Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | $63,112 | 24–32 mos | 49 |
| Certificate | $34,776 | 16–20 mos | 27 |
Simmons’s defining advantage is its high-touch online model: live online class sessions, a clinical placement team that finds and vets sites near your home, and three start dates per year with rolling admission. The trade-off is price — at $1,288 per credit, it carries the highest per-credit rate of any Massachusetts PMHNP program.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN; Post-Graduate Certificate |
| Format | Mostly Online — live online classes plus one 2–4 day campus immersion |
| Clinical Hours | 756 minimum for both tracks |
| Clinical Placement | Placement team helps find and vet clinical sites close to home |
| Population | Lifespan, with added substance misuse and addictions focus |
| Distinctive Coursework | SMI & Addictions Medicine; pediatric and pregnant-patient diagnosis course |
| Start Dates | January, May, September; rolling admission |
| Enrollment Restrictions | U.S. citizens/permanent residents only; state approval pending in some states |
| RN License Requirements | Current unencumbered, unrestricted U.S. RN license |
| Tuition | $1,288/credit (2026–27), plus $185 student fee per term |
| Accreditation | CCNE (MSN through 2029; certificate through 2035); NECHE institutional |
MSN – PMHNP
The estimated tuition for the MSN – PMHNP at Simmons University is approximately $63,112 (49 credits at $1,288/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 24 months full time (6 terms) or 32 months part time (8 terms).
Simmons’s course descriptions page states part-time students finish in seven terms, but the published part-time schedule runs eight terms — the eight-term sequence appears current; confirm your plan of study with an admission counselor.
MSN Curriculum
The 49-credit curriculum front-loads APRN core science (pathophysiology, pharmacology, health assessment) before a compact psychiatric specialty sequence, so clinical placement doesn’t begin until roughly the halfway point.
Two design choices stand out.
First, the diagnosis courses split by population rather than by disorder: one course covers pediatric and pregnant patients, a separate course covers adults and geriatrics — unusual granularity for a lifespan program, and useful if you plan to see children or perinatal patients.
Second, a dedicated Serious Mental Illness & Addictions Medicine course goes beyond the passing coverage most programs give substance use disorders, including co-morbid substance use and medical conditions.
Specialty Sequence and Clinical Integration
After the didactic sequence, students complete a 1-credit immersion and qualification course tied to a 2–4 day on-campus visit, then three Clinical Decision Making courses that carry the practicum. Coursework combines live online class sessions with self-paced work — a structured cadence, not a log-in-when-you-want format.
- NURP 426: Clinical Psychopharmacology Across the Lifespan (3 credits)
- NURP 540: Neurobiology & Differential Diagnosis of Mental Disorders (2 credits)
- NURP 541: PMHNP I – Psychotherapy Across the Lifespan (2 credits)
- NURP 542: PMHNP II – Diagnosis & Management (pediatric and pregnant populations) (2 credits)
- NURP 543: PMHNP III – Diagnosis & Management (adult and geriatric populations) (3 credits)
- NURP 544: PMHNP IV – Serious Mental Illness & Addictions Medicine (2 credits)
- NURP 534P: PMHNP Immersion & Clinical Qualification Course (1 credit)
- NURP 520–522: PMHNP Clinical Decision Making I–III (12 credits total)
More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- 756 minimum clinical hours across the Clinical Decision Making sequence
- Clinical placement team works with students to find and vet sites in or near their own communities
- Approximately 24 hours per week (about three full days) at clinical placement during the practicum terms
- Preceptors include PMHNPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and master’s-prepared therapists
- One required 2–4 day on-campus immersion before entering clinical placement; travel costs not included in tuition
At 756 hours, the clinical requirement sits well above the 500–600 hours typical of PMHNP programs — more supervised practice before independent licensure, but also a heavier weekly commitment: plan on roughly three clinical days per week for three terms on top of coursework.
The placement team model means Simmons shares the site-finding work, though it stops short of the outright placement guarantee UMass Chan makes for its DNP students.
MSN Admissions
Admission is rolling with three annual starts, but note two gates uncommon among Massachusetts programs: applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and the program is still securing authorization in some states — confirm your state’s status with an admission counselor before applying.
- BSN or bachelor’s degree with a nursing major from a regionally accredited U.S. institution; preferred GPA 3.0+
- Current unencumbered, unrestricted U.S. RN license
- Three-credit statistics course (C+ or better) completed within the last seven years
- Résumé, personal statement with short-answer prompts, official transcripts from all institutions attended
- Two letters of recommendation written within the past year
- No GRE required; $50 application fee ($30 before the priority deadline), waivers available for military and service-corps applicants
- English proficiency scores required if English is not your primary language
Post-Graduate Certificate – PMHNP
The estimated tuition for the Post-Graduate Certificate in PMHNP at Simmons University is approximately $34,776 (27 credits at $1,288/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 16 months full time (4 terms) or 20 months part time (5 terms).
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate strips out the APRN core (already completed in your MSN or DNP) and delivers the identical psychiatric specialty sequence MSN students take — same courses, same instructors, same immersion. APRNs missing any of the 3P courses (advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, health assessment) can still apply and complete them at Simmons before starting the certificate curriculum; for 3Ps taken elsewhere, Simmons submits your syllabi to ANCC during admissions to confirm they meet certification-exam eligibility — a review most schools leave students to sort out on their own after graduation.
- NURP 426: Clinical Psychopharmacology Across the Lifespan (3 credits)
- NURP 540: Neurobiology & Differential Diagnosis of Mental Disorders (2 credits)
- NURP 541: PMHNP I – Psychotherapy Across the Lifespan (2 credits)
- NURP 542: PMHNP II – Diagnosis & Management (2 credits)
- NURP 543: PMHNP III – Diagnosis & Management (3 credits)
- NURP 544: PMHNP IV – SMI & Addictions Medicine (2 credits)
- NURP 534P: Immersion & Clinical Qualification Course (1 credit)
- NURP 520–522: PMHNP Clinical Decision Making I–III (12 credits total)
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- 756 clinical hours — the same total as the MSN, not a reduced certificate load
- Clinical cadence: 9 hours/week of psychotherapy placement in the first clinical term, then 22.5 hours/week in the final two terms
- Clinical placement team support for finding and vetting local sites
- One 2–4 day on-campus immersion
This is the key fact to weigh: many post-master’s certificates trim clinical hours to around 500, but Simmons requires certified APRNs to complete the full 756. That’s more time and expense than competing certificates — MCPHS’s runs 540 hours — but it also means certificate graduates enter PMHNP practice with the same clinical depth as degree graduates, and no employer or state board will question the hour count.
Certificate Admissions
One structural note: unlike many certificate programs that require a specific NP specialty, Simmons accepts any licensed, certified APRN with a graduate nursing degree.
- MSN or DNP from an accredited U.S. institution; preferred GPA 3.0+
- Current APRN certification and licensure; unencumbered U.S. RN license
- 3P prerequisites (B or better) — can be completed at Simmons if missing
- U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required
- Same application materials and deadlines as the MSN; Simmons MSN/DNP alumni need only one recommendation letter and skip pre-Simmons transcripts
Tuition
Total estimated tuition is $63,112 for the MSN (49 credits × $1,288/credit) and $34,776 for the certificate (27 credits × $1,288/credit), based on published 2026–27 rates. Additional costs to budget:
- $185 student fee per term — roughly $1,110–$1,480 over the MSN (6–8 terms) and $740–$925 over the certificate (4–5 terms)
- Books and travel/lodging for the on-campus immersion are not included
- Simmons states a moderate tuition increase should be expected each academic year — multi-year students will likely pay more than the current-rate estimate
- Federal loan changes effective July 1, 2026 cap most graduate borrowing at $20,500 per two consecutive terms and $100,000 lifetime — federal loans alone may not cover the MSN’s full cost, so plan financing early
- Simmons alumni receive up to 20% tuition savings automatically through the Double Shark Scholarship
All-in, expect the MSN to run past $64,000 and the certificate past $35,500 before books, travel, and any annual rate increases — among the most expensive PMHNP options in Massachusetts. Official tuition details are available here.
Why Choose This PMHNP Program?
This program makes the most sense for nurses who want maximum structure and support in an online format — and are willing to pay a premium for it. Simmons has run online nursing programs since 2013, longer than most competitors, and the model shows it: live scheduled class sessions rather than purely asynchronous modules, faculty mentorship built into the design, and a placement team that shares the hardest part of any distance NP program — finding a vetted clinical site near home.
The academic case rests on clinical volume and admissions flexibility. At 756 minimum hours, both tracks exceed typical PMHNP clinical requirements by 150–250 hours, and the curriculum adds depth where many programs are thin: a dedicated addictions medicine course and separate diagnosis courses for pediatric/perinatal and adult/geriatric populations. Three start dates a year with rolling admission means you can begin within months of deciding, instead of waiting for a single fall intake.
The trade-offs are real. At $1,288 per credit, Simmons tops every Massachusetts program on per-credit price — Northeastern‘s MS costs roughly $19,000 less in total, and Westfield State runs about half the price. The placement team helps find sites but doesn’t guarantee them the way UMass Chan does, live class sessions reduce scheduling flexibility compared with asynchronous programs, and the citizenship and state-authorization restrictions exclude some applicants outright. Pay for Simmons if the live-class format, placement support, and 756-hour clinical foundation are worth roughly $20,000 over the cheaper alternatives; choose a lower-cost program if you’re self-directed and have your own preceptor network.
Accreditation
The master’s degree program in nursing and the post-graduate PMHNP certificate program at Simmons University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) — the MSN PMHNP program through 2029 and the post-graduate certificate through 2035. Simmons University is institutionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), and the nursing program is fully approved by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. The university states graduates of both tracks are eligible to sit for the ANCC Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner board certification exam (PMHNP-BC).
Review More Massachusetts PMHNP Programs
- Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Boston
- Northeastern University - Boston
- Regis College - Weston
- UMass Chan Medical School
- University of Massachusetts Amherst - Amherst
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth - Dartmouth
- Westfield State University - Westfield