MRU's PMHNP certificate: clinical courses, hour mix and preceptors
MRU's Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certificate is a 35-credit online program for nurses who already have an MSN, with 765 clinical hours across three courses. You are expected to find your own psychiatric preceptor, and your hours have to include children and adolescents, psychotherapy and patients across the lifespan.
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The certificate in brief
MRU lists the PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate at 35 credits over 16 months and four semesters, delivered online. The catalog counts 1,035 clock hours in total, and 765 of them are clinical. Unlike the FNP, this track has a clinical total printed in black and white. Courses must be taken in program order.
MRU states that the curriculum meets NCSBN criteria for APRN certification-exam eligibility. It does not name the certifying body.
Admission requirements that bear on clinicals
- An MSN, plus graduate-level advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and health assessment
- An active RN license
- Residence in Florida or a SARA member state for the full program
- Proof of student liability insurance before the first clinical course
- A programmatic orientation and an interview with the Program Coordinator
- Mental-health experience is preferred, not required
Clinical courses and hours
Three courses carry the 765 hours. Each pairs with a didactic course taken in the same semester.
| Course | Population and focus | Credits | Clinical hours | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MSN5056C Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical I | Adults and families, in a psychiatric specialty rotation | 4 | 180 | Semester III, with MSN5056 |
MSN6057C Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical II | Children, adolescents, and adults with their families | 4 | 180 | Semester III, with MSN6057 |
MSN6065C Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical III | The lifespan, including co-occurring diagnoses and substance abuse | 9 | 405 | Semester IV, with MSN6065 and MSN5027 |
Two naming traps. MSN5027 is called Psychiatric Mental Health Practicum, yet it is a 2-credit, 30-hour research project on community psychiatric issues with no clinical hours listed. MSN6065, the didactic partner of the last clinical, is a certification-exam review course.
MRU's web page also prints semester IV as 465 hours. The catalog says 450, which is the figure that adds up to the 1,035 total. The PMHNP clinical courses page goes deeper into each course.
The 115 / 150 / 500 hour mix
The MSN6065C description spells out how the 765 hours must break down: 115 hours with children and adolescents, 150 hours of psychotherapy and 500 clinical hours across the lifespan. That mix, more than the total, is what shapes your preceptor search.
If your psychiatric preceptor sees only adults, the 115 child and adolescent hours have to come from somewhere else, most naturally during MSN6057C, whose description already includes children and adolescents. The 150 psychotherapy hours need a preceptor who actually provides therapy, not only medication management.
Map it before semester III starts. Write down which preceptor will cover which slice of the mix, and ask your Program Coordinator whether a second preceptor for one slice is acceptable. MRU does not say publicly whether one preceptor may cover every category or how the categories are logged.
Reaching 765 hours is not enough on its own. If the 115 child and adolescent hours or the 150 psychotherapy hours are short, the mix is incomplete.
Who finds and approves your preceptor
The PMHNP section of the 2025 catalog says: "Students are required to secure their own preceptor." Both the preceptor and the preceptorship itself must be approved before it begins. A student who does not provide one is appointed a preceptor by the University for an additional fee, and the PMHNP fee table lists that as the Practicum Affiliation Fee, waived only for students who secure an approved preceptor. A Practicum Credentialing Fee for verifying preceptor credentials is listed as well.
Who approves is where MRU's documents differ. The 2025 catalog names the Program Coordinator. MRU's October 2025 international PMHNP sheet names the Office of Academic Affairs. Ask at orientation which office receives your preceptor's details this term, because sending them to the wrong place costs time. The preceptor approval page tracks this by program.
The public PMHNP web page does not carry the own-preceptor paragraph; it says only that practicum hours are completed with a University-approved preceptor. The catalog and the international sheet carry the full rule. Forms, deadlines and approval times are in the handbook on the student portal.
What preceptor and site fit
MRU describes each clinical course as a rotation in a psychiatric-mental health specialty area with a preceptor who will guide you. Its own qualification rules for PMHNP preceptors are not public. For a Florida site, rule 64B9-4.001(13) accepts a certified practicing APRN or a licensed MD or DO, and requires a Florida license when the clinical setting is in Florida; our preceptor requirements page covers other states.
Look for settings that match the course in front of you: adult and family psychiatric care for MSN5056C, a practice that sees young people for MSN6057C, and a setting with co-occurring and substance-use cases for MSN6065C. Indirect supervision in MRU's post-master's certificates is capped at eight students per supervisor.
Clearance and records
The PMHNP fee table names "American Data Bank or CastleBranch" for clinical clearance, so confirm which one your cohort uses before paying for anything. A Level II background check with fingerprints is also listed. Immunization proof must come from a Florida-licensed provider, and the flu shot is annual. See the American Data Bank page for how clearance works.
Liability insurance appears twice: as an admission item before the first clinical, and in the general rule that proof is due at least 15 days before any externship. The liability insurance page has the detail.
MRU does not name a tracking system for the PMHNP certificate. Whatever your syllabus uses, the catalog requires logs, case lists and an evaluation signed by your preceptor, your clinical instructor and you by the course's last day, or the course is failed. Our logs and case lists page explains what to keep.
Residence, accreditation and why PMHNP students choose us
You must live in Florida or a SARA member state throughout the certificate; California, which is not a SARA member, is absent from MRU's licensure table. ACEN accredits MRU's master's and post-master's certificate programs, and ACEN's record lists the PMHNP post-master's certificate as an approved option.
We are an independent placement service. For PMHNP students we search for psychiatric preceptors who can cover the part of the hour mix you still need, near where you live, and help you put together the details MRU will check. MRU approves or declines, and we make sure the preceptor file it reviews is complete and aimed at the hours you still need. Tell us your semester and which hours you are missing using the form below.
Questions MRU students ask
Can one preceptor cover all 765 PMHNP hours at MRU?
MRU does not say. It is possible only if that preceptor sees children and adolescents, provides psychotherapy and treats patients across the lifespan, because the hours must include 115, 150 and 500 in those categories. Many students will need more than one setting. Ask your Program Coordinator before semester III whether a split is acceptable and how each category is recorded.
Do I need psychiatric experience to join MRU's PMHNP certificate?
No. MRU lists mental-health experience as preferred, not required. What is required at admission is an MSN, graduate advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and health assessment, an active RN license, residence in Florida or a SARA state, liability insurance before the first clinical, an orientation and an interview.
Does MSN5027 count toward my clinical hours?
Not according to the catalog. Despite the name Psychiatric Mental Health Practicum, MSN5027 is a 2-credit, 30-hour research project on community psychiatric issues, and no clinical hours are listed for it. Your clinical hours come from MSN5056C, MSN6057C and MSN6065C.
When do PMHNP clinical hours start?
In semester III, when MSN5056C and MSN6057C run together for 360 clinical hours combined. MSN6065C follows in semester IV with 405. Because courses go in program order, your preceptor search should be under way during semester II so approval can land before semester III opens.
Is MRU's PMHNP certificate fully online?
The coursework is. The catalog lists the PMHNP certificate as online delivery, but the 765 clinical hours are completed at a psychiatric-mental health site under a preceptor MRU has approved. Plan the search around where you live, since that is where the site has to be reachable.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against MRU's own catalog, addenda and program pages. The nursing student handbook on the MRU student portal and MRU's Office of Academic Affairs have the final word.
MRU says secure your own preceptor. We start the search now.
Tell us your MRU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We look for preceptors who fit the course and help you gather what MRU checks before approving them.
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MSN5700, women's health, pediatrics, psychiatric or acute care - Credentials, license and site details collected before MRU's credential check
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