Studying with Keiser University from Hawaii

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Keiser Preceptor placement team

Hawaii is one of the states where Keiser contradicts itself. Its November 2025 FNP licensure disclosure says the program meets Hawaii's educational requirements, yet the Graduate School FAQ puts Hawaii on its list of MSN, FNP and DNP restrictions. Treat enrollment as an open question until Keiser's Graduate School answers you in writing; the online RN to BSN, which neither list mentions, may be the simpler fit.

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Keiser University nursing programs for Hawaii residents. FNP licensure disclosure: meets; Graduate School FAQ list: restricted; State approval list: see the board rule; Licenses for the FNP: florida rn + hi. RN license: not in the compact. NP practice: full. — Hawaii and Keiser's programs: FNP licensure disclosure: meets; Graduate School FAQ list: restricted; State approval list: see the board rule; Licenses for the FNP: florida rn + hi. RN license not in the compact; NP practice full (AANP).

Keiser programs and a Hawaii address

Keiser's Graduate School teaches the FNP, WHNP and post-master's DNP online, and each includes residency time on a Florida campus. Depending on the program, Keiser's own sources point in different directions.

Keiser programs for Hawaii residents (FNP disclosure, November 2025; Graduate School FAQ)
Keiser program	What Keiser's sources say for Hawaii	Where the clinical work would be
MSN FNP	Disclosure: meets. FAQ: restricted	Practicums on your island once Keiser approves the preceptor and signs an affiliation agreement
MSN WHNP	Disclosure: meets. The FAQ's MSN restriction may reach it	Clinical courses at sites you select outside South Florida
Post-master's DNP	FAQ: restricted; no disclosure exists	Practice courses with an employer mentor and faculty mentor
RN to BSN (online)	On neither list; for RNs licensed where they live	45 hours in `NUR4636` with a preceptor you secure

Meets on one Keiser list, restricted on the other

Keiser's November 2025 disclosure files Hawaii with the states where the FNP satisfies educational requirements for licensure. Ask the Graduate School FAQ which states currently carry MSN, FNP and DNP restrictions, and Hawaii is in the answer. Both documents are live on Keiser's site, and neither acknowledges the other.

The catalog adds two conditions for anyone applying from outside Florida: an active Florida RN license next to a license for the state where clinicals happen, and a written statement from your home state that it permits the rotations and NP licensure once you graduate. Ask the Graduate School which list controls your application. Keiser's out-of-state FNP rules cover the remaining steps.

What the Hawaii Board of Nursing says about distance programs

Hawaii's Board of Nursing operates inside the DCCA's Professional and Vocational Licensing Division. Its FAQ on post-licensure programs delivered from out of state, online or at a distance says programs lacking a Hawaii campus get no Board approval, have no application to file and owe the Board no notice. A Hawaii license becomes necessary for such a program's faculty only when someone is in the islands in person, teaching or precepting.

Its illustrations are bachelor's completion and practical-nurse bridge programs; nothing found for this page from Hawaii addresses graduate or APRN education directly. Pre-licensure students face a firmer line: state law exempts only those in Board-accredited programs, and a 2016 education committee decision kept an out-of-state BSN program from placing a pre-licensure student in Hawaii.

Licensing and care settings across the islands

The Nurse Licensure Compact does not include Hawaii. Multistate licenses from other states carry no practice rights on the islands, so clinical work requires Hawaii's own license. On AANP's map, Hawaii is full practice.

Most residents live in urban Honolulu, with the Hilo-Kailua area on Hawaii Island and Kahului-Wailuku on Maui next. Hawaii Pacific Health runs Straub, Wilcox, Kapiolani and Pali Momi; the other large players are The Queen's Health Systems, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and Kaiser's Hawaii region. They are named as examples, not as Keiser partners. Hawaii also offers volunteer primary care preceptors an income tax credit, yet a qualifying student must attend a program accredited by or sited in Hawaii whose roster is mostly people living in Hawaii, a test a Florida university does not pass.

What may fit while the FNP question stays open

Keiser's online RN to BSN appears on neither Keiser list and is designed for nurses licensed in their home state, and Hawaii's Board asks nothing of distance post-licensure programs. Its clinical course, NUR4636, calls for 45 hours in a setting you choose. The DNP sits on the FAQ's restriction list, so ask before relying on it, and in every case let Keiser confirm eligibility.

If Keiser does admit you to the FNP, the two Fort Lauderdale residencies mean crossing an ocean and a continent twice, so build those trips into your term plan early.

Why Hawaii's Keiser students work with us

Island preceptor networks are small and personal, which is where a focused, well-prepared request makes the difference. When Keiser clears your route, we find a preceptor and site on your island that fit your course, prepare the license, CV and agreement details Keiser reviews, and have everything settled about three months before the term. Tell us your island and program.

Questions Keiser students ask

Does Keiser accept FNP students who live in Hawaii?

Keiser's sources disagree. The November 2025 FNP disclosure says the program meets Hawaii's educational requirements, while the Graduate School FAQ counts Hawaii among its MSN, FNP and DNP state restrictions. Only Keiser's Graduate School can say which applies to you, so get its answer in writing before applying.

Will my compact license cover Hawaii clinicals?

No. Hawaii sits outside the compact, so practice rights from another state's multistate license end at the shoreline. Clinical work in Hawaii needs a Hawaii-issued license, and Keiser's FNP and WHNP additionally require an active, unrestricted Florida RN license.

Does an online nursing program need Hawaii Board approval?

When a program for already-licensed nurses has no campus in Hawaii, the Board says it grants no approval and needs no notice, citing bachelor's completion and practical-nurse bridge programs as examples. Nothing from Hawaii found for this page speaks to APRN programs, so raise NP clinicals with both the Board and Keiser.

Would my Hawaii preceptor earn the state tax credit?

Probably not. The credit rewards precepting only for students of programs accredited by or sited in Hawaii, with a student body that is majority Hawaii residents. Keiser is based in Florida, and its preceptors take students as volunteers.

GuideKeiser programs by stateStudying with Keiser from outside Florida? Fifty state guides: licenses, Keiser's disclosures and restriction list, board rules and where clinicals happen.DisclosuresLicensure disclosuresHow to read Keiser's professional licensure disclosures: where the FNP and WHNP meet or do not meet, what SARA covers, and the FAQ's separate state list.Out of stateOut-of-state FNP studentsTaking Keiser's online FNP from another state: Keiser's two state lists, the New York rule, state approval lists and what to check before you apply.ResidencyFNP residencies in Fort LauderdaleKeiser's two FNP residencies in Fort Lauderdale: three days in advanced assessment, two in the final practicum, and how to plan clinicals around them.RN to BSNRN to BSNKeiser's RN to BSN: 120 credits, online or hybrid, 4-week terms one course at a time, and a 45-hour community clinical where you secure the preceptor.LicensingFlorida RN license requirementKeiser's FNP and WHNP ask for an active Florida RN license, a license in your clinical state, and written verification from your home state. What each means.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Keiser's catalogs, graduate nursing manuals, licensure disclosures and program pages. Your course, the Clinical Coordinator and the 2026-27 Graduate Catalog have the final word.

Keiser asks you to find your own preceptor. Let us run that search.

Tell us your Keiser program, your next practicum and where you live. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the CV, license and site details your Preceptor/Mentor Information Form needs, about three months ahead.

Preceptors matched to the course: adult and older-adult primary care for NUR602A and NUR603A, pediatrics for NUR604A, women's health for NUR605A
CV, license, certification and site contact ready for Keiser's review and the affiliation agreement
Across Florida, from Miami to Jacksonville, and in the other states where you are licensed

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