North Carolina: Rivier's graduate tracks and a Board that leaves them to the school
Every graduate program on Rivier University's State Guide, from the FNP and PMHNP to the DNP, is green for North Carolina. North Carolina's Board of Nursing leaves post-licensure graduate education alone, wherever the school sits. That narrows your to-do list to three items: a license that works in North Carolina, a preceptor Rivier will approve, and a site willing to sign.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Rivier program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Rivier course.
Rivier's colors for North Carolina
| Rivier program | Color | Rivier's meaning |
|---|---|---|
| FNP, MSN and post-master's certificate | Green | OK to accept |
| PMHNP, MSN and post-master's certificate | Green | OK to accept |
| Nursing Education | Green | OK to accept |
| Leadership | Green | OK to accept |
| DNP (Professional Practice and Systems Leadership) | Green | OK to accept |
| RN-BSN | Green | OK to accept |
| ASN/BSN pre-licensure | Yellow | Limiting criteria; call first |
There is no AG-ACNP column. Tennessee, to the west, is red for the NP tracks, while Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia are green; the State Guide page explains each color.
The NCBON approval rule is about unlicensed students
North Carolina does police out-of-state clinicals, through rule .0233 in chapter 36 of Title 21 of its administrative code. That rule concerns students who are not yet nurses. Their host agency's chief nurse asks the Board to approve the rotation at least 30 days out, attaching proof of the school's home-state approval, a CV and license for the faculty coordinator, and evidence of the preceptor's North Carolina license.
You arrive already licensed, and that changes the picture. In its education FAQ the Board lists RN-BSN, doctoral and post-licensure graduate programs as beyond its jurisdiction, passing no judgment on them, local or distant. The state joined SARA in June 2016, and the Board adds that a SARA college's distance students may be able to complete field placements in North Carolina. Rivier's catalog lists NC-SARA membership.
If your license comes from somewhere else
Many applicants are covered already. North Carolina joined the Nurse Licensure Compact in 2018, and Rivier accepts any license that is good in the site's state, so a multistate license issued here or in another member state does the job. Nurses holding neither kind should write to the Board's Licensure Department, using its online Email Us form, to learn what clinical work in North Carolina would take.
A move into North Carolina during the program also brings Rivier's own rule: the Dean hears from you in writing 90 days or more ahead of the move (moving during your program).
Restricted practice and the Joint Subcommittee
AANP rates North Carolina restricted, since its NPs never outgrow the need for a physician agreement. Their licenses also come from an unusual body, the Joint Subcommittee, drawn from both the nursing board and the medical board. Since every NP there works under a physician agreement, one practice may offer a Rivier FNP student two candidates, provided they have two years in outpatient family practice (FNP preceptor rules).
DNP students meet the Joint Subcommittee as well. Rivier wants a clean RN license in whatever state hosts your scholarly project, and on the Professional Practice track an APRN license there too, which in North Carolina is the Joint Subcommittee's to grant.
Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Winston-Salem
Nearly 2.5 million North Carolinians live in the Charlotte metro, which spills into South Carolina. The Raleigh area comes second, then the Greensboro and Winston-Salem areas. Major systems include Charlotte's Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health, along with Novant Health, UNC Health, ECU Health and Duke Health. Each handles outside students its own way; think of them as leads, and give independent practices equal time.
Nashua trips and the APRN Compact
The APRN Compact has not become law in North Carolina, which keeps NP licensure state-issued. During the program, the Nashua calendar asks FNP students for three intensives (nine days in total), gives PMHNP students three weekends, and holds AG-ACNP students for ten days (campus intensives). A multistate license covers the New Hampshire side.
Why North Carolina students choose us
We start North Carolina searches from what actually governs them: Rivier's rules, your license and each site's terms. Every preceptor we bring meets your track's standard, and the Preceptor Request Form package, with license, credentials and CV, is done ahead of Rivier's fall and spring cutoffs. If a Charlotte or Raleigh preceptor withdraws, the next search starts at once. Start here.
Questions Rivier students ask
Does the North Carolina Board of Nursing approve Rivier's NP program?
No. The Board leaves post-licensure graduate programs alone, home-grown or not, and its sign-off rule for visiting programs is written for students who do not yet hold a license. The approval that counts for you is Rivier's own: your site is judged by graduate faculty, and your paperwork is confirmed by the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
My RN license is single-state from another state. Can I train in North Carolina?
Start with the Board's Licensure Department, which answers graduate students holding neither a North Carolina license nor a compact one. Rivier's Handbook adds its own condition, a license valid where you train, so secure one that works in North Carolina before counting any hours.
Can I do my Rivier DNP project in North Carolina?
Yes, the DNP column is green. Keep an RN license with no encumbrances in North Carolina for the project, and if you follow the Professional Practice track, add a North Carolina APRN license. Your faculty guide works with you to name the external expert, whom the committee then approves.
Could my site be in South Carolina if I live near Charlotte?
South Carolina is green on Rivier's State Guide. Even so, a South Carolina site brings South Carolina's board rules and needs a license valid there. Confirm your license is valid in South Carolina, read its state page, and let the Clinical Practicum Coordinator vet the site first.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against Rivier's own Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog, academic calendar and State Guide. Your program of study, your course faculty, your Program Director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
Rivier asks you to identify a qualified preceptor. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Rivier track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who meet your track's rules, check early whether the site can contract with Rivier, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for, well ahead of August 1 and December 1.
- Preceptors matched to the track: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice for
NURS 511, a psychiatrist or PMH-certified NP forNURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist forNURS 638P - Preceptor license, credentials and CV ready for the Preceptor Request Form, with the site's contact details for the contract
- In your own area, in New Hampshire or any state Rivier's State Guide accepts
Start your placement plan
Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.