Austin, Waco, Temple and the Brazos Valley for UTRGV NP students

Updated September 27, 2026 · Reviewed by the UTRGV Preceptor placement team

Several Central Texas organizations put their student rules in writing: CommUnityCare posts an NP application with term deadlines, Baylor Scott & White names the kind of school it signs with, and Austin-area hospitals use a shared placement system. This guide sorts the 30 counties for UTRGV FNP students with family nearby and for DNP and PMHNP students who live here.

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30counties across four councils of governments

112HRSA health center sites in the region

14critical access hospitals in the CMS hospital file

Thirty counties between the Hill Country and the Brazos

The Capital Area (CAPCOG), Central Texas, Heart of Texas and Brazos Valley councils of governments cover Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Coryell, Falls, Fayette, Freestone, Grimes, Hamilton, Hays, Hill, Lampasas, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Llano, Madison, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Robertson, San Saba, Travis, Washington and Williamson counties: 4,098,990 people on July 1, 2025, per Census estimates.

Austin alone counted 1,002,632, ahead of Killeen, Waco, Round Rock, College Station, Georgetown, Temple and Bryan. From Edinburg it is roughly 305 road miles to Austin and 395 to Waco, so UTRGV students train here because home or family is here.

What Central Texas organizations publish about NP students

Each row is that organization's own rule, or a search excerpt where the page could not be read. None of these pages names UTRGV, so treat them as places NP students look, each with its own gate.

Student rules in Central Texas, in each organization's words
Organization	What its page says	How it was read
CommUnityCare Health Centers, Austin	Offers placements to "Nurse Practitioner" students whose school holds an affiliation agreement or MOU with it; spaces limited by preceptor availability and clinic capacity. Online application due November 30 (spring), March 30 (summer), June 30 (fall).	Read live
Central Texas Healthcare Partnership	School subscription placement system for nursing, surgical tech and EMS students; over 18,000 rotations a year for 14 colleges and universities. NP coverage not stated.	Read live
Baylor Scott & White, Temple, Waco, Round Rock, College Station	Affiliation agreement required, and "The school must be certified by the State of Texas." The Temple medical center is a Level I trauma facility.	Read live; DSHS list
Ascension Seton, Austin	No NP page; a school's affiliation agreement must be on file before a student is approved.	Search excerpt
St. David's HealthCare, Austin	An externship and capstone for local RN students; no NP process.	Search excerpt
St. Joseph Health, Bryan	Academic partnerships with Texas A&M and a nurse residency; no NP process.	Search excerpt

CommUnityCare adds that an agreement plus an application does not assure a spot, so treat its dates as cutoffs and apply well before them. The partnership offers its system to schools by subscription, so any rotation through it would be set up on UTRGV's side. Baylor Scott & White's certification condition fits UTRGV, a Texas public university; the agreement is the part to confirm.

Clinics from Round Rock to Madisonville

HRSA counts 112 active health center sites run by eight organizations. CommUnityCare (filed as the Travis County Healthcare District) has 34, and Lone Star Circle of Care has 30 from Austin, Georgetown and Round Rock north to Killeen and Harker Heights. Heart of Texas Community Health Center runs 19 around Waco, including McGregor, Temple and Hillsboro, and Brazos Valley Community Action Agency 13, from Bryan out to Navasota, Madisonville, Centerville and Hearne.

Smaller networks serve Lockhart, Luling and Elgin (Community Health Centers of South Central Texas), San Marcos and Kyle (Barrio Comprehensive Family Health Care Center), La Grange and Giddings (Tejas Health Care), and Manor (Peoples Community Clinic). Outside CommUnityCare, the opening is usually one clinician who agrees to teach.

Shortage labels across the 30 counties

HRSA records dated September 27, 2026 place 26 of the 30 counties in primary care shortage areas, 14 county-wide and 12 for low-income residents, Bell, Brazos and McLennan among them; only Burnet, Hays, Travis and Williamson carry none. Mental health labels reach 27 counties, Travis included, leaving just Blanco, Hays and Williamson.

CMS lists 58 hospitals here, 8 psychiatric and 14 critical access, and USDA's 2023 codes make 16 counties nonmetro. For FNP students, those counties are where a rotation matches NURS 6311. For PMHNP students, the labels are a reason to contact psychiatric preceptors in Waco or the Brazos Valley months before clinical hours start in the fall.

Fitting each UTRGV course to Central Texas

NURS 6305: 45 hands-on hours in a primary care clinic, which any network above or a family practice can supply.
NURS 6311: rural primary care, such as Tejas Health Care's La Grange and Giddings clinics or Brazos Valley's Madisonville and Centerville sites.
NURS 6347: two master's-prepared NPs at two different sites, one student each; an Austin clinic paired with one in Georgetown or Temple works once UTRGV approves both.
NURS 6612 and NURS 6613: 224, then 336 hours with children and adults, at 16 hours a week and later 24, ideally in a family practice that sees every age.
NURS 6476 and NURS 6620: a board-certified psychiatrist (ABPN) or ANCC-certified PMHNP, never at your workplace.
DNP project courses: an approved site, a physician or DNP-prepared APRN preceptor, and 100 logged hours in NURS 8211.

UTRGV's steps come with you

Distance changes nothing about approval. UTRGV's FNP syllabi put the student in charge of finding a preceptor and site, either from the approved preceptor list in Brightspace or through the Clinical Request Form, which allows 30 to 90 days for a new agreement. A PMHNP student's hours begin only after clinical faculty clearance, and a DNP student sends in the agreement and preceptor paperwork for an approved site.

FNP classes meet in Edinburg, and the NURS 6612 syllabus has each week's Mandatory Weekly Time Report turned in during Wednesday class, so agree the schedule with your course coordinator first. You train on your Texas RN license, and NP preceptors here prescribe under physician agreements; see Texas NP practice.

Why Central Texas students choose us

We search the counties where you live, starting with sites already on UTRGV's list and reaching new clinics early enough for UTRGV's agreement window and CommUnityCare's deadlines. You get a preceptor who has said yes, a fit checked against your course's hours and patients, and the details the Clinical Request Form needs. How it works shows each stage.

Questions UTRGV students ask

Can a UTRGV FNP student do clinical hours in Austin?

UTRGV publishes no rule limiting FNP sites to the Valley, but every site needs UTRGV approval, from the approved list or through a new agreement. Because classes meet in Edinburg, settle the weekly schedule with your course coordinator before committing to an Austin preceptor.

Does CommUnityCare accept nurse practitioner students?

Yes, according to its educational opportunities page, if the school holds an affiliation agreement or memorandum of understanding with CommUnityCare. Requests go through its online application, and paperwork is due at least 30 calendar days before the start, so aim well ahead of the term deadline.

Will Baylor Scott & White in Temple or Waco consider a UTRGV student?

Its published rule asks for an affiliation agreement and a school certified by the State of Texas, which UTRGV is. No BSW page read for this guide describes an NP-specific process, so the agreement and a willing BSW clinician are the pieces to confirm.

Can a PMHNP certificate student living in Austin train there?

Yes. PMHNP clinicals happen in your state of residence. Your preceptor has to be a psychiatrist board-certified by the ABPN for over a year since residency, or a PMHNP certified by ANCC, and not someone at your workplace. UTRGV's two statements on placement help are compared on PMHNP placement assistance.

GuideTexas regionsTexas clinical guides for UTRGV nurse practitioner students: Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties, Laredo, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and beyond.Texas regionSan Antonio and the Alamo AreaSan Antonio clinicals for UTRGV NP students: University Health, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa, UT Health, VA and clinic rules, rural shortage data and course fit.Texas regionDallas-Fort WorthUTRGV NP students in Dallas-Fort Worth: UT Southwestern's request windows, Parkland, Texas Health, Children's Health and BSW rules, clinics and HRSA data.UTRGV systemClinical Request FormHow UTRGV's Clinical Request Form sets up a new clinical site: the fields, standard and non-standard agreements, the 30 to 90 day wait, and who does what.UTRGV systemFinding a preceptorWhere UTRGV FNP and PMHNP students find willing preceptors: the fit each course needs, what Valley and Texas systems publish, and when a new site is worth it.ProgramPMHNP certificateUTRGV's online PMHNP certificate: 21 or 18 credits, a Summer I start, 520 clinical hours in your home state and the board-certified preceptor rule.

Last checked 2026-09-27

We check these pages against UTRGV's own catalog, course syllabi, School of Nursing pages and Texas Board of Nursing rules. Your course faculty and the School of Nursing have the final word.

From the approved list or a brand-new site, we find the preceptor who fits.

Tell us your UTRGV program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We line up a willing preceptor who fits the course and UTRGV's rules, and hand you the details the Clinical Request Form, the affiliation agreement and the preceptor agreement ask for, well before the semester.

Family practice preceptors for NURS 6612 and NURS 6613, and two NP sites for NURS 6347
Board-certified psychiatric preceptors for NURS 6476 and NURS 6620, in your home state
Across the Valley and Texas, from McAllen and Brownsville to San Antonio, Houston and beyond
A replacement lined up fast if a preceptor drops

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