Graceland University's online MSN PMHNP
Graceland University's online MSN in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner runs at least 45 semester hours, with 750 practicum hours in the 2026 Graduate Student Handbook spread over three practicums that must go in order. Every preceptor is a psychiatrist or a certified PMHNP, your patients must span the lifespan, and up to 450 hours may be telehealth. The practicums happen near home, arranged by you with Graceland's help.
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Tell us your Graceland program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
The degree in brief
Graceland pairs online cohort courses with practicums guided by faculty and by a preceptor near where you live. PMHNP joined the MSN as its third specialty in the 2020-21 catalog. The degree totals at least 45 graduate semester hours, made up of the core every MSN track takes (14 hours), 28 hours of psychiatric specialty courses and 3 or more elective hours. The catalog gives six years to finish, with a single one-year extension available.
To be admitted you need a BSN from an ACEN- or CCNE-accredited school (the program pages also list NLNAC), a cumulative BSN GPA of 2.50 or higher, and an active RN license with no encumbrance, issued in a U.S. state or territory. Graceland gives priority to applicants who have worked at least 1,000 hours as an RN in the previous 12 months. A clean background check is required before enrollment, and the handbook sets the end of your first term as the deadline for finishing it in Castle Branch.
Graceland's own PMHNP article steers graduates to ANCC's PMHNP-BC exam. When you apply for certification, the School of Nursing's graduate programs mailbox, songraduateprograms@graceland.edu, processes the school's side of the paperwork.
PMHNP courses and where the clinical work sits
| Course | Title | s.h. | Clinical role |
|---|---|---|---|
NURS5196 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Advanced Practice Competencies Lab | 1 | Focus session; taken before Practicum: I |
NURS5430 | Behavioral Therapy Concepts | 2 | Clinical component in your own community |
NURS5662 | PMHNP Foundations: Roles, Issues & Ethical/Legal Principles | 3 | Didactic |
NURS5663 | Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapeutics | 3 | Didactic |
NURS5664 | Diagnosis and Management I (Adult & Geriatrics) | 3 | Leads into Practicum: I |
NURS5665 | Diagnosis and Management II (Pediatrics) | 3 | Leads into Practicum: II |
NURS6841 | PMHNP Practicum: I | 4 | 225 practicum hours |
NURS6842 | PMHNP Practicum: II | 4 | 225 practicum hours |
NURS6843 | PMHNP Practicum: FINAL | 5 | 300 practicum hours |
Five core courses sit under every track: NURS5010, the one-credit introduction taken in your first term that carries the pre-clinical HIPAA and standard precautions requirements; NURS5440 Advanced Pathophysiology; NURS5100 Pharmacotherapeutics; NURS5143 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning; and NURS6940 Applied Theory and Research for Advanced Nursing Practice. Elective options include the two rural health courses and NURS8140 Epidemiology.
750 hours, and the older splits you may still see
Under the handbook's September 10, 2026 update, the three practicums carry 225, 225 and 300 hours, 750 altogether, for anyone who matriculated from August 1, 2023 onward. Students admitted earlier work toward 540, at 180 a practicum, although the handbook moves every returning and new student to 750 once Fall 2026 is under way.
The public web page lags behind. Its certificate course list assigns 150 practice hours to NURS5430 and 200 to each practicum: the same 750, divided another way. Graceland's catalog PDFs from 2020-21 to 2024-25 show 180 a practicum. Go by the handbook, and raise any mismatch on your plan with the PMHNP track coordinator; a side-by-side comparison of all three versions is on the NURS5430 page.
Who precepts and what the practicums must cover
Every PMHNP practicum hour is supervised by one of two professionals: a psychiatrist, or a nurse practitioner holding PMHNP certification. The handbook specifically turns away FNPs and other NPs whose caseload happens to include mental health, unless they carry the PMHNP credential, and physician assistants cannot precept any Graceland practicum. Credential, experience, license and conflict-of-interest standards for every track are collected on the preceptor requirements page.
The patient target is specific to this track. Aim for about 100 encounters in each practicum, 300 in total, divided equally among children and teens under 18, adults aged 18 to 64, and adults over 65. Only hands-on, direct patient contact counts toward hours. Across the three practicums you will work with two or more different preceptors, since any one of them may cover two terms at most. The handbook also advises logging 120 or more hours with an APRN or NP, and here that can only be a certified PMHNP.
Telehealth and licensure
Telehealth is open to PMHNP students alone among Graceland's NP tracks, capped at two terms or 450 hours. The license test follows the patient: during each video visit, both you and the preceptor need a license valid where that patient is sitting, and a multistate compact license reaches patients in compact states. State-by-state detail is on the telehealth hours page.
Your own RN license has to stay clean where you live and in each approved state where you log practicum time, with verification coming from the board itself. Admission also depends on geography: the School of Nursing only takes students from states where it holds approval to offer practicums, and it asks each applicant to check their state directly. Washington adds a wrinkle, since the state commission's list of Graceland programs approved for practice experiences there names FNP and AGACNP, among others, but not PMHNP.
Sequence, pace and the focus session
Graceland does not let PMHNP students reshuffle the practicums. NURS5196, the competencies lab, precedes Practicum: I; the catalog puts NURS5664 ahead of Practicum: I and NURS5665 ahead of Practicum: II; and the handbook requires NURS5430 before the final practicum. Because a trimester holds only one practicum, the sequence spans at least three back-to-back 16-week terms, all inside a 12-month window.
Budget 16 to 24 hours a week in clinic and try to wrap up each practicum by week 14. The focus session attached to NURS5196 runs two or three full days, eight to five. Graceland's handbook and catalog introduction call it a virtual Zoom session, typically around the sixth or seventh week, but the course description has never dropped its reference to a face-to-face session in Independence. Rely on the notice the School of Nursing emails ahead of time; more on the focus sessions page.
How PMHNP preceptors get found at Graceland
In the handbook's model, you arrange your practicums yourself, with Graceland assisting, and complete them in your home community. The process flowchart backs your search with the Graduate Practicums Coordinator, and preceptors and sites Graceland has already approved are listed in its database for you to contact. Each preceptor and site is approved by a contract coordinator, the course's lead faculty, or both.
The forms run on a fixed calendar. For a Fall practicum, Appendix A, Appendix B and your Castle Branch items are due June 15; for Spring, October 15; for Summer, February 15. Site contracts move slowly, and the handbook suggests beginning a year or more ahead of your first practicum. Students may also opt into Graceland's optional placement service. The finding your own preceptor page covers the shared model in detail.
Why PMHNP students choose us
No Graceland track has a tighter preceptor search than PMHNP: two eligible professions, three age bands, a locked order and a license map for every telehealth visit. Our placement desk plans all three practicums as one project. We look for psychiatrists and certified PMHNPs within reach of home in an approved state, test each against Graceland's rules before you ever hear a name, and sequence them so the two-preceptor rule, the PMHNP hours for certification and the lifespan targets all come together by the final term.
Every site arrives with its contract contact, address details, and the preceptor's license, credentials and experience, ready for your Appendix A and the preceptor's Appendix B well ahead of the deadline. When a preceptor pulls out, our replacement search starts immediately. Send your city and your first practicum term through the form below, or see how our process works.
Questions Graceland students ask
How many clinical hours is Graceland's MSN PMHNP?
Under the 2026 Graduate Student Handbook, 750: NURS6841 and NURS6842 at 225 each and NURS6843 at 300. If you matriculated before August 1, 2023, your plan totals 540. The PMHNP web page still lists a 150-plus-600 arrangement that gives NURS5430 hours, so check your own figure with the track coordinator.
Do Graceland PMHNP students ever need to be on campus?
Coursework is entirely online, and practicums happen with a preceptor near home. For the NURS5196 focus session, the handbook and catalog introduction say Zoom, yet the course description still names the Independence, Missouri campus. Wait for Graceland's emailed session details before booking any travel, and ask the track coordinator if the notice leaves any doubt.
Can I complete PMHNP practicums where I work?
Yes, within limits. You cannot use the unit that employs you, and neither your supervisor nor anyone who reports to you can precept you. Students employed by a large health system can sometimes use a separate clinical area within it. The workplace practicum page explains what the coordinators look at.
Does Graceland find PMHNP preceptors for students?
It shares the job with you. The handbook says the university and its students work together to locate preceptors and sites, the Graduate Practicums Coordinator supports your search, and Graceland's database lists preceptors it has already approved. A placement service like ours broadens that search and keeps every form on schedule.
Can I do the PMHNP practicums in Washington State?
Confirm it first. Graceland's catalog names the programs Washington's nursing commission has approved for practice experiences in that state, and PMHNP is missing from the list. The same list still mentions an MSN Nurse Education track Graceland no longer offers, so it may simply be dated. Ask the School of Nursing before planning a Washington practicum.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Graceland's own catalog, program pages and Graduate Student Handbook. Your handbook, your track coordinator and the contract coordinators have the final word.
Graceland's practicums are arranged by you, with Graceland's help. We do the searching.
Tell us your Graceland track, your city and your next practicum. We find preceptors who fit the course, line up what Appendix A and Appendix B ask for, and aim everything at Graceland's paperwork deadline for your term.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, hospital and ICU clinicians for AGACNP, psychiatrists and PMHNPs for PMHNP
- Site address, contract contact and preceptor details ready before the June 15, October 15 or February 15 deadline
- Close to home in your approved state, with a second preceptor planned for Graceland's two-preceptor rule
Start your placement plan
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