Northern Arizona University offers 2 Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner tracks:
- MSN
- Post-Graduate PMHNP Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | $58.3K–$65.7K | 2–2.5 yrs | 51 |
| Certificate | $24.7K–$39.4K | 1–1.5 yrs | 23 or 36 |
NAU’s defining advantage is entry. It is the only Arizona PMHNP certificate that admits master’s-prepared nurses who are not already nurse practitioners, and it scales the practicum to what you bring in. Totals above include NAU’s per-semester program fee, which is billed separately from tuition and adds $21,600 or more to the MSN.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN (PMHNP emphasis); post-graduate graduate certificate |
| Format | Online. NAU lists campus availability as Online and names no campus visits |
| Clinical Hours | Not published by NAU. Practicum measured in credits instead |
| Practicum Credits | NUR 680: 13 units (MSN and 36-unit certificate); 9 units (23-unit certificate) |
| Clinical Placement | Not published by NAU |
| Population | Psychiatric mental health across the lifespan |
| Distinctive Coursework | Rural Theory and Health Policy; rural-community capstone (MSN only) |
| Concentrations | None. Single PMHNP emphasis |
| RN License Requirements | Arizona RN license, Arizona eligibility, or Arizona Board multistate compliance |
| Tuition | $698 per credit, same rate for residents and non-residents |
| Program Fee | $3,600/semester (MSN) or $2,700/semester (certificate), all three terms |
| Enrollment Restriction | Certificate students may not also enroll in the MS PMHNP emphasis |
| Accreditation | CCNE (nursing); Higher Learning Commission (institutional) |
Master of Science in Nursing — PMHNP Emphasis
The estimated tuition for the MS in Nursing — Advanced Practice, PMHNP Emphasis at Northern Arizona University is approximately $58,300 to $65,700, including program fees. The program can generally be completed in about 2 to 2.5 years.
MSN Curriculum
The PMHNP emphasis is a fixed 51 units: 23 units of core plus 28 units of psychiatric specialty work. NAU’s catalog publishes a 48–51 unit range for this degree, which spans two emphases — 48 belongs to the FNP track, 51 to PMHNP. Listings quoting the low end understate the PMHNP requirement by three units and about $2,100 in tuition.
Foundation Courses (23 units). The core is shared with the FNP emphasis except for one substitution: FNP students take Family Nursing Theory, PMHNP students take Advanced Neuropathophysiology and Psychopharmacology instead. Two core courses carry the rural thread that defines this program.
- NUR 510 — Theoretical Foundations
- NUR 520 — Applied Pathophysiology for APNs
- NUR 530 — Advanced Principles of Evidence-Based Practice
- NUR 540 — Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nurses
- NUR 560 — Rural Theory and Health Policy
- NUR 650 — Advanced Nursing Assessment (2 hrs lecture, 3 hrs lab weekly)
- NUR 675 — Advanced Roles Transition
- NUR 653 — Advanced Neuropathophysiology and Psychopharmacology (3 units)
PMHNP Specialty Sequence (28 units). The specialty block splits into 11 units of diagnostic and treatment coursework, a 13-unit practicum, and a 4-unit capstone.
- NUR 654 — Mental Health Assessment Across the Lifespan
- NUR 655 — Advanced Mental Health Therapies: Individual and Group
- NUR 656 — Mental Health Diagnosis and Management of Adults
- NUR 657 — Mental Health Diagnosis and Management of Children and Adolescents
- NUR 658 — Mental Health Diagnosis and Management of Geriatric Clients
- NUR 680 — Assessment and Management in PMH Setting: Clinical Practicum (13 units)
- NUR 689 — Professional Project (4 units, pass/fail)
What’s distinctive. The population sequence is genuinely lifespan-segmented — separate required courses for adults, children and adolescents, and geriatric clients, rather than one blended course. That structure maps directly onto the ANCC exam, which tests across the lifespan. The rural emphasis is structural rather than promotional: NUR 560 is a required core course, NUR 675 frames role transition inside rural health systems, and NUR 689 requires a capstone addressing an identified health need in a rural community. Both certificate plans skip all three. If rural practice is the reason you are looking at NAU, the MSN is the track that delivers it.
More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- NAU does not publish a total clinical hour figure. Practicum is measured in credits.
- NUR 680 carries 13 units, listed in the catalog as variable (1–13 units), so the practicum spreads across multiple terms.
- NUR 680 requires in-person engagement in direct patient care environments.
- NUR 654 is a prerequisite for NUR 680, so diagnostic coursework precedes the practicum.
- NUR 650 includes three hours of lab weekly.
- NAU does not publish its placement model, faculty site visit policy, or preceptor qualifications.
The absent hour total is the practical gap here. Every other Arizona PMHNP program states one — Arizona State at 1,125, Grand Canyon at 750, the University of Arizona at 720 — so NAU cannot be ranked on clinical volume from published information. Thirteen practicum units is a substantial block by any measure, and at $698 per credit it represents about $9,100 of the degree, but units are not hours, and conversion ratios vary widely between schools. Ask admissions for the figure in writing, and ask specifically whether it clears the 500-hour minimum certification bodies expect. Placement is the second question: if NAU does not arrange sites, a nurse in a rural county is sourcing preceptors from a thin local supply.
MSN Admissions
Two prerequisite courses gate this program in a way most PMHNP applicants do not expect, and both must be finished before you apply.
- BSN from an accredited program, or an accredited ADN plus a bachelor’s degree in another field
- Minimum 3.0 GPA in all nursing coursework
- Undergraduate nursing research course (didactic), grade of B or better
- Undergraduate public health nursing course (didactic and clinical), grade of B or better
- Statistics: undergraduate course with C or better, or graduate course with B or better — the graduate option must be finished before NUR 530
- Arizona RN license in good standing, Arizona eligibility, or Arizona Board multistate compliance
- IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card
- Clinical health requirements
- Essay responses; resume or CV (required for Fall 2026 entry and later)
The public health nursing requirement, which needs both didactic and clinical components, is the one that trips up applicants from ADN-plus-bachelor’s backgrounds. Confirm your transcript satisfies it before paying an application fee.
Post-Graduate PMHNP Certificate
The estimated tuition for the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Graduate Certificate at Northern Arizona University is approximately $24,700 for the 23-unit plan and $39,400 for the 36-unit plan, including program fees. The program can generally be completed in about 1 to 1.5 years.
Certificate Curriculum
This certificate runs two separate plans, and which one you take is set by your existing credential rather than a case-by-case gap analysis.
Plan A — 23 units, for MSN nurse practitioners. Six specialty courses (14 units) plus a 9-unit practicum. No pathophysiology, no pharmacology, no advanced assessment — NAU treats those as completed in your first NP program.
- NUR 653 — Advanced Neuropathophysiology and Psychopharmacology
- NUR 654 through NUR 658 — the full lifespan diagnosis and management sequence
- NUR 680 — Clinical Practicum (9 units, requires in-person engagement)
Plan B — 36 units, for non-NP master’s-prepared nurses. Adds the three foundation courses and the full 13-unit practicum.
- NUR 520 — Applied Pathophysiology for APNs
- NUR 540 — Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nurses
- NUR 650 — Advanced Nursing Assessment
- NUR 653 through NUR 658 — neuropharmacology plus the lifespan sequence
- NUR 680 — Clinical Practicum (13 units)
What’s distinctive. The 13-unit gap between the two plans is the whole story, and at $698 per credit it is worth about $9,100 in tuition alone. Plan B is effectively the MSN specialty block with theory, policy, research, and the rural capstone stripped out — a nurse educator, administrator, or CNS can convert to PMHNP without first earning a second master’s. Plan A cuts four practicum units for nurses who already hold an NP credential, which is unusual; most post-graduate certificates hold practicum constant regardless of background. Neither plan includes the rural coursework that anchors the MSN.
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- NAU does not publish a total clinical hour figure for either plan.
- Plan A practicum: NUR 680 at 9 units — roughly 31% less practicum credit than the MSN, a difference of about $2,800 in tuition.
- Plan B practicum: NUR 680 at 13 units, identical to the MSN.
- NUR 680 requires in-person engagement in direct patient care settings.
- NAU does not publish placement support or preceptor requirements.
Some third-party descriptions state that certificate students complete the same clinical requirements as MSN students. That holds for Plan B and not for Plan A. If you are an NP-credentialed applicant, the reduced practicum is a real time and cost saving, but it raises a question worth asking directly: how many supervised psychiatric hours does NUR 680 at 9 units produce, and does NAU count prior APRN clinical hours toward certification eligibility? Certification bodies expect a documented minimum in the psychiatric-mental health population focus specifically, and hours logged in family or acute care practice do not transfer automatically.
Certificate Admissions
Certificate admissions are markedly lighter than the MSN’s — no nursing GPA floor, no prerequisite coursework, and no fingerprint clearance card listed in the catalog.
- Completed master’s degree; nursing or a healthcare-related field preferred
- Active nursing or healthcare professional license, if applicable
- Arizona RN license in good standing, Arizona eligibility, or Arizona Board multistate compliance
Certificate students may not concurrently enroll in the MS PMHNP emphasis. Federal financial aid is available for this certificate whether pursued stand-alone or alongside a degree, which is not true of every NAU graduate certificate.
Tuition
All figures below are estimates derived from NAU’s published rates. They are not a quote from the university.
- MSN (51 units, 2–2.5 years): approximately $58,300 to $65,700
- Certificate Plan A (23 units, ~1 year): approximately $24,700
- Certificate Plan B (36 units, ~1.5 years): approximately $39,400
Two things separate the real bill from the tuition line. NAU Online charges the same per-credit rate to every student regardless of residency, so credits drive the tuition portion cleanly. But the program fee is charged per semester regardless of course load, which means the calendar drives a second, larger cost that credit count never reveals. A lighter schedule does not reduce that fee — it multiplies it across more terms.
Rate structure and derivation:
- NAU Online graduate nursing tuition: $698 per credit, charged at the same rate for residents and non-residents. NAU’s rate calculator returns $6,282 in tuition for a 9-credit semester in the Nursing – Advanced Practice plan at the Online location.
- Mandatory fees: $268 per semester, billed fall and spring — $536 per year.
- Program fee, Nursing – Advanced Practice MS (Online): $3,600 per semester, charged fall, spring, and summer for the duration of the program. This fee is plan-specific — NAU’s other nursing master’s carries $1,370, so confirm you are looking at the Advanced Practice figure.
- Program fee, PMHNP Graduate Certificate: $2,700 per semester, Fall/Spring/Summer, for the duration of the program.
- MSN tuition: 51 units × $698 = $35,598.
- MSN at 2 years: $35,598 + $21,600 program fees (6 terms) + $1,072 mandatory fees = $58,270.
- MSN at 2.5 years: $35,598 + $28,800 program fees (8 terms) + $1,340 mandatory fees = $65,738.
- Certificate Plan A: 23 × $698 = $16,054, + $8,100 program fees (3 terms) + $536 mandatory fees = $24,690.
- Certificate Plan B: 36 × $698 = $25,128, + $13,500 program fees (5 terms) + $804 mandatory fees = $39,432.
These figures come from NAU’s own semester rate calculator, run for the Nursing – Advanced Practice plan at the Online location for Fall 2026. The calculator returns the same tuition for every graduate nursing plan at that location, which means the per-credit rate is set by degree level and location rather than by program; only the program fee changes between plans. Rates are approved annually, so run your own numbers through NAU’s tool before budgeting.
You Should Know
- The program fee is time-based, not credit-based. At $3,600 per semester across all three terms, the MSN accrues $10,800 in program fees per calendar year regardless of how light your course load is.
- Rates are set annually by the Arizona Board of Regents. Program fees update each July 1 and NAU publishes no cohort tuition lock, so a 2.5-year program will span two or three rate increases.
- Costs beyond the estimate. Clinical travel, background checks, immunizations, and licensure application fees are not included above.
- Federal aid covers the certificate. NAU states federal financial aid can be used for the PMHNP certificate whether stand-alone or concurrent with a degree — a real advantage over certificates that lock students out of Title IV funding.
See NAU’s graduate tuition page and graduate program fees by college for current figures.
The practical takeaway: at NAU, the calendar is the cost lever, not the course load. Tuition is fixed at 51 credits no matter how you schedule them, but finishing the MSN in two years instead of two and a half removes two semesters of program fees — about $7,500. Ask for a realistic full-time sequence before enrolling and build your calendar backward from it.
Why Choose This PMHNP Program?
Best suited for nurses who already hold a master’s degree — NP or not — and want a psychiatric credential without starting a second degree from scratch, and for nurses committed to rural or tribal practice in the Southwest.
The only Arizona certificate that doesn’t require you to already be a nurse practitioner. Arizona State requires board certification in another APRN specialty. The University of Arizona requires an APRN master’s or doctorate. NAU takes any master’s-prepared nurse and routes them into a 36-unit plan that adds pathophysiology, pharmacology, and advanced assessment before the practicum. For a nurse educator, informaticist, or administrator moving into psychiatric practice, this is the only door in the state that opens.
A practicum sized to what you actually bring. NAU runs the same certificate at 9 practicum units for existing NPs and 13 for everyone else — a 31% reduction most post-graduate certificates do not offer. The 23-unit plan drops the three Ps entirely on the reasonable assumption that a certified NP has already completed them, saving about $9,100 in tuition against the 36-unit plan. Compare that with programs requiring you to retake advanced assessment regardless of credential.
No campus visits in NAU’s own description of the program. The catalog lists campus availability as Online and names no orientation, immersion, or intensive. Every other Arizona program requires travel: Arizona State asks for Downtown Phoenix immersions two to three times per semester, Grand Canyon requires two immersions, the University of Phoenix requires a five-day residency, and the University of Arizona requires intensives. For a nurse in Yuma, Kingman, or Window Rock, that difference is measured in days off work.
Rural practice is required core, not an elective badge. Rural Theory and Health Policy is a required core course. Advanced Roles Transition frames leadership inside rural health systems. The capstone must address an identified health need in a rural community. Plenty of programs mention underserved populations in marketing copy; NAU makes you take three courses about it and produce a project. Note the trade-off: both certificate plans skip all three, so the rural identity belongs to the MSN track specifically.
No non-resident premium, and a doctoral progression on the same terms. NAU Online charges one rate to everyone. An out-of-state nurse pays exactly what an Arizona resident pays, against $33,800 per year for non-resident statewide graduate enrollment — and against University of Arizona non-resident doctoral pricing that exceeds $105,000. Graduates who later certify can continue into NAU’s post-master’s DNP, which requires existing national NP certification and is also delivered online. On the calendar side, compressing the MSN from 2.5 years to 2 removes about $7,500 in program fees; ask the graduate nursing office for the fastest approved sequence before building your plan.
Where another program may fit you better. NAU publishes no clinical hour total for either track, which matters when Arizona State, Grand Canyon, and the University of Arizona all state theirs; comparing clinical volume before enrolling means extracting the number by email. NAU is also not Arizona’s cheapest program once the per-semester program fee is counted — the University of Phoenix and Arizona State both carry lower per-credit rates, and the MSN’s real all-in cost lands above Grand Canyon rather than at half its price. There is no PMHNP doctorate here and no concentration options, so nurses wanting a DNP-level psychiatric credential or a subspecialty focus should look to Arizona State or the University of Arizona. But if you already hold a master’s degree that is not an NP degree, NAU is the only Arizona program that will take you — and if you intend to practice in a rural county, it is the only one that trains you for it by requirement rather than by chance.
Accreditation
Northern Arizona University’s nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). NAU states the accreditation covers the baccalaureate degree program in nursing, the master’s degree program in nursing, the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and the post-graduate APRN certificate programs — meaning both the MSN PMHNP emphasis and the PMHNP graduate certificate fall inside the scope. The university is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. NAU states that graduates of both tracks qualify to seek national certification as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner across the lifespan, as well as Arizona state certification and Arizona prescribing and dispensing privileges. The national credential is the ANCC PMHNP certification exam.
Explore More Psych NP Programs in Arizona
- Arizona State University - Phoenix
- Grand Canyon University - Phoenix
- University of Arizona - Tucson
- University of Phoenix - Phoenix