has closed to new students, which leaves the doctorate, taught online, as the program to explore from Nashville, Memphis or Knoxville. Gonzaga confirms eligibility, so ask before applying.
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Reading Tennessee's line in Gonzaga's disclosure table
Few states get as specific an entry on Gonzaga's licensure disclosures page. The NP determination reads "Does not meet", and a note confines Tennessee admission to the Post-Master's DNP and the leadership MSN, adding that neither leads to licensure. Gonzaga has since stopped offering the leadership degree, while its NP tracks remain limited to people living in the ten western states. The state authorization guide explains each category.
| Program | Tennessee residents | Where hours are earned |
|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP, MSN PMHNP, Second MSN | Not open: western residency required, and the NP MSN is rated "Does not meet" here | A state inside the ten where you are licensed |
| MSN Nursing Leadership in Healthcare | Named for Tennessee, but closed to new students | Current students only |
| Post-Master's DNP | Named for Tennessee admission; confirm with Gonzaga | Indirect project hours, often close to home |
The doctorate in practice
Gonzaga pitched the Post-Master's DNP at master's-prepared nurses in an advanced practice role, from NP and CNS to CRNA and CNM, and at nurse administrators. Applicants need RN licensure, plus APRN licensure and board certification if their role calls for them, and a 3.3 GPA from the master's. Courses are online, both immersions are virtual, and the final defense may be given face to face or over video.
Practicum hours are indirect care hours for the project. The 1,000-hour total includes what you logged in your MSN, and each practicum course opens with an individualized proposal and objectives. Your own employer can host the work, provided the hours fall outside your home unit and your paid shifts and your liaison does not supervise you. The Post-Master's DNP page has the full outline.
Tennessee's board and the out-of-state moratorium bill
Tennessee's current Board of Nursing rules do not appear to expressly require an out-of-state program to seek approval before placing students. That may change. A 2026 bill, SB 2013/HB 1905, tells the board to pause, for two years, approval of nursing programs from outside Tennessee that want to enroll students or place them for clinical experiences, with no carve-out for APRN or doctoral programs. Its official enactment status could not be confirmed.
Under the bill, programs approved beforehand keep approval but must hand over data such as preceptor lists, and the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement must propose new standards by June 30, 2027.
Tennessee became a Nurse Licensure Compact state in January 2018 and has not adopted the APRN Compact. AANP places it in the restricted group: a physician supervises NP practice, and prescribing of Schedule II through IV drugs, opioids included, carries extra limits.
Project settings and the THA preceptor incentive
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is one of Tennessee's large systems; Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Erlanger, Covenant Health and Ballad Health are others, and the Tennessee Department of Health adds a public health option. Nashville is the biggest metro, then Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Hosting is each organization's call, and Gonzaga vets the proposal.
A state grant funds the Tennessee Hospital Association's incentive for LPN, RN and APRN preceptors who finish a UTHSC preceptor course. Eligible students attend accredited Tennessee schools or schools in seven bordering states. Washington is not one of them.
Relocating for an NP track
The FNP and PMHNP tracks open once your home is in one of the ten western states. Practicums then happen where you are licensed, and FNP students attend six Spokane immersions, PMHNP students five. Current students thinking of moving should raise it with their program first, as Gonzaga cautions that a new state can change licensure eligibility.
How we help Tennessee nurses
Our method follows Gonzaga's own sequence. For a Tennessee doctoral student, we line up a willing host organization and a liaison who clears the checklist, and collect the material each practicum proposal needs ahead of the term. After a move west, we run an in-person search for FNP or PMHNP preceptors and hand you a Practicum Site Placement Request with every field faculty review needs. Write to us from the contact page.
Questions Gonzaga students ask
Is Gonzaga's online FNP program available to Tennessee residents?
No. Only residents of ten western states can enter the FNP and PMHNP tracks, and Gonzaga's disclosure table rates the NP MSN "Does not meet" in Tennessee. The Tennessee note names just two programs for admission: the Post-Master's DNP, which does not lead to licensure, and the leadership MSN, now discontinued.
Does the Tennessee moratorium bill affect a Gonzaga DNP project?
Possibly. The bill reaches any nursing program not based in Tennessee that seeks approval to enroll students or place them for clinical experiences, and it does not set doctoral programs apart. Because its enactment could not be confirmed from official sources, ask Gonzaga how it is handling Tennessee before you commit to a site.
Could a colleague at a Nashville hospital be my agency liaison?
A colleague can serve if Gonzaga's checklist fits: the liaison attests to being neither a relative nor a friend and to having no reporting relationship with you, expects Gonzaga to reach out three or more times a term, and fills in an evaluation when the course ends. The organization also has to agree to host the project.
Does Tennessee's preceptor incentive cover a Gonzaga student's liaison?
No. The THA program recognizes preceptors of students at accredited Tennessee schools, and of students from seven nearby states, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Virginia, whose hours happen in Tennessee. Gonzaga is a Washington school, so its students fall outside the list.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Gonzaga's catalog, FAQs, preceptor packets and Department of Nursing pages. Your course, the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
Gonzaga asks you to find local preceptors first. Let us run that search.
Tell us your Gonzaga program, your practicum course and where you live and can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, certification and site details your Practicum Site Placement Request needs, early in the semester before.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care across the lifespan for
NURS 661PtoNURS 664P, psychiatric care forNURS 661MtoNURS 663M, an agency liaison for the DNP - Credentials, license, board certification and site contact ready for your site request
- In Spokane, across Washington or wherever in the ten western states you are licensed
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