Arkansas residents in UTA nursing programs
Arkansas is one of seven states where UTA's nurse practitioner tracks, post-master's NP certificates and DNP are open, along with the RN-to-BSN and both non-NP MSNs. NP clinicals here happen in a reduced practice state, on a compact license, with no Arkansas approval step for out-of-state programs that our research found.
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Tell us your UTA track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what a UTA-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
UTA programs available in Arkansas
UTA's state-authorization map lists Arkansas for every program it offers outside Texas. It treats your MyMav mailing address as your state, so keep that address current.
| Program | Arkansas residents | What the clinical work involves |
|---|---|---|
| RN-to-BSN | Open | No preceptor; NURS 3315 and NURS 4455 at work, NURS 3325 and NURS 4465 in the community, then the NURS 4685 capstone |
| MSN Nursing Administration | Open | Hours alongside senior nurse leaders in Arkansas facilities: 90 in NURS 5339, 90 in NURS 5340, 45 in NURS 5341, 45 in NURS 5342 |
| MSN Nursing Education | Open | 135 precepted hours in NURS 5362, with a preceptor in nursing education |
| MSN NP tracks and post-master's NP certificates | Open | 720 hours per track with preceptors you line up |
| DNP | Open | Post-master's practice hours logged in Exxat toward the 1,000-hour total; a project site stands in for a preceptor |
| BSN, prelicensure | Not open | Texas only |
Reduced practice and your preceptor
AANP classifies Arkansas as reduced practice. In AANP's summary, every Arkansas NP stays tied to a physician through a regulated agreement covering one or more elements of practice, and certain medications can be prescribed only within a physician protocol agreement. That puts Arkansas between New Mexico's full practice and Texas's restricted model.
Because every Arkansas NP has that physician tie, the practice where you find an NP may also have a physician who could teach you. UTA's public pages are silent on physician preceptors, so check the acceptable categories your course lists in Exxat. Whatever the license type, UTA's floor is an active, unencumbered provider license and a year in the specialty role, set out on preceptor requirements.
Arkansas rules on students from out-of-state programs
Our search of Arkansas State Board of Nursing rules and guidance turned up nothing that makes an out-of-state program seek approval when it sends students to Arkansas for clinicals alone. Part 125 of 17 CAR, the prelicensure standards, touches out-of-state institutions only if one sets out to open a new program in Arkansas. Part 123, covering APRN programs, handles them by way of national-accreditation “deemed status.” None of this was confirmed with board staff.
Under the Nurse Practice Act, students need no license for practice that is incidental to their study, provided the program holds Arkansas board approval. Whether or not that could ever cover you, UTA requires a license valid wherever you do clinicals, so plan on practicing under your own RN license. If an Arkansas site asks whether UTA may place students there, send the question to NursingSOA@uta.edu rather than answering it yourself.
Licensing: a compact state since 2018
The enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact has applied in Arkansas since January 19, 2018, and its terms sit inside the state's Nurse Practice Act. Clinicals here are covered whether your multistate license came from Arkansas or from another compact home state. If yours is a single-state license from outside the compact, UTA's handbook has you pay for an Arkansas license.
Near the Texas line the compact works both ways, since Texas is also a compact state on UTA's NP list; email NursingSOA@uta.edu before seeking a preceptor across it. Arkansas hasn't enacted the APRN Compact. More on licensing for clinicals.
Little Rock, Northwest Arkansas, Fort Smith and Jonesboro
By 2025 Census estimates, Arkansas's four metro areas are Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway (777,607), Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers (622,177), Fort Smith (234,140, with 193,298 on the Arkansas side) and Jonesboro (139,440).
Large systems in Little Rock include Baptist Health, CHI St. Vincent (a CommonSpirit Health member), Arkansas Children's and UAMS Health, which belongs to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Mercy, a St. Louis–based system, runs hospitals in Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas. These are examples of site types, not places known to accept UTA students, and each would need an affiliation agreement with UTA. For RN-to-BSN community work, the state public health agency is the Arkansas Department of Health.
Fort Smith's metro reaches into Oklahoma, which is not on UTA's NP or DNP list. Keep NP clinicals on the Arkansas side unless UTA tells you otherwise.
How we help from Arkansas
Our placement advisors hunt for an Arkansas preceptor and site suited to your UTA course, mostly in person and close to where you live. We help you put together the file UTA's clinical team reviews, including the preceptor's CV, license verification, agreement forms and site details, and we look again if a preceptor backs out. The decision on each preceptor and site stays with UTA. Start with the form.
Questions UTA students ask
Can I do UTA's online NP program from Arkansas?
Yes. Arkansas is one of seven states where UTA's map lists the NP tracks, post-master's NP certificates and DNP. You line up your own preceptor, as UTA students do everywhere, and UTA's Department of Graduate Nursing offers help when a student is having difficulty. UTA's online FAQ suggests starting 12 to 16 weeks before your first clinical course.
Can I use a preceptor in Oklahoma, Missouri or Tennessee?
Not for NP or DNP clinicals. Of Arkansas's neighbors, only Texas is on UTA's NP and DNP list, and UTA's handbook limits program completion to states where its nursing college can operate. That matters most around Fort Smith, Northwest Arkansas and Jonesboro. Email NursingSOA@uta.edu before seeking any preceptor outside Arkansas.
I'm moving from Texas to Arkansas mid-program. What comes first?
An email to NursingSOA@uta.edu before the move, which UTA's handbook requires. Arkansas is on the NP and DNP map, but UTA's answer about your case is the one that counts. Then update your MyMav mailing address, confirm your RN license will cover Arkansas, and tell your Clinical Coordinator if a planned Texas site is affected.
Does Arkansas give preceptors a tax credit?
Not that we could find. Our research turned up neither a preceptor tax credit nor an incentive program in Arkansas. UTA describes its graduate preceptors as volunteers and offers them library and electronic resources, continuing education courses and the honorary title Graduate Nursing Clinical Education Specialist, which is worth mentioning when you ask.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against UTA's own sources. UTA's current handbook and your course faculty have the final word.
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Tell us your UTA track, your county and when your clinical course opens. We look for a preceptor and a site that fit what UTA asks for, and we help you put the approval packet together.
- Matched to your track's population and setting
- Paperwork prepared the way UTA's clinical team expects it
- In person near you, or a virtual option where your course allows it
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