MSN – PMHNP
The estimated cost for the online PMHNP program is approximately $52,000 and takes 3.5 years to complete on a part-time basis across seven semesters.
The program features 50 credit hours, 600 clinical hours, and completion in as few as seven semesters part-time. Students benefit from scholarship opportunities up to $10,000 through the CT Health Horizons initiative for Pell Grant eligible students or those living in Alliance School Districts, and the program requires no GRE scores for admission.
Curriculum
The 50-credit hour program combines 18 credits of MSN core requirements with 32 credits of specialized PMHNP coursework. Core courses include:
MSN 500 Theoretical Basis for Advanced Nursing Practice and Leadership
Examines major nursing theories and frameworks to guide evidence-based decisions in advanced practice and leadership. Topics include ethics, social justice, collaboration, and systems thinking, with an emphasis on the APN’s role in shaping care and outcomes. Students apply theory to ethical strategies and practice change.
MSN 505 Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice
Expands undergraduate pathophysiology into cellular/genetic mechanisms and disease processes across the lifespan. Links abnormal physiology to culturally informed management of acute and chronic conditions. Builds the diagnostic insight needed to craft safe, individualized care plans.
MSN 510 Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice
Covers advanced pharmacokinetics/dynamics, pharmacogenomics, and pharmacoeconomics to support safe prescribing. Uses health IT tools and interprofessional collaboration to optimize therapy and reduce risk. Emphasizes culturally and socioeconomically responsive medication management across the lifespan.
MSN 540 Physical Assessment for Advanced Nursing Practice
Builds mastery in comprehensive and focused histories and exams using virtual clients and video demonstrations. Integrates psychosocial, spiritual, cultural, and environmental factors into assessment and documentation. Introduces diagnostic reasoning and plan-of-care development; FNPs practice with models during immersion.
MSN 610 Seminar in Nursing Research
Strengthens the ability to appraise, synthesize, and translate quantitative and qualitative research for practice. Addresses ethics in human subjects research and strategies for dissemination. Culminates in an integrative literature review to drive evidence-based change.
MSN 620 Policy, Politics, and Organization of Healthcare
Explores how policy is made and how nurses influence change as advocates and leaders. Applies principles of equity, ethics, and social justice to real policy problems. Prepares students to act as effective change agents within complex health systems.
MSN 520 Neuropsychopharmacology
Examines neurobiology and psychopharmacology of major psychiatric drug classes, including mechanisms, indications, safety, and algorithms for evidence-based selection. Addresses legal/ethical issues in prescribing for special and high-risk populations. Develops advanced judgment for optimizing outcomes across the lifespan.
MSN 605 Current Concepts and Professional Roles in Advanced Practice Nursing
Surveys core APN competencies: evidence-based practice, quality, safety, population health, informatics, billing/coding, and business aspects of practice. Reviews licensure, regulation, independent practice, and interprofessional collaboration. Emphasizes cultural humility, ethics, and legal/business principles for APN leadership.
MSN 655 Assessment, Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Health
Provides foundational didactic preparation in DSM-5-based assessment, differential diagnosis, and treatment planning across the lifespan. Integrates developmental, familial, and sociocultural influences on psychopathology. Prepares students to design and evaluate optimal, evidence-based psychiatric care.
MSN 665 PMHNP I: Advance Practice Psychiatric Mental Health Care for the Adult
First clinical in the sequence focusing on adult care, wellness, and prevention. Students integrate assessment, diagnosis, psychotherapy, and pharmacologic/nonpharmacologic treatments using team-based, technology-enabled approaches. Includes 180 precepted clinical hours in approved settings.
MSN 675 PMHNP II: Advanced Practice Psychiatric Mental Health Care for Children and Older Adults
Second clinical emphasizing pediatric and geriatric populations. Applies advanced assessment, diagnosis, and tailored therapies within person- and family-centered care. Strengthens leadership, communication, and informatics skills over 180 supervised clinical hours.
MSN 685 PMHNP III: Advanced Practice Psychiatric Mental Health Care of the Complex Patient
Final clinical focusing on complex, comorbid, and diverse populations, including SUD, IDD, and LGBTQ+ clients. Students deliver comprehensive assessment, treatment, risk mitigation, and wellness strategies while leading interprofessional teams. Requires 240 precepted clinical hours.
MSN 698 Advanced Practice Capstone—Clinical Application on Population Health
Capstone that synthesizes the AACN (2021) ten domains through case-based immersion and board-prep diagnostics. Students demonstrate APN competencies in population health, quality/safety, informatics, and systems leadership. Emphasizes exam readiness, remediation, and transition to practice for FNP and PMHNP tracks.
Find more curriculum info here: https://www.goodwin.edu/majors/pmhnp/curriculum
The program culminates with an advanced practice capstone focusing on clinical applications in population health.
Clinicals
Students complete a cumulative 600 hours of real-world clinical experiences across various healthcare settings including acute care centers, correctional facilities, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and private clinics.
Clinical rotations are integrated into three PMHNP courses (NUR 665, 675, and 685), each requiring significant hands-on patient care experience.
Students may need to travel significant distances to clinical sites as necessary, and all clinical experiences are designed to provide comprehensive exposure to psychiatric mental health care across the lifespan.
Prerequisites & Admissions
- Bachelor’s degree in nursing from CHEA-accredited institution with minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA
- Current unencumbered Connecticut RN license (program limited to CT residents)
- Minimum 2+ years direct patient care RN experience within the last five years
- College-level statistics course with grade C or higher
- College-level research course with grade C or higher
- Professional resume demonstrating nursing experience
- Formal 800-1000 word personal statement focusing on nursing career goals
- Telephone interview with program director
- Proof of immunizations (measles, mumps, rubella, varicella)
- Background check and drug screening clearance
- Application deadline: July 17, 2026 for fall 2026 start
- $50 non-refundable application fee (waived for Goodwin graduates)
- No GRE requirement
Tuition
PMHNP tuition is $949 per credit hour.
Additional fees include:
- $350 general student fee per semester
- $250 technology fee per semester
- clinical fees of $1,350 for each of the three PMHNP clinical courses (NUR 665, 675, 685)
- Shadow Health fees of $150 for multiple courses
- background test ($80)
- drug test ($40)
- Castlebranch fee ($35)
. See the official tuition page for more details.
Accreditation
The master’s degree program in Nursing (MSN, FNP, PMHNP) at Goodwin University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.
CCNE granted accreditation to the master’s degree program for 5 years, extending to June 30, 2030.
Goodwin University is a member of SARA, enabling the MSN program to be offered to residents of other SARA states, and is a nonprofit institution accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
Other Nursing Programs
Goodwin University’s nursing department offers multiple degree levels and specialization options:
Career Entry Programs:
- Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Certificate
- Associate Degree in Nursing (RN) Program
- Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) Program
Career Advancement Programs:
- RN-to-BSN Completion Program (online)
- Master’s in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Program
Program Statistics:
- NCLEX first-time pass rate: 89% (May 2023-April 2024)
- Program completion rate: 79.9% within 150% of permissible time frame
- 100% of December 2022 graduates achieved 77% or greater on end-of-program learning outcomes
Other PMHNP Programs in CT
View All PMHNP Programs in Connecticut
- Fairfield University - Fairfield
- Quinnipiac University - Hamden
- Sacred Heart - Fairfield
- University of Saint Joseph - West Hartford
- Western Connecticut State - Danbury
- Yale - New Haven