Liberty practicum in Minnesota, on a Minnesota license
Minnesota is approved for practicum on every Liberty online nursing track. It isn't part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, no bill to join is pending, and Liberty's Minnesota pages ask for a Minnesota RN license. Minnesota statute is more relaxed than that, but Liberty's rule and the big sites' rules are what you'll actually meet.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Liberty track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
Where Liberty stands in Minnesota
| Track | Minnesota practicum | Who leads the search |
|---|---|---|
| DNP – FNP, DNP – PMHNP, PMHNP certificate | Approved | Liberty's practicum team aims to match you; your own leads are welcome |
| DNP (post-master's) | Approved | Liberty says it will support placement in an approved state |
| MSN tracks and the dual degrees | Approved | You choose the facility and obtain a preceptor site contract |
| RN-to-BSN | Approved | You arrange observation at an approved location in your community |
Every row needs the same license: an active Minnesota RN license. The placement process page shows how the pieces fit together.
Minnesota statute versus Liberty's rule
The Minnesota Board of Nursing approves programs conducted inside the state, and our research found no extra approval step aimed at out-of-state programs. Under Minn. R. 6305.0300, the student exemption in Minn. Stat. 148.271(7) extends to any program in the U.S. or Canada that its home state or province has approved. One condition applies: the instructor supervising the student must hold a Minnesota RN license with current registration.
For nurses like you, Minn. Stat. 148.271(6) goes further. An RN with a license from another state is exempt while enrolled in Minnesota as a student in a formal course of study, such as one toward a higher degree, and practicing within that course.
Don't stop reading there. Liberty's Minnesota pages ask for an active Minnesota RN license, with no multistate option, and some Minnesota sites ask for the same.
The statutory exemption doesn't replace Liberty's rule. For Liberty practicum in Minnesota, hold an active Minnesota RN license.
What Mayo Clinic asks of NP students
Mayo Clinic's NP clinical education program sets its own conditions. To start, Mayo must have an affiliation agreement with the student's school. For academic experiences in Minnesota, the student needs a Minnesota nursing license that is unencumbered and currently registered, plus a background study from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Faculty of record need an RN or APRN license in whatever state the experience takes place.
Those are Mayo's site requirements, stricter than the statute. We have no record of whether Liberty holds a Mayo agreement, so ask the practicum team before you contact anyone there. HealthPartners, Essentia Health, M Health Fairview and Allina Health also set their own terms.
Full practice after 2,080 hours
AANP rates Minnesota as full practice for NPs who have logged 2,080 hours or more under a physician or APRN collaborative agreement. So a seasoned Minnesota NP may practice without any collaborative agreement, while a newer one will still be working through those hours. Either way, Liberty decides who is approved to precept your track. See preceptor requirements.
MERC funding, and why it skips Liberty placements
The Minnesota Department of Health runs the Medical Education and Research Costs (MERC) program, which covers APRN training along with other fields. MERC doesn't pay preceptors. It partly compensates training sites in Minnesota for what accredited clinical training costs them. To be eligible, the accredited teaching program and the training site must both be located in Minnesota, so hours logged by a Liberty student don't produce MERC funds.
Twin Cities, Rochester, Duluth and St. Cloud
The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro is home to about 3.6 million Minnesotans. Next come the Minnesota side of the Duluth metro, then Rochester and St. Cloud. The Twin Cities and Duluth metros also cross into Wisconsin, a compact state with its own rule approving out-of-state nursing schools; read the Wisconsin page before you look across the state line. Community Health students can start with the Minnesota Department of Health.
Why Minnesota students choose us
We search for Minnesota preceptors and sites that fit your Liberty track and ready the preceptor and site details the Gate course asks for. We work with Liberty's practicum team, and every lead reaches Liberty ready for its approval.
Questions Liberty students ask
Do I need a Minnesota RN license for a Liberty practicum in Minnesota?
Yes. Minnesota is outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, with no legislation pending to join it, and Liberty's Minnesota pages ask for an active Minnesota RN license. A state statute exempts out-of-state RNs studying for a higher degree, but Liberty's rule calls for the Minnesota license anyway, and so do sites like Mayo Clinic.
Can a Liberty NP student do clinicals at Mayo Clinic?
Only if Liberty has an affiliation agreement with Mayo, which Mayo requires of every school in its NP clinical education program. Mayo also asks for an unencumbered Minnesota license and a Minnesota DHS background study. Our research didn't find whether Liberty has that agreement, so ask the practicum team first.
Does Minnesota pay preceptors who take out-of-state students?
Not that we found. MERC, the state's clinical training program, pays training sites rather than preceptors, and it requires the teaching program to be located in Minnesota, which rules out Liberty placements. No other Minnesota preceptor incentive appears in our research. See our page on preceptor fees for how Liberty treats site charges.
Can a Minnesota NP precept me without a collaborating physician?
According to AANP, a Minnesota NP gains full practice authority after at least 2,080 hours working under a collaborative agreement with either a physician or an APRN. For Liberty, what counts is whether the practicum team approves that NP for your track, not the practice arrangement alone.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against Liberty's own published sources. The practicum team and Liberty's current handbook have the final word.
More leads, sooner, for your practicum.
Tell us your Liberty program, your county and when your practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit Liberty's rules for your track, and help you get the Gate-course paperwork right.
- Matched to your track: FNP, PMHNP, DNP or MSN
- Paperwork ready for the Gate course and the site contract
- In person near you, or telehealth where your track allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.