Massachusetts nurses and Concordia University Wisconsin's NP programs
For Massachusetts, Concordia University Wisconsin's disclosure gives one answer across all five graduate nurse practitioner tables: "Does Not Meet Requirements." So CUW is not holding out its MSN FNP or AGPCNP, its DNPs or its CAGE certificates as preparation for NP licensure in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts never appeared on CUW's older exclusion notices, which makes the 2024 shift easy to overlook.
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Massachusetts in CUW's tables
| Program (CUW's wording) | Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Master of Science in Nursing - Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (FNP, AGPCNP) | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice - Post BSN to DNP Program | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice - Post MSN to DNP Program | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| Both CAGE certificates (FNP/AGPCNP; PMH NP) | Does Not Meet Requirements |
| PMHNP MSN and PMHNP DNP | Not listed |
| RN to BSN Online Nursing Program (BSN Comp) | Does Not Meet Requirements |
Unlike Maryland or New York, Massachusetts was left off the state lists printed on CUW's MSN pages in 2022 and 2024 and on the 2022 Post-MSN DNP page, and until mid-2024 the disclosure gave it a Meets answer for the master's and both doctoral tables. Since the August 2024 revision, it has sat in the does-not-meet column. Older CUW material can therefore describe a different answer from today's; the disclosure walkthrough dates each version.
The Board's rule for programs headquartered elsewhere
Schools whose parent institution does business mainly outside Massachusetts fall under 244 CMR 6.03(2). Before any classroom or clinical learning happens inside the Commonwealth, approval from the Board of Registration in Nursing comes first, in two parts.
- Part A, once a yearThe parent institution applies every year, at least half a year ahead of the first placement.
- Part B, per placementEach student placement is filed 30 days or more before it begins, and the student waits for the Board's approval letter.
- Changes and ratiosEdits land two weeks before the start, the Board hears of changes within seven days, and ratios stay at or under 1:10 for faculty and 1:2 for preceptors.
NP students should notice a gap. The criteria describe programs that prepare people for first licensure as an RN or PN, and the guidance never mentions graduate or APRN education. Whether the rule reaches an NP clinical is the Board's call; CUW's position is the Graduate Clinical Coordinator's to explain.
NP practice and preceptors in the Commonwealth
AANP's fact sheet gives Massachusetts NPs full practice after two years spent under a qualifying physician or APRN supervisor; equivalent experience can sometimes stand in. No state preceptor incentive is on record.
Boston Medical Center and Baystate Health belong on the list of big systems, as do Mass General Brigham, Beth Israel Lahey Health and UMass Memorial Health. Four metros anchor the state: Boston-Cambridge-Newton by a wide margin, then Worcester, the Massachusetts slice of Providence-Warwick, and Springfield. These describe where local NP students look; none publishes a tie to CUW.
Licensing: a compact law that is not yet live
Massachusetts wrote the Nurse Licensure Compact into law in November 2024, yet membership is not operating. The Board is still finishing implementation and aims for May 2027 (an FBI background-check approval, still conditional, arrived in May 2026); NCSBN's table still reads TBD. For now, a Wisconsin multistate license, like any other, carries no right to work in Massachusetts, and nurses apply for a Massachusetts license the regular way.
Massachusetts has passed no APRN Compact law either. What CUW asks of your license during the program is laid out on RN license for clinicals.
Why New England nurses plan their CUW path with us
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro crosses into New Hampshire, one of the 23 states CUW lists as meeting requirements in every graduate NP table. If New Hampshire is where you will settle and be licensed as an NP, we look for primary care preceptors on that side of the line, schedule the three 250-hour FNP or AGPCNP courses as a single plan, and send CUW's graduate faculty a complete preceptor file.
Enrolled at CUW in a listed state and considering a Worcester or Springfield job? Clear it with CUW before you relocate; we then plot where your remaining clinicals fit in a listed state. Send us your timeline or read how it works.
Questions CUW students ask
Can I take CUW's online AGPCNP while living near Boston?
CUW posts no enrollment ban tied to home state, but its disclosure gives Massachusetts a does-not-meet answer in the master's primary care table, the one covering both the AGPCNP and the FNP. CUW is therefore not telling you the program satisfies Massachusetts NP licensure. Ask CUW admissions for their current answer in writing before applying.
Does my Wisconsin multistate license let me train in Massachusetts now?
Not yet. The compact is law in Massachusetts but idle until the Board completes implementation, with May 2027 as its target. Before then, a multistate license from another state grants no Massachusetts practice rights, so any plan to see patients there starts with the Massachusetts license question, which the Board can answer.
Why wasn't Massachusetts on CUW's old exclusion lists?
CUW never explained those lists. The archived MSN and Post-MSN DNP pages from 2022 and 2024 named states such as New York, New Jersey and Maryland, not Massachusetts, and the disclosure read Meets until mid-2024. The current answer, does not meet, is the one to plan around.
Is the Massachusetts out-of-state rule written for NP programs?
The rule speaks to programs leading to a first RN or PN license and says nothing about graduate or APRN study. Treat the point as unsettled: the Board has the final word, and CUW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator can say whether CUW has ever filed in Massachusetts.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against CUW's own academic catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
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Tell us your CUW track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NURS course, gather the license, board certification and site details CUW's graduate faculty review, and flag early whether the site needs a new clinical contract.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, mental health settings for PMHNP, an agency mentor for DNP projects
- Preceptor license, certification, CV and site details ready for CUW's approval
- All three clinical courses planned together, close to home in a state CUW's disclosure lists for your program
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