NKU lists Missouri as not authorized for its MSN and post-master's certificates and for the post-master's DNP, and Missouri is not an NP application state. The RN-to-BSN is the odd one: Missouri appears in neither column of that row, so its status is simply unstated. Illinois and Kentucky, just across the rivers, are both open to NKU's NP tracks.
Tell us your NKU track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for you.
Three of the four program groups have a clear answer for Missouri. The fourth does not, and NKU's own state-authorization table is the reason.
| NKU program group | Missouri |
|---|---|
| NP programs: MSN FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP and the four NP certificates | Not open |
| MSN Nursing Education and Nurse Executive Leadership | Not authorized |
| Post-master's DNP | Not authorized |
| RN-to-BSN | Not listed in either column: ask NKU |
NKU's RN-BSN row names 23 authorized jurisdictions and 28 that are not authorized, and Missouri is in neither list, on the newer graduate copy or the older online-program copy. NKU's RN-to-BSN page tells applicants to use that table to check eligibility in their state, which leaves a Missouri nurse without an answer. Do not read the gap as a yes or a no. Ask NKU directly before you apply, and keep the reply in writing.
The Missouri State Board of Nursing, as far as research could tell, asks nothing of a school from elsewhere before its students train in Missouri: no approval, no notice. Its program rules, 20 CSR 2200-2, speak to programs the Board itself recognizes. RSMo 335.081(6)(a) lets students of approved nursing schools practice under supervision without a license, and leaves open where out-of-state schools stand.
AANP counts Missouri as restricted. An NP there never outgrows the collaborative practice arrangement with a physician, and the arrangement brings ratio limits, chart-review duties and prescribing limits for controlled substances. Missouri's community preceptor tax credit, RSMo 135.690, rewards physicians and PAs who teach Missouri medical and PA students; NPs and nursing students are not part of it. Large systems include CoxHealth, SSM Health, BJC HealthCare, MU Health Care and Mercy, around St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia.
Missouri wrote the Nurse Licensure Compact into statute at RSMo 335.360 et seq., effective July 20, 2017, and NCSBN lists its implementation as January 19, 2018. A Missouri multistate license travels to other compact states, but NKU's program tables follow where you live, not where your license reaches. Our RN license page covers the rest.
Illinois and Kentucky are both on NKU's NP application list and authorized for the MSN, DNP and RN-to-BSN. Arkansas is authorized for the MSN, DNP and RN-to-BSN but not the NP tracks. Anyone relocating should match the new state to NKU's lists for the start term, get licensed there (Illinois sits outside the compact and issues its own license), and, if already enrolled, talk to the advisor before the move, because NKU says relocation can affect program status.
If you are relocating to Illinois, Kentucky or Arkansas, a placement advisor can show which NKU tracks open there, map preceptors near your new address, and assemble the paperwork for a complete Medatrax request ahead of your first session. Tell us your plans.
NKU has not said. Missouri appears in neither the authorized nor the not-authorized column of NKU's RN-BSN row, on both copies of the table. Contact NKU before applying and get a written answer. The MSN, the DNP and the NP tracks are clearer: none is open to Missouri residents.
No. The St. Louis metro spills into Illinois, but NKU's rule looks at the preceptor's state, and Missouri is not approved. An NKU student living on the Illinois side needs a preceptor who practices in Illinois, or another approved state, with a license valid there.
No. The credit in RSMo 135.690 is reserved for physicians and PAs with Missouri licenses who teach the state's own medical or PA students and take no direct compensation for it. Nurse practitioners and nursing students fall outside the statute, so it has no bearing on NP rotations from any school.
All four groups. Illinois is an NP application state and is authorized for NKU's MSN, DNP and RN-to-BSN. Because Illinois is not a compact state, you will need an Illinois RN license, current and unencumbered, for clinicals there. Recheck NKU's lists in the term you apply.
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against NKU's own published sources. NKU's School of Nursing and your Canvas clinical shells have the final word.
Tell us your NKU track, where you live and which 7-week session your clinical starts. We find a preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for your track and have your self-placement request ready well inside the 90-day window.
A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for you.