WGU PMHNP Program: An Online MSN Based in Utah

WGU says on its state licensure page that its main office is in Utah, and CCNE lists its Department of Nursing in Salt Lake City. For Utah nurses that matters because the state's other PMHNP is different in kind: the University of Utah PMHNP is a hybrid BSN-to-DNP. WGU's PMHNP MSN is the master's-level route.

WGU's own Utah licensure guide says both the PMHNP MSN and the PMHNP post-master's certificate meet the educational requirements for Utah licensure, with the AANP or ANCC exam as the certification step. Students complete their clinical internships in the state where they live and are licensed, and seek their first APRN license there, so a Utah resident trains in Utah.

WGU charges $6,955 per six-month term, a figure that includes tuition and all program fees, rather than a price per credit. Students take courses one at a time and move on once they pass each assessment, so the total depends on how many terms you need. WGU says graduates typically finish in 2.5 years, and that the program cannot be completed in fewer than 18 months. The MSN includes 650 direct patient care clinical hours, or 750 for Kansas students who started on or after March 1, 2025 and plan to be licensed there.

WGU says it is currently accepting applications from a limited number of students for this program.

WGU is direct about clinical placement: students identify their own preceptors. The clinical experience page explains that because preceptors volunteer without pay, "we do not have a list of Preceptors for students to choose from." A Placement Coordinator, assigned a year before the first clinical internship, handles approval and the affiliation agreement once you have found one.

That year of lead time is the real planning window. Our guide to finding a nurse practitioner preceptor covers how students approach it.

The MSN is for nurses with a BSN; nurses who already hold an MSN take the post-master's certificate instead. WGU asks for a 3.0 GPA across five prerequisite courses (anatomy and physiology I and II, statistics, human growth and development, and pharmacology), a current RN license, an essay, a resume and three letters of recommendation, and strongly prefers a year of RN experience.

The PMHNP post-master's certificate is 11 courses, typically 1.5 years depending on transfer credit, at the same $6,955 per term, with starts on the first of every month. Neither program is open to permanent residents of California, the District of Columbia, Louisiana, New York, North Dakota or Washington. WGU's Master's and Post-Graduate APRN Certificate programs hold CCNE accreditation through June 30, 2034.