Utah clinicals for Ball State FNP and certificate students
Utah opens more of Ball State's graduate nursing menu than most states: both the MS in Nursing and the Post-Master's Certificate FNP show as Authorized, and only the DNP is closed. In exchange, Utah has a written rule for nursing programs based elsewhere, R156-31b-609, which sets conditions on the school and allows only preceptors licensed in Utah or another compact state.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Ball State program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Ball State course.
What Ball State's map allows in Utah
Utah is among the nine places where the certificate is open, but Ball State's documents do not tell one story about it.
| Ball State program | Utah status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MS in Nursing: FNP, Nurse Educator, Leadership and Management | Authorized | Single map entry |
| Post-Master's Certificate in Nursing, FNP | Authorized | Listed on the map and the application page; the Graduate Nursing Handbook 2025-26 says Indiana and Ohio only |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice, all cognates | Not Authorized | Open in six places, none in the West except Alaska |
If you are applying to the certificate from Utah, get the Office of State Authorizations or admissions to confirm in writing. Licensure is separate: Ball State takes no position on Utah's APRN requirements and refers you to the state: in Utah, the nursing and nurse-midwife board inside the Division of Professional Licensing. The certificate guide covers its hours by prior degree.
Rule R156-31b-609 in plain terms
Utah's Division of Professional Licensing and its nursing board both have to be satisfied before a school from another state puts students into Utah agencies, and the rule treats graduate programs exactly like pre-licensure ones.
| Condition in R156-31b-609 | Who handles it |
|---|---|
| Approval by the home state's nursing board and accreditation by a nursing accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (CCNE accredits Ball State's master's and post-graduate APRN certificate through June 30, 2031) | Ball State |
| Program-employed faculty, affiliated with a college or university and meeting accreditor and home-state standards; face-to-face supervisors licensed in Utah or a compact state | Ball State |
| A plan for selecting and supervising faculty or preceptors and clinical sites | Ball State |
| An annual report by August 1 giving the number of students placed in Utah, a licensure attestation and current accreditation | Ball State |
| A preceptor licensed in good standing in Utah or a Nurse Licensure Compact party state | You and your placement advisor, when choosing the preceptor |
Ball State does not publish how it handles its Utah filing. Mention your Utah site to the Graduate Clinical Placement Coordinator early, before any agency signs.
The preceptor license test, and Utah's two compacts
Your share of the rule comes down to one check: the person precepting you needs a license in good standing, issued either by Utah itself or by one of the Nurse Licensure Compact's member states. NCSBN's table dates Utah's own compact membership to January 19, 2018.
Advanced practice licenses work differently. Utah adopted the APRN Compact in March 2022, yet with five enacting states against the seven required it has never switched on, and NCSBN announced in May 2026 that it wants the compact redesigned. Until that changes, an NP's license is valid only in the state that issued it. The RN license guide covers your own license.
Salt Lake City to St. George
AANP gives Utah full practice status. Census estimates for 2025 put about 1.3 million people in the Salt Lake City area, around 773,000 around Provo and Orem, roughly 673,000 around Ogden and about 214,000 around St. George. NP students look at HCA's MountainStar Healthcare, Intermountain Health and University of Utah Health, and at independent family practices and community clinics.
Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico are Not Authorized for the master's, so a St. George student cannot count hours at a clinic across the Nevada or Arizona line. Wyoming is authorized for the MS in Nursing only, not the certificate.
Why Utah students choose us
Utah's paperwork makes Ball State's standing advice more pressing: plan twelve months out and hold a second agency in reserve (finding your own preceptor). We screen every Utah candidate against the license test before anything else, then line up the sequence: adult practices for NUR 681 and NUR 683, a pediatric panel for NUR 682, a women's health office for NUR 684 and a site with room for the 180 hours of NUR 673. Agreement paperwork is ready a semester ahead, and we replace any preceptor who leaves. Send your Utah request.
Questions Ball State students ask
Can an NP licensed only in Nevada precept me at a Utah clinic?
Utah's rule wants a preceptor whose license comes from Utah or from a compact member state. Nevada sits outside the compact, so a Nevada-only license falls short of that wording, while a preceptor who also holds a Utah license meets it. The clinic must be in Utah either way, because Nevada is Not Authorized for Ball State's master's.
Is Ball State's post-master's FNP certificate open to Utah residents?
The map and the certificate application page say yes; the Graduate Nursing Handbook 2025-26 says only Indiana and Ohio. Get written confirmation before applying. Admission is described as highly competitive with limited space and certificate students attend a one-day orientation on campus in Muncie.
Can a Utah student do Ball State clinicals across the line in Wyoming?
For the MS in Nursing, possibly. Wyoming is authorized for the master's, and Utah and Wyoming are both compact members, which lets a multistate Utah license reach a Wyoming clinic. Wyoming's board wants the program to send it a letter and to sign a contract with the facility beforehand, and your course faculty must approve.
Does a Utah FNP student come to Indiana for clinicals?
MS students come once: the FNP concentration's 8-hour clinical day on the Muncie campus sits inside NUR 681. The certificate page does not mention that day, so if your certificate plan includes NUR 681, ask your advisor whether it applies. Every other clinical hour stays at approved Utah sites.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against Ball State's own catalog, graduate handbook, program pages and State Authorization Map, and Indiana rules. Your course faculty, your advisor and the Graduate Clinical Placement Coordinator have the final word.
Ball State asks you to find your preceptor. We find one near you.
Tell us your Ball State track, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course, confirm the practice will sign Ball State's affiliation agreement, and line up a backup, so the School of Nursing can clear the site before the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NUR 682, women's health forNUR 684, adult primary care forNUR 681andNUR 683 - Outside your own unit or clinic, in a state where Ball State's program is authorized
- Across Indiana, from Muncie to Evansville, and in the other states Ball State accepts
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.