UofM's nurse practitioner tracks from South Dakota
Out-of-state schools get no approval from South Dakota's Board because it issues none; it leaves placement arrangements to the program and the South Dakota clinician or facility taking the student. It does ask that the program's faculty include someone with South Dakota APRN standing, by license or compact privilege, to oversee APRN students. UofM's documents split on South Dakota, so LCON should confirm your state first.
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Tell us your UofM program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UofM course.
How South Dakota treats schools based elsewhere
The Board's guidance for outside nursing programs, last revised in mid-2020, makes its position plain: approval is not something it gives them. The program works out each direct-care placement with the South Dakota clinician or facility involved.
What the Board expects instead concerns faculty. For APRN students, someone on the program's faculty should carry South Dakota APRN standing, through a state license or the practice privilege, and South Dakota's distance-education rule (ARSD 20:48:07:49) sets that same test for faculty teaching APRN students who live in the state. That is UofM's to satisfy, so put the question to LCON early.
Borrowing South Dakota's yardstick for preceptors
For its own approved programs, South Dakota spells out preceptor standards in ARSD 20:48:07:34. It wants each one licensed no lower than the student's target level and, for APRN learners, working in a similar role, focus or specialty. UofM is not bound by it, but a preceptor who clears that bar is an easy fit.
The Board also sets a clinical floor for APRN licensure: 500 hours of clinical practice tied to the role and population, plus core graduate courses in pathophysiology, assessment and pharmacology. UofM's NP tracks exceed that, though UofM's own documents give different FNP and AG-ACNP totals (NP clinical hours).
Compacts: one in force, one pending
South Dakota's compact participation dates to January 2018, and Tennessee is also a member, so one multistate RN license covers the pair and meets UofM's rule on RN eligibility where your clinicals take place (RN license rules).
South Dakota added the APRN Compact in early 2024, one of five states to enact it, and it needs seven before it takes effect. Looking past graduation, AANP's summary gives South Dakota NPs full practice after 1,040 hours in a written collaboration; the partner can be a physician, and certified NPs and certified nurse midwives also qualify.
What UofM's sources say about South Dakota
| Program | South Dakota in UofM's sources | Your move |
|---|---|---|
| MSN: FNP, AG-ACNP or PMHNP | Not on the 16-state list; MSN disclosure says yes | Ask LCON before applying |
| NP graduate certificates | Certificate disclosure says yes | Same question |
| Nursing Education or Leadership | Not among the 16 | Confirm with LCON |
| RN to BSN, online | Only California residents excluded | Check with UofM Global |
| Traditional or Accelerated BSN | Campus programs in Tennessee | Requires being there in person |
UofM Global's NC-SARA statement is a third voice, and the graduate residency page asks each student outside Tennessee to confirm an advanced-licensure program suits their state. Our state authorization guide maps the differences.
Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen
UofM's MSN practicums happen face to face near home. The Sioux Falls metro leads, at roughly 305,000 South Dakota residents in the 2025 Census estimate; Rapid City's is near 157,000, and about 42,000 people live in the Aberdeen micropolitan area. Avera, Monument Health and Sanford Health operate in the state, listed as context and not as sites holding places for UofM students.
NP students also come to campus up to three times for intensives of one to three days, posted at least six months ahead (campus intensives).
Why South Dakota students choose Memphis Preceptor
Whatever UofM's part in your placement, we track down a South Dakota preceptor and practice that satisfy its requirements, favoring the specialty match South Dakota's own rule prizes. We check licenses and certification, prepare the preceptor agreement details, and keep a backup in view if a preceptor steps back. See how it works.
Questions UofM students ask
Does South Dakota approve UofM's NP program?
It approves no program based outside the state. Each South Dakota placement is arranged between the school and the local clinician or facility, and the Board looks for a faculty member with South Dakota APRN standing to oversee APRN students. LCON can tell you how UofM handles that expectation.
Must my South Dakota preceptor share my specialty?
South Dakota's standard for its own programs asks APRN preceptors to work in a similar role, focus or specialty. UofM separately requires at least one rotation per NP track precepted by a nurse practitioner, plus setting rules for FNP and AG-ACNP students. A preceptor in your own specialty satisfies both comfortably.
Will UofM's clinical hours meet South Dakota's APRN licensure standard?
South Dakota asks for at least 500 clinical hours matched to the APRN role and population; UofM's NP tracks ask for more, although its sources give differing totals. UofM's licensure disclosures mark the NP tracks as meeting South Dakota's requirements, and each license decision belongs to the Board, so keep full hour records.
Is the APRN Compact useful to me yet?
Not while you are a student. Five states, South Dakota among them, have enacted it, and seven are needed before it operates. During the program the Nurse Licensure Compact is what counts, letting one multistate RN license work in both states.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UofM's 2026-27 catalog, the LCON Academic Bulletin, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your clinical faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether UofM helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your UofM concentration, your next practicum and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and prepare what the preceptor agreement form needs, early enough for approval before the first clinical day.
- Preceptors matched to the rotation rules: an NP preceptor, family practice for FNP, inpatient and critical care for AG-ACNP
- License, certification and site details ready for the preceptor agreement form, with your Complio items in order
- Across the Mid-South, Tennessee and the states UofM serves
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