Which states each UL Lafayette nursing program accepts
UL Lafayette's state authorization page sorts every online nursing program by where its students live. The FNP, PMHNP and PMHNP certificate meet educational requirements only in Louisiana and Mississippi and keep clinicals in Louisiana, Nursing Education accepts eight states, and the DNP reaches most of the country, although its two lists disagree. Check your state on the live page before you apply.
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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.
What the state authorization page does
Online students can live anywhere, and each state can set terms for programs that enroll its residents. UL Lafayette answers that with one state authorization page for its online programs. It says the university must be in compliance in every state where a student is located, and that it meets this through membership in NC-SARA, the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement.
The same page carries a caution every nurse practitioner student should read twice: UL Lafayette online programs "may not meet eligibility requirements for a license or certificate in another state." For an NP program, that sentence is about your future APRN license, so the state where you plan to practice deserves as much thought as the state where you live now.
The page is organized program by program, and the nursing entries differ sharply. The sections below take them in turn.
FNP, PMHNP and the PMHNP certificate
The three nurse practitioner programs share one entry, word for word. Every rotation happens in Louisiana and every student holds a Louisiana RN license, and the entry then sorts each state and territory into a group.
| Status on UL Lafayette's page | States and territories |
|---|---|
| Meets educational requirements | Louisiana, Mississippi |
| Does not meet educational requirements | Minnesota, Tennessee, Washington |
| Not accepting students (no determination made) | The other 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia |
| Not placed in any group | Colorado |
Colorado's absence from every group reads as a gap in the page rather than an approval, so a Colorado resident should get a written answer before counting on enrollment. For Minnesota, Tennessee and Washington, the page is direct: these programs do not meet those states' educational requirements.
The license half of the entry is unpacked in RN and APRN license requirements, and the clinical half in Louisiana-only clinicals.
Mississippi: accepted, with Louisiana clinicals
Mississippi is the only state outside Louisiana where UL Lafayette says its NP programs meet educational requirements. That opens enrollment to Mississippi residents without changing the clinical rule: the same entry still places every rotation in Louisiana, under a Louisiana RN license.
For a student on the Gulf Coast or around Jackson, each practicum is planned around a Louisiana site and preceptor, drive included. Mississippi's own expectations for out-of-state programs that hold clinicals in Mississippi do not come into play while the clinicals stay in Louisiana. The Mississippi guide covers that state's side.
The license question is sharper for Mississippi residents than for anyone else. Because the online MSN page lets a multistate license through only when Louisiana residency can be shown, a Mississippi resident should ask UL Lafayette how to meet the license rule before applying.
MSN in Nursing Education: eight states
The Nursing Education concentration has its own, shorter list. UL Lafayette takes students for it from Louisiana itself, from Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia in the South, and from Arizona in the West. The concentration does not appear in the page's state-by-state section at all, Louisiana included, so the program list is the only place it shows up.
Where the practicum happens is the open question for out-of-state students. The MSN program page requires every MSN concentration to complete its clinical experiences in Louisiana, while the How to Apply page states that rule for the FNP alone. A Nursing Education student in Georgia or Virginia should put one question to the graduate coordinator before enrolling: may the NURS 544 and NURS 557 hours happen outside Louisiana? Until the answer is yes, plan on Louisiana. The Nursing Education practicums guide covers both courses.
The DNP: two lists that disagree
The Doctor of Nursing Practice has the widest reach, and the page contradicts itself about how wide. Its program list names 44 states plus the District of Columbia; the six states it omits are Kansas, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming. The state-by-state section of the same page lists the DNP under every state, those six included.
The page does not say which list controls. A nurse in one of the six states should get a written answer from the DNP Coordinator or online enrollment before applying. Tennessee residents face the tightest limits anywhere on the page: a does-not-meet state for the NP programs and missing from the DNP program list (Tennessee guide).
A DNP residency may run in Louisiana or in the state where the student lives, within the student's specialty area of practice. For DNP students, then, state authorization is about where you live and work, not only where you enroll. The DNP residency guide covers the three residency courses.
International students and moves between states
Some limits apply whatever your state. The online MSN is closed to F-1 international students, and the DNP page shuts out F-1 students too, adding that the program may not be available to every applicant in every state. The catalog's RN to BSN Online section carries its own reminder that programs may not be offered in every state.
Because UL Lafayette ties compliance to where a student is located, a move can change your status on the page. A student who leaves Louisiana during the MSN, or a DNP student who moves a residency to another state, should raise the move with an advisor first. Texas, next door, shows how far the lists can split: it sits in the not-accepting group for the FNP, PMHNP and certificate, while the DNP program list includes it (Texas guide).
How to confirm your state, and where we fit
- Find your program's entryGo to the state authorization page for online programs on louisiana.edu and read the entry for your exact program, not a neighboring one.
- Place your state in a groupNote whether your state meets, does not meet, is not accepted or is missing. DNP applicants should also read the state-by-state section.
- Check license and clinical rulesCompare your RN or APRN license with the 2026-27 catalog wording and confirm where your clinical hours must happen.
- Get the answer in writingAsk online enrollment, the graduate coordinator or the DNP Coordinator to confirm your state before you apply, and again before any move.
Once your state is settled, the clinical search can start. UL Lafayette may or may not take a hand in your placement; either way, our placement desk tracks down a preceptor and site that fit its rules, inside Louisiana for the NP programs and in Louisiana or your home state for the DNP. The 50-state guides cover each state's side, and the form below starts your search.
Questions UL Lafayette students ask
Can I enroll in UL Lafayette's online FNP if I live in Texas?
Not under the current state authorization page. Texas sits in the group where UL Lafayette has made no determination about the FNP, PMHNP and PMHNP certificate, and the page says it is not accepting students from that group. The DNP program list does include Texas. Check the live page before applying, since these lists can change.
Why is Colorado missing from UL Lafayette's state list for NP programs?
The shared entry for the FNP, PMHNP and certificate names every other state in one of three groups, but Colorado appears in none. That looks like an omission, not an approval. A Colorado resident should ask UL Lafayette's online enrollment team for a written answer before applying. Colorado does appear on the DNP program list.
Does NC-SARA membership let me do NP clinicals in my own state?
No. NC-SARA membership is how UL Lafayette stays in compliance where its online students live, and it leaves the program rules in place. The FNP, PMHNP and certificate still require Louisiana clinicals and a Louisiana RN license, and the page still warns that online programs may not meet another state's license or certificate requirements.
Does UL Lafayette's DNP accept students from Tennessee?
The page gives two answers. The DNP program list leaves out Tennessee, along with Kansas, Maryland, Oklahoma, Washington and Wyoming, while the state-by-state section lists the DNP under every state, Tennessee included. Ask the DNP Coordinator which list governs before applying. Tennessee is also a does-not-meet state for UL Lafayette's NP programs.
Should I tell UL Lafayette before moving to another state mid-program?
Yes. The state authorization page says UL Lafayette must be in compliance wherever a student is located, and your new state may carry a different status for your program. Talk to your advisor before the move. For MSN and certificate students, clinical hours stay in Louisiana whichever state you live in.
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.