North Dakota
Best RN to BSN Programs in North Dakota, Ranked (2026)
Price and Graduation Rate Rise Together Across North Dakota's 4 Public Programs
Put the 4 public programs in order of price and you have also put them in order of institutional graduation rate. Every step up the price ladder is a step up the completion one, with no exceptions.
The ladder reads Mayville State University at $6,517 and 41%, Minot State University at $7,168 and 45%, University of North Dakota at $9,237 and 60%, North Dakota State University-Main Campus at $9,309 and 64%. End to end that is $2,792 of tuition against 23 points of graduation rate, or roughly $121 a year per point. That is the trade the ranking is actually making when it puts North Dakota State University-Main Campus at the top of a list whose cheapest program is somewhere else: cost carries 55% of the score and graduation rate 45%, and inside a price band this narrow the second factor sets the order.
Which is why the top of the list is closer than the ordering suggests. North Dakota State University-Main Campus and University of North Dakota are $72 apart in annual in-state tuition and 64% against 60% on graduation rate, producing 73.5 and 71.7 — a 1.8-point difference that should not decide anything. What decides it between Fargo and Grand Forks is how much of your ADN each one takes, how many entry points it runs a year, and whether you are expected to find your own preceptor.
Above $9,309 the pattern stops. The first private option starts $3,050 higher, at $12,359, and the 3 of them cover $11,641 between them — 4.2 times the width of the entire public sector. Both extremes of the state's completion data live in that group: University of Mary reports 67%, the highest of the 7, and Rasmussen University-North Dakota reports 29%, the lowest — and the cheaper of those two is the lower one. University of Mary still ranks 5th, because $19,940 is what it charges. If an employer benefit is paying the tuition, the weights that produce that placement are not your weights, and reading down from the top is the wrong way to use the list.
One more thing the price ladder tracks: size. Degrees conferred rise in the same order as tuition, from 26 a year at Mayville State University to 178 at North Dakota State University-Main Campus. Across all 7 institutions the state produces 514 nursing bachelor's degrees a year, and 77% of them come from the 4 publics. Volume is not scored and it is not a proxy for teaching, but it does tell you which programs are certain to run a cohort next term and which ones are worth a direct question.
Delivery is the other thing the score cannot reach, and for a nurse holding down three twelve-hour shifts it may matter more than $2,792 does. North Dakota State University-Main Campus and University of North Dakota and Minot State University and Mayville State University and University of Mary state on their own pages that the track runs fully online. That still leaves the questions a delivery label cannot answer: whether any sessions are live at a fixed hour, and whether you have to find your own preceptor. Put both to each school directly.
The 7 RN to BSN Programs in North Dakota, Ranked
Scored on in-state tuition (55%) and institutional graduation rate (45%). How we rank.
- 1st in North Dakota
North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Fargo, ND · Public Fully online $9,309 annual in-state tuition 64% institutional graduation rate 178 degrees a year 73.5 scoreEvery student pays NDSU's in-state tuition rate regardless of where they live, and the program may award up to 25 credits at no cost.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about North Dakota State University-Main Campus's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)NDSU's School of Nursing offers the RN to BSN as a fully online program for working registered nurses who already hold an associate degree or diploma. Coursework centers on current healthcare trends, leadership, quality improvement, evidence-based practice and patient-centered care, and the school says courses are built to avoid redundancy with prior nursing education. Classes run in eight-week blocks, a structure NDSU credits with letting students finish in four semesters.
Two cost terms apply to everyone in the program: students pay in-state tuition no matter where they live, and up to 25 credits may be awarded at no cost. The online format includes scheduled contact: virtual immersions run periodically over Zoom for discussions, lectures and activities with faculty and other students. A clinical component is part of the program, described as hands-on learning in clinical settings focused on population-focused nursing care and leadership. Each student is paired with a dedicated academic advisor who helps build a personalized plan.
- Fully online
- Four semesters to complete
- Eight-week course blocks
- In-state tuition for all students
- Up to 25 credits at no cost
- 2nd in North Dakota
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND · Public Fully online $9,237 annual in-state tuition 60% institutional graduation rate 122 degrees a year 71.7 scoreAdmission runs on a single annual cycle — applications are accepted once per calendar year for fall entry — and the entire clinical requirement is one 2-credit public health nursing course that can be completed in a community near the student.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of North Dakota's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)UND's College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines offers the RN to BSN as a 30-credit nursing sequence for registered nurses who hold an associate degree in nursing. Coursework is fully online, and the page states students are never required to come to campus for classes. Two published plans of study are available: full-time, completing in 12 months, or part-time, completing in 24. Beyond the 30 nursing credits, students must satisfy UND Essential Studies requirements, program prerequisites, and a 120-credit graduation minimum with an overall GPA of at least 2.75. Of those credits, 36 must be upper division and 30 must be UND credits. Nursing courses are sequenced with pre- and co-requisites, and a student must earn at least a C in every required nursing and support course to progress to the next semester.
The clinical component is NURS 374 Public Health Nursing Clinical, a 2-credit course in public health nursing. It requires daytime clinical hours and can be conducted in a community near the student, subject to agency availability and UND nursing program approval; the requirements page notes UND may not be able to accommodate clinical experiences in some states because of state board of nursing regulations. Applicants must hold a current, unencumbered RN license, though the program's FAQ states an applicant does not necessarily have to be working as a nurse to enroll. Students must be admitted to the University of North Dakota before applying to the RN to BSN program, applications are accepted once per calendar year, and completed applications received by July 1 are considered for the following fall. An April 1 scholarship priority deadline makes applicants eligible for the dedicated UND RN to BSN scholarship pool. The program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the North Dakota Board of Nursing.
- 30 nursing credits
- 100% online coursework
- Unencumbered RN license required
- 12 months full-time, 24 part-time
- Fall admission only, July 1 deadline
- 3rd in North Dakota
Minot State University
Minot, ND · Public Fully online $7,168 annual in-state tuition 45% institutional graduation rate 70 degrees a year 66.7 scoreMinot State posts 35 semester hours of NCLEX-RN examination credit to the transcript in a student's graduating semester, which covers more than half of the 60 four-year-institution credits required and leaves 30 credits to complete at Minot State.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Minot State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Minot State University's RN to BSN is a 100% online major housed in the Department of Nursing, built for nurses who already hold an associate degree in nursing and an RN license. Admission requires graduation from a board-approved nursing education program and a passing NCLEX-RN, a minimum 2.75 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and submission of all required health and safety documentation. Applicants must supply a copy of a current, active, unencumbered NCLEX-RN license, American Heart Association Basic Life Support (CPR and AED) certification for healthcare professionals, and proof of personal health insurance coverage. Nurses still in the final semester of an ADN program can be conditionally admitted before licensure and take NURS 363 Nursing Theory and Research, NURS 383 Professional Nursing I, special topics courses, and any general education they still need. There are no application deadlines.
Graduation requires 60 semester hours completed at a four-year institution, and 35 of those arrive as NCLEX-RN examination credit posted in the final semester. The remaining 30 semester hours are taken at Minot State: 26 in nursing and special topics courses plus 4 in electives or general education, with a minimum 2.0 GPA. Students who have already satisfied their general education requirements can finish in as few as two semesters; everyone else works from a transcript evaluation and a plan of study built with an academic advisor. Clinical work sits inside the Public Health for the Professional Nurse course as indirect and direct experiences completed independently in the student's own community (one assignment has students conduct a windshield survey, identify a pressing local need, and plan evidence-based interventions) and students are not assigned to a healthcare facility. A $150 course fee applies to four of the nursing courses, and tuition rates are the same for in-state and out-of-state residents. The baccalaureate degree program in nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
- 100% online
- 35 credits awarded for NCLEX-RN licensure
- 30 credits taken at Minot State
- 2.75 minimum GPA to apply
- Clinicals done independently in your own community
- 4th in North Dakota
Mayville State University
Mayville, ND · Public Fully online $6,517 annual in-state tuition 41% institutional graduation rate 26 degrees a year 65.4 scoreThe entire clinical requirement is one 40-hour placement completed local to the student, delivered as a single ten-week course, while the rest of the nursing coursework runs in five-week blocks.Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN and CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Mayville State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Mayville State University's RN-to-BSN program is a completion track for nurses who already hold an RN license, built on prior nursing education and delivered entirely online. Nursing courses run in five-week blocks, with students taking three to four courses per semester, and the program offers two plans of study: full-time enrollment finishing in 12 months and part-time in 24. There are no required campus visits and no scheduled online meetings, so the coursework is asynchronous. Students can start in either the fall or the spring semester.
The clinical component is a single requirement of 40 hours, completed local to the student and delivered as one ten-week course, the only course that breaks the five-week block pattern; the program posts a Division of Nursing out-of-state clinical approval form for students placing outside North Dakota. Mayville State publishes its 2023-24 on-time completion rates as 85 percent full-time, 60 percent part-time, and 80 percent overall. The baccalaureate nursing degree is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and the page states that effective July 17, 2024 the program is also a candidate for initial accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, with that candidacy status expiring July 17, 2026.
- 40 clinical hours
- 100% online, no campus visits
- 12 months full-time or 24 part-time
- 5-week course blocks
- Fall and spring starts
- 5th in North Dakota
University of Mary
Bismarck, ND · Private nonprofit Fully online $19,940 annual in-state tuition 67% institutional graduation rate 81 degrees a year 63.4 scoreCoursework is completed entirely online at $370 per credit and can be finished in as little as one year, with prior work experience convertible into credit either by testing or by a portfolio reviewed by a faculty member.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Mary's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)The University of Mary delivers its RN to BSN entirely online through University of Mary Online, and a nurse who transfers in existing credits can finish in as little as one year. Tuition is $370 per credit, with fall, spring, and summer start dates. The curriculum builds on the knowledge and skills gained through a nursing associate degree and covers evidence-based practice, leadership, population health, health care technology, systems-based care, and applied learning experiences. The university names nurse manager, health educator, public health nurse, nurse case manager, and occupational health nurse among the career paths for graduates. The baccalaureate program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Admission runs through the Office of Admissions. Applicants submit the general application form, an application fee, and official transcripts from a regionally accredited institution showing a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75. The university converts experience into credit two ways: testing, where scores are turned into college credit, and a portfolio review evaluated by an experienced faculty member. Military coursework transfers through the Joint Services Transcript, and Air Force personnel who already hold a CCAF degree can apply it through the university's Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative. Program-specific requirements and the full course list are published in the university catalog.
- Entirely online
- As little as 1 year
- $370 per credit
- 2.75 minimum cumulative GPA
- CCNE accredited
- 6th in North Dakota
Rasmussen University-North Dakota
Fargo, ND · Private for-profit Online $12,359 annual in-state tuition 29% institutional graduation rate 20 degrees a year 53.3 scoreRasmussen’s Fargo campus lists the online RN-to-BSN option, which includes a project-based practicum.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Rasmussen University-North Dakota's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Rasmussen's RN-to-BSN offers eight start dates a year and a full-time completion path of as few as 12 months. Courses are online and emphasize projects with regular participation. The format is worth examining in terms of assignment deadlines and project workload, not simply the number of months in the advertised plan.
A project-based practicum typically takes about 25 to 35 hours. Budget for that work alongside the online courses when comparing the full-time path with your job schedule. The practicum is part of the RN-completion program, distinct from the pre-licensure clinical preparation described elsewhere in Rasmussen's nursing offerings.
- Online coursework
- As few as 12 months full time
- Eight annual start dates
- Project-based learning
- Practicum typically 25 to 35 hours
Additional program sources: rasmussen.edu source 1 for Rasmussen University-North Dakota (opens in a new tab)
- 7th in North Dakota
University of Jamestown
Jamestown, ND · Private nonprofit Online, asynchronous $24,000 annual in-state tuition 49% institutional graduation rate 17 degrees a year 50.3 scoreJamestown evaluates each RN’s experience portfolio before deciding which nursing courses remain.Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN and CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Jamestown's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Jamestown uses asynchronous online courses in both eight- and sixteen-week formats throughout the year. A transcript evaluation and study plan come before enrollment. That advance planning is useful because the shorter and longer course formats can create different workloads, even when the classes all take place online.
Clinical and preceptorship experiences put the coursework into practice. Prior experience may satisfy some requirements after individual portfolio review, so distinguish an approved credit decision from an expectation that work experience will automatically count. RN-to-BSN students can also complete a psychology certificate for healthcare professionals. Ask how that additional study fits the nursing plan if it connects with your professional interests.
- Asynchronous online classes
- Eight- and sixteen-week courses
- Pre-enrollment transcript evaluation
- Experience-portfolio credit review
- Clinical and preceptorship experiences
Every confirmed completion track in the state carries a full federal record, so all 7 are scored above and no second list follows. On the graduation column: IPEDS builds that rate out of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates, a cohort a licensed nurse entering a bridge is not part of. It describes each institution's traditional undergraduate body — which is why it carries 45% of the score rather than settling the order, and why 29% at Rasmussen University-North Dakota is not a claim about how many of its RN-to-BSN students finish.
$2,792 Across the Publics, $11,641 Across the Privates
Those two spans are the whole cost picture in North Dakota. Choosing among the 4 public programs is a $2,792-a-year decision, small enough that transfer credit or an extra start date can outweigh it outright. Choosing between the sectors is a different order of money: $3,050 separates North Dakota State University-Main Campus from the cheapest private option, and $17,483 separates University of Jamestown from Mayville State University at the far end of the page.
That $2,792 band is a resident's band. Priced as a non-resident the same 4 run $7,168 to $13,963, a spread of $6,795 — wider mostly because Minot State University publishes a single rate for everyone while the others carry two. Availability is a separate question from price and this data does not answer it: 5 of the 7 state that the track is fully online, and authorisation to enroll students is settled state by state, school by school.
One limit on every figure above: IPEDS publishes annual published tuition for the institution, not a price for the completion sequence. An RN-to-BSN is usually around 30 upper-level credits, so your real total turns on how many of your ADN credits and completed general education a school accepts, and how many terms you take. Ask each of the 7 for a total-to-degree number in writing — the per-credit figure is the one that hides it.
North Dakota RN Pay Is a $37,960 Band, Against $68,530 Nationally
BLS counts 11,340 registered nurses in North Dakota, with the 10th percentile at $65,520, the median at $80,730 — $38.81 an hour — and the 90th at $103,480. That is $37,960 from one end of the state's workforce to the other, where the national figures span $68,530. North Dakota RN pay is compressed into roughly 55% of the national spread.
Where that compression falls is the useful part, because it is not symmetrical. The floor here is $3,420 under the national 10th percentile, close enough to be nearly the same number. The ceiling is $33,990 under the national 90th. So what a nurse gives up by working in North Dakota is concentrated at the top of the scale rather than the bottom — the state median trails the national one by $16,820 and ranks 43rd of 51, but an early-career figure here is not far off the national early-career figure. It is the upside that is shorter, which is a reason to look hard at the $24,000 end of the tuition ladder and much less hard at the $6,517 end.
The rule that constrains every wage figure on this site: BLS counts registered nurses as one occupation — ADN, BSN and MSN together — and publishes no split by degree. No federal source says what a North Dakota BSN earns against a North Dakota ADN, and any site quoting that comparison has built it itself. What the credential is associated with is which roles you can apply for: charge and management tracks, case management, public health, and entry to an MSN, rather than a raise in the post you already hold.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release.