Wilmington University nursing programs in Tennessee
For Tennessee, Wilmington University has not yet determined its nurse practitioner routes, according to WilmU's State Licensures by Program table. The MSN-FNP, the PMHNP Graduate Certificate and the BSN to DNP read Not Determined Yet, and the post-master's FNP row reads Not Yet Determined, a variant of the same wording. Tennessee's educational licensing requirements are met by WilmU's DNP, its MSN Leadership and its RN to BSN. A 2026 Tennessee bill also directs the Board to pause approvals for nursing programs based elsewhere.
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Tennessee on WilmU's table
Two wordings, one meaning: none of WilmU's four NP-preparing routes has a published determination for Tennessee.
| WilmU program | Status in Tennessee |
|---|---|
| RN to BSN | Meets Educational Licensing Requirements |
| BSN to DNP | Not Determined Yet |
| MSN Leadership | Meets Educational Licensing Requirements |
| MSN-FNP | Not Determined Yet |
| Post-master's FNP (FNP Graduate Certificate) | Not Yet Determined |
| Post-master's PMHNP (PMHNP Graduate Certificate) | Not Determined Yet |
| DNP | Meets Educational Licensing Requirements |
Neither wording is a yes or a no, and neither speaks to where you may train. Tennessee residents weighing an NP route should ask the Assistant Chair for their track, and WilmU's state authorization staff in Online Learning, for a current answer before applying; our licensure table guide shows how Tennessee compares with other states.
A 2026 bill aimed at programs from other states
Tennessee lawmakers took up Senate Bill 2013 and its House twin, 1905, in 2026. The bill instructs the Board of Nursing to stop taking and granting approval requests from nursing schools based outside Tennessee for a two-year stretch, and it covers every reason such a school might ask: running a program, enrolling residents, or placing students at Tennessee clinical sites. Pre-licensure, RN to BSN and APRN education are treated alike.
Schools approved before the effective date hold on to that approval. In exchange they answer data requests from the Board and from the state's Center for Nursing Advancement, down to which preceptors they use and how their students are placed. By the end of June 2027 the Center is due to propose fresh standards for schools from elsewhere that rely on Tennessee preceptors or sites.
The bill takes effect on becoming law, and the Tennessee Board of Nursing can confirm where it stands. On WilmU's side, bring it to Online Learning before a Tennessee search starts.
Practice rules and where NP students look
AANP puts Tennessee in its restricted group. A Tennessee NP practices with a supervising physician, and prescribing Schedule II through IV drugs, opioids especially, comes with limits. Greater Nashville is home to roughly 2.2 million people, and Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga are the other large metros. Erlanger, Covenant Health, Ballad Health, Methodist Le Bonheur and Vanderbilt's medical center are some of the big names; think of them as places NP students in Tennessee look, not as reserved spots.
A state-funded incentive for preceptors exists as well, run by the state hospital association. Preceptors who complete a UTHSC course and log at least 70 one-on-one hours in a cycle can apply while money lasts, but the students they teach have to come from accredited Tennessee schools, or from a short list of neighboring states when the hours happen in Tennessee. Delaware is not on that list.
Licensing for Tennessee clinicals
Since January 2018 Tennessee has belonged to the Nurse Licensure Compact, which means your compact home state's multistate license counts there, as does a Tennessee license. WilmU layers its own NP condition on top, a registered nurse license for the site's state; our RN license guide explains how to confirm the right license with your faculty.
No APRN Compact applies in Tennessee, and that compact is not live anywhere yet, so NP licensure after graduation goes through the Tennessee Board and its supervision rules.
Why Tennessee nurses start with us
With Tennessee's rules in flux, the smart first step is a precise question list, and that is where we begin. If you live in Tennessee and are weighing a WilmU NP route, we help you pin down what to ask WilmU and in what order. For WilmU DNP students here, we search for doctorally prepared preceptors around Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga, gather license and contact details early, and hand a complete file to your DNP faculty, who weigh each preceptor and site and decide. Reach the placement desk.
Questions WilmU students ask
Can I take WilmU's online PMHNP certificate from Tennessee?
No answer is published. WilmU's table lists the PMHNP Graduate Certificate for Tennessee as Not Determined Yet, matching the MSN-FNP and BSN to DNP rows. The NP Program Chair and Online Learning can give a current position, and they are also the people to ask how the 2026 bill on programs from other states would touch clinicals in Tennessee.
What is Tennessee's pause on out-of-state nursing programs?
It comes from Senate Bill 2013 (House Bill 1905), which tells the Board to stop approving applications from nursing schools headquartered outside Tennessee for two years, including schools seeking clinical placements. Schools approved earlier keep approval but share data like preceptor lists when asked. The Tennessee Board of Nursing can confirm whether it is in force.
Can my Tennessee preceptor claim the THA incentive?
Not as the program is written. The hospital association's incentive counts students from accredited Tennessee schools and from schools in seven listed nearby states, and only when the hours are done in Tennessee. Delaware is not among those seven, so plan a Tennessee preceptorship on the assumption that the incentive does not apply.
Is WilmU's DNP an option for Tennessee nurses?
On licensure, yes: the DNP row reads Meets for Tennessee, though the BSN to DNP row has no determination yet. The 2026 bill makes no exception for doctoral programs from other states, so DNP students planning practice hours in Tennessee should talk it through with the DNP Program Chair.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Wilmington University's own program and curriculum pages, the 2026-27 graduate catalog, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences policies and the State Licensures by Program page. Your NP Program Chair, your course faculty and the College have the final word.
A WilmU practicum coming up? Your preceptor search starts here.
Tell us your WilmU program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. Whether WilmU's faculty help with your placement or you are starting the search yourself, we find preceptors who fit the course, check the health system's own intake steps, and organize the preceptor's license and credentials well before the first day.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan for
GRN 7121toGRN 7124, psychiatric mental health forGRN 7221toGRN 7224, doctorally prepared for the DNP - Clinicians who meet Delaware's rule for APRN program preceptors: an active APRN, PA, pharmacist or physician license in a comparable focus
- Close to home, in a state where you hold an RN license, with each system's onboarding mapped out early
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