Vanderbilt University PMHNP Program

Vanderbilt's PMHNP (lifespan) specialty runs four semesters, 16 months, for full-time students, with a part-time plan spread over seven terms. Over the program, students come to campus for one to three learning blocks every semester, each lasting three to four days. The MSN includes 560 hours of directly supervised clinical practice, with sites across child and adolescent, adult and geriatric psychiatric settings.

Tuition is $2,057 per credit hour on Vanderbilt's current tuition page, which is labeled 2025-2026. Yearly fees are separate: health insurance at $4,074, student service fees of $791 and a student health fee of $1,012. Vanderbilt says every full-time Master of Science in Nursing, Master of Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice student receives a scholarship unless another scholarship already covers their tuition in full.

Vanderbilt splits placement by geography. For students in the Middle Tennessee area, the Clinical Placement office "works with specialty faculty to secure clinical sites." Students admitted from outside that area are responsible for their initial preceptor search and outreach, with faculty and placement staff working alongside them, and Vanderbilt draws on more than 3,500 contracts and 12,000 alumni to help. Vanderbilt also says it may not be able to accommodate placements in every part of the country.

Nurses who already hold a master's in nursing can take the post-master's certificate. Each student's plan is set by a gap analysis of prior coursework; Vanderbilt's sample plans run three terms, and full-time students start in the fall. People with a bachelor's in another field can become PMHNPs through two consecutive programs: Vanderbilt's Master of Nursing Prespecialty, 66 credit hours over four semesters, and then the PMHNP certificate in three to four more semesters. Vanderbilt also offers the PMHNP specialty as a BSN-to-DNP.

The MSN requires a BSN and an RN license, and standardized test scores are not required. Kansas residents may enroll only under conditions Vanderbilt sets for that state's 750-hour rule, and residents of six U.S. territories are ineligible. The Master's and Post-Graduate APRN Certificate programs hold CCNE accreditation through June 30, 2031.