Spring Arbor post-master's PMHNP: 500 hours for an NP adding psych

01The certificate in numbers

On SAU's live certificate page the PMHNP needs 500 clinical hours and takes an estimated 18 to 24 months; the tuition page adds a credit range of 24 to 33. Unlike the FNP certificate, the page shows a single hour figure rather than a range tied to prior certification.

Here is how the 2023-24 Graduate Catalog, still the newest graduate catalog open to the public, structured the certificate. Course numbers may have changed since, so check your current list in Brightspace or with your advisor.

The gap between 21 credits then and 24 to 33 now isn't explained on SAU's pages. Your advisor can confirm the credits that apply to you once your transcript has been reviewed.

02Do any of your earlier hours count?

Plan for the full 500 until SAU tells you otherwise. The 2023-24 catalog's certificate rules capped transfer at 125 earlier hours for most students; the larger 375-hour allowance applied only to AGNPs moving to FNP. SAU publishes nothing on whether hours from a non-psychiatric NP program can count toward psych objectives.

The live page gives no range, which is one more reason to plan for the whole figure. Ask admissions, in writing, whether any of your earlier hours were accepted, and plan the search around whatever number they confirm. The hour transfer page explains how to make that request and what records to send.

03Course order before NUR 780M

The psych courses run in a strict chain in the 2023-24 catalog: NUR 712, then NUR 713, then NUR 714, then NUR 715. NUR 780M lists NUR 714 as its prerequisite, so the adult psychiatric practice course must be passed before the practicum begins. That gives you the length of the first two or three psych courses to line up a preceptor.

Beyond the psych chain, that catalog expected advanced assessment with its residency, pathophysiology and pharmacology, plus health promotion and statistics, usually matched from your first master's. Anyone excused from the assessment course and residency records a head-to-toe exam on video during NUR 610, so the trip to Spring Arbor, Michigan may not apply to you. The clinical prerequisites page covers the full order.

04Several placements across the lifespan

SAU's 2023-24 course description frames NUR 780M around psychiatric care for every age group and tells students to line up more than one clinical site over the course. For an NP used to one practice, that is a change: expect at least one adult-focused site and one that sees children and adolescents, matching NUR 714 and NUR 715.

Any preceptor must be a certified NP, physician or PA near you, and program faculty must approve them. In psych that points to PMHNPs and psychiatrists, and as a working NP you may already know some. SAU publishes no rule on telehealth hours; read the virtual clinical options page before agreeing to a remote-heavy rotation. The NUR 780M practicum page goes deeper on the course.

05SAU's support line and the four-week rule

SAU added its 2026 placement-support wording to this certificate page too, promising help securing placements near your preferred location and a clinical partner network. Partners go unnamed, and the FAQ's instruction to choose your own preceptor in your home state still stands. Treat the network as an extra lead, not a plan, and see the partner network page.

The deadline that matters most comes from the certificate section of the 2023-24 catalog: four or more weeks before each clinical course, SAU needs your clinical agreement, affiliation and preceptor verification forms. With two or more psych sites, that is two or more sets of forms, each with its own preceptor CV, license and site details. Ask your program for the current form titles, which SAU doesn't publish. The clinical paperwork page covers what to gather for each.

06States: the one certificate Washington lists

The psych certificate isn't an option in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana or New York: SAU lacks nursing authorization there, and its March 2026 disclosure lists the PMHNP as short of licensure requirements in each. An unrestricted, current RN license is needed in whatever state your psych sites are in. If your psych sites sit in a different state from your current NP practice, check with faculty before you commit.

Washington is clearer for this certificate than for the others. SAU's footnote includes the PMHNP certificate in its residents-only approval, and the Washington board's November 2025 and June 2026 lists name it too; it is the only SAU certificate on the board's list. SAU's accreditations page also names the PMHNP among programs approved for practice experiences in Washington. See the state authorization page for the wider picture.

07How we help an NP adding psych

1. Map two placementsWe plan an adult-focused site and a child and adolescent site against your NUR 780M semesters and any hours SAU has accepted.
2. Reach psychiatric cliniciansOur advisor approaches psychiatric NPs and psychiatrists near you, across clinics, community mental health programs and hospital units.
3. File each site on timeEach site gets its own packet: preceptor CV and license, site information, and the agreement and verification forms, sent early enough for the four-week mark.
4. Keep the second site movingWhile the first placement runs, we keep work going on the next, and restart the search if anyone withdraws.

Program faculty approve every psych preceptor and site, and that decision is theirs alone. Share your details through the form below.