North Dakota and CUW: four programs meet, the Post-MSN DNP does not
Concordia University Wisconsin's disclosure lists North Dakota under "Meets Requirements" for the MSN primary care NP, the Post-BSN to DNP and both CAGE certificates, and under "Does Not Meet" for the Post-MSN DNP alone. North Dakota's board also wants an out-of-state APRN program recognized before its students start, which puts a 60-day clock in front of any clinical there.
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North Dakota's row in CUW's disclosure
Four of the five graduate tables agree on North Dakota. The labels below are CUW's own; every other state is on the CUW licensure disclosure page.
| CUW program (disclosure label) | CUW's answer for North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Master of Science in Nursing - Primary Care Nurse Practitioner | Meets |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice - Post BSN to DNP Program | Meets |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice - Post MSN to DNP Program | Does not meet |
| Certificate After Graduate Education in Nursing (CAGE) (FNP/AGPCNP) | Meets |
| Certificate After Graduate Education in Nursing (CAGE) (PMH NP) | Meets |
| MSN PMHNP and PMHNP DNP | Not in the table |
The odd row is the practice doctorate for nurses already holding an MSN, the Post-MSN DNP. An archived May 2024 copy still showed North Dakota meeting for it; the flip appears from August 2024 onward, and CUW has posted nothing to explain it. A North Dakota APRN eyeing that doctorate should ask CUW admissions how the listing applies before enrolling.
Recognition by the North Dakota Board of Nursing comes first
Before a CUW student treats a North Dakota patient, the state's nursing board expects to have recognized the program. Its distance-education recognition covers any program whose graduates sit for an LPN, RN or APRN license, so NP tracks fall inside it; RN to BSN completion programs go unmentioned.
The paperwork is CUW's. The school asks for recognition at least 60 days before students begin, showing NC-SARA participation or an authorization or exemption from the state's higher-education board. After that, every term opens with a roster sent to the board: students and their licenses, sites and courses, preceptors and faculty with CVs and licenses, the affiliation agreements, and a statement from every facility that space exists.
Section 43-12.1-04 of the Century Code lets a recognized program's students practice once the board is told in writing, provided a site is available. Whether CUW holds North Dakota recognition today is not published; the Graduate Clinical Coordinator will know.
Sixty days is the board's minimum for a recognition request, so bring a North Dakota site to CUW a full semester ahead.
Full practice NPs, from the Red River to Minot
AANP rates North Dakota full practice, so the NP you ask to precept answers to the board of nursing and needs no physician agreement to see patients.
Fargo has two big names, Essentia Health-Fargo and Sanford Health's Broadway Medical Center; Bismarck pairs Sanford Medical Center Bismarck with CHI St. Alexius Health, which belongs to CommonSpirit; Grand Forks has Altru Health System; Minot relies on Trinity Health. Each sets its own student rules.
Fargo and Grand Forks straddle the Red River. Minnesota is a "Meets" state in every CUW graduate table, yet it has not joined the multistate compact, so crossing the bridge for a site raises a different license question; see Minnesota.
Licenses: compact RN now, APRN compact later
Multistate RN licenses have worked in North Dakota and in Wisconsin since January 19, 2018. The board's term rosters accept either a North Dakota license or a compact one, so the multistate license from the compact state you call home fits; CUW's part is that it stays unencumbered.
The APRN Compact became North Dakota law on March 9, 2021; with fewer than seven states on board it has not taken effect, so an NP license from another state carries no North Dakota privilege yet. PMHNP certificate students, who must hold an unencumbered NP license with prescribing authority, should keep that in mind. The CUW side is under your RN license for clinicals.
Why North Dakota CUW students choose us
North Dakota students come to us because we plan around the board's calendar as well as CUW's. Your placement advisor starts early enough to leave the 60-day window intact, collects each preceptor's CV and license in the shape the term roster needs, and confirms the site has room before anything goes to CUW's graduate faculty. Searches run from Fargo to Minot, on both banks of the Red River when you live near it, and Post-MSN DNP applicants get the disclosure question settled with CUW first. Send your city and program on the contact form.
Questions CUW students ask
Is the Post-MSN DNP open to me as a North Dakota APRN?
CUW posts no enrollment limit by state of residence, but its disclosure marks North Dakota "Does Not Meet" for the Post-MSN DNP, the only one of the five graduate tables to do so, and the entry changed in 2024 without comment. Ask CUW admissions what that means for you, and keep the reply in writing.
Does CUW need North Dakota board recognition before my clinical?
Yes, the recognition reaches programs that lead to APRN licensure, which covers CUW's NP tracks. The school files at least 60 days before student activity, then sends a roster each term naming students, sites, preceptors and agreements. CUW's current standing is not published, so ask the Graduate Clinical Coordinator during your first term.
Could my Fargo-area clinical be on the Minnesota side?
The program question is settled, since Minnesota meets in all five CUW graduate NP tables. The license question is open: Minnesota stays outside the compact, so your North Dakota multistate license does not carry across. Read Minnesota's rules and talk to the Graduate Clinical Coordinator before choosing that site.
Is CUW's PMHNP certificate listed for North Dakota?
Yes. The CAGE (PMH NP) table marks North Dakota "Meets." CUW publishes no PMHNP preceptor rules, so ask graduate faculty which psychiatric clinicians they approve, and ask the Graduate Clinical Coordinator whether a North Dakota site needs anything beyond your unencumbered NP license with prescribing authority.
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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