A North Dakota address currently keeps you out of NKU's online nursing programs with clinicals. NKU has not authorized the state for master's study, graduate certificates, the doctorate or the RN-to-BSN, and its NP list names eleven other states. South Dakota and Montana, next door, both hold NKU authorization for the non-NP programs.
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.
Every row of NKU's state-authorization table says no for North Dakota, and so does the NP admission list.
| NKU program group | North Dakota |
|---|---|
| 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 |
North Dakota's Board of Nursing publishes a roster, Recognized Distance Nursing Education Programs, and a distance school needs a place on it before its students train in North Dakota facilities. The Board's definition of pre-licensure takes in any program that leads to an LPN, RN or APRN license, which pulls NP education into scope, while nothing in the guidance describes RN-to-BSN programs as covered. Schools apply 60 days ahead of planned student activity, graduate programs pay a yearly fee, and the Board wants evidence of NC-SARA status or of the state higher education board's authorization or exemption.
A recognized school then files a semester report before any student shows up, listing the students with their North Dakota or compact licenses, the facilities and courses, preceptor and faculty names with resumes and licenses, the affiliation agreements, and each facility's written sign-off that it has clinical space. Two statutes frame all this. NDCC 43-12.1-17(1) insists that out-of-state programs hold approval from their home-state board, and NDCC 43-12.1-04(12) exempts those programs' students once the Board has written notice, as long as sites are available.
Multistate licensing reached North Dakota with the compact's January 19, 2018 launch. The state went further on March 9, 2021, enacting the APRN Compact; with Delaware, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming also on board, the count stands at five, and the compact stays dormant until a seventh state signs on. Neither compact changes NKU's tables, which turn on where you live. Our RN license page explains how NKU treats licenses.
North Dakota NPs practice with full authority under AANP's classification. The large systems are Altru Health System in Grand Forks, CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck, Sanford Health, Trinity Health in Minot and Essentia Health, across the Fargo, Bismarck, Minot and Grand Forks metros. While North Dakota is off NKU's approved list, clinicians at these systems cannot precept NKU students.
Westward and southward the answer changes: Montana and South Dakota are open for NKU's master's, doctoral and RN-to-BSN programs, though Minnesota, to the east, is not. Colorado is the closest state on NKU's NP application list. Anyone relocating should run the new state past NKU's lists for the intended start term and arrange licensing before applying; enrolled students should clear a move with their advisor, as NKU links relocation to program status.
If South Dakota, Montana or Colorado is your next home, a placement advisor lays out the NKU tracks available there, recruits preceptors close to the new address that satisfy NKU's requirements, and has the paperwork ready for a complete self-placement request before your first 7-week session. Tell us your plans.
Not in a program with clinicals. Across NKU's master's, certificate, doctoral and RN-to-BSN offerings, North Dakota is marked not authorized, and NKU's NP tracks look to eleven other states for applicants. Montana and South Dakota are the nearest places where the non-NP programs open up.
Not today. The APRN Compact North Dakota adopted in 2021 still lacks the seven member states it needs to operate; five have signed. If it ever operates, it will cover APRN licensing, which is a separate matter from NKU's state-authorization tables, and those still list North Dakota as not authorized.
No. The preceptor's practice state decides it, and North Dakota is not on NKU's approved list. A South Dakota NKU student therefore needs someone practicing in South Dakota, or another approved state, who has held the role for a year and works at the site.
The non-NP ones. South Dakota is authorized for NKU's educator and executive MSN tracks, the post-master's doctorate and the RN-to-BSN, but it is not an NP application state. It is a compact state, so sort out your license as part of the move.
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.