Can Louisiana residents enroll in USI's nurse practitioner programs?
No. An address in Louisiana closes the online FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP tracks at the University of Southern Indiana (USI), the post-master's certificates and the nurse practitioner doctorates. Louisiana is also the only state USI places solely under "Does Not Meet Requirements" for its MSN nurse practitioner curriculum, while the BSN-to-DNP versions of the same specialties get "Meets." That split matters even to USI students who never live here but may want a Louisiana license later.
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USI's Louisiana cells
In USI's Professional Licensure Disclosure ("Updated Fall 2025"), LA sits under "Enrollment Not Allowed for Residents of These States (due to State Nursing Regulations)" in 14 of 16 rows, the online RN-to-BSN included. Louisiana is spared only by the Evansville BSN and the leadership doctorate.
| Program | USI's curriculum finding for Louisiana | Louisiana residents |
|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP | Does not meet | Barred |
| Post-master's certificates (FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP) | Does not meet | Barred |
| BSN-to-DNP FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP | Meets | Barred |
| Post-MSN DNP (Advanced Nursing Practice) | Meets | Barred |
| BSN-to-DNP Organizational and Systems Leadership | Does not lead to licensure | Not listed, so open per the table |
| MSN Nursing Education or Healthcare Systems Leadership | Does not lead to licensure | Barred |
| RN-to-BSN (online) | Does not lead to licensure | Barred |
| BSN (on campus in Evansville) | Meets | No state restriction |
The doctoral "Meets" cells beside a ban are no contradiction: USI judges the DNP coursework adequate for the Louisiana State Board of Nursing and, separately, bars residents. The master's "Does Not Meet" cells are the unusual part, and the page never says why. Our guide to the table covers the conflicts in other states.
Why the MSN grade matters for a future Louisiana license
For a Louisiana resident the grade changes nothing, since the ban already closes the door. It matters to a USI MSN student in Texas or Arkansas who pictures a Louisiana practice after graduation, because USI is signaling that its MSN curriculum may fall short of Louisiana's APRN licensure standard. Before a career plan rests on a move to New Orleans or Baton Rouge, ask the Louisiana State Board of Nursing and the Graduate Chair and APRN Director, and keep both answers in writing.
Louisiana's approval process for outside programs
Louisiana gives outside programs a long runway. LAC 46:XLVII.3539 requires any nursing program administered from another state, undergraduate or graduate, to win the board's approval before offering a course or clinical experience in Louisiana. Half a year before the first student arrives, the school files a request listing the agencies and units it will use, attaching its course materials, a survey of each clinical facility, proof of faculty qualifications and its NCLEX and certification pass results. It must already hold approval at home plus regional and board-recognized nursing accreditation. Approval is good for up to three years, renewable by petition.
Approval brings standing duties. Louisiana wants its own RN or APRN license, a graduate nursing degree and two years of clinical nursing work from every faculty member instructing in the state. Faculty check in with preceptor and student weekly, see the site in person at least once a term, and cap each clinical day at nine APRN students apiece, and the board collects a spreadsheet of graduate clinical experiences within two weeks of each start.
Collaboration, systems and licensing
AANP files Louisiana under reduced practice, because every NP there keeps a formal collaborative arrangement with a physician. Major employers include Willis-Knighton Health, Ochsner Health, Baton Rouge General, LCMC Health and FMOL, the health system of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, and the four largest metros run from New Orleans-Metairie through Baton Rouge to Lafayette and Shreveport-Bossier City. They show where NP students in Louisiana look, not sites that take USI students, and no Louisiana preceptor incentive is on record.
Louisiana has recognized multistate compact licenses since July 1, 2019, so either a Louisiana RN license or a compact multistate license meets USI's requirement that you hold a license wherever you train. Louisiana has not enacted the APRN Compact. In FNP and PMHNP telehealth the patient's state decides, so video visits with Louisiana patients count only on a license that reaches Louisiana (telehealth clinical hours).
Who this page is for, and how we help
For Louisiana BSN nurses, the one online USI row without Louisiana on it is the leadership BSN-to-DNP, a doctorate in organizational and systems leadership. USI NP students thinking of moving south should read relocating during the program first.
USI students in Texas and Arkansas choose us because we plan placements where USI's rules and the host state's rules agree, with the Preceptor Packet complete, typed and in early. Near the Louisiana line, we weigh that six-month runway before proposing any Louisiana practice and center the search on your home state.
Questions USI students ask
Why does USI grade its MSN "does not meet" for Louisiana but its DNP "meets"?
The disclosure does not explain it. Louisiana sits under "Does Not Meet Requirements" in all six master's-level NP rows (three MSN tracks, three certificates) and under "Meets Requirements" in the doctoral ones. For the reasoning, ask USI's Office of Online and Adult Learning or the Graduate Chair and APRN Director.
Is USI's online RN-to-BSN open to Louisiana nurses?
No. The RN-to-BSN row bars Louisiana along with eight other states, from Alabama and Colorado to Wyoming. Among USI's online nursing programs, only the leadership BSN-to-DNP leaves Louisiana off its list, and that doctorate starts from a BSN.
Could a Shreveport clinic precept a USI student who lives in Texas?
Only if USI holds Louisiana board approval for the program, requested six months ahead and carrying Louisiana-licensed faculty, weekly contact and a site visit each semester. USI's pages do not say whether it has that approval, so ask the Graduate Clinical Liaison before you approach a Louisiana practice.
Does USI's campus BSN count toward a Louisiana RN license?
USI's table rates the on-campus BSN as meeting Louisiana's educational requirements for RN licensure, though states may add other conditions. That helps a campus graduate who moves to Louisiana as an RN; it does not open USI's online nurse practitioner tracks to Louisiana residents.
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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