South Dakota: what Ohio University's state lists mean for you

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Ohio Preceptor placement team

South Dakota appears on neither Ohio University's 28-state graduate list nor any RN-to-BSN list as of September 2026, so residents cannot apply today. The state is easygoing about programs from elsewhere, leaving clinical agreements to the program and the site. Montana, the one neighbor on Ohio University's list, is part of the picture too.

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1,040hours under a collaborative agreement before a South Dakota NP practices on their own

Ohio University state lists for South Dakota: graduate NP programs not on the approved list; RN-to-BSN not listed on the program page list. RN license: in the compact. NP practice: full. — South Dakota on Ohio University's published state lists (September 2026): MSN, certificate and DNP applicants not on the approved list; RN-to-BSN not listed; RN license in the compact; NP practice full (AANP).

The answer in one table

Ohio University's graduate nursing programs take residents of 28 approved states who hold a valid, unrestricted RN license there. South Dakota is not among them, and all three graduate licensure disclosures the provost publishes (MSN, post-master's certificate, DNP) mark it "No". Of the six states bordering South Dakota, Montana alone is approved.

South Dakota residents and Ohio University nursing (September 2026)
Ohio University program	South Dakota residents	How it runs	Clinical hours
MSN: FNP, PMHNP or AG-ACNP	Cannot apply	Online plus on-campus intensives	750 per track
Post-master's NP certificates	Cannot apply	Online plus intensives	750
Emergency NP certificate	Cannot apply	Online plus two intensives	450 or 500 (Ohio University sources conflict)
MSN-to-DNP	Cannot apply	Online plus intensives	1,000 post-baccalaureate
MSN Nurse Leader, Nurse Educator	Cannot apply	Online	500
RN-to-BSN	Missing from all four of its state lists	Online, 5-week courses	31.5

The DNP disclosure row for South Dakota carries a stray note, "Requires special TN Board of Nursing approval," apparently lifted from Tennessee's row. Treat the "No" as the answer and check with Ohio University, since lists get revised.

How the SD Board treats programs from other states

South Dakota keeps out-of-state programs outside its approval process entirely. Its guidance sheet for them, revised June 2020, leaves each direct-care placement for the program to settle with the South Dakota preceptor or agency. The one expectation: a faculty member licensed in South Dakota, or holding the privilege to practice there, at the APRN level for APRN students.

Two administrative rules sit behind that. ARSD 20:48:07:49 covers faculty who teach APRN students physically located in the state: an SD APRN license or the privilege to practice. ARSD 20:48:07:34, drafted for the Board's own programs, wants preceptors licensed at the student's intended level or higher, and APRN preceptors in a comparable role, focus or specialty.

Full practice, once the first 1,040 hours are done

South Dakota is full practice in AANP's terms, with a gate at the start: 1,040 hours of collaborative practice, set out in writing, with a physician, a nurse midwife holding certification, or another certified NP. That splits the preceptor pool. A veteran NP past the gate practices alone, while a recent graduate may still be inside that arrangement, so ask where a candidate stands.

For APRN licensure, the Board looks for a graduate program with 500 or more clinical hours tied to the role and population focus, plus graduate courses covering pharmacology, pathophysiology, and health and physical assessment. Ohio University's NP tracks carry 750 hours, yet its disclosures still say "No" for South Dakota, so hours alone settle nothing. Our research found no state preceptor incentive.

Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen and your license

NP students in the state tend to talk about three systems: Sanford Health, Avera Health and Monument Health. People cluster in greater Sioux Falls (about 315,000 in 2025 Census estimates, almost 305,000 of them in South Dakota), then Rapid City near 157,000 and Aberdeen's micropolitan area near 42,000.

Compact membership runs from January 19, 2018, so a nurse holding multistate RN privileges through another member state can practice as an RN in South Dakota. The APRN Compact is a different story. South Dakota enacted it with a February 5, 2024 signing; Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota and Delaware are the other enacting states, and the compact switches on only at seven. Our license guide explains how RN licensure follows the site.

Where we come in for South Dakota nurses

Three readers find this page useful: Ohio University graduate students moving to Sioux Falls or Rapid City mid-program, who should email graduatenursing@ohio.edu before they go; Montana residents curious about the state next door; and South Dakota nurses considering whether to relocate before they apply.

Your placement advisor maps preceptors near where you will live, confirms license and specialty fit, notes where an NP stands on the 1,040-hour transition, and prepares the preceptor details Ohio University faculty review, well before the clinical packet deadline. Faculty give the final approval; what reaches them is complete and checked. Tell us your town in the form below.

Questions Ohio University students ask

Can South Dakota nurses enroll in Ohio University's online PMHNP?

Not as of September 2026. South Dakota is missing from the 28 states whose residents, licensed there as RNs without restriction, qualify for the PMHNP or any other Ohio University graduate nursing program. Montana is on the list. Confirm with Ohio University before planning.

Must South Dakota's Board sign off on clinicals for an out-of-state NP program?

No. The Board leaves programs from other states outside its approval process, and the placement terms are worked out between the program and the South Dakota preceptor or site. Its expectation of a South Dakota-licensed faculty member, APRN-level for APRN students, lands on the program rather than on you.

Who can precept an NP student in South Dakota?

For the Board's own programs, a preceptor whose license sits at or above the student's intended level, and for APRN students someone in a comparable role, focus or specialty. Ohio University prints no credential list for its NP tracks; ask graduatenursing@ohio.edu for the clinical overview sheets and preceptor packet.

Is moving to Montana an option for a South Dakota nurse?

Montana is on Ohio University's graduate list, so a nurse living there with a valid, unrestricted RN license meets the residence rule. Ohio University's Montana disclosure adds that faculty involved in direct patient care in Montana need Montana APRN and RN or multistate licensure, which is the program's concern.

GuideOhio University clinicals by stateDoing Ohio University clinicals outside Ohio? Fifty state guides: the approved-state list, RN license rules, boards of nursing and where NP students look.StatesThe 28 approved statesThe 28 states Ohio University accepts graduate nursing applicants from, the 22 left off, where its own lists disagree, and what to do if you move mid-program.LicenseRN license and the compactThe RN license Ohio University requires, how the Nurse Licensure Compact covers clinicals across state lines, and which license your site's state expects.RequirementsPreceptor requirementsWho can precept each Ohio University nursing track: the published AG-ACNP and RN-to-BSN rules, state licensing notes, and what sits in the preceptor packet.State guideMontanaMontana appears on every Ohio University nursing state list. What the Montana Board expects of graduate and RN-to-BSN clinicals, plus licensing and travel.State guideWyomingWyoming makes Ohio University's RN-to-BSN lists but not its graduate list. Wyoming's notice-and-contract rule, full NP practice and where students look.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against Ohio University's own catalog, program pages and Nursing Knowledge Center. Your syllabus, the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and your faculty have the final word.

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