Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | $23.2K (in-state) | 20 mo (5 sem FT) | 48 |
| Certificate | $12.7K–$20.4K (in-state) | ~12 mo (3 sem) | 26–43 |
Georgia State’s defining advantage is speed at a public-university price: the MSN finishes in 20 months full-time—the fastest master’s route to PMHNP practice in Georgia—for about $23,172 in-state. The trade-off is that “Mostly Online” here includes real campus obligations: the first class of each semester is on campus in Atlanta, at least one class per month meets live via WebEx, and the Advanced Health Assessment course requires several campus lab days.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN; Post-Master’s Certificate |
| Format | Mostly Online: online coursework, mandatory first-class campus sessions, monthly live WebEx, campus lab days |
| Clinical Hours | 590 (MSN); 500 (certificate) |
| Clinical Placement | Faculty assist with paperwork and agency contacts; students help find preceptors; paid placement services prohibited |
| Population | Lifespan (adult and pediatric) |
| Distinctive Coursework | Integrated medical-psychiatric courses: adult primary care and combined child medical/psych management |
| RN License Requirements | MSN: U.S. RN license plus Georgia application. Certificate: active Georgia RN license |
| Admission Cycle | Fall entry only; MSN deadline May 15 |
| Entrance Exam | None; waived for certificate applicants |
| Tuition | $414/credit in-state plus semester fees (~$110–$660) |
| Accreditation | CCNE |
Master of Science in Nursing – PMHNP
The estimated tuition for the MSN – PMHNP at Georgia State is approximately $23,172 in-state (48 credits at $414/credit plus mandatory fees). The program can generally be completed in about 20 months (5 semesters full-time), or 7 semesters part-time.
MSN Curriculum
What sets this curriculum apart is how much physical-health training is built into a psychiatric degree. Alongside the psych specialty sequence, students take a 5-credit adult primary care course and a 6-credit combined medical-and-psychiatric pediatrics course. That design produces graduates comfortable managing the medical comorbidities—metabolic effects of antipsychotics, chronic disease in psychiatric patients—that many psych-only curricula leave to referral.
Foundation Courses
- NURS 7315 – Advanced Pathophysiological Concepts Across the Lifespan (3)
- NURS 7500 – Advanced Health Assessment (3) — includes required on-campus lab days
- NURS 7550 – Pharmacology for the Advanced Practice Nurse (3)
PMHNP Specialty Sequence
- NURS 7120 – Theories of Advanced Psychiatric Nursing (3)
- NURS 7170 – Advanced Psychopharmacology (2)
- NURS 7171 – Advanced Psych Across the Adult Lifespan (6)
- NURS 7172 – Advanced Medical & Psychiatric Care for Children (6)
- NURS 7173 – Integrative Management of Complicated Psychiatric Cases (4)
- NURS 7340 – Common Health Problems of Adults (5)
Remaining core credits cover healthcare culture, professional practice issues, research methods, and interprofessional collaboration. More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- Minimum 590 clinical hours across four courses: Adult Medical (135) + Adult Psych (225) + Child Medical/Psych (140) + Integrative Management (90) = 590
- Faculty assist with clinical paperwork and maintain contacts with major Atlanta-area agencies
- Students are expected to help locate preceptors through networking and the clinical placement coordinator
- Students may not pay preceptors or use fee-based placement services
At 590 hours, the requirement sits comfortably above the roughly 500-hour floor most PMHNP programs use, and the metro-Atlanta location gives students one of the deepest pools of psychiatric clinical sites in the Southeast. The placement model is shared responsibility, not a guarantee: faculty open doors and handle contracts, but students who cannot network their way to a preceptor should factor that effort into their timeline. The ban on paid placement services removes an expensive escape hatch some students at other schools rely on.
MSN Admissions Requirements
Two things stand out: the program admits only in fall (May 15 deadline), and it screens for psychiatric exposure before admission—a gate many competing programs do not impose.
- Online application for graduate study and $50 fee
- BSN from an ACEN, NLNAC, CNEA, or CCNE-accredited program
- Official transcripts from all higher-education institutions
- Cumulative GPA of 2.75 (4.0 scale) on all undergraduate coursework
- Current RN license in Georgia or another U.S. state, with evidence of application to the Georgia Board of Nursing
- 1–2 years of clinical practice experience preferred
- Minimum one year of recent general psychiatric clinical experience OR 250–500 volunteer hours in a psychiatric site
- Two letters of recommendation (one from a former professor if the nursing degree was completed within five years)
- Resume, written goal statement, and a two-page APA position paper on a social or health issue
- Admissions interview
- Certificate of immunization; TOEFL/IELTS for non-native English speakers
- Provisional admission is possible for applicants who fall short of full criteria: limited to nine credit hours with a B required in each course
Post-Master’s Certificate – PMHNP
The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s Certificate – PMHNP at Georgia State ranges from approximately $12,744 (26 specialty credits at $414/credit plus fees, if all core courses are waived) to $20,442 (43 credits, if all core courses are required).
The program can generally be completed in about 12 months (fall–spring–fall), though a heavier gap-analysis credit load can extend that timeline.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is gap-analysis driven: advisors review prior graduate coursework and waive core courses individually, so two admitted students can face very different credit loads and price tags. FNP and Adult NP graduates can often waive the adult medical course as well—a meaningful saving, since it carries 5 credits and 135 clinical hours.
Core Courses (waived if prior coursework is equivalent)
- NURS 7310 / 7320 – Advanced Pathophysiological Concepts, Parts 1–2 (3 + 3)
- NURS 7500 – Advanced Health Assessment (3)
- NURS 7550 – Pharmacology for the Advanced Practice Nurse (3)
- NURS 7940 – Advanced Professional Nurse Practice Issues (2); CNHP 7800 – Interprofessional Collaboration (3)
Required Specialty Courses (26 credits)
- NURS 7120 – Theories of Advanced Psychiatric Nursing (3) — fall only
- NURS 7170 – Advanced Psychopharmacology (2) — spring only
- NURS 7340 – Common Adult Health Problems (5; 135 clinical hours) — fall
- NURS 7171 – Advanced Psychiatric Care for Adults and Older Adults (6; 180 clinical hours) — spring only
- NURS 7172 – Advanced Medical and Psychiatric Care for Children (6; 140 clinical hours) — fall only
- NURS 7173 – Integrative Management of Complicated Psychiatric Cases (4; 45 clinical hours) — fall only
Note the single-semester course offerings: because several specialty courses run only in fall or only in spring, missing or failing one course can add a full year, not a semester.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- Minimum 500 clinical hours across four courses: Adult Medical (135) + Adult Psych (180) + Child Medical/Psych (140) + Integrative Management (45) = 500
- Placement assistance follows the same model as the MSN: faculty support with paperwork and agency contacts, student networking expected, no paid preceptors or placement services
Five hundred hours is standard for a post-master’s PMHNP certificate and meets typical certification-eligibility expectations. Certified NPs adding the psych specialty should note the hours are non-negotiable even when didactic courses are waived—the gap analysis reduces coursework, not clinical time.
Certificate Admissions Requirements
Applicants must hold a master’s degree in nursing and an active Georgia RN license; the entrance exam is waived, and all materials must be received by the nursing application deadline (the specific certificate deadline is not clearly stated—the MSN deadline is May 15 for fall entry).
View all of the requirements here: https://lewis.gsu.edu/program/nursing-post-masters-certificate/
Tuition
Total estimated cost is $23,172 for the in-state MSN and $12,744–$20,442 for the in-state certificate. The MSN figure derives from 48 credits × $414/credit = $19,872 in tuition, plus roughly $3,300 in mandatory fees over five full-time semesters.
The certificate range reflects the gap analysis: 26 credits ($10,764 tuition) if all core courses are waived, up to 43 credits ($17,802 tuition), plus semester fees.
- Mandatory fees are charged every semester and scale with enrollment, from about $110 (1 credit) to $660 (12+ credits) in fall/spring
- One-time expenses: drug screening/background check ($85), Typhon clinical tracking ($80), ACE mapping ($85), NURS 7500 assessment supplies ($400–$800), name tag ($8)
- Recurring costs: books ($50–$1,500/semester), liability insurance ($35/year), CPR certification ($35–$100 every other year), Georgia RN license renewal ($65 every other year), plus clinical badges and parking
- Figures are in-state; out-of-state tuition is higher and subject to change
Realistically, budget roughly $1,000–$1,500 beyond published tuition and fees in the first year alone—the assessment supplies for NURS 7500 are the largest single hidden cost.
See the official tuition page for current rates.
Why Choose This PMHNP Program?
This program fits Georgia RNs who already have psychiatric experience and want the shortest possible master’s route to PMHNP practice without paying private-school tuition.
The 20-month full-time MSN is the fastest in the state, and the price—about $23,172 in-state—undercuts every Georgia option except Georgia College & State University ($15,000–$22,000). Choosing between the two comes down to speed versus support: Georgia College is cheaper and assigns a dedicated clinical coordinator, but runs 2–3 years; Georgia State finishes a year sooner and offers metro Atlanta’s dense psychiatric clinical market, with faculty assistance but more student legwork on preceptors. The integrated medical-psych curriculum is a genuine practice advantage for graduates heading into settings where they’ll manage the whole patient.
The trade-offs are concrete. Admission is fall-only with a May 15 deadline and a psychiatric-experience gate, so unprepared applicants lose a full year. “Mostly online” still means showing up in Atlanta for the first class of every semester plus assessment lab days, which effectively limits the program to nurses within driving distance. And the pace is demanding—the school itself discourages full-time employment during the full-time program, and most students shift to weekend or per-diem work. Nurses who need a fully asynchronous, work-friendly format will be better served by Georgia Southern’s online pathways.
Accreditation
Per the school’s accreditation statement, “the baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master of science degree program in nursing, Post-master’s certificate and Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Georgia State University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)” (verified from the Byrdine F. Lewis College’s own pages, as the profile source did not name the accreditor). Georgia State University holds institutional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The university states that graduates of both PMHNP tracks are prepared to sit for national certification through ANCC or AANPCB.
More PMHNP Programs in Georgia
- Augusta University - Augusta
- Brenau University - Gainesville
- Emory University - Atlanta
- Georgia College & State University - Milledgeville
- Georgia Southern University - Statesboro, Savannah
- Mercer University - Macon
- Valdosta State University - Valdosta