Enrolling at MRU from North Carolina
North Carolina residents can enroll in MRU's online RN-to-BSN, NP and leadership programs; the state has been part of SARA since June 2016. Post-licensure graduate, doctoral and RN-to-BSN programs fall outside the jurisdiction of the North Carolina Board of Nursing, by its own account, which means the Board's approval rule for out-of-state students does not reach licensed RNs studying with MRU.
Plan North Carolina clinicals
Tell us your MRU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what an MRU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
North Carolina residents: MRU's program list
MRU's NC-SARA disclosure includes North Carolina and gives its FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP tracks a "Meets" rating. The catalog speaks more cautiously, assuring licensure requirements for Florida only and sending other students to their home board, which is the North Carolina Board of Nursing (NCBON).
| MRU program | North Carolina residents | Format | Clinical or practice hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN-FNP | Admitted | Online, or classes in Miami Springs | Adult, women's, pediatric and lifespan courses from MSN5700 to MSN6400; no total printed |
| FNP Post-Master's Certificate | Admitted | Online, or classes in Miami Springs | Those four courses, or fewer after a gap analysis |
| PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate | Admitted | Online | 765, split 115 child and adolescent, 150 psychotherapy and 500 across the lifespan |
| AGACNP Post-Master's Certificate | Admitted | Online plus three days of campus simulation | 810 in acute care |
| DNP | Admitted with a North Carolina multistate or a Florida RN license | Offsite and online | 765 practice hours |
| MSN Healthcare Systems Leadership | Admitted | Online, or classes in Miami Springs | 180 in MSN5855 |
| RN-to-BSN | Admitted | Online, or classes in Miami Springs | 135 in NUR4269, NUR4679, NUR4689 |
| ASN, BSN, MSN Direct Entry | Not from North Carolina; campus only | Miami Springs | 450, 675, 495 |
What the NCBON regulates, and what it does not
Under 21 NCAC 36 .0233, unlicensed students in out-of-state nursing programs may train in North Carolina clinical agencies once NCBON has approved it. It is the chief nursing administrator at the agency, or a designated RN, who files the request, no later than 30 days before the clinical begins. The file must include evidence the program is approved in its home state, the CV and license of the faculty member coordinating the clinical, proof that a North Carolina RN license is held by the preceptor or on-site faculty, and licensure from the UNC Board of Governors under G.S. 116-15.
That rule is about pre-licensure students. Whether a post-licensure graduate program is based in North Carolina or elsewhere, NCBON's education FAQ says the Board neither approves nor disapproves it; the same FAQ puts post-licensure graduate, doctoral and RN-to-BSN programs beyond its jurisdiction. The FAQ adds that a student taking didactic courses from a SARA-approved college may qualify for clinical placements in North Carolina. For MRU's side, see MRU clinicals outside Florida.
The 30-day agency filing under .0233 is for unlicensed students. Do not let a North Carolina site apply it to you by mistake; show them the NCBON FAQ.
Restricted practice: a physician on every NP's team
North Carolina is restricted practice in AANP's terms. Throughout their careers, NPs there must keep an agreement with a physician. Their licensure is overseen by a Joint Subcommittee whose members come from the Medical Board as well as the Board of Nursing. So every NP preceptor you meet has a physician agreement behind their practice, and physician-led practices are a natural place to look. Whether MRU accepts a physician as your preceptor is a handbook question; see who MRU accepts as a preceptor.
About 2.48 million North Carolinians live in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro, with Raleigh-Cary at about 1.6 million, Greensboro-High Point at about 806,000 and Winston-Salem at about 712,000. The state's large systems are Atrium Health, which belongs to Advocate Health, together with ECU Health, UNC Health, Duke Health and Novant Health. They are named for orientation; MRU has no known placement arrangement with any of them.
In the Compact since 2018
North Carolina's place in the Nurse Licensure Compact dates from 19 January 2018. Holding a North Carolina multistate license, you can do clinical shifts at home or in any other member state, and the license satisfies the DNP's Florida-or-Compact rule. North Carolina has not enacted the APRN Compact.
If you are a graduate student and your license is neither North Carolina's nor multistate, NCBON directs you to its Licensure Department, reached through the Board's Email Us form, to learn what you need for clinicals in the state. Separately, MRU requires American Data Bank clearance and individual liability insurance before the externship.
Our part in North Carolina
We search around Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, or nearer your home, for a preceptor and practice ready to take on your MRU course. We help you pull together the preceptor information MRU verifies and begin again if a preceptor withdraws. MRU remains the one that approves. Get in touch.
Questions MRU students ask
Must the NCBON sign off on MRU before my NP clinicals?
No. Post-licensure graduate nursing programs get neither approval nor disapproval from NCBON, wherever they are based, and the Board counts RN-to-BSN and doctoral programs as beyond its jurisdiction as well. Its out-of-state approval rule, 21 NCAC 36 .0233, applies to unlicensed students. MRU's own preceptor approval and the agency's onboarding are what you will actually face.
My RN license is not multistate. Can I still do clinicals in North Carolina?
NCBON's instruction for a graduate student licensed neither in North Carolina nor through a multistate license: use the Email Us form on ncbon.com and ask the Licensure Department what completing clinical experiences in North Carolina requires. Do that before you secure a site, because the answer shapes your timeline.
Can a physician precept my FNP courses in North Carolina?
MRU's public documents do not say which preceptor credentials it accepts; that detail sits in the handbook students reach through the portal. North Carolina NPs all practice under a career-long physician agreement, so physician-led practices are common settings. Ask MRU before you approach a physician, and check that the practice covers the population your course needs.
What does MRU's RN-to-BSN involve for a North Carolina nurse?
It runs online, and its 135 clinical hours come from three courses of 45 hours each, NUR4269, NUR4679 and NUR4689, done under indirect supervision in a preceptorship model. Who arranges the preceptor is not stated publicly, so ask MRU early. NCBON lists RN-to-BSN programs as outside its jurisdiction. See MRU's RN-to-BSN.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against MRU's own catalog, addenda and program pages. The nursing student handbook on the MRU student portal and MRU's Office of Academic Affairs have the final word.
MRU says secure your own preceptor. We start the search now.
Tell us your MRU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We look for preceptors who fit the course and help you gather what MRU checks before approving them.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
MSN5700, women's health, pediatrics, psychiatric or acute care - Credentials, license and site details collected before MRU's credential check
- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, or wherever in a SARA state you live
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