The Georgia or South Carolina rule for Augusta University NP students
Augusta University requires DNP nurse practitioner students to live in Georgia or South Carolina, and it gives the reason in the same sentence: instructors need to visit you, your preceptor and your clinical site. The DNP index extends the rule to the post-graduate certificates while the four track pages do not, and Nurse Anesthesia sits outside it with program clinical sites in four states.
Find a preceptor inside the two states
Tell us where you live and which course is next, and your placement advisor will search Georgia and South Carolina for preceptors who fit it.
The rule, word for word
The College of Nursing's DNP program page states the rule in a single sentence: "If you are interested in the DNP/AGACNP, FNP, PMHNP, PNP, or Post-Graduate Certificate programs, be aware that you must reside in either Georgia or South Carolina to attend the program due to the clinical requirements and need for instructors to visit you, your preceptor, and clinical site."
Read closely, the sentence does three things. It makes residence a condition of attending the program, not only of the clinical courses. It names two states and no others. And it ties the limit to one practical need: faculty travel to see you, the person teaching you and the place where you train.
Each of the four concentration pages, for FNP, AGACNP, PNP and PMHNP, repeats the sentence with one change. The words "or Post-Graduate Certificate" drop out, so the track pages name only the four DNP nurse practitioner tracks.
Which programs it names, and where the pages disagree
| Page | Programs named | What it says about place |
|---|---|---|
| DNP program index | DNP-AGACNP, FNP, PMHNP, PNP and the post-graduate certificates | Live in Georgia or South Carolina; faculty visits are the reason |
| FNP, AGACNP, PNP and PMHNP track pages | The four DNP nurse practitioner tracks | Same sentence, certificates left out |
| Graduate School certificate page | AGACNP and PMHNP certificates | Clinical experiences at a variety of ambulatory practices in Georgia or South Carolina |
| Nurse Anesthesia page | DNP Nurse Anesthesia | No residence sentence; over 40 clinical sites in four states |
Three conflicts follow from these pages. The certificate limit appears on the DNP index and the certificate page but not on the track pages; our reading is that a certificate student should plan on the two-state limit. Student Health's immunization page still lists FNP and PNP certificates, while the certificates page and the catalog offer only AGACNP and PMHNP. And the certificate page speaks of ambulatory practices even though the AGACNP certificate prepares for acute care.
The rule has also changed. An archived 2017 version of the certificate page allowed Georgia, South Carolina or Tennessee, and Tennessee no longer appears anywhere current. Certificate students are separately told to obtain an RN license in any state where their clinical experiences take place.
Why faculty visits drive the rule
The reason Augusta University gives is practical. The NP tracks are taught mostly online, but clinical hours happen at a practice near you, and instructors need to reach you, your preceptor and that site. Keeping every student inside two neighboring states keeps those trips within reach.
Visits also bear on your grade. NP clinical courses are graded Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory on course-specific evaluation tools, and a visit gives faculty a chance to see your preceptor, your site and your work side by side.
Augusta University does not publish how often visits happen or whether any take place by video. Georgia's Board of Nursing adds a licensing angle: faculty and preceptors teaching in Georgia, in person or by electronic means, need a Georgia or multistate license. The faculty site visits guide covers how to prepare your preceptor and site.
Living near the state line
Augusta sits on the Savannah River, and its metro area spans both banks. Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina join five Georgia counties in the Augusta-Richmond County metro area, 641,231 people in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate. North Augusta is roughly 4 driving miles from downtown Augusta, and Aiken about 20.
Because both states qualify, the published rule leaves room to live on one side of the river and train on the other. Two details change at the line. For your RN license, Georgia requires students completing clinical hours there to hold a Georgia license or a multistate license, and both states belong to the Nurse Licensure Compact. For your preceptor, a Georgia NP works under a physician protocol agreement and a South Carolina NP under a practice agreement, so the site paperwork differs.
The region guides for Augusta and the CSRA and the Midlands map both sides, and RN license requirements covers the compact.
Moving before or during the program
Augusta University publishes no separate policy on moving mid-program. Because the rule ties residence to attending the program, a move out of Georgia and South Carolina raises a question only the College of Nursing can answer. Ask before you sign a lease, not after.
A move inside the two states is simpler but still costs time. A new town can mean a new preceptor, a new site agreement, fresh health system onboarding and a different trip for visiting faculty. If a move lands between two clinical courses, raise it with your course faculty early so the next course starts on time.
One page can blur this. The DNP program's licensure disclosure says the program meets initial licensure requirements in every state and territory except Maryland, where some concentrations may need more review. That statement concerns licensure after graduation, not where you may live while enrolled.
Nurse Anesthesia and the programs outside the rule
The DNP Nurse Anesthesia program is not named in the residence sentence. Its page describes more than 40 clinical sites in Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee, and its practicum courses run in collaboration with certified registered nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists. Its hours conflict too: the web page says at least 2,000 clinical hours, while the catalog and the fall 2026 curriculum total 2,280. The Nurse Anesthesia guide covers the program in full.
Post-master's DNP students in the Traditional and Nurse Executive tracks are not named either; their hours are residency hours tied to a DNP Project site. BSN and MSN Clinical Nurse Leader students complete faculty-led clinicals from the Augusta and Athens campuses.
Our search stays inside the two states
For DNP nurse practitioner and certificate courses, we search Georgia and South Carolina only, within your driving range and on both sides of the river if you live near it. Your placement advisor confirms each preceptor's license and practice arrangement for their state and checks the site's own student rules before you commit. A practice just across the line into North Carolina or Florida may look convenient, but we set it aside for NP courses so no time is lost on a site that fits the course and not the rule.
Whether your program arranges placements or not, you get a preceptor who fits Augusta University's two-state rule and your exact course, with the paperwork ready for faculty review. Read how it works for the stages, then send the form below.
Questions Augusta University students ask
Can I live in South Carolina and do my clinicals in Georgia?
The published rule names both states and does not tie your site to your home state. You would need an RN license that covers clinical hours in Georgia, either Georgia's own or a multistate license, and a nurse practitioner precepting you there needs a Georgia or multistate license plus Georgia APRN authorization. Confirm the site with your course faculty before the course begins.
Can I apply to Augusta University from another state and move after admission?
Augusta University does not publish an answer. The rule speaks of residing in Georgia or South Carolina to attend the program, and the Graduate School wants a Georgia or multistate RN license before enrollment. Ask the DNP program office how and when it checks residence before you apply, and get the reply in writing.
What counts as living in Georgia or South Carolina for this rule?
The program pages do not define residence for the rule or say what proof is expected. If you split time between two homes, keep a second address across a border, or expect a military or job move, ask the DNP program office what it needs from you. The answer shapes where your preceptors can be.
Can my clinical site be in North Carolina or Florida if I live near that border?
The residence sentence speaks of where you live, and its reason is faculty visits to your site; the certificate page describes clinical experiences in Georgia or South Carolina. A site across another border is a question for your course faculty. Our search for NP and certificate students stays inside the two named states.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Augusta University's own catalog, program plans, DNP handbook and program pages, and Georgia and South Carolina rules. Your course faculty and the College of Nursing have the final word.
Whatever your program arranges, we find the preceptor who fits.
Tell us your Augusta University track, where in Georgia or South Carolina you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and Augusta University's rules, and hand you everything your faculty and the site need, well before the semester.
- Adult, pediatric and older-adult preceptors for
NURS 8312toNURS 8318, acute care forNURS 8332toNURS 8338 - Pediatric primary care for the PNP courses and psychiatric preceptors for
NURS 8342toNURS 8348 - Across Georgia and South Carolina, from the CSRA to Savannah, Atlanta and Columbia
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