UTA from Mississippi: RN-to-BSN and Nursing Administration
Mississippi residents have two UTA nursing options on the university's state map, the online RN-to-BSN and the Nursing Administration MSN. When an out-of-state nursing degree program places students in Mississippi for clinical experience, the reviewing body is IHL, formally the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, instead of the nursing board, and its review can run as long as three months.
Nurse leader practicum in Mississippi?
Tell us your Administration course and your part of the state. A placement advisor replies with how a search would work there.
Two UTA programs list Mississippi
UTA decides your state from your MyMav mailing address. Checked September 23, 2026, its map shows this for Mississippi:
| Program | Open to Mississippi residents? | Clinical component |
|---|---|---|
| RN-to-BSN | Yes | Workplace (NURS 3315, NURS 4455) and community (NURS 3325, NURS 4465) assignments, NURS 4685 capstone; no preceptor |
| MSN Nursing Administration | Yes | 270 hours with senior nurse leaders: 90 each in NURS 5339 and NURS 5340, 45 each in NURS 5341 and NURS 5342 |
| MSN Nursing Education | No | 135 precepted hours in NURS 5362 |
| NP tracks and post-master's NP certificates | No | Precepted hours, 720 in the FNP track |
| DNP | No | Practice hours and a project site |
IHL, not the nursing board, reviews out-of-state programs
Mississippi splits oversight: practical nursing programs need approval from the Mississippi Board of Nursing, whereas IHL standards govern RN degree programs. According to IHL, undergraduate and graduate nursing degree programs based outside Mississippi that run clinical experiences inside it are expected to meet Mississippi standards. IHL considers an in-state clinical practicum domiciled, which amounts to physical presence, so the program goes to IHL Nursing Education for review. Allow as long as three months for that; Appendix S of IHL's procedures manual (August 2024) tells programs controlled from outside Mississippi to ask for review four months or more before they begin.
SARA participation, or else non-SARA distance-education authorization issued by MCCA, is a further requirement for the program. These are steps for UTA, not for you, and the research behind this page does not show whether UTA's programs have been through IHL review. Given that lead time, raise Mississippi with NursingSOA@uta.edu months before the practicum, not weeks.
IHL's review can take up to three months, so raise it with UTA well before the term, not in its first week.
Administration practicum across Mississippi
UTA sets the Administration practicum in facilities where senior nurse leaders are on hand. Mississippi examples include Baptist Memorial Health Care, whose Jackson hospital is Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, and the list continues with Singing River Health System, Forrest Health, North Mississippi Health Services and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. They are examples of that setting, not sites known to host UTA students.
A 2015 UTA syllabus for NURS 5340 described 90 onsite hours plus a community partnering project, with the presentation negotiated with the agency and preceptor. Under IHL's standards, post-licensure students taking non-APRN graduate clinical courses also need an unencumbered RN license for the state in which their clinicals happen. More on the course in the NURS 5340 guide and the Administration MSN.
RN-to-BSN work and your compact license
RN-to-BSN students need no preceptor. Workplace courses run in your current job, and the community courses can use a public health setting, whether through the Mississippi State Department of Health or an agency in the Jackson, Gulfport-Biloxi or Hattiesburg area. The RN-to-BSN practice experiences page covers each course.
Mississippi's compact membership dates to January 19, 2018. According to its Board, a nurse in good standing who declares a compact state as the primary state of residence may practice across the rest of the compact, and employers are not allowed to insist on a remote-state license. UTA's own rule, licensure in any state where you do clinicals, is explained on RN license for clinicals.
Relocating to Mississippi in an NP or Education track
UTA's map leaves Mississippi out for four programs: Nursing Education, the NP tracks, the NP certificates and the DNP. The handbook's position is that a UTA program may only be finished in a state where the college can operate, so a mid-program move could cost you a timely placement, force clinicals back in Texas or another approved state, or lead to withdrawal or not graduating. On AANP's scale Mississippi is reduced practice: an NP there needs a board-approved collaborative arrangement, and the collaborating physician or dentist must hold a Mississippi license. Email NursingSOA@uta.edu before you move.
Where we fit in Mississippi
Our role for Mississippi Administration students is a search: nurse leaders near you who fit your UTA course, the details UTA's clinical team will want to review, and a fresh search if someone backs out. UTA approves every preceptor and site. Because of IHL's review, we ask you to get NursingSOA@uta.edu's answer before we contact anyone in Mississippi. Tell us your course and area.
Questions UTA students ask
Who regulates out-of-state nursing programs in Mississippi?
Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Learning board (IHL) handles nursing degree programs. Practical nursing programs are the Mississippi Board of Nursing's job, and RN degree programs earn accreditation under IHL standards. So for a UTA practicum in Mississippi, IHL's review is the state process to ask UTA about.
Can I do my UTA practicum at a Memphis hospital if I live in the Mississippi part of the metro?
Memphis draws its metro area from three states, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, and UTA's map lists no nursing program at all for Tennessee, including Administration and the RN-to-BSN. A Tennessee site would mean clinicals in a state UTA does not list. Before looking for a preceptor across any state line, the MSN handbook tells you to email NursingSOA@uta.edu.
Is UTA's Nursing Education MSN available to Mississippi residents?
No. Mississippi is missing from UTA's Nursing Education list, just as it is from the NP and DNP lists, while Administration and the RN-to-BSN are open. Enrolled Education students thinking about a Mississippi move should write to NursingSOA@uta.edu first, because UTA reads your state from MyMav.
How early should I raise a Mississippi practicum with UTA?
Earlier than usual. UTA's online FAQ suggests starting to look for sites and preceptors 12 to 16 weeks before your first clinical course, and IHL's manual wants out-of-state programs to seek review four or more months ahead of their start. Email NursingSOA@uta.edu before you begin any search in Mississippi.
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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