Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor of Nursing Practice – PMHNP | $68,249 | 3 years |
| Post-Graduate Certificate – PMHNP | $20,845 | 1.5 years |
Synchronous online meetings occur throughout the semester for case discussions and presentations, with schedules provided before term start to allow students to plan accordingly.
Doctor of Nursing Practice – PMHNP Concentration
The estimated cost for the DNP-PMHNP program is $68,249 for in-state students and $73,349 for out-of-state students, and would take 3 years to complete on a full-time basis (8 semesters including summers).
DNP Curriculum
The 69-credit curriculum includes DNP core courses, advanced practice requirements, and PMHNP specialty courses:
Doctor of Nursing Practice Core Courses:
- NURS 557 – Introduction to Healthcare Informatics
- NURS 604 – Principles of Population Health
- NURS 612 – Health and Healthcare Policy
- NURS 613 – Nursing Leadership in Complex Systems
- NURS 622 – Evidence-based Practice Improvement I
- NURS 624 – Evidence-based Practice Improvement II
- NURS 628 – Evidence Acquisition, Appraisal and Synthesis
- NURS 630 – DNP Scholarly Project Proposal
- NURS 631 – Evaluation Methods for Evidence-based Practice Improvement
- NURS 633 – DNP Scholarly Project Immersion
- NURS 634 – DNP Scholarly Project Dissemination
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Requirements:
NURS 639 – Advanced Health Assessment
This course builds advanced health assessment skills to evaluate health status and needs across the lifespan. Students refine physical, psychosocial, and diagnostic assessment techniques for use in advanced practice roles.
NURS 648 – Advanced Clinical Pharmacology
This course examines pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacotherapeutics across the lifespan. Students apply drug knowledge to advanced nursing practice with a focus on safe, effective medication management.
NURS 649 – Advanced Pathophysiology
This course explores advanced physiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms across body systems. Students link altered processes to clinical presentations to support accurate diagnosis and management.
NURS 673 – Professional Practice Role: Nurse Practitioner
This course examines the professional identity, responsibilities, and scope of practice of the nurse practitioner. Students analyze role expectations, collaboration, and accountability in advanced practice settings.
Concentration Courses:
NURS 663 – Psychopharmacology in Advanced Practice
This course analyzes the neurobiologic basis of mental health disorders and related psychopharmacologic treatments. Students learn to select, manage, and evaluate psychotropic medications across the lifespan in advanced practice.
NURS 552 – Clinical Decision-Making: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
This course introduces clinical decision-making frameworks for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners. Students examine how PMHNPs deliver care to individuals and families across the lifespan within complex healthcare systems.
NURS 553 – Clinical Decision-Making Simulation: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
This course uses simulation to practice interviewing and assessing individuals with mental health disorders. Students apply clinical reasoning in a controlled environment to prepare for direct patient care.
NURS 554 – Clinical Intensive: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
This course provides an initial intensive clinical experience in mental health settings. Students begin to use subjective and objective data to support clinical decisions in real patient encounters.
NURS 555 – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
This course focuses on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of common mental health disorders across the lifespan. Students integrate advanced psychiatric knowledge into care planning and management.
NURS 556 – Clinical Practice: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
This course offers supervised clinical practice in managing common acute and chronic mental health conditions. Students strengthen clinical decision-making and therapeutic skills in direct patient care.
NURS 559 – Clinical Simulation: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
This course uses simulation to develop decision-making skills for common mental health conditions. Students rehearse assessment, diagnosis, and intervention strategies in realistic scenarios.
NURS 564 – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
This course advances assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of more complex mental health disorders. Students manage multifaceted presentations and refine therapeutic approaches across the lifespan.
NURS 567 – Clinical Practice: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
This course provides clinical experience with increasingly complex acute and chronic psychiatric conditions. Students apply advanced decision-making and treatment planning in diverse mental health settings.
NURS 568 – Clinical Simulation: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
This course uses simulation to practice managing complex mental health conditions. Students test and refine advanced clinical decisions in high-acuity or multifaceted scenarios.
NURS 569 – Clinical Intensive: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
This course offers an advanced clinical intensive focused on complex psychiatric care. Students use comprehensive data collection to guide higher-level clinical judgments in practice settings.
NURS 575 – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner III
This course emphasizes psychotherapy theories and techniques for individuals, groups, and families. Students apply therapeutic models to support recovery, coping, and behavioral change.
NURS 576 – Clinical Practice: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner III
This course provides advanced clinical practice in managing complex mental health conditions. Students integrate psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and holistic care strategies in high-level PMHNP practice.
More curriculum details are available here.
DNP Clinicals
Students complete a minimum of 600 direct patient care clinical hours as part of the 1,000 total hours required for the DNP degree.
Beginning Fall 2024, students must complete at least 840 direct patient care clinical hours.
Clinical sites and preceptors are identified collaboratively by students and College of Nursing faculty, with final placement approval given by the Concentration Coordinators.
Graduate students may only complete clinical hours in the state where they are officially licensed and reside.
Students who live outside Tennessee must confirm that the university has state authorization with their state’s Board of Nursing before starting clinicals.
DNP Admissions Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in nursing from CCNE or NLN-accredited program (or country equivalent)
- Unencumbered RN license in state of residency (or country equivalent)
- Minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 on 4.0 scale
- TOEFL score of 80 (internet-based) or IELTS score of 6.5 if native language is not English
- Three College of Nursing Graduate Rating Forms from college instructors and/or nursing supervisors
- Essay addressing College of Nursing prompts
- Interview with DNP admissions committee
- Criminal background check and drug screen required prior to enrollment
- Professional liability insurance and health insurance
- American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) certification
- Current health and wellness requirements compliance
Post-Graduate Certificate – PMHNP
The estimated cost for the PMHNP Graduate Certificate is $20,845 for in-state students and $22,420 for out-of-state students, and would take 1.5 years to complete (4 semesters including summer).
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate requires a minimum of 12 graduate credit hours, with total hours varying based on the student’s academic record and gap analysis:
Required Courses:
- NURS 663 – Psychopharmacology in Advanced Practice
- NURS 552 – Clinical Decision-Making: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- NURS 553 – Clinical Decision-Making Simulation: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- NURS 554 – Clinical Intensive: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
- NURS 555 – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
- NURS 556 – Clinical Practice: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
- NURS 559 – Clinical Simulation: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I
- NURS 564 – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
- NURS 567 – Clinical Practice: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
- NURS 568 – Clinical Simulation: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
- NURS 569 – Clinical Intensive: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner II
- NURS 575 – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner III
- NURS 576 – Clinical Practice: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner III
An extensive gap analysis determines if additional courses are required to meet competencies and program outcomes.
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Clinicals
The program includes mandatory on-site clinical sessions consisting of full-day experiences such as clinical labs and simulations that cannot be missed, made up, or substituted.
Students collaborate with faculty to identify clinical sites and preceptors, with Concentration Coordinators providing final approval. Graduate certificate students may only complete clinical practicum in their state of official residence and licensure.
Certificate Admissions Requirements
- Master’s degree (MSN or MS) in nursing or DNP from CCNE or NLN CNEA-accredited program
- Unencumbered RN license and APRN license in state of residency and clinical placement
- Current national certification in a specified APRN population focus
- Prerequisite courses completed within previous 5 years:
- NURS 639 – Advanced Health Assessment
- NURS 648 – Advanced Clinical Pharmacology
- NURS 649 – Advanced Pathophysiology
- Essay addressing College of Nursing Graduate Program prompts
- Two references from nursing faculty, supervisors, or healthcare providers with master’s degree or higher
- Official transcripts from all graduate programs
- Application deadline: October 15 for Spring 2026 admission
- Graduate certificate programs must be completed within 2 years
Tuition
Graduate tuition and fees for the DNP-PMHNP program total $68,249 for in-state students over three years (Year 1: $25,815, Year 2: $25,521, Year 3: $16,913) and $73,349 for out-of-state students (Year 1: $27,765, Year 2: $25,521, Year 3: $16,913).
The PMHNP Graduate Certificate costs $20,845 for in-state students and $22,420 for out-of-state students.
See the official tuition page for more details.
Accreditation
The College of Nursing’s DNP program and graduate certificate programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Graduates are prepared to sit for national PMHNP certification examinations upon program completion.
Other Nursing Programs
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Concentrations:
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Nurse Anesthesia
- Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Pediatric Primary/Acute Care Dual Nurse Practitioner
Graduate Certificates:
- Family Nurse Practitioner Graduate Certificate
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Graduate Certificate
- Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Graduate Certificate
- Health Policy Graduate Certificate
- Healthcare Informatics Graduate Certificate
- Nursing Education Graduate Certificate
Doctoral Programs:
- Nursing Major, PhD
Related Programs
View All PMHNP Programs in Tennessee
- Austin Peay - Clarksville
- East Tennessee State University - Johnson City
- Middle Tennessee State University - Murfreesboro
- Tennessee Tech University - Cookeville
- Vanderbilt University - Nashville