This full-time graduate certificate program combines the convenience of online learning with clinical practicum experience through a minimum of 500 clinical hours and two 2-day on-campus residencies. During both residencies, students participate in Observed Standardized Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Graduates are eligible to sit for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certification exam.
Post-Masters Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Graduate Certificate)
Post-Masters Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Graduate Certificate)
The University of New Hampshire's Post-Masters Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Certificate is for primary care nurse practitioners who are looking to gain the knowledge and skills to evaluate and treat mental health needs within a variety of patient care settings.
Credit Hours: 16 | Program Length: 12 months
Why get a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner certificate?
If you're a primary care nurse practitioner looking to become certified to evaluate and treat the mental health needs of patients, our post-master’s graduate certificate in psychiatric mental health is for you. You'll learn to care for the psychiatric and mental health needs of patients throughout the lifespan while ensuring patient safety through appropriate treatment plans. Gain the skills to explain the risks and benefits of treatments to patients and their families, and to advocate for complex patient and family medicolegal rights and issues. You'll also have the knowledge to consult with healthcare providers and others to enhance quality and cost-effective services.
Why choose UNH’s psychiatric mental health program?
This full-time, low-residency graduate certificate program combines the convenience of online learning with clinical practicum experience through a minimum of 500 clinical hours and two on-campus residencies. It’s possible to complete the program in as few as 12 months, and you’ll be able to start during the fall or spring. After earning your certificate, you’ll be qualified to sit for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination.
Potential careers
- Adolescent inpatient services nurse
- Correctional facility nurse
- Emergency psychiatric nurse
- Mental health agency nurse
- Outpatient clinic nurse
- Private practice
- School nurse
- Substance abuse shelter nurse
- Veterans Affairs nurse
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Licensing Requirements
Applicants who intend to pursue licensure after completing UNH's online Post-Masters Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate should become familiar with their state's licensure requirements. Students should contact their State Board of Nursing to confirm whether this program meets online program requirements for licensure in their state. Learn more
Department of Nursing Mission and Vision
We educate leaders in nursing, engaged in reflective practice, to provide innovative and exemplary healthcare in partnership with individuals, families, groups, and communities. We transform the delivery of healthcare through generation, dissemination, and application of evidence-based nursing knowledge.
We embrace a culture that embodies the University's and the College's vision, mission, and values of interdisciplinarity, scholarship, innovation, integrity, curiosity, openness, and sustainability.
Curriculum & Requirements
The purpose of this certificate program is to prepare the Nurse Practitioner to be a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner to increase access to mental health services in the region. With a background as an NP, graduates can apply their newly learned skills in their primary care setting offering psychiatric mental health care. Training in both primary care and mental health will afford graduates the ability to manage all aspects of patient care including assessing and managing psychiatric and mental health care needs to all ages in a variety of settings.
This Post-Master’s Psychiatric Mental Health Certificate Program is designed for the nurse practitioner with a master’s degree and one year of clinical practice experience who is looking to effectively care for patients with complex psychiatric and physical health needs. The aim of the program is to prepare nurse practitioners to add advanced psychiatric skills of therapy, prescribing psychiatric medications and clinical management needed to treat patients with mental illness and chronic medical co-morbidities.
Courses will embrace a lifespan perspective in psychiatric mental health diagnostic reasoning, psychopharmacology, individual psychotherapies and management of complex psychiatric illnesses giving the student an evidence-based framework for comprehensive psychiatric-mental health care.
Certificate Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| NURS 975 | Psychotherapeutic Frameworks and Modalities | 3 |
| NURS 976 | Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Practicum I | 3 |
| NURS 977 | Neurobiology of Mental Disorders | 2 |
| NURS 978 | Clinical Psychopharmacology | 2 |
| NURS 984 | Differential Diagnosis of Mental Disorders | 3 |
| NURS 985 | Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Practicum II | 3 |
| Total Credits | 16 | |
Deadlines
Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:
- Fall: May 1
- Spring: October 1
Application fee: $25
Campus: Online
New England Regional: No
Accelerated Masters Eligible: No
New Hampshire Residents
Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission or you will not be able to register for classes.
Transcripts
If you attended UNH after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester and UNH Non-Degree work.
If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must request one official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. International transcripts must be translated into English. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:
- Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
- Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Required
Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.
References should be substantial with one academic referee (e.g., faculty) and one current nursing professional referee with graduate education who has known you in a mentoring or supervisory capacity.
Personal Statement/Essay Questions
Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:
- Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives.
- Your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field.
Resume
A current resume is required with your submitted application.
Department Requirements
Out of State Students – Please read before continuing with your application:
The online PMHNP Certificate is designed to meet the eligibility requirements for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination.
Before submitting an application, each prospective student needs to determine whether this program meets the educational requirements for licensure or certification in his or her state. Requirements vary from state to state specific to clinical placements, faculty state licenses, prior program curriculum approval and other administrative policies.
To see if the online PMHNP meets the eligibility requirements for licensure in your state, visit: https://online.unh.edu/about-unh-online/distance-education-disclosures/professional-licensure
International Applicants
The University of New Hampshire recommends that international applicants who are living outside of the United States, and are planning on pursuing a research based degree, submit a preapplication form before submitting a full application. Your preapplication request will be carefully reviewed and a decision usually provided within 3 weeks. If your preapplication is approved then it is recommended you then submit a full application. If you are currently living in the United States (on a H1B visa, etc.), or you plan on pursuing a professional master’s degree, then you do not need to submit a preapplication.
Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.
Questions
For program-specific application questions, please contact the UNH Online Student Success Coaches: unh.online@unh.edu or 855.250.6699
Student Stories
Explore Program Details
Tuition & Fees
Tuition for 2020-21 Academic Year*:
- $785 per credit for New Hampshire (NH) residents
- $865 per credit for non-NH residents
Program Total Number of Credits: 16 credit hours
*eTerm 5 2020 through eTerm 4 2021
Technology Fee per Semester:
- 1-4 credits: $26.00
- 5-8 credits: $52.00
- 9-16 credits: $104.00
Course Fees*:
- $574 NURS 976: OSCEs during 1st Residency & Drug/Alcohol Inital and Random Testing
- $275 NURS 985: OSCEs during 2nd Residency
*Subject to change
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Margaret Shepard
CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
The purpose of this handbook is to bring together important information, and to tell you about other sources of information that are either essential or helpful. It is intended to complement, not replace, the rules and regulations as set forth in the University of New Hampshire Graduate Catalog.
Our program has five 8-week e-terms per academic calendar year. Students who successfully complete two courses per e-term, as outlined below, earn their certificate in 12 months.