Lewis nursing students in Wisconsin: ask about approval first
Lewis's disclosures mark Wisconsin Yes for enrollment and Yes for NP licensure on every route. The Wisconsin detail to plan around belongs to the state: its Board of Nursing expects any nursing school based outside Wisconsin, graduate schools too, to hold board approval, and Lewis publishes no state-by-state clinical approvals. Ask Lewis about Wisconsin before you build a plan there.
Plan a Lewis practicum from Wisconsin
Tell us your Lewis track, where in Wisconsin you live and your next practicum course.
Wisconsin on Lewis's tables
Every Lewis graduate nursing table authorizes enrollment from Wisconsin. The FNP, AGACNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP tables also mark the curriculum as meeting Wisconsin licensure requirements, whether you arrive through the MSN, the BSN to DNP or a post-master's certificate.
| Lewis program | Authorized to enroll | Meets licensure requirements |
|---|---|---|
| NP tracks via the MSN | Yes | Yes |
| NP tracks via the BSN to DNP | Yes | Yes |
| NP Certificates of Advanced Study | Yes | Yes |
| DNP, Nursing Education, Healthcare Systems Leadership, MSN/MBA | Yes | No licensure column (no separate state license) |
| School Nurse, MSN and non-degree | Yes | No (Illinois only) |
From the Wisconsin row Lewis links the Board of Nursing, which operates inside Wisconsin's licensing department, Safety and Professional Services (DSPS). The NP tables' caution that clinical rotations in a designated state may face restrictions carries extra weight in Wisconsin, for the reason below.
The Wisconsin rule for out-of-state schools
The rule traces to chapter N of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, section 1.06. DSPS Form 3067-OEE, in its April 13, 2026 revision, applies it plainly: a school of nursing headquartered outside Wisconsin must first win approval from the Wisconsin Board of Nursing. That covers PN programs, associate and baccalaureate RN programs (post-licensure bachelor's included) and graduate nursing. To keep approval, a school later sends DSPS a self-evaluation on Form 3069OEE.
Lewis has not published whether it holds Wisconsin approval, and research found no Lewis statement either way. So before you put weeks into a Wisconsin preceptor, ask the Clinical Placement Office whether a Wisconsin site can be approved for your course. If the answer is no, Lewis's FAQ describes the fallback it offers out-of-state students: an Illinois RN license and practicums in Illinois.
In Wisconsin the school itself needs board approval, not only your license and the site's agreement. Get Lewis's answer on Wisconsin placements before you start calling clinics.
Licenses on both sides of the preceptorship
Wisconsin has been a compact state since January 19, 2018. Per Form 3067-OEE, a faculty member or preceptor at a Wisconsin clinical site needs Wisconsin licensure or a Wisconsin privilege to practice, and nurses holding a multistate license from their compact home state carry that privilege. At an Illinois clinic none of that applies, since Illinois has stayed out of the compact.
Act 17 of 2025, Wisconsin's APRN law, became effective on September 1, 2026. DSPS converted each APNP credential to an APRN license and now licenses four APRN roles, of which NP is one, so a preceptor's record may read differently than it did last year. AANP's map, dated May 2026, still shows reduced practice with a collaborating physician; practicing independently now takes a separate application and board approval.
Milwaukee, Madison and the Fox Valley
Milwaukee-Waukesha is Wisconsin's largest metro at 1,575,010 residents, followed by Madison at 709,685, Green Bay at 336,756 and Appleton at 249,876. Among the big systems are UW Health, Froedtert ThedaCare Health, Aspirus Health, Ascension Wisconsin and Advocate Health's Aurora Health Care.
Two of those systems publish student processes that research captured. UW Health's system-wide page for advanced practice students takes requests only from a school's placement coordinator through myClinicalExchange, puts UW-Madison partner schools first and says it is currently not accepting new affiliation agreements. Aurora's placement page, which Advocate also uses for its Illinois hospitals, routes requests through myClinicalExchange as well. Research recorded no Wisconsin preceptor incentive.
Why Wisconsin nurses at Lewis choose us
We settle the Wisconsin question with you first, then search where your course can actually run. For many southern Wisconsin nurses that means Illinois sites within reach, in Lake and McHenry counties, where Wisconsin schools also compete for hospital student slots, or around Rockford. Lewis looks to NP students to help identify preceptors; our desk does that legwork, matches the preceptor to your exact practicum and prepares a contract request that reaches the Clinical Placement Office complete. Tell us where you live and work.
Questions Lewis students ask
Can I do my Lewis FNP clinicals in Wisconsin?
Possibly, but check first. Lewis marks Wisconsin Yes for FNP enrollment and licensure, yet Wisconsin's board must approve any school from another state whose nursing students train there, graduate schools too. Lewis's public pages are silent on whether it holds that approval, so ask the Clinical Placement Office before committing to a Wisconsin site.
Will my Wisconsin compact license work at an Illinois clinic?
No. Illinois is not a compact state, so Wisconsin's multistate privilege does not extend there. If you take Lewis's Illinois route, apply for an Illinois RN license well ahead of your first practicum so the agency can clear you before the 16-week course begins.
My Wisconsin preceptor's license changed from APNP to APRN. Is that a problem?
No. Under 2025 Wisconsin Act 17, effective September 1, 2026, every APNP license DSPS had on file became an APRN license, with NP as one of four recognized roles. Enter the credential exactly as DSPS now shows it when you fill in Lewis's contract request, so the review matches the record.
Does UW Health take NP students from outside Wisconsin?
UW Health's student page gives first priority to UW-Madison partner schools, then to UW Health employees at affiliated programs, accepts requests only from school coordinators through myClinicalExchange, and is currently not accepting new affiliation agreements. Unless Lewis already has an agreement there, plan on other Wisconsin or Illinois settings.
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
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