For now, a Minnesota resident has no path into NKU's online nursing programs with clinicals: NKU lists the state as not authorized for its master's, doctoral and RN-to-BSN programs, and its NP tracks recruit from eleven other states. Wisconsin and South Dakota, both next door, are authorized for the MSN, DNP and RN-to-BSN.
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.
NKU's graduate state-authorization table and its NP admission list both exclude Minnesota.
| NKU program group | Minnesota |
|---|---|
| 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 authorized |
Minnesota handles visiting students through licensure exemptions rather than a sign-off for each school. Two provisions do the work. Minn. Stat. 148.271(6) excuses an RN licensed elsewhere from needing a Minnesota license while in the state as a student pursuing, say, a higher degree, for the practice that coursework involves. Minn. R. 6305.0300 subp. 1 then counts a program approved by its home state or province as board-approved for the student exemption, on one condition: whoever supervises the student there has a Minnesota RN license with registration kept current. Research turned up no extra approval filing for schools outside Minnesota.
Big sites can ask for more. Mayo Clinic, for example, requires an affiliation agreement with Mayo, an unencumbered Minnesota license with current registration, a background study through Minnesota's DHS, and faculty of record licensed in whichever state hosts the experience.
In AANP's grouping Minnesota is full practice, reached after a new NP logs 2,080 hours of collaborative practice alongside a physician or an APRN. MERC, a Minnesota Department of Health fund, partly offsets what accredited clinical training costs Minnesota sites, APRN training included; it goes to sites rather than people, and the program and site must both be Minnesotan. Among the large systems are Allina Health, M Health Fairview, HealthPartners, Mayo Clinic and Essentia Health, spread over the Twin Cities, Rochester, St. Cloud and Duluth. None can host an NKU preceptor while Minnesota stays off NKU's list.
Minnesota never joined the Nurse Licensure Compact, and nothing on NCSBN's map suggests a bill is coming. Your Minnesota license therefore works in Minnesota alone. After a move to an authorized compact state such as Wisconsin or South Dakota, NKU will look for a current, unencumbered license from that new home state, where you then live and practice. See our RN license page.
To the east and southwest, Wisconsin and South Dakota carry NKU authorization for every non-NP program. North Dakota and Iowa do not. The nearest NP application states on NKU's list are Michigan and Illinois, which share Minnesota's non-compact status. A move deserves three checks: the new state on NKU's lists for your start term, a license from that state, and, for enrolled students, a word with the advisor first, since NKU flags that a move may change program status.
Moving to Wisconsin, South Dakota or an NP state? A placement advisor lines up preceptors for your NKU track near the new address, checks each one against NKU's rules, and packages the documents for a complete self-placement request before your first 7-week session. Start planning with us.
Not to programs with clinical hours. NKU's master's tracks and certificates, its doctorate and its RN-to-BSN all list Minnesota as not authorized, and NKU draws NP applicants only from eleven other states. Next door, Wisconsin and South Dakota are open for all but the NP tracks.
No. The Twin Cities metro crosses into Wisconsin, yet NKU judges the preceptor's own state, and Minnesota is not approved. A student living on the Wisconsin side needs a preceptor who practices in Wisconsin or another approved state.
No, and NCSBN's map shows nothing pending in the legislature. Multistate licenses issued elsewhere stop at Minnesota's border, and a Minnesota license gives no privilege in compact states. Nurses moving in either direction apply for the license where they will practice.
Not through a separate filing, as far as research found. Minnesota leans on exemptions instead: 148.271(6) of the statutes for out-of-state RNs in a formal course of study, and Minn. R. 6305.0300 subp. 1, which ties the student exemption to a Minnesota-licensed supervising instructor. For NKU, Minnesota's status comes from NKU's own table.
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.