Spring Arbor post-master's certificates: what each one needs clinically
Spring Arbor offers five online post-master's certificates: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP-PC and Nurse Educator. Their field requirements run from 150 internship hours to 625 clinical hours, and the 2023-24 catalog makes you responsible for the preceptor paperwork at least four weeks before each clinical course. Here is how the five compare, and which page covers each one in depth.
Plan your certificate clinicals
Tell us which certificate, your prior certification and where you live, and a placement advisor will scope the search.
01The five certificates side by side
Lengths, hours and credit ranges below are from SAU's current certificate pages and tuition page. The clinical course numbers are older, taken from the 2023-24 Graduate Catalog, so treat your Brightspace course list as the authority. Every certificate in that catalog opened with NUR 610 Foundation of Post-Graduate Nursing, a 1-credit course, and the current pages say start dates vary with your prerequisites.
| Certificate | Length | Clinical hours | Credits | Clinical course (2023-24) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FNP | 18 to 24 months | 250 to 625 | 23 to 32 | NUR 680N, three semesters, 10 credits |
| PMHNP | 18 to 24 months | 500 | 24 to 33 | NUR 780M, two semesters, 8 credits |
| PNP-PC | 18 to 24 months | 500 | 24 to 33 | NUR 780K, two semesters, 8 credits |
| AGPCNP | 14 to 20 months | 500 | 21 to 30 | NUR 680G, two semesters, 8 credits |
| Nurse Educator | 16 to 22 months | 150 internship hours | 15 to 24 | NUR 660; the current page also lists NUR 780B |
The certificates launched in June 2020, alongside the DNP, with the FNP, AGPCNP and Nurse Educator first. SAU doesn't explain its credit ranges; they appear to depend on what your earlier master's already covers, so ask admissions for your own number.
02What the 2023-24 catalog set for every certificate
The certificate section of the 2023-24 catalog carries the rules that shape the clinical plan. Certificate students complete between 250 and 625 direct-care practice hours depending on track. No more than 125 prior hours may transfer, with one exception: nurses moving from AGNP to FNP may bring up to 375 primary care hours. For the Nurse Educator certificate the figure is 150 hours, split 50 direct care and 100 academic, and none of it can transfer.
The same section sets a four-week minimum lead time, before any clinical course, for the clinical agreement, affiliation and preceptor verification forms, and requires the certificate to be finished within three years. SAU does not publish the current titles of those forms. The clinical paperwork page covers what to gather, and the hour transfer page works through which earlier hours might count.
03Prerequisites, and the residency question
In the 2023-24 catalog, certificate students needed NUR 602 and NUR 602R, NUR 612, NUR 618, a health promotion course (NUR 632 or NUR 633) and statistics before clinicals, whether taken at SAU or matched from their earlier master's. If your first master's included advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and assessment, those may be matched; SAU's review of your transcript at admission settles it, and that review also shapes your start date.
The current certificate pages don't mention a campus residency. Students the 2023-24 catalog excused from NUR 602 and NUR 602R recorded a full advanced head-to-toe exam on video for NUR 610 instead, ahead of any clinical course. Whether you go to Spring Arbor, Michigan or record the video depends on that transcript review, so ask at admission. The MSN residency page explains the in-person version.
04Page errors worth knowing about
Two live certificate pages contain copy mistakes that can confuse a preceptor. The certificate PNP page lists NUR 712, NUR 713 and a course labeled PMHNP Clinical Practicum in its curriculum block, which belong to the psych track. The certificate FNP page pairs the pediatric course NUR 687 with a description borrowed from the PMHNP neurobiology course.
Neither error changes your hours, but don't forward those pages to a prospective preceptor as a course outline. Send the syllabus from Brightspace instead, and let faculty send the rotation objectives once the preceptor is approved. If the course numbers in your plan of study differ from the 2023-24 ones listed here, trust the plan of study. The search-indexed 2024-25 catalog still lists NUR 680G, but the newer catalogs couldn't be read to confirm the rest.
05Who precepts certificate students, and SAU's help
The NP certificates follow the MSN practicum rules: a local certified NP, physician or PA, approved by program faculty for each rotation. The PNP certificate adds pediatric NP scope, and the PMHNP certificate asks you to plan on several placements. For the Nurse Educator certificate, NUR 780B can be precepted by a specialty nurse with a master's degree as well, and NUR 660 is supervised in a nursing education setting.
SAU's 2026 line about working with you to secure placements, with access to a clinical partner network, appears on the FNP and PMHNP certificate pages only. The AGPCNP, PNP and Nurse Educator certificate pages don't carry it. All certificate students can use the program director's volunteer-provider list, the affiliation lookup and a Student Success Coach. The preceptor requirements page covers the rules per track.
06State notes for certificate students
Certificate students face the same four excluded states as everyone else: Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana and New York. SAU's March 2026 disclosure also lists the FNP, AGNP and PMHNP programs as not meeting licensure requirements in those states. Your RN license must be current and unrestricted wherever your clinical hours take place, and any APRN license you already hold should be in order there too. SAU's list says nothing about DC or the territories.
Washington is tangled for certificates. SAU's footnote says its Washington approval, for residents only, covers the PMHNP, FNP and AGNP certificates. The Washington board's June 2026 list includes only the PMHNP certificate among SAU's certificates, and neither source names the PNP or Nurse Educator certificate. Washington residents should get written confirmation before recruiting a preceptor. See the state authorization page.
07Why SAU certificate students choose us
- Read your starting pointWe look at your prior certification, any hours SAU may accept and your target term to size the search.
- Search the right specialtyA placement advisor looks for preceptors who fill the new ground: children and families for FNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP, pediatrics for PNP.
- Beat the four-week markPreceptor CV, license, site information and the agreement and verification forms go into one packet, timed to reach faculty early.
- Cover changesIf a preceptor pulls out between semesters, we search again for the next rotation.
Faculty approve every certificate preceptor and site, working from a packet we have already checked. The PMC-FNP page and PMC-PMHNP page go deeper on the two certificates that carry SAU's 2026 support line. Use the form below to start.
Questions Spring Arbor students ask
Do Spring Arbor certificate students attend the campus residency?
The current certificate pages don't mention one. The 2023-24 catalog offered an alternative for anyone excused from NUR 602 and NUR 602R: a recorded head-to-toe assessment, submitted in NUR 610 before clinicals. The transcript review at admission decides which applies to you.
Can clinical hours from my earlier NP program count?
Some can. Under the 2023-24 catalog most certificate students could transfer up to 125 hours; an AGNP adding the FNP was the exception, with up to 375 primary care hours. The Nurse Educator certificate allowed no transfer. Current policy may differ, so ask admissions to put your accepted hours in writing.
When is certificate clinical paperwork due?
Four weeks ahead at minimum, under the 2023-24 catalog, for the clinical agreement, affiliation and preceptor verification forms. SAU doesn't publish current form titles, so get the exact list from your program. Aim to have a preceptor committed well before that window opens.
How long do I have to finish a Spring Arbor certificate?
The 2023-24 catalog set a three-year limit. Current pages estimate 18 to 24 months for the FNP, PMHNP and PNP certificates, 16 to 22 for the educator and 14 to 20 for the AGPCNP. A late preceptor can stretch that, so plan clinicals early.
Does SAU help certificate students find preceptors?
Two of the five, the FNP and PMHNP certificate pages, promise SAU will work with you on placements and give access to a partner network, though no page promises a site. The AGPCNP, PNP and Nurse Educator certificate pages carry no such line. SAU's general help, including the volunteer-provider list, applies to all five.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Spring Arbor's own published sources. SAU's nursing faculty and current catalog have the final word.
More preceptor leads, sooner, for your SAU clinicals.
Tell us your Spring Arbor track, where you live and when your clinical course starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit SAU's rules for your track and help you get the paperwork in on time.
- Matched to your track: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP, Nurse Educator or DNP
- Clinical agreement, affiliation and preceptor verification forms ready early
- In your home state, near where you live
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what an SAU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.