UL Lafayette's nursing campus, simulation labs and on-campus days
The LHC Group · Myers School of Nursing keeps its offices in V.L. Wharton Hall on UL Lafayette's 145-acre main campus, and junior and senior nursing courses now meet in the 501 Building on the Health Sciences Campus next door. Eight simulation labs support hands-on practice. Online MSN and certificate students have no published on-campus requirement, while DNP students come to Lafayette at the start and at the end.
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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.
V.L. Wharton Hall: the nursing offices
V.L. Wharton Hall is the School of Nursing's administrative home on the main campus, and two of its rooms matter most to students. Nursing student services is in Room 254. Room 307 holds the graduate nursing office, which also serves as the DNP office.
The graduate nursing office is where the ICMSN handbook says clinical paperwork must be on file before any clinical day: a current agency contract, a recent preceptor CV, the three-way letter of agreement signed by you, your faculty member and your preceptor, and proof of your health, OSHA and HIPAA items. For an online student who never visits, Room 307 is still the place every practicum file ends up. The clinical paperwork guide lists each item and its timing.
UL Lafayette's own pages print the building name two ways, V.L. Wharton Hall and VL Wharton Hall. Both mean the same building, so either spelling on a form or envelope points to the right place.
The main campus and the Health Sciences Campus
UL Lafayette's main campus covers 145 acres in Lafayette, part of more than 1,300 acres the university holds in all, including University Research Park and the New Iberia Research Center. Nursing has begun to spread beyond that core.
The Health Sciences Campus sits beside the main campus, on the site of the former Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center. UL Lafayette bought 19.2 acres there from Our Lady of Lourdes, a purchase finalized on February 28, 2023. The college started shifting to the new campus in August 2023.
For students, the result is a nursing program spread across two neighboring sites: offices and student services in Wharton Hall, and junior and senior classroom teaching on the Health Sciences Campus. Knowing which building holds what saves a wasted trip on the days you do come to Lafayette.
The 501 Building and the planned Regional Simulation Center
Per UL Lafayette, the 501 Building now hosts every junior- and senior-level nursing course. It was once the St. Francis Office Building and was renovated with LHC Group's backing. For a traditional BSN student, that places the second half of the program there, from NURS 308 Adult Health and Illness I through the senior courses NURS 403, NURS 418 and NURS 420.
The next phase of the Health Sciences Campus is a Regional Simulation Center. UL Lafayette describes it as a space for undergraduate and graduate nursing and health sciences students, and one available to area health care institutions as well. The university has published no completion date, so read it as planned rather than open.
Sophomore students meet the program earlier, in NURS 208 Fundamentals of Caregiving, the first clinical course. The traditional BSN page covers how that course and its assigned lab days work.
The Simulation & Learning Labs
UL Lafayette's Simulation Program counts eight simulation labs. Its page names low-fidelity labs, high-fidelity labs, a Critical Care Lab, a Maternal Child Lab and a Health Promotion Lab, equipped with task trainers, high-fidelity simulators and virtual reality learning systems.
The program's accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare is full and runs five years, in the teaching and education area. The accreditation guide places that record beside the school's CCNE and Board of Nursing approvals.
Simulation is written into the BSN plan by name. NURS 420 Bridge to Professional Practice, a one-credit senior course, pairs high-fidelity simulation with preparation for the licensing exam. UL Lafayette calls these spaces the Simulation & Learning Labs, the name to use when you search the nursing site for them.
Who comes to campus, program by program
Most graduate students never need the 501 Building. Neither the online MSN nor the PMHNP certificate names an on-campus intensive or skills check anywhere UL Lafayette publishes, and the certificate describes its didactic courses as fully online. The DNP is the exception.
| Program | How it is delivered | On-campus requirement found |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional BSN | Face to face in Lafayette; junior and senior courses in the 501 Building | Yes, throughout |
| Accelerated BSN (with Ochsner) | In person over 15 months, with rotations at Ochsner | Yes, in person |
| RN to BSN Online | Online, with a required online orientation course | None found |
| MSN: FNP, PMHNP, Nursing Education | Online only | None found |
| PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate | Didactic courses fully online | None found |
| DNP | Didactic courses online | DNP Orientation Intensive at the start; Synthesis Project presentation at the end |
DNP students are expected on campus twice, first for the DNP Orientation Intensive as the program opens and last to present the finished Synthesis Project formally. The Synthesis Project guide covers the committee and the presentation.
One MSN course is worth a question. NURS 507 Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning carries lab contact hours in its catalog entry, yet nothing says a check-off happens on campus. If your syllabus is unclear, ask your course faculty.
Campus offices that serve online students
Several main-campus offices reach online students without a trip to Lafayette. Edith Garland Dupré Library runs a distance learners guide, a nursing guide and a document and book delivery service. The IT Service Desk in Stephens Hall handles ULID, ULink, Moodle and email problems. The Graduate School in Martin Hall processes withdrawals, resignations and leaves of absence for graduate students, and late withdrawal requests go there too.
Your Cajun Card doubles as a student ID, library card and building pass if you do come to campus, and the Office of Disability Services arranges accommodations. Tutoring through tutor.com and the Writing Center's online writing lab runs inside Moodle, and Uwill offers teletherapy around the clock. The student systems guide covers each system and office in more detail.
Your clinicals happen near home, and we plan around it
The campus is the School of Nursing's base, but MSN and certificate practicums take place in Louisiana clinics and hospitals, often a long drive from Wharton Hall. A student in Lake Charles, Monroe or on the Northshore needs a preceptor close to home, not close to the 501 Building.
With or without UL Lafayette's help on placement, your placement advisor finds a preceptor and site that match its rules, close to where you live. We search across Acadiana and the rest of Louisiana, confirm each preceptor's Louisiana license and certification, and assemble what the graduate nursing office in Room 307 needs before your first clinical day. DNP students get the same care for the residency: we look for an agency and mentor in Louisiana or your home state that fit the project, so your committee has a strong mentor to consider. Use the form below to start.
Questions UL Lafayette students ask
Do UL Lafayette online MSN students have to come to campus?
UL Lafayette's catalog and online program pages list none for the online MSN or the PMHNP post-master's certificate. Courses run online, and courses taught at partner consortium schools appear in UL Lafayette's Moodle. Check each syllabus, and ask your course faculty if a campus visit is ever listed.
When do DNP students come to the UL Lafayette campus?
Twice. The DNP Orientation Intensive opens the program on campus, and the Synthesis Project is presented formally on campus when the program ends. The didactic courses in between are online, and residency hours take place at an agency in Louisiana or in your home state.
Where is the graduate nursing office at UL Lafayette?
Room 307 of V.L. Wharton Hall, on the main campus in Lafayette. The ICMSN handbook gives it as the MSN program's office, and your clinical paperwork has to reach it before any clinical day. DNP business runs from that room as well, while nursing student services has Room 254 in the same building.
What is the 501 Building at UL Lafayette?
The 501 Building began as the St. Francis Office Building and was renovated for nursing with LHC Group's backing. UL Lafayette holds its junior and senior nursing classes there, on the Health Sciences Campus, land that once held the Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center beside the main campus.
Is UL Lafayette's Regional Simulation Center open yet?
UL Lafayette's pages present it as the next phase of the Health Sciences Campus, meant for undergraduate and graduate nursing and health sciences students and available to area health care institutions. No opening date is published. Until one is, the School of Nursing's eight existing simulation labs carry its simulation teaching.
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.