Studying with Sacred Heart University from Arizona
As of September 2026, Sacred Heart University's licensure disclosures answer "No" for Arizona on every FNP and PMHNP program, while the online MSN Clinical Nurse Leader answers "Yes". If you live in Arizona, expect to move to Phoenix or Tucson mid-program, or are comparing schools, this page sorts out what stays open.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Sacred Heart program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
Arizona's entries on Sacred Heart's table
Sacred Heart's disclosure page answers one question per program and state: does the program meet the educational requirements for licensure or certification there? The catalog makes checking that answer your job, so reread the live table before you apply or move.
| Program | Arizona entry | Delivery | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP, post-master's FNP certificate, BSN-to-DNP FNP | No | Online; the DNP is hybrid | 540 (MSN, certificate); 1,000 (DNP) |
| MSN PMHNP, post-master's PMHNP certificate | No | Online | 540 |
| MSN Clinical Nurse Leader | Yes | Online, practicums on site | 420 (guide) or 400/500 (catalog) |
| RN-BSN, Nursing Education, NMEL, post-master's DNP | No licensure row | Online (post-master's DNP: hybrid) | 72, 180, 120, 1,000 |
Every state's rows, including the New York exception, are compared in our guide to the disclosure table.
Reading the "No" honestly
For an Arizona resident, the "No" decides the matter: Sacred Heart itself says its FNP and PMHNP programs do not meet Arizona's educational requirements for NP licensure, so neither track should be expected to qualify you for NP practice there.
Sacred Heart's authorization page adds that SARA membership does not excuse a program from state licensing rules, and the SHU Online state page asks students to accept the limitations of placement when they enroll.
What the Arizona State Board of Nursing requires for clinicals
Under the Arizona board's advisory opinion on APRN clinicals (revised November 2020), an out-of-state program applies to the board and must be approved before any of its students starts clinical work in the state. Schools whose home-state board approves the track, and which hold national accreditation, get a streamlined review, then monitor licensure for students, preceptors, faculty and the program director, log placements and answer yearly surveys.
Preceptors are covered as well: nurse practitioner preceptors must hold Arizona APRN certification and an RN license issued by Arizona or through the compact, while physicians who precept need a clear Arizona medical license. RN-BSN programs go unaddressed in the opinion. AANP rates Arizona full practice for NPs.
Your RN license and the compact
Arizona has belonged to the multistate Nurse Licensure Compact since January 19, 2018. For APRN students of out-of-state programs, the board's opinion accepts an unencumbered Arizona license or a multistate one; if your license is single-state and your home state sits outside the compact, you would add an Arizona license first. The APRN Compact is not enacted in Arizona.
Sacred Heart layers its own requirement on top: the RN license for whichever state hosts your clinical hours must be current and unencumbered, and it goes into your Health Account. How licenses work across state lines covers the compact cases.
Phoenix, Tucson and a preceptor grant on paper
Arizona's clinical capacity clusters in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro, roughly 5.23 million residents in 2025, and in Tucson at about 1.07 million; far smaller are the Prescott Valley-Prescott metro and the Lake Havasu City-Kingman metro. Arizona's own graduate nursing students look first to Mayo Clinic in Arizona, HonorHealth in Scottsdale, TMC Health in Tucson, Phoenix Children's and Banner Health, whose Phoenix operation includes the academic Banner - University Medicine centers.
State law (A.R.S. ยง 36-1806) also set up grants for unpaid preceptors who teach graduate nursing students, NP students among them, favoring rural primary care. Budget staff's FY 2027 report lists no appropriation for the current year or the one before it, and leftover money was set to revert when June 2026 ended, so the program appears unfunded.
Why Sacred Heart students in Arizona work with us
For Clinical Nurse Leader students, the track that reads "Yes" here, we find nurse leaders in Phoenix and Tucson hospitals who fit NU 611, NU 612, NU 680 and NU 681, and we assemble the preceptor CV and RN license your academic advisor reviews, early enough for a new affiliation agreement to clear. Education, NMEL, RN-BSN and post-master's DNP students get the same thorough search once Sacred Heart confirms their placement can happen in Arizona.
Moving to Arizona partway through an FNP or PMHNP? Send us your course plan and moving date first. We map which placements can be finished where you live now and prepare your questions for the academic advisor, since Sacred Heart cautions that an unchecked move can cost you clinical placements. Reach the placement desk.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Can I enroll in Sacred Heart's online FNP while living in Arizona?
Sacred Heart's table, as of September 2026, says its FNP programs do not meet Arizona's educational requirements for NP licensure, and the PMHNP programs carry the same answer. If NP practice in Arizona is your goal, that settles both tracks. Confirm the current status with Sacred Heart admissions before applying.
Is the Clinical Nurse Leader track open to Arizona nurses?
The MSN Clinical Nurse Leader reads "Yes" for Arizona. Sacred Heart notes the CNL is not equivalent to the certified clinical nurse specialist credential. Practicum hours total 420 in the guide and on the website; the catalog says 400 or 500, depending on admission date.
What RN license covers Arizona clinical hours?
The Arizona board's opinion for APRN students of out-of-state programs asks for an unencumbered Arizona or multistate license, and Arizona has been a compact state since 2018. Whatever the track, Sacred Heart also wants a current license for the state hosting your hours in your Health Account.
Does Arizona still fund grants for preceptors?
The grant for volunteer preceptors of graduate students remains in statute, yet the FY 2027 appropriations report from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee shows nothing for this fiscal year or last, and any unspent balance was due back after June 30, 2026. A preceptor should not plan around it.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Sacred Heart's own catalog, program pages and 2026-27 student guides. Your student guide, your academic advisor and your course faculty have the final word.
- Sacred Heart University, State Authorization, Disclosures & Student Complaints
- Sacred Heart University Online, State Authorizations
- Arizona State Board of Nursing, advisory opinion on clinicals by out-of-state APRN programs
- Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee, FY 2027 Appropriations Report, Department of Health Services
- AANP, State Practice Environment
Sacred Heart asks you to secure your clinical placement. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Sacred Heart program, your city and your next clinical course. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare what your advisor, the NP clinical coordinator and the Contract Request Form ask for, early enough for the affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care of adults, women and children for FNP, psychiatric care across the lifespan for PMHNP
- Preceptor CV, license, board certification and the site's contract contact ready before your week-10 deadline
- Close to home in any state where Sacred Heart's program meets licensure requirements, with New York's rule planned around
Start your placement plan
Program, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.