Lewis University NP programs for Mississippi nurses
Mississippi nurses can enroll in Lewis's online graduate nursing programs, but all 12 of Lewis's nurse practitioner tables mark Mississippi as not meeting licensure requirements. The program may not lead to NP licensure in Mississippi, and the state separately reviews out-of-state programs before their students start clinicals there, so talk with Lewis and the Mississippi authorities before you enroll.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Lewis program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Lewis course.
Lewis's Mississippi row, program by program
The NC-SARA tables on Lewis's Accreditation and Licensure page give Mississippi a Yes for enrollment on every graduate nursing program and a No for licensure on every nurse practitioner program. Indiana and Massachusetts are the only other states with No on all twelve NP tables.
| Lewis program | Authorized to enroll | Meets Mississippi licensure requirements |
|---|---|---|
| MSN NP: FNP, AGACNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP | Yes | No |
| BSN to DNP, four NP tracks | Yes | No |
| Certificate of Advanced Study, four NP tracks | Yes | No |
| DNP, Nursing Education, Healthcare Systems Leadership, MSN/MBA | Yes | No licensure column: no separate state license |
| School Nurse, MSN and non-degree | Yes | No: approved for Illinois only |
The NP tables add a footnote that clinical rotations can be restricted in a state even where licensure is possible. Lewis gives no reason for the Mississippi No.
Reading the No plainly
Lewis's No is a statement about its own curriculum: Lewis does not list its NP coursework as satisfying Mississippi's educational requirements for NP licensure. A Mississippi nurse who wants to practice as an NP at home could finish the degree and still fall short, so put that question to Lewis's graduate admissions office and the Mississippi Board of Nursing before signing up, and ask for written replies.
Practice rules add a second hurdle at home. On AANP's map Mississippi is reduced practice: every NP needs a collaborating Mississippi physician or dentist, and the board signs off on that pairing, so an NP career there means lining up a collaborator as well as the license.
Being able to enroll from Mississippi is not the same as being able to license there. Settle the licensure question with Lewis and the board before your first NP course.
IHL's review of programs from other states
Mississippi hands oversight of nursing degrees to IHL, the governing board of its public universities, rather than to the Board of Nursing. IHL holds programs from outside the state, graduate ones included, to Mississippi standards once they bring students to Mississippi clinical sites, because clinical hours on Mississippi soil count, in IHL's eyes, as the school being physically present. That triggers a program review by IHL Nursing Education, which IHL says may run three months; its procedures manual tells out-of-state programs to ask four months or more before students begin. A school also needs SARA membership or other distance-education approval; Lewis participates in SARA, which settles that condition only.
One more IHL standard concerns you directly: an APRN student may only do clinical hours in a state where the student's RN license is unencumbered and valid. Lewis's public pages say nothing about seeking IHL review, so a Mississippi practicum is something only Lewis, working with IHL, can open up; the outside Illinois guide explains Lewis's own policy.
Licensing: a compact state next to a non-compact Illinois
Mississippi has belonged to the Nurse Licensure Compact since January 2018. According to its Board of Nursing, a nurse who declares Mississippi as home and keeps a clean record may work across the compact, and no employer in another compact state may demand a separate local license. Illinois sits outside that arrangement, so the privilege ends at the Illinois line.
Lewis's FAQ opens an Illinois path to every out-of-state student: license in Illinois, then complete the practicum there. From Mississippi that means an IDFPR application and each clinical course spent in Illinois; the RN license guide shows each program's license wording.
How we help Mississippi nurses
Our searches follow Lewis's answers. For a Mississippi nurse on Lewis's Illinois route, the placement desk searches whichever Illinois area you pick, fits each preceptor to the 16-week course, and prepares the full record for the contract portal. For a program without a licensure column, such as the post-master's DNP, we find the residency setting and preceptor after Lewis says where the residency may take place.
Lewis leaves the identifying of preceptors to its NP students, with the Clinical Placement Office facilitating and faculty approving, and that identifying is what we do best. Should Lewis and IHL one day clear Mississippi placements, we would search the Jackson metro, Gulfport-Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Mississippi's share of greater Memphis, where UMMC, Baptist Memorial Health Care, Forrest Health, North Mississippi Health Services and Singing River Health System operate. Begin with the request form.
Questions Lewis students ask
Can I become a Mississippi nurse practitioner through Lewis's online program?
Not according to Lewis's current tables, which mark every NP route, MSN, BSN to DNP and certificate, as falling short of Mississippi licensure requirements. You may enroll, but the degree may leave you unable to license as an NP in Mississippi. Raise it with Lewis's graduate admissions office and the Mississippi Board of Nursing first.
Who oversees nursing degree programs in Mississippi, IHL or the Board of Nursing?
IHL, the governing board of Mississippi's public universities, sets the standards RN degree programs follow and decides whether an out-of-state program may bring students into Mississippi clinicals. The Board of Nursing approves practical nursing programs and handles licensure, including the multistate compact license held by Mississippi residents.
How far ahead would Lewis need IHL's approval for a Mississippi practicum?
Plan on months, not weeks. IHL estimates its review at up to three months, and its manual sets a four-month minimum between a visiting program's request and its students' first day. Only Lewis can make that request, so ask early whether it intends to.
Does my Mississippi compact license cover clinicals in Illinois?
No. A Mississippi multistate license authorizes nothing in Illinois, clinical hours included, because Illinois never joined the Nurse Licensure Compact. Lewis's FAQ points out-of-state students to an Illinois RN license from IDFPR and a practicum in Illinois; apply well before the semester, since the Illinois agency checks the license before clearing you.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Lewis's own catalog, program pages and FAQ, its contract portal and Illinois law. Your course, your track coordinator and the Clinical Placement Office have the final word.
Lewis asks you to identify your preceptor. We do the searching.
Tell us your Lewis program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare every detail the contract portal asks for, so your request goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the practicum: primary care for
NURS 61100andNURS 61800, acute care forNURS 62500, psychiatric care forNURS 63300 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your preceptor contract request
- In your own community, anywhere Lewis enrolls you and your RN license is valid
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.