UL Lafayette's online nursing programs for Arizona residents
Arizona gets more from UL Lafayette than most states do: it is one of only eight states cleared for the online MSN in Nursing Education, and the post-MSN DNP welcomes Arizona residents as well. The FNP, PMHNP and PMHNP certificate are a different matter, closed to Arizona students and anchored to Louisiana clinical sites. Confirm your eligibility with UL Lafayette's online programs office first.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UL Lafayette program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UL Lafayette course.
Two programs open, three closed
UL Lafayette's state authorization page names Arizona on both the Nursing Education list and the DNP list. Here is the whole picture in the page's own terms; the state authorization guide compares every state.
| Program | Arizona residents | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| MSN in Nursing Education | Accepted (one of eight states) | Practicums NURS 544 and NURS 557 |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice | Accepted | Residency in Louisiana or your home state |
| MSN FNP and MSN PMHNP | Not accepting | No determination made; Louisiana clinicals |
| PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate | Not accepting | No determination made; Louisiana clinicals |
The Nursing Education practicums, seen from Arizona
The Nursing Education concentration is 40 to 43 credits over four semesters, with two practicums near the end. NURS 544, Advanced Clinical Practicum in Nursing Practice, needs 60 clinical hours or more in semester three; NURS 557, the Nursing Education Practicum, needs at least 180 in semester four across precepted class, lab and clinical settings. The 2026-27 catalog totals 240, while an older web requirements page says 300, so read the catalog first and let course faculty settle the count.
Where an Arizona student completes those hours is UL Lafayette's call to confirm. Its MSN page says the concentrations finish all clinical experiences inside Louisiana, yet the state authorization page welcomes Nursing Education students from Arizona. Ask the graduate coordinator how NURS 544 and NURS 557 work for you before you enroll. Our Nursing Education practicums page covers both courses.
What the Arizona State Board of Nursing oversees
The Arizona board's authority covers two kinds of schools, those preparing new nurses for licensure and those preparing APRNs, and an outside program of either kind needs AZBN approval before its students begin Arizona clinicals. A 2020 revision of its APRN advisory opinion offers a quicker review where the home state has approved that specific APRN track and the university is nationally accredited. The program then keeps tabs on the licenses of everyone involved, from its director to each student, records placements and answers annual survey or audit requests.
A Nursing Education practicum is neither of those two kinds, and UL Lafayette's post-MSN DNP leads to no new license, so how the opinion treats each is a question for UL Lafayette and AZBN. Where it does apply, APRN students hold a clear Arizona or compact RN license, APRN preceptors pair that license with Arizona APRN certification, and physicians who precept are licensed to practice medicine in Arizona.
Practice rules and health care across Arizona
Arizona joined the compact's working members in early 2018, and AANP rates it full practice for nurse practitioners; the APRN Compact is not law there. A state grant meant for unpaid preceptors of graduate students, with rural primary care first in line, has no money in the latest budget report, so do not count on it.
Greater Phoenix dwarfs every other metro, Tucson comes next, and the Prescott Valley and Kingman areas are far smaller. Banner Health and HonorHealth run large Phoenix-area networks, Phoenix Children's and Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus add specialty depth, and TMC Health serves Tucson, all named to describe the state rather than as sites that accept UL Lafayette students.
The DNP option, and why Arizona students work with us
MSN-prepared nurses in Arizona can also pursue UL Lafayette's 39-credit DNP: a Fall start, 420 residency hours in your specialty area of practice that may stay in Arizona, and two campus visits for the Orientation Intensive and the Synthesis Project presentation.
Whatever part UL Lafayette plays in finding your placement, we bring you a preceptor or residency mentor and a setting that fit its rules, with every document prepared early so faculty open a complete file the first time. Nursing Education students get settings where an educator precepts across class, lab and clinical teaching, the mix NURS 557 describes. Tell us about your plans on the contact form.
Questions UL Lafayette students ask
Can I take UL Lafayette's MSN in Nursing Education while living in Arizona?
Yes. Arizona is one of eight states UL Lafayette lists for the online Nursing Education concentration, with Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Being on the list is not the same as admission, and the practicum location still needs confirming, so speak with UL Lafayette's online programs office and the graduate coordinator before applying.
Is UL Lafayette's online FNP open to Arizona residents?
Not at present. For the FNP, PMHNP and PMHNP certificate, UL Lafayette places Arizona among the states where it has not determined whether the program meets educational requirements, and it is not enrolling students from them. Those tracks also run every clinical rotation in Louisiana on a Louisiana RN license.
Is 240 or 300 the right Nursing Education hour total?
UL Lafayette's 2026-27 catalog sets 240: a minimum of 60 in NURS 544 and 180 in NURS 557. An older web requirements page for the concentration lists 300. The catalog for the year you enter takes priority, and course faculty can confirm how hours are counted in your plan of study.
Can my DNP residency stay in Arizona?
UL Lafayette says DNP clinical hours may be completed in Louisiana or in your home state, within your specialty area of practice. The residency totals 420 hours over NURS 821, NURS 822 and NURS 823. Before settling on a site, ask the DNP Coordinator how UL Lafayette handles AZBN's expectations for programs based outside Arizona.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UL Lafayette's 2026-27 catalog, its online program and state authorization pages, the ICMSN student handbook and Louisiana's nursing rules. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether UL Lafayette helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your UL Lafayette program, the practicum coming up and the Louisiana town you train near. We look for preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather the license, CV and agency details that must be on file before your first clinical day.
- Preceptors who meet Louisiana's rules: an active Louisiana license, most hours with an APRN in your population focus
- The preceptor's CV, the agency details and your letter of agreement items gathered early
- Across Acadiana and the rest of Louisiana, plus DNP residencies in your home state
Start your placement plan
Your program, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.