Louisiana and Clarkson College: A Split Answer
Louisiana is the one Does Not Meet state where Clarkson College's 2026-27 state workbook still says yes to something: the RN-BSN tab reads Meets, while Graduate Nursing and CRNA read Does Not Meet. A Louisiana RN can consider the online RN to BSN, but the MSN, certificate and DNP programs are not a path to Louisiana licensure, and Louisiana sites cannot host their clinicals.
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Louisiana's three nursing answers
| Clarkson tab | Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Graduate Nursing (all MSN, certificate and DNP options) | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| CRNA | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| RN-BSN | Meets Requirements (Does Not Meet in the Oct. 2024 version) |
| Licensing contact Clarkson lists | Louisiana State Board of Nursing |
Only the RN-BSN answer has moved: Does Not Meet in Clarkson's October 2024 disclosure, Meets in October 2025 and again in the 2026-27 workbook. That puts Louisiana beside Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota as the seven RN-BSN Meets states.
The graduate answer has stayed put. Clarkson's catalogs from 2018-19 through 2023-24 carried a list of states it could not take graduate nursing students from, Louisiana among them, and the current workbook still marks it Does Not Meet. See the state authorization page for how the tabs and versions fit together.
Louisiana's approval rule for out-of-state programs
Louisiana writes more down than most states, and its rule, LAC 46:XLVII.3539, binds graduate and undergraduate programs run from other states alike. The Board must approve such a program before it teaches or places a student in Louisiana, and the request is due half a year early: a letter listing the agencies and units wanted, backed by curriculum, syllabi, facility surveys, faculty credentials and exam results. The program has to be approved in its home state and carry regional and national accreditation, and an approval runs three years at most.
The rule keeps going after approval. Faculty teaching in Louisiana need a Louisiana license and graduate preparation; in precepted courses they check in with student and preceptor weekly, visit every site each term, and keep to nine APRN students or fewer per clinical day. Each undergraduate student is filed 60 days before the clinical course, and a graduate student's clinical experiences go to the Board on a spreadsheet within the first two weeks.
Clarkson gives no reasons in its workbook, so read the rule as context, and as a cue for RN to BSN students to ask early how a Louisiana practicum is handled.
RN to BSN from Louisiana: the NRS 482 practicum
Clarkson's RN to BSN puts all theory coursework online and has one practicum course, NRS 482, a capstone set in a population health environment. Clarkson publishes no hour count for NRS 482 and does not say who arranges the site.
Before settling on a site, ask the program two questions: who secures the NRS 482 placement, and how Louisiana's steps, such as the 60-day student application, are handled for you. More on the program is in the RN to BSN guide. Good places to start looking: Baton Rouge or Lafayette, around New Orleans, or in Shreveport-Bossier City.
Licenses and practice in Louisiana
Louisiana's compact membership began July 1, 2019, some eighteen months behind the 2018 group, so a Louisiana multistate RN license is also valid in Texas, Mississippi and the other compact states. The APRN Compact has no Louisiana enactment. AANP calls Louisiana reduced practice: some part of an NP's work there rests on a collaborative agreement with a physician. What Clarkson asks of your license wherever you train is on the RN license page.
Why Louisiana-area Clarkson students choose us
Louisiana nurses in the RN to BSN pick us because we look for a population health practicum near home or work that fits NRS 482, gather the site details Clarkson and Louisiana's Board ask for, and build the timeline around the 60-day step. Graduate students across the line in Texas and Mississippi choose us for the opposite reason: every clinic we propose sits on the Meets side, however close the nearest Willis-Knighton or Ochsner clinic, or an LCMC Health, Baton Rouge General or FMOL Health site, may be. The Texas and Mississippi guides set out those states' own rules.
If you are a Louisiana RN hoping to become an NP through Clarkson, the workbook's answer for Louisiana is no today, and Clarkson asks residents of such states to see a program director before applying. Tell us your plans and you will get a straight reading of what the workbook allows.
Questions Clarkson students ask
Can I earn a Clarkson MSN or DNP while living in Louisiana?
Clarkson's 2026-27 workbook marks Louisiana Does Not Meet for Graduate Nursing, a single answer for every MSN, certificate and DNP option. The program is not presented as a route to Louisiana licensure, and Louisiana sites are closed to its clinicals. Speak with a Clarkson program director before applying from a Louisiana address.
Why can I take Clarkson's RN to BSN from Louisiana but not the MSN?
The programs sit on separate tabs of the workbook, and the tabs answer separately: RN-BSN has read Meets since the October 2025 version, while Graduate Nursing reads Does Not Meet. Clarkson publishes the answers without reasons, so treat each tab as speaking only for its own program and confirm with that program before enrolling.
Could Louisiana open to Clarkson graduate nursing later?
Only Clarkson can say. Policy OG-33 has its determinations reviewed at least once a year, and rows do move: New Hampshire closed in 2025, North Dakota's graduate answer closed and then reopened, and Louisiana's own RN-BSN row opened. Check each new workbook on Clarkson's state authorization page.
Must my NRS 482 practicum be at the hospital where I work?
No. The catalog allows the practicum at your workplace with faculty approval when competencies can be met, and Clarkson's program page says hours may be done in or near your hometown. Because NRS 482 is set in a population health environment, confirm with course faculty that your intended setting fits before you commit.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Clarkson College's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and Graduate Nursing advisor have the final word.
Clarkson asks you to find your preceptor. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your Clarkson track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NRS course and Clarkson's rules, gather the details the site and preceptor agreement asks for, and flag early whether the site needs a new affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages primary care for FNP, acute care units for AGACNP, psychiatric providers for PMHNP
- License, experience and site details checked against Clarkson's rules before the agreement is filed
- Every clinical course planned in sequence, close to home in a state where Clarkson's graduate nursing meets requirements
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