Samford NP clinicals in Illinois
Samford accepts nurse practitioner applicants from Illinois, and its disclosure calls the NP tracks sufficient for an Illinois license. Illinois then asks more of an Alabama school than many states do. A compact license from elsewhere carries no weight there, and the Illinois nursing rules describe a formal filing for programs based in other states that want to place students in Illinois clinics.
Plan an Illinois rotation
Give us your part of Illinois, your Samford program and your next clinical course.
Illinois in Samford's licensure disclosure
Illinois appears unmarked in the NP disclosure Samford dated September 3, 2025, and the exclusion table on the NP program pages passes it by. Its row links to the nursing page of IDFPR, the state licensing agency that houses the Illinois Board of Nursing. Illinois also sits in each column of Samford's aging authorization list from 2020.
| Samford track | Open to Illinois applicants | Disclosure finding |
|---|---|---|
| FNP MSN, BSN or ADN entry | Yes | Meets |
| PMHNP MSN, BSN or ADN entry | Yes | Meets |
| FNP BSN to DNP; FNP or PMHNP MSN to DNP | Yes | Meets |
| FNP and PMHNP certificates | Yes | Not published |
| Nurse anesthesia DNP | Yes, with conditions | Meets |
The Illinois rule for placements by out-of-state programs
Illinois writes down exactly what an outside nursing program must file before its students train in the state. The list sits in subsection (n) of rule 1300.340, in Title 68 of the Illinois Administrative Code, and the approval that follows lasts two years, renewable, with a report each year.
| Filing | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Home-state standing | Evidence of approval or accreditation by the program's own board |
| Request letter | Time frame, clinical agencies and units |
| Syllabus | The course the placement serves |
| Facility contract | The executed contract with the clinical site |
| Faculty and preceptor forms | Qualifications of faculty and preceptors |
The provision is part of the rule on approving RN programs, and it is silent on whether graduate or APRN education falls under it; the same rule wants nursing faculty licensed as Illinois RNs. Treat it as a question for Samford rather than an answer: ask your program coordinator how Samford approaches Illinois before you commit to a preceptor, because Samford's handbook lets state rules sink a clinical rotation request.
Illinois preceptors: approval, licensure and a CE reward
When facility staff act as preceptors, subsection (j) of the same Illinois rule asks that program faculty approve and orient each one, that the preceptor be on hand for every patient the student sees, and that the preceptor be licensed as an RN in the state where the student is working. Samford approves every preceptor on its side too.
Illinois also rewards the work. Each academic semester or quarter spent precepting one APRN student earns an Illinois APRN 10 hours of CE credit toward renewal, capped at 30 per renewal period, and the student's school supplies the documentation. Mention it when you approach an Illinois NP, and ask Samford how it documents precepting.
An Illinois license, and the Indiana and Missouri lines
NCSBN shows Illinois as a non-member of the compact with nothing pending in its legislature, so a multistate license issued by Alabama or anywhere else earns no practice privilege there. Your Illinois clinicals run on an RN license from IDFPR, the license Samford's handbook requires in each clinical state. Illinois law does let RNs licensed elsewhere train while enrolled in a graduate nursing program located in Illinois, which is not the case for an Alabama school.
The border metros complicate things. Greater Chicago spills into northwest Indiana, a compact state, and most of greater St. Louis sits in Missouri, a state on Samford's closed list for NP applicants. An Illinois license covers neither side, so a clinic across either line needs that state's license and a word with Samford first. RN license requirements covers the rest.
Chicago to Metro East, and why students choose us
Illinois NP students cluster in a few metros. Use the big systems as reference points; nothing here suggests any of them has a Samford arrangement.
| Metro | Illinois residents | Systems students name |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 8,705,380 | Northwestern Medicine; Advocate Health Care; Endeavor Health; UChicago Medicine |
| St. Louis (Illinois side) | 671,953 | Search hospital and community practices alike |
| Peoria | 363,505 | OSF HealthCare |
| Rockford | 337,242 | Search hospital and community practices alike |
Samford's agreements lean toward the Southeast, and its NP pages count on what students bring through their own networks. In Illinois we bring that network plus the extra checking the state calls for: your placement advisor confirms the preceptor's Illinois license, sizes the practice against the hours your FNP or PMHNP course requires, and hands Samford the site, contract and preceptor details early. Tell us about your course.
Questions Samford students ask
What does reduced practice in Illinois mean for my future NP role?
AANP classes Illinois as reduced practice. Its fact sheet describes two routes: in some settings an NP works under a written collaboration with a physician, and an NP who prescribes certain Schedule II drugs or benzodiazepines must meet added practice-hour and CE conditions and keep a consulting physician. Your preceptors can show how that plays out, a good topic during NURG 730 or NURG 790.
I live near the Wisconsin or Iowa line. Can I do clinicals there?
Plan carefully. Wisconsin and Iowa both appear on Samford's excluded list for NP applicants, and that rule speaks only of where applicants live and hold licenses, leaving clinicals there unaddressed. Your Illinois license does not reach either state, so a clinic there would also need that state's license. Ask Samford before you approach a preceptor across the line.
How does an Illinois preceptor get the CE credit documented?
Illinois rules put the documentation on the student's school, so the request goes to Samford's NP department. Look first in the NP Clinical Manual, which lives in Canvas, then ask your course faculty. Bring it up in week one of the rotation so the preceptor has the paperwork well before their renewal deadline.
Does Samford's disclosure settle my Illinois APRN license?
It settles Samford's view of the education: the MSN and DNP NP tracks meet Illinois's educational requirements. IDFPR still decides each application, and Samford's disclosure says it cannot vouch for requirements outside its programs. The FNP and PMHNP certificates are absent from Samford's disclosures altogether, so certificate students should raise Illinois with Graduate Student Services.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Samford's own program pages, plans of study, the 2026-27 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Alabama rules. Your course, your program coordinator and Graduate Student Services have the final word.
Samford says connections are essential. We are the connection.
Tell us your Samford track, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare the details Samford needs to approve the rotation, including a new affiliation agreement where one is needed.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
NURG 723, family practice across the lifespan forNURG 724, psychiatric care forNURG 788 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your clinical rotation request
- In your own community, anywhere Samford accepts you and your RN license is valid
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.