North Dakota · high school · 2026-2027 school year
North Dakota homeschool graduation requirements, diploma, and transcript
North Dakota's 22-unit public-school curriculum does not bind home educators. Under NDCC 15.1-23-17 a home-education student's diploma comes from the parent, or from a district or nonpublic school on that school's own terms.
The short version
- Who sets the requirement: North Dakota's 22-unit public-school curriculum does not bind home educators. Under NDCC 15.1-23-17 a home-education student's diploma comes from the parent, or from a district or nonpublic school on that school's own terms.
- The reference standard: the public-school minimum is 22 credits, and that table is the common starting point a transcript is read against; colleges set their own expectations on top of it, below.
- What colleges actually look for: the universities in the table below publish their own course expectations.
- What a transcript must show: courses by year, credits, and grades, kept by the parent, with the same subject headings the reference table uses.
- Across states: compare what 51 flagship universities ask.
The public-school credit table, for reference
North Dakota's public-school diploma requires 22 credits. A homeschool is not held to it. It is shown as the reference a transcript is commonly read against. A recruited athlete also registers with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which grades home-school core courses against its own worksheet, separate from this table.
| Subject | Credits | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | a sequence including literature, composition, and speech. |
| Math | 3 | May include one approved computer science unit. |
| Science | 3 | Biology, Chemistry, and Physics; or Biology, Physical Science, and one other science. Two lab-science combinations satisfy the requirement. |
| Social studies | 3 | 1 unit US history; government/economics or problems of democracy; 1 unit of another social studies course (may be two half units). |
| Foreign language | 0 | Not separately required; part of a flexible 3-unit bucket (see other). |
| PE and health | 1 | 1 unit PE, or 0.5 PE plus 0.5 health. |
| Arts | 0 | Not separately required; part of the same flexible 3-unit bucket (see other). |
| Electives | 5 | Any five additional units. |
| Other | 3 | foreign language; Native American language; fine arts; career and technical education. Student picks any combination of these four totaling 3 units. |
Assessments in the public-school rules: Civics test: 70% correct on a 100-question test is required before a public/nonpublic diploma is awarded (NDCC 15.1-21-27); it binds home-educated students only under one specific institutional diploma route.
What North Dakota colleges ask a homeschooled applicant for
North Dakota law lets a school district, approved nonpublic high school, or the Center for Distance Education issue a diploma, but DPI's own guidance says the parent is typically the one who issues it; no statute forbids a parent-issued diploma. A family that wants an institutional diploma can qualify by meeting the issuing entity's own requirements or by completing the 22-unit minimum curriculum shown above, submitting a course description and a grades 9-12 transcript either way. The civics test attaches only to the first of those two institutional routes, not to the 22-unit route or to a parent-issued diploma. Completing the civics test is also one of the eligibility criteria for the North Dakota Scholarship; the civics test is an eligibility item for that scholarship on any diploma route.
Years of each subject. 0 means the university lists no requirement in that subject; a dash means it publishes no figure for it.
University of North Dakota
| Subject | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | 4 |
| Math | 3 | 3 |
| Science | 3 | 3 |
| Social studies | 3 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 0 | 0 |
| Arts | – | – |
1 additional unit from English, math, science, social studies, or world language.
UND is test-optional and recommends a 2.75+ GPA. 14 core units total, one flexible. University of North Dakota requirements (source), checked 2026-09-01.
flagship North Dakota State University
| Subject | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | 4 |
| Math | 3 | 3 |
| Science | 3 | 3 |
| Social studies | 3 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 0 | 0 |
| Arts | – | – |
1 additional unit from a core subject or world language.
NDSU is test-optional and recommends a 2.75+ cumulative GPA. 14 core units total, one flexible. North Dakota State University requirements (source), checked 2026-09-01.
Questions families ask
Does North Dakota require a homeschool diploma?
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How many credits does a North Dakota homeschool diploma need?
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Who signs a homeschool transcript in North Dakota?
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What does University of North Dakota expect from a homeschooled applicant?
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How Trellis checks your transcript against this table
In Trellis, the courses you plan and the work your children check off become the transcript as you go. The graduation card reads that transcript against the table above and says, subject by subject, what is earned and what is still open, and it notices a course filed under the wrong heading before a college does. Nothing is retyped at the end of senior year.
Start your family's transcript North Dakota's homeschool law, step by step