Studying UofM nursing from Arkansas
Arkansas is one of the 16 states the Office of Community Partnerships and Practice names as open to LCON's programs, and UofM's licensure disclosures show the NP tracks meeting Arkansas requirements. MSN practicums happen near home, so an Arkansas student trains under a compact RN license and the state's own NP rules, whether home is West Memphis, Jonesboro or Little Rock.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UofM program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UofM course.
UofM programs at a glance for Arkansas residents
Here is how each UofM nursing program lines up for an Arkansas address.
| Program | Status for Arkansas residents | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MSN: FNP, AG-ACNP, PMHNP | Named on the authorized list; disclosure says requirements are met | Practicums near home plus up to three short campus intensives |
| MSN: Nursing Education, Nursing Leadership | Named on the authorized list | Two immersion courses done locally |
| Graduate certificates | Named on the authorized list | Practicum courses shared with the matching MSN |
| RN to BSN | Online through UofM Global | 7-week courses; California residents are the stated exclusion |
| Traditional and Accelerated BSN | On-campus programs | Assigned clinical placements in UofM's BSN region of West Tennessee and North Mississippi |
For Arkansas, both of UofM's main state sources point the same way. They clash for other parts of the country, and admission is UofM's call, so check with LCON before applying; each source is compared in the state authorization guide.
What Arkansas asks of an out-of-state program
Arkansas's nursing rules, as published, leave clinical-only rotations by schools from other states largely unaddressed. The board's standards for prelicensure schools touch an institution from another state only when it opens a brand-new program on Arkansas soil, which also requires approval from the Arkansas Division of Higher Education. Rules for APRN programs lean on national accreditation instead.
Under the Nurse Practice Act, students in programs the Arkansas board approves may do nursing that is part of their studies without holding a license for it. UofM's MSN students train as licensed RNs anyway, since UofM requires a license valid where the clinicals happen, so the open questions are program-level ones. Ask LCON whether it has any Arkansas step to complete before a rotation there; the Arkansas State Board of Nursing is the final word on its rules.
Compact license and NP practice in Arkansas
Compact membership is built into Arkansas law as a subchapter of its Nurse Practice Act. A multistate RN license held by an Arkansas resident therefore reaches Tennessee and Mississippi, and a Tennessee multistate license reaches Arkansas, which satisfies the RN side of UofM's rule wherever in the three states your site sits.
The AANP puts Arkansas among its reduced practice states. Each NP holds a regulated physician agreement for part of their work, and some medications need a physician protocol before an NP may prescribe them. With no APRN Compact in force in Arkansas, the NP license you seek after graduation is a separate application in every state. UofM's license wording is unpacked in the RN license guide.
Local clinicals: West Memphis, Jonesboro and beyond
Crittenden County and West Memphis sit inside the Memphis metro, so Arkansas students there plan clinicals much like anyone in a Memphis suburb. Baptist Memorial Health Care runs hospitals in eastern Arkansas, Baptist Memorial-Crittenden among them. Jonesboro, a metro of about 139,000, has St. Bernards, and NEA Baptist serves the same northeast corner.
Central and western Arkansas bring larger markets. Around 778,000 people live in the Little Rock metro, roughly 622,000 in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers area of the northwest and close to 234,000 in the Fort Smith area, which reaches into Oklahoma. UAMS Health, Arkansas Children's, Baptist Health, CHI St. Vincent and Mercy are among the systems there, listed as examples of where Arkansas NPs practice.
Shortage designations concentrate in the east: Crittenden County carries a low-income primary care designation, the East Arkansas Family Health Center holds primary care and mental health designations, and Mississippi, St. Francis and Craighead counties have low-income or rural clinic designations. The east Arkansas guide covers the region in depth.
Travel: campus intensives and clinical sites
Expect up to three campus visits during an NP track, one to three days apiece, each announced at least six months out, with the January 2027 session required of all NP tracks. West Memphis students share a metro with the Memphis campus. From Jonesboro, Little Rock or northwest Arkansas the trip is longer, so reserve the dates early. UofM's schedule does not say which campus hosts each session; check the intensives guide.
Clinical travel is yours to arrange too, since UofM leaves transportation to the student with no reimbursement; the local-area guide explains how UofM frames practicums near where you live.
Why Arkansas UofM students choose us
Whichever way UofM handles your placement, we find you an Arkansas or Memphis-area preceptor and site that meet its rules. The search starts from your own town, whether that is West Memphis or Fayetteville, checks each preceptor's license and practice agreement, and fits the setting to your track's rotation rules. The agreement details are ready well before the term, and if a preceptor leaves partway through, your placement advisor starts on a successor at once.
Questions UofM students ask
Can I live in West Memphis and do my UofM clinicals in Memphis?
A Memphis site can work for a West Memphis student once clinical faculty approve it, and an Arkansas multistate RN license covers practice in Tennessee through the compact. Since the MSN keeps practicums near home and Crittenden County is part of greater Memphis, sites on either side of the river are worth weighing. Your clinical faculty confirm the final choice.
Does Arkansas require UofM to get approval before I train there?
The Arkansas rules reviewed for this guide deal with schools from other states that launch a new Arkansas program, and with APRN programs through national accreditation, leaving clinical-only rotations without a specific provision. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing is the final authority, and LCON can tell you whether it has any Arkansas step to complete. Ask both before you settle on a site.
Is Arkansas on UofM's list of authorized states?
It is. Arkansas appears on the Office of Community Partnerships and Practice's list of authorized states, and the MSN and graduate certificate licensure disclosures mark the NP tracks as meeting Arkansas requirements. Because UofM's sources differ for other states and admission is UofM's decision, confirm with LCON before applying.
Do Arkansas NPs need a physician agreement to precept a student?
Every Arkansas NP keeps a regulated agreement with a physician covering part of their practice, so your preceptor's clinic will have one in place; the AANP calls this reduced practice. UofM's own rule still applies on top: every NP track needs one rotation led by a nurse practitioner, and we build that into each Arkansas match.
Is Little Rock or Fayetteville too far for UofM's online MSN?
Distance mainly affects the up to three short NP intensives, since coursework is online and practicums happen near your home. Plan the campus trips around dates UofM posts at least six months ahead, and confirm the host campus before you travel.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UofM's 2026-27 catalog, the LCON Academic Bulletin, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your clinical faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether UofM helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your UofM concentration, your next practicum and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and prepare what the preceptor agreement form needs, early enough for approval before the first clinical day.
- Preceptors matched to the rotation rules: an NP preceptor, family practice for FNP, inpatient and critical care for AG-ACNP
- License, certification and site details ready for the preceptor agreement form, with your Complio items in order
- Across the Mid-South, Tennessee and the states UofM serves
Start your placement plan
Your concentration, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.