Ursuline College PMHNP Program (Psych NP)

Program Tracks Overview

Program	Est. Tuition	Est. Duration	Credit Hours
MSN	$56,742	2–2.5 yrs	42
BSN-DNP	$73,050	3–4 yrs	75
Certificate	$15,584	1–1.5 yrs	16

Ursuline’s defining advantage is its 16-credit post-graduate certificate, the leanest PMHNP add-on credential in Ohio for already-certified nurse practitioners, offered by an NLN Center of Excellence nursing school. Two things to verify before applying: courses mix face-to-face and online formats depending on the offering, and Ursuline merges into Gannon University in December 2026.

Quick Facts

Feature	Details
Program Types	MSN, BSN-to-DNP, Post-Graduate Certificate
Format	Mix of face-to-face and online courses; varies by course — verify with the school
Clinical Hours	500 minimum (all tracks); DNP adds residency hours
Clinical Placement	Not clearly stated
Population	Lifespan: dedicated adult and child/adolescent diagnostics courses
Distinctive Coursework	Neurobiology & Psychopharmacology; separate adult and pediatric psychiatric management courses
RN License Requirements	Unencumbered Ohio RN license (MSN); 1 year RN experience within past 2 years
Certificate Entry Gate	Requires existing AG-CNS, AGPCNP, AGACNP, or FNP board certification
Institutional Transition	Merging into Gannon University by Dec 2026; programs and tuition policies continue
Tuition (2026–27)	$1,351/credit MSN; $974/credit DNP and certificate; $275/semester fees
Accreditation	CCNE (master’s and post-grad APRN certificate); institutional HLC, moving to MSCHE post-merger

MSN PMHNP Track

The estimated tuition for the MSN PMHNP track at Ursuline College is approximately $56,742 (42 credits at $1,351/credit, 2026–27 rate). The program can generally be completed in about 2–2.5 years of full-time study, with fall and spring start options.

MSN Curriculum

The 42-credit plan is weighted toward a broad APRN core: roughly two-thirds of the credits cover evidence-based practice, informatics, pathophysiology, assessment, pharmacology, policy, finance, ethics, and role development. The psychiatric specialty itself is concentrated into four courses (NR 670–673) — the same 16 credits that make up the standalone certificate.

That design gives you strong generalist APRN grounding, but nurses wanting deeper elective psych content (trauma, addictions, telepsychiatry) won’t find dedicated courses for it here.

Foundation Courses

NR 532/533 – Introduction to and Application of Evidence-Based Practice
NR 540 – Advanced Physiology & Pathology
NR 541 – Advanced Health Assessment
NR 542 – Advanced Pharmacology

PMHNP Specialty Sequence

NR 670 – Neurobiology & Psychopharmacology
NR 671 – Systems Interventions for Individuals & Groups (includes 150 clinical hours)
NR 672 – Psychiatric Diagnostics & Management: Adults (175 clinical hours)
NR 673 – Psychiatric Diagnostics & Management: Children (175 clinical hours)

Splitting diagnostics into separate adult and pediatric courses, each with its own practicum, is a genuine strength — many programs fold child/adolescent content into a single lifespan course. More curriculum details are available here.

MSN Clinical Requirements

500 minimum clinical hours (175 adult + 175 pediatric + 150 systems interventions = 500)
Three practicum experiences tied directly to the specialty courses
Culminating capstone project
Placement model (school-arranged vs. student-arranged) not clearly stated

500 hours is the low end for Ohio — tied with Mount Carmel and well under Kent State (675), Ohio University (750), and Toledo (780). It meets certification eligibility, but nurses who want more supervised practice before independent prescribing should weigh that gap. Ask admissions directly who secures preceptors; the school doesn’t state it, and in competitive markets like Cleveland that answer changes your workload significantly.

MSN Admissions

The requirement worth noting is recency of practice: one year of RN experience within the past two years, which excludes nurses returning after a long break.

BSN from an accredited institution; minimum 3.0 GPA recommended
Current unencumbered Ohio RN license
Minimum one year RN experience within the past two years
Application essay (500–1,000 words)
Three professional recommendations (instructor, APRN, or supervisor preferred)
$25 application fee

BSN to DNP PMHNP Track

The estimated tuition for the BSN to DNP PMHNP track at Ursuline College is approximately $73,050 (75 credits at the $974/credit DNP rate; see the billing caveat below). The program can generally be completed in about 3–4 years of full-time study.

BSN-DNP Curriculum

The 75-credit plan wraps the full MSN PMHNP coursework inside doctoral competencies: biostatistics, epidemiology, organizational leadership, scientific writing, and evidence-based project methodology. Students build a DNP capstone through four progressive residency experiences focused on implementation and dissemination.

Because DNP-program credits bill at $974 versus the MSN’s $1,351, the doctorate adds 33 credits for roughly $16,300 more than the MSN alone — an unusually small premium for a terminal degree, if the DNP rate indeed applies to all 75 credits.

BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements

Same 500 minimum psychiatric practicum hours as the MSN track
Four additional doctoral residency experiences tied to the capstone project
Total DNP practice hours not clearly stated

Most Ohio BSN-DNP programs publish totals near or above 1,000 hours (Ohio University 1,000; Cleveland State 1,088; Toledo up to 1,170); accreditation standards generally expect 1,000 post-BSN practice hours. Ursuline itemizes only the 500 psychiatric hours plus unspecified residencies, so ask the program for the full hour count in writing.

BSN-DNP Admissions

Applicants must satisfy both MSN and DNP program requirements; the prerequisites and experience rules mirror the MSN track above.

BSN from an accredited program
Same license, experience, essay, and recommendation requirements as the MSN track

Post-Graduate Certificate PMHNP Track

The estimated tuition for the Post-Graduate Certificate PMHNP track at Ursuline College is approximately $15,584 (16 credits at $974/credit, 2026–27 rate). The program can generally be completed in about 12–18 months depending on full-time or part-time pacing.

Certificate Curriculum

At 16 credits, this is the smallest PMHNP certificate in Ohio — Toledo’s runs 21 credits, Mount Carmel’s 22–25, and Kent State’s 34. Ursuline achieves that by admitting only nurses whose prior NP or CNS certification already covers the APRN core, so you go straight to the four specialty courses:

Neurobiology and psychopharmacology
Systems interventions for individuals and groups
Adult psychiatric diagnostics and management
Pediatric psychiatric diagnostics and management

Certificate Clinical Requirements

500 minimum clinical hours — identical to the MSN (150 systems + 175 adult + 175 pediatric)
Distributed across the three clinical specialty courses

Note that the credit load shrinks but the clinical load doesn’t: certified NPs repeat the full 500 hours of psychiatric practicum. That’s appropriate for a specialty change, but plan your work schedule around it — the light 16-credit label understates the time commitment.

Certificate Admissions

Entry is limited to specific existing certifications, which is stricter than certificate programs that accept any master’s-prepared RN.

National board certification as an Adult-Gerontology CNS, AGPCNP, AGACNP, or FNP
MSN from an accredited program
Current unencumbered RN license
Same essay, recommendation, and fee requirements as the MSN track

Tuition

Total estimated tuition ranges from $15,584 (certificate) to $73,050 (BSN-DNP). For 2026–27, Ursuline charges $1,351 per credit for MSN programs and $974 per credit for DNP and MSN certificate programs, so: MSN 42 × $1,351 = $56,742; BSN-DNP 75 × $974 = $73,050; certificate 16 × $974 = $15,584.

Technology fee: $225 per semester
Facilities fee: $50 per semester
One-time matriculation fee: $100 (new students)
Course-specific fees vary; check the registrar’s class schedules
Rates rose from $1,312/$946 last cycle to $1,351/$974 — expect further annual increases over a multi-year program
BSN-DNP billing assumption: the $73,050 estimate applies the DNP rate to all 75 credits. If MSN-level courses bill at the MSN rate, the total would be materially higher — confirm with the bursar before enrolling

Fees add roughly $275 per semester — about $1,750 over a six-semester MSN — so budget the all-in MSN cost near $58,500 at current rates. The unusual detail here is that MSN students pay a higher per-credit rate than doctoral students, which quietly makes the BSN-DNP the better per-credit value. Review the graduate tuition page for current rates.

Why Choose This PMHNP Program?

Ursuline fits best for certified NPs adding psych credentials quickly, and for nurses who value a small Catholic college with a nationally recognized nursing school over the lowest sticker price.

The certificate is the clearest case. If you already hold FNP or adult-gerontology certification, 16 credits at $15,584 is the shortest academic path to PMHNP eligibility in Ohio. Ohio University undercuts it on price ($12,860) and delivers 750 clinical hours to Ursuline’s 500, but requires more coursework; Ursuline wins on credit count and total time in class. The Breen School’s NLN Center of Excellence designation and U.S. News ranking (#34 nationally, #3 in Ohio) add credential weight few small colleges can match.

The MSN is a harder sell on cost alone: at $56,742 it’s Ohio’s second-most-expensive PMHNP master’s, roughly 2.7 times Kent State’s in-state price, with the state’s lowest clinical hour requirement. What you’re buying is the pediatric-specific diagnostics course, small-college faculty access, and the option to mix face-to-face and online coursework — genuinely valuable if you’re in the Cleveland area and learn better with in-person contact, but hard to justify for a fully remote student. Factor in the Gannon University merger closing December 2026: the school states programs and tuition policies continue, and your degree will carry forward, but mid-program institutional transitions are worth asking pointed questions about during admissions.

Accreditation

Ursuline College’s master’s degree program in nursing and post-graduate APRN certificate program are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and graduates of all tracks meet educational requirements for national PMHNP certification (the university does not specify ANCC vs. AANPCB eligibility — confirm with the program). The university’s published CCNE scope names the master’s and post-graduate certificate programs; ask the school to confirm the DNP program’s CCNE status in writing. Institutionally, Ursuline is currently accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and, upon completing its merger into Gannon University (expected December 2026), will come under Gannon’s Middle States (MSCHE) accreditation as the Ursuline College Campus of Gannon University. The school states current programs, tuition, and aid policies continue through the transition, but students enrolling now should get written confirmation of how the transition affects their track and diploma.

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