Admission Requirements: Post-Master's Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Next Term Application Deadline

07.01.2025

Total Credits

Dependent on educational background

Next Term Starts

08.25.2025

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN

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Program of Interest*
Program requires the completion of an associate degree program. Have you earned an associate degree?*
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- No
Program requires the completion of a BSN degree program. Have you earned a BSN degree?*
- Yes (*includes in-progress degree)
- No
Desired Start Date*
*This program is now enrolling for Summer 2025.

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APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN

Get started on your NursingCAS application today!

REGISTER FOR OUR FALL 2025 INFO SESSION

Join Program Director R. Lee Tyson, DNP, DMin, APRN-CNP, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP, CNE, CTMH, FAAN, FAANP, FIANN, from University of Cincinnati’s online Post-Master’s Psychiatric-Mental Health NP online program.

Admission Requirements

Designed for working nurses with busy schedules, our online Post-Master of Nursing (Post-MSN) graduate certificate programs enable you to pursue your professional goals on your own time. Earn your graduate degree without forfeiting your current position.

Prerequisites

Current unrestricted RN license and a master’s in nursing degree from a regionally accredited institution
At least one year of clinical experience
A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the last degree earned
Completion of an undergraduate statistics course with a 2.0 or higher on 4.0 scale.
Science GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
Master of Science degree conferred from a regionally and nursing (ACEN* or CCNE) accredited institution

Required Courses

Advanced physiology/pathophysiology, including general principles that apply across the life span
Advanced health assessment, which includes assessment of all human systems, advanced assessment techniques, concepts, and approaches
Advanced pharmacology, which includes pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacotherapeutics of all broad categories of agents

These courses must be passed with a B or better, taken across the lifespan for the Advanced Practice Nurse and must be taken separately- these are not permitted to be combined. You may be admitted if you do not have these courses, and these credits will be added to your program schema.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Application Transcripts References Personal Goal Statement Professional Resume Additional Fees Restrictions

Application

Applications for the online Master of Science in Nursing and online Post-MSN Certificate programs are submitted through NursingCAS.

Helpful Tips:

You can work on the application without submitting the application
You can pay and submit while waiting on transcripts/reference letters
Full coursework entry is required for the application

Transcripts

Official transcripts from all institutions attended should be sent directly to NursingCAS (American Association of College of Nursing). NO TRANSCRIPTS should be sent to the University.

International Transcripts must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES). WES evaluations are to be sent to NursingCAS directly.

References

Three letters of reference

References should come from individuals who can attest to your academic and professional skills. Reference letters should come from educators, managers, supervising physicians or APNs in specialty. Peer references are not encouraged.

Goal Statement

Length: 500–700 words

Your goal statement should:

Demonstrate a clear understanding of the specialty area
Explain your interest in the specialty
Highlight your preparedness and reasons for pursuing the program
Describe your goals after graduation

This statement will also serve as an academic writing sample.

Professional Resume

Professional resume required.

Demonstrate your interst in Psychiatric-Mental Health by including leadership roles, committees, volunteer work, professional organizations, and special certifications.

The review committee is looking to see that you are developing yourself professionaly beyond your current role requirements. Take time to properly update your resume with all of the items listed aboveto set yourself apart from other applicants.

Additional Fees

~~$20 non-refundable University of Cincinnati Graduate School application fee.~~ Currently waived through the Summer 2025 fiscal year!
$80 NursingCAS application fee, paid directly to NursingCAS.
Non-refundable matriculation fee required upon acceptance (applied toward your tuition in your first semester).

Restrictions

State & U.S. Territory Restrictions
- The University of Cincinnati’s online graduate nursing programs are not currently available to students located in Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee. For more information on restricted states, please visit our State Authorization page.
- Currently, we cannot admit students from any U.S. territory: America Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
International Student Restrictions
- An international student is defined as someone who holds citizenship in another country and is not a permanent resident of the United States.
- International students are admissible to our online programs, providing they commit to doing their clinical requirements in the United States.
- Due to the clinical requirements in our graduate online programs, international students must already have a visa that gives them legal status to work within the United States or must be able to obtain the legal status that will allow them to come to the U.S. and engage in clinical activities.
- International students are not eligible for student visas for online programs, including clinical requirements.
- It is the responsibility of the international student to have the appropriate work authorization documents or be able to obtain the appropriate work authorization before applying to online programs in the College of Nursing at the University of Cincinnati.
Clinical Restrictions
- We cannot admit residents of U.S. Territories or in a country outside of the U.S. Only persons serving in the military who reside on a military base and can complete clinical requirements on the military base should apply to our College of Nursing graduate online programs. Prior to application to our program, the prospective student should confirm that they will have the ability to complete clinical requirements on the military base.
- Students cannot complete clinicals at a U.S. Embassy.

Federal regulations require the University of Cincinnati to publicly disclose whether completion of certain programs that lead or may lead to professional licensure or certification would meet a given state’s educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification required for employment in an occupation (regardless of whether the program is on-ground, online, or hybrid). To learn whether a University program meets a given state’s educational requirements, please visit the University of Cincinnati State Authorization webpage.