Program Tracks Overview
Northeastern’s defining advantage is research-university training at the lowest total MS price among Boston’s private PMHNP programs — about $44,505, well under MCPHS (~$55K) and Regis (~$65K) — including a course that places students on active research teams. Two caveats up front: the online MS only enrolls residents of 26 approved states, and the 24-credit CAGS actually costs more than the full 43-credit MS because it bills at Northeastern’s standard graduate rate.
The MS program features a hybrid online format with two in-person Clinical Intensive weekends in Boston, while the CAGS program is offered both online and on-ground in Boston.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MS (BSN entry, online); CAGS (post-master’s, for certified NPs/CNSs) |
| Format | MS: Mostly Online, two campus intensive weekends in Boston. CAGS: online or on-ground Boston |
| Clinical Hours | Not clearly stated; 10 practicum credits across two courses per track |
| Clinical Placement | Students propose their own preceptors within 100 miles of home; contracts take up to 6 months |
| Population | Lifespan, with a dedicated child and adolescent psychopharmacology course |
| Distinctive Coursework | NRSG 7110 pairs students with active research teams on real studies |
| State Restrictions | Online MS limited to residents of 26 accepted states; F-1 visa holders not eligible |
| Experience Requirement | MS: 1 year full-time direct-care RN experience. CAGS: must be a practicing NP |
| Tuition | MS: $1,035/credit. CAGS: standard graduate rate (~$1,946/credit) |
| Accreditation | CCNE (master’s and post-graduate APRN certificate) |
MS in Nursing – PMHNP (Online)
The estimated tuition for the MS in Nursing – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Online) at Northeastern is approximately $44,505 (43 credits at $1,035/credit).
The program can generally be completed in about 2–3 years, full-time or part-time, with two long-weekend clinical intensives on the Boston campus.
MS Curriculum
The 43 credits split into 16 core credits and 27 PMHNP concentration credits. Two design choices separate this curriculum from the standard PMHNP template.
Research immersion. NRSG 7110 places students on active research teams contributing to real studies aligned with their clinical interests. Most master’s programs teach evidence appraisal from the literature; very few put MS students inside a working study. If you’re weighing a later DNP or PhD, this is a meaningful head start.
Pediatric depth. A standalone Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology course (NRSG 6287) goes beyond the single lifespan psychopharm course most programs offer. Combined with the lifespan practicum sequence, this suits nurses who expect to treat younger patients — an area where prescriber shortages are most acute.
Key courses include:
- NRSG 7110 – Evidence-Based Practice Research Application (2 cr.): embedded work on an active research team
- NRSG 6281 – Dimensions of Clinical Psychiatric Practice: psychiatric interviews, mental status exams, case formulation
- NRSG 6282 – Clinical Psychopharmacology: selecting, dosing, and monitoring psychotropics
- NRSG 6283 – Psychobiological Bases of Mental Health: neurobiology and medical comorbidity in psychiatric presentation
- NRSG 6286 – Contemporary Psychotherapies: Theory and Practice
- NRSG 6287 – Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology: pediatric prescribing with family, school, and cultural context
- NRSG 6480 – Psychiatric Practicum Across the Life Span I
- NRSG 6481 – Psychiatric Practicum Across the Life Span II
More curriculum details are available here.
MS Clinical Requirements
- Total clinical hours: not clearly stated by Northeastern
- Two practicum courses (NRSG 6480, NRSG 6481) totaling 10 credit hours
- Two long-weekend clinical intensives on the Boston campus for skills work and certification prep
- Students identify and propose their own preceptors within 100 miles of home, subject to university approval
- The university requires up to 6 months to finalize clinical site contracts
The missing hour total matters: comparable programs publish 500–800 hours (Regis requires 800; MCPHS 750), so ask admissions for the exact figure before comparing workloads. The placement model is self-sourced — the national norm, but a real contrast with UMass Chan and Regis, which arrange placements in-state. The 6-month contract window is the practical takeaway: start recruiting preceptors at application time, not after admission, or your practicum start can slip a full semester.
MS Admissions
Two gates are easy to miss: you must already have a year of full-time bedside experience, and you must live in one of 26 accepted states — large states including California, New York, and Pennsylvania are not on the list.
- BSN from a CCNE- or ACEN-accredited US program
- Minimum 3.0 GPA with grades of B or better in all undergraduate clinical nursing courses
- Current US RN licensure
- At least 1 year of active full-time nursing experience with direct patient care
- Statistics course covering probability theory and hypothesis testing, completed within 5 years
- Three letters of recommendation (academic and professional), personal statement, resume, official transcripts, application and fee
- TOEFL or IELTS for international students; F-1 visa holders are not eligible
- Residency required in an accepted state: AK, AR, CO, CT, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MS, MT, NJ, NM, NC, OH, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WV
- Annual application cycle: July 1 for fall entry, November 1 for spring entry Northeastern’s Bouvé program page lists August 1 for fall — confirm the current deadline with admissions
Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS) – PMHNP
The estimated tuition for the CAGS in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at Northeastern is approximately $46,704 (24 credits at the standard ~$1,946/credit graduate rate) — see the Tuition section for a conflicting, much lower university-published rate.
The program can generally be completed in about 1–2 years, full-time or part-time, and is offered both online and on-ground in Boston.
Certificate Curriculum
The 24-credit CAGS is the MS specialty sequence stripped of the master’s core: certified NPs skip pathophysiology, pharmacology, and research coursework and go straight into the five psychiatric didactic courses plus both lifespan practica. Every course requires a B or higher. Because the sequence is identical to the MS concentration, CAGS students get the same pediatric psychopharmacology depth — useful for NPs adding psych specifically to see children and adolescents.
- NRSG 6281 – Dimensions of Clinical Psychiatric Practice
- NRSG 6282 – Clinical Psychopharmacology
- NRSG 6283 – Psychobiological Bases of Mental Health
- NRSG 6286 – Contemporary Psychotherapies: Theory and Practice
- NRSG 6287 – Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
- NRSG 6480 – Psychiatric Practicum Across the Life Span I
- NRSG 6481 – Psychiatric Practicum Across the Life Span II
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- Total clinical hours: not clearly stated; two practicum courses totaling 10 credit hours across the lifespan
- Two 2–3 day weekend clinical intensives on the Boston campus
- Practicum settings span private, public, hospital-based, and community-based sites, outpatient clinics, and residential schools
Same interpretation as the MS: no published hour total, so confirm it directly — ANCC certification eligibility depends on supervised clinical hours, and practicing NPs planning around work schedules need the real number, not a credit count.
Certificate Admissions
This certificate is narrower than most: it’s built for NPs (or CNSs) already certified in another specialty, not for master’s-prepared RNs without APRN credentials — many competing certificates accept the latter.
- Must be a practicing NP (Northeastern’s catalog scopes the CAGS to NPs or CNSs holding other certifications)
- Baccalaureate in nursing from an accredited program and current US RN licensure
- Minimum 3.0 GPA with grades of B or better in all nursing courses
- Statistics course covering probability theory and hypothesis testing, within 5 years of entry
- Two letters of recommendation, letter of intent (minimum 500 words), CV, official transcripts
- GRE not required
- Annual application cycle: August 1 for fall entry, November 1 for spring entry
Tuition
The online MS totals approximately $44,505: 43 credits × $1,035/credit. The CAGS is estimated by Northeastern’s program page at $46,704: 24 credits × the standard ~$1,946/credit rate for most Bouvé College graduate programs.
- Conflicting CAGS rate: Northeastern’s graduate catalog tuition sheet lists “CAGS Nursing—Psychiatric-Mental Health” at $1,035/credit (the online discounted rate), which would put the certificate near $24,840 — roughly half the program page’s $46,704 estimate. The likely explanation is modality: online coursework bills at the discounted rate, Boston on-ground at the standard rate. Get your rate in writing before enrolling; the difference is over $20,000.
- Online courses are billed at a discounted rate; Boston-campus students may access online sections at the discretion of the program director when seats allow
- Budget beyond tuition for application fees, travel and lodging for the Boston clinical intensives, and potential membership fees
- Published totals exclude fees; treat them as tuition-only estimates
The practical read: as published, the full MS costs less than the certificate — so if the online CAGS rate isn’t confirmed at $1,035, master’s-prepared nurses should price both paths (and rival certificates) before assuming the shorter program is the cheaper one.
See the official tuition page for more details.
Why Choose This PMHNP Program?
This program fits nurses who want R1 research-university training — and a genuine research role — without paying Boston’s usual private-school premium.
On price, Northeastern occupies an unusual slot in Massachusetts. Its $1,035/credit online rate undercuts MCPHS and Regis College (both $1,275/credit), and its leaner 43-credit MS makes the total gap wider: roughly $44.5K versus ~$55K at MCPHS and ~$65K at Regis. Only public Westfield State ($690/credit) is cheaper, but its published program details are far thinner. What the lower price buys beyond the credential: the NRSG 7110 research-team placement and the dedicated pediatric psychopharmacology course — substantive extras, not marketing lines.
The trade-offs sit in logistics. Northeastern doesn’t publish a clinical hour total, you recruit your own preceptors within 100 miles of home, and site contracts can take 6 months — while UMass Chan arranges placements outright and Regis runs a dedicated placement team with 800 guaranteed hours of structure. The 26-state residency list also simply excludes many applicants before price enters the picture. If you live in an accepted state and have preceptor connections, Northeastern is the strongest value among the Boston privates; if placement support is your deciding factor, UMass Chan and Regis earn their higher effective cost.
Accreditation
The master’s degree program in nursing and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at Northeastern University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) — the accreditation covers both PMHNP tracks on this page. Prelicensure programs at the Boston campus are approved by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. Both tracks prepare graduates to sit for the ANCC PMHNP certification exam.
Compare More Massachusetts PMHNP Programs
- Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Boston
- Regis College - Weston
- UMass Chan Medical School
- Westfield State University - Westfield