Connecticut nurses at Lewis: the MSN and certificate split

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

Connecticut is one of two states where Lewis's own tables disagree with each other. The MSN and BSN to DNP nurse practitioner tables mark Connecticut as meeting licensure requirements, while all four post-master's certificate tables mark it as not meeting them. Which answer applies to you depends entirely on the route you enroll in.

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Tell us whether you are in the MSN, BSN to DNP or a certificate, and your next practicum.

4Lewis certificate (CAS) NP tables marking Connecticut No for licensure

2,000hours, over at least three years, of physician collaboration before full practice (AANP)

Connecticut's row on each Lewis table

Lewis authorizes Connecticut enrollment on all 20 of its graduate nursing tables. The disagreement sits entirely in the licensure column.

Connecticut on Lewis's March 2026 graduate nursing tables
Lewis program	Authorized to enroll	Meets licensure requirements
MSN NP (FNP, AGACNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP)	Yes	Yes
BSN to DNP NP tracks	Yes	Yes
Certificate of Advanced Study, all four NP specialties	Yes	No
DNP, Nursing Education, Healthcare Systems Leadership, MSN/MBA	Yes	No licensure column
School Nurse	Yes	No (approved for Illinois only)

Lewis gives no reason for the difference. Hawaii shows the mirror image, No on the MSN tables and Yes on the certificates. The state authorization guide lays both side by side, and the Connecticut row links the Department of Public Health's APRN licensure page.

If you are a post-master's certificate student

Say you already practice as a Connecticut NP and want a second specialty through a Lewis certificate, a PMHNP certificate for instance. Lewis's certificate table marks Connecticut No, which means the certificate may not lead to licensure in that new specialty in Connecticut. Before enrolling, put the question to Lewis's graduate admissions office and to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and keep both written replies.

Lewis's FAQ does name one option for out-of-state students: licensure in Illinois and practicums in Illinois. That produces an Illinois license. It does not alter Lewis's Connecticut entry for the certificate.

MSN and BSN to DNP students read a different table, and theirs says Yes. The rest of this page applies to every route.

Two Connecticut nurses at Lewis, one in the MSN and one in a certificate, get opposite licensure answers from the same university. Read the table for your exact route.

Connecticut's rules for precepted clinicals

Connecticut handles schools from elsewhere through a deeming rule rather than an application. Section 20-90-59 of its nursing regulations counts an out-of-state program as approved if three things hold: approval from its own state's board, a curriculum meeting the Connecticut RN education rule, and home-state licensure standards no lower than Connecticut's. No separate notice is mentioned. Still binding on any school using Connecticut agencies are the written-contract requirement and the ratios in 20-90-48: one preceptor may take two students at most, and one faculty member may oversee up to 16 precepted students.

For advanced-level students, 20-90-51(f) describes the preceptor Connecticut expects: an active RN license, Connecticut's or that of whichever state hosts the teaching, a bachelor's in nursing, and no less than two years in that role or specialty. Because the chapter was written around programs that prepare nurses for licensure, leaving APRN programs unaddressed, check with Lewis how it bears on an NP practicum.

Licenses, practice and Connecticut systems

Connecticut is a recent compact recruit, counted as a participant from the first of October 2025. Either license type now works for Connecticut clinicals: one Connecticut issued, or a multistate credential from your compact home state. AANP files Connecticut under full practice with a catch: an NP first puts in three years and 2,000 hours of physician collaboration. A preceptor early in an NP career may still be in that phase.

Four metro areas hold most of the state: Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford (1,171,426), Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury (978,179), New Haven (578,741) and Waterbury-Shelton (463,349). The large systems are UConn Health, Hartford HealthCare, Trinity Health Of New England and Yale New Haven Health, with New York's Northwell Health now running former Nuvance hospitals in the west, Danbury Hospital among them. Treat each as a place to look rather than a Lewis site. Research recorded no Connecticut preceptor incentive.

Why Connecticut students at Lewis choose us

MSN and BSN to DNP students get a search across the Connecticut metro nearest them, with every candidate screened for an active RN license, a BSN and at least two years of specialty experience before anything reaches Lewis's portal. Certificate students get a first conversation about Lewis's Connecticut No, then a plan built around the answer, including Illinois practicums if you take Lewis's Illinois route. Either way, Lewis asks you to play an active part in identifying preceptors, and our placement desk carries that search for you. Talk to the placement desk.

Questions Lewis students ask

Does Lewis's post-master's PMHNP certificate meet Connecticut licensure requirements?

Lewis's PMHNP certificate table marks Connecticut No for licensure, while its PMHNP MSN table marks Connecticut Yes, and Lewis gives no reason. If you are weighing the certificate, ask Lewis's graduate admissions office and Connecticut's Department of Public Health what the No means for your license before you enroll.

Can I train in Connecticut on my home-state license?

Yes, provided it is multistate. Connecticut has counted as a compact participant since October 1, 2025, so a multistate credential from your compact home state reaches its clinics. If Illinois or another non-compact state issued your only license, add a Connecticut license before training there.

Must Lewis file anything with Connecticut before my clinicals?

Connecticut's regulations deem a school from another state approved when its own board approves it and it passes Connecticut's curriculum and licensure-standard tests, with no separate application described. Those rules target programs preparing nurses for a first license, so the Clinical Placement Office is where to confirm how Lewis handles a Connecticut NP practicum.

Why would Lewis's MSN and certificate answers differ?

Lewis's tables, created in March 2026, give no reason for any No. Treat the table for your exact route as Lewis's answer. Weighing the MSN against a certificate? Ask Lewis's graduate admissions office which route suits a Connecticut license before you apply.

GuideOther statesThe states and DC where Lewis authorizes online graduate nursing enrollment, with Lewis's licensure notes, RN license rules and NP practicums in each.StatesState authorizationLewis authorizes online graduate nursing enrollment in 18 jurisdictions. The full table, where MSN and CAS licensure columns differ, and what it means for you.Lewis systemClinicals outside IllinoisDoing a Lewis practicum outside Illinois: extra permissions, the 18 jurisdictions Lewis enrolls from, licensure gaps by track, and the Illinois license option.LicensureRN license requirementsWhich RN license Lewis asks for: Illinois or your state of practice for the MSN, your practicum state for the BSN to DNP, and your residency state for the DNP.State guideMassachusettsLewis enrolls Massachusetts nurses but marks every NP table No for Massachusetts licensure. What that means, the board's clinical rules and the routes that fit.State guideRhode IslandLewis marks Rhode Island Yes for enrollment and NP licensure. The state's rules, the Massachusetts border question and where Lewis NP students find preceptors.

Last checked 2026-09-25

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