The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certificate program prepares registered nurses to promote mental health and provide nursing care to patients with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders, in mental institutions or other settings. Includes instruction in psychopathology, behavioral health, counseling and intervention strategies, psychoeducation, mental health assessment and dual diagnosis, stabilization and management of psychotic illness, psychiatric care and rehabilitation, substance abuse, and crisis intervention.

Post-MSN or post-doctorate nursing graduates can complete a certificate for Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) with a specialization focus as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.  This prepares the certificate holder to be eligible to sit for a national certification exam that will enable them to assume additional responsibilities in providing psychiatric mental health care for individuals across the lifespan.

Students who completed their MSN or doctorate degree in nursing program and successfully completed the following graduate-level courses will not be required to repeat them to complete the certificate program*.  Those courses are physiology and pathophysiology, advanced health assessment, and advanced pharmacology. A gap analysis will be performed by the School of Nursing using the official transcripts and MSN course syllabi of the applicant to determine if these courses transfer and can be given credit for these courses toward their certificate for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.

Admission Requirements:

• Master’s degree in nursing or a doctorate in nursing practice from an accredited nursing program
• Minimum 3.0 graduate GPA on a 4.000 scale
• Official transcript(s)*
• Active, unrestricted registered nurse license in the state in which practicum hours will be completed
• Résumé or vita
• Goal statement (no more than 250 words) describing reasons for seeking the certificate in the identified specialty and professional goals
• Transcript(s) of all previous graduate coursework
• Syllabi of all courses to be considered for transfer in the gap analysis
• Two letters of reference from healthcare professionals or faculty members

*Please note: Transcript(s) must indicate completion of graduate-level courses in advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, and advanced health assessment, with a minimum B grade earned in each course. Applicants who do not meet the grade requirement for advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, and advanced health assessment may be considered for conditional admission. For applicants who have not practiced as an advanced practice registered nurse within the two-year period preceding application to the certificate, completion of graduate-level courses in advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, and advanced health assessment must not be greater than five years old at the time of the student’s first semester of course registration in the certificate.