Illinois and the University of Southern Indiana's online nursing programs
USI's disclosure, marked Updated Fall 2025, lists every APRN program as meeting Illinois's educational requirements and bars no Illinois resident from enrolling. Illinois still asks more than Indiana or Kentucky: hours there need an Illinois RN license, and the state regulator has a rule for programs based elsewhere that may or may not extend to graduate students.
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USI's answer for Illinois
For Illinois residents the table raises no barrier.
| Program | USI's answer for Illinois | Enrollment for Illinois residents |
|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP | Meets requirements | Open |
| Post-master's certificates (FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP) | Meets requirements | Open |
| BSN-to-DNP APRN tracks and post-MSN DNP | Meets requirements | Open |
| MSN Nursing Education Leadership and Healthcare Systems Leadership | Does not lead to licensure | Open |
| BSN-to-DNP Organizational and Systems Leadership; RN-to-BSN | Does not lead to licensure | Open |
An Illinois RN license comes first
Illinois sits apart from the Nurse Licensure Compact, and according to NCSBN's map no compact bill awaits action there. A multistate license from Indiana or Kentucky carries no privilege into Illinois, so an hour at any Illinois site calls for an Illinois RN license from IDFPR. USI's own rule points the same way, since it wants your RN license unencumbered in each state that hosts clinical hours.
An Illinois exemption for RNs licensed elsewhere who are enrolled in a graduate or degree-completion program in Illinois (225 ILCS 65/50-15(b)(10)) may not reach a student of an Indiana program, and USI's license rule settles the question anyway. For FNP and PMHNP students, video visits with Illinois patients need the Illinois license too; see the telehealth hours page.
IDFPR's rule for programs based outside Illinois
In force since May 9, 2025, section 1300.340(n) of Title 68 of the Illinois Administrative Code makes nursing programs from other states obtain IDFPR approval before offering clinical experiences in Illinois. The application pulls together proof of approval at home, a request letter setting out dates, facilities and units, the syllabus, the executed facility contract, and forms on faculty and preceptors. Approval lasts two years and is renewable; faculty must hold Illinois RN licenses, and each preceptor must hold a current RN license wherever the student is practicing.
What remains unsettled is who it covers: it appears among the RN program rules, the APRN rules carry no out-of-state section, and whether IDFPR applies it to graduate NP programs is unverified. It does reach Indiana schools; on May 1, 2026 the Illinois nursing board approved placements under it for Indiana State University, a separate school from USI.
No USI page we reviewed mentions an IDFPR approval, so give any Illinois plan extra lead time and settle the question with USI first.
Illinois NP practice: collaboration, then full practice
AANP lists Illinois as reduced practice. Under 225 ILCS 65/65-35, an APRN in clinical practice works under a written collaborative agreement until qualifying under Section 65-43, except in hospitals, hospital affiliates and ambulatory surgical treatment centers.
Section 65-43 is the way out. An APRN who attests, in a notarized filing with IDFPR, to 4,000 or more clinical hours since first national certification plus 250 continuing education or training hours no longer needs the written agreement, though Schedule II opioids still call for a consultation relationship with a physician. The Nurse Practice Act is scheduled for repeal on January 1, 2028.
Either kind of Illinois NP can supervise your hours if they satisfy USI's preceptor requirements. Illinois also rewards precepting: each APRN student precepted through an academic term earns an Illinois APRN 10 continuing education hours toward renewal, capped at 30 per cycle, with paperwork from the school; the Nursing Clinical Coordinator can say what USI provides.
Where Illinois NP students look
Close to Evansville, Deaconess Illinois runs Crossroads, a 47-bed hospital in Mt. Vernon, with an NP student application of its own that feeds into myClinicalExchange. The Chicago metro holds most of the state's people, and Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health Care, UChicago Medicine and Endeavor Health all operate there. Peoria, Rockford and the Metro East counties across from St. Louis are the other large markets, with OSF HealthCare among the major systems. Each sets its own student terms.
Why Illinois students choose us
An Illinois placement has more moving parts than any other in the tri-state, and we take them in order: your Illinois license, the IDFPR question raised early so USI has time to answer, then preceptors who meet USI's rules and sites ready to sign. USI receives a typed, complete packet, with all three specialty semesters mapped at once. Start with the form below.
Questions USI students ask
Is an Illinois RN license required for USI clinical hours there?
Yes. Because Illinois has stayed out of the Nurse Licensure Compact, no other state's multistate license works there, and USI expects a clean RN license for each state hosting your hours. Apply through IDFPR well before the semester, because USI verifies your license when it reviews the Preceptor Packet.
Does USI need IDFPR approval before I train in Illinois?
Possibly. Since May 2025, Illinois has required nursing programs from other states to get IDFPR approval for clinical placements in the state, but the provision lives among the RN program rules and it remains unclear whether IDFPR applies it to graduate NP programs. Ask usi1nursing@usi.edu before you commit to an Illinois site.
When can an Illinois NP practice without a collaborating physician?
After filing IDFPR's Section 65-43 attestation: 4,000 clinical hours or more since national certification, plus 250 hours of CE or training. Until then, a written collaborative agreement applies outside hospital, hospital affiliate and surgical center settings. USI's published preceptor standard draws no line between the two.
I live in southern Illinois near Evansville. Can I do my hours in Indiana?
You can, with an Indiana RN license. Illinois issues only single-state licenses, which carry no privilege in Indiana or Kentucky, and USI wants a license for every state that hosts your clinicals. An Indiana site then raises no IDFPR question; the Indiana page covers that state's rules.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against USI's own bulletin, program pages and Graduate Nursing Handbook. Your handbook, course faculty and the Nursing Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
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Tell us your USI track, your city and your next clinical semester. We find preceptors who fit the NRSG course and fill the Preceptor Packet and Clinical Education Agreement request with typed, complete details, well before USI's 6-week window.
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