GW's PMHNP MSN: five psychiatric rotations of 120 hours each
GW's Psychiatric Mental Health NP MSN is 50 credits and 600 precepted hours, but it divides those hours differently from GW's other NP tracks: five clinical courses of 120 hours each. More courses mean more placements, more CORE requests and a preceptor rule in the final course. The program runs part-time only, with the first clinical in semester 4 from a fall start or semester 6 from spring.
Line up all five PMHNP rotations
Tell us your entry term and city. Your placement advisor maps psychiatric preceptors for every course, including the final one.
The program in brief
Two psychiatric didactic courses ride alongside the clinicals on GW's plans. NURS 6242 Psychopharmacology is a co-requisite of NURS 6245, the first rotation, and NURS 6243 Addiction and Change pairs with NURS 6248, the last. Everything else in the first part of the program is the shared graduate core, ending with NURS 6222 Advanced Health Assessment, the gateway to every clinical course. With five placements instead of three, this track asks for more preceptor decisions than any other GW NP MSN, which is why the sequence below matters as much as the course list.
| Item | GW's figure |
|---|---|
| Credits | 50 |
| Precepted clinical hours | 600, as 120 in each of five courses |
| Format | Online |
| Start terms | Fall and spring |
| Pace | Part-time only on the program page |
| Length | 8 semesters from fall, 9 from spring |
| Entry | BSN and an active, unencumbered U.S. RN license |
Five rotations in the order GW's plans run them
GW's plans put NURS 6245 ahead of NURS 6244, and they schedule two of the five courses in the same term:
| Course | Title (Bulletin 2026-27) | Hours | Fall-start plan | Spring-start plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NURS 6245 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Diagnostic Assessment Across the Lifespan | 120 | Semester 4 | Semester 6 |
NURS 6244 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing with Families and Groups Across the Life Span | 120 | Semester 5 | Semester 7 |
NURS 6246 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Advanced Practice Nursing with Individuals Across the Life Span | 120 | Semester 5 | Semester 7 |
NURS 6247 | Population-Based Psychiatric/Mental Health Advanced Practice Nursing Across the Life Span | 120 | Semester 6 | Semester 8 |
NURS 6248 | Integrated Application of Psychiatric/Mental Health Advanced Practice Nursing | 120 | Semester 7 | Semester 9 |
In the Bulletin's description, NURS 6245 pairs its content with a practicum supervised jointly by preceptors and faculty, 120 hours at minimum. The titles show what each rotation should expose you to: diagnostic assessment, work with families and groups, advanced practice with individuals, population-based care and an integrating final course. Settings per course are on the PMHNP clinical courses page.
Four clinical terms in a row
From a fall start the first rotation arrives in semester 4; from spring, in semester 6. Either way it falls in a fall term, so the fall request date (May 1 on GW's website) is the first you meet. Spring requests follow for NURS 6244 and NURS 6246, then summer for NURS 6247, then fall again for NURS 6248. Our first clinical semester guide shows how this compares with GW's other programs.
Each of those terms needs a Site Prospector submission for every preceptor and site, and a practice new to GW needs an affiliation agreement before you can start. That is the real workload of this track: keeping the next placement moving while you log hours in the current one. The dates for each term are on our request deadlines page.
NURS 6244 and NURS 6246 run in the same term. Decide early whether one preceptor covers both or you need two, and file both requests together.
The PMHNP or CNS rule for NURS 6248
GW's 2021 clinical placement guide lists the credentials a preceptor may hold (nurse practitioners, physicians and certified nurse-midwives with two-plus years in an advanced practice role and an unrestricted license) and then adds a rule for the last PMHNP course: NURS 6248 needs a psychiatric mental health NP or a clinical nurse specialist as preceptor. A psychiatrist who suits your earlier courses may therefore not qualify for the final one.
Since the guide is an older document GW keeps online without linking to it, the current rule may differ; confirm it in your NURS 6248 syllabus. The practical step holds either way. Identify your final-course preceptor, ideally a PMHNP, while your earlier rotations are still running, because that rule narrows the pool for the last term. Who can precept each course is on the preceptor requirements page.
Virtual CLASI and the Fall 2027 campus event
PMHNP students have a lighter campus calendar than the primary care tracks. Per GW's DNP and certificate PMHNP pages, CLASI for this specialty happens online as preparation for clinical immersion, and the MSN plans mark no on-campus courses. GW's FAQ still lists CLASI, OSCEs and an end-of-program skills assessment for nurse practitioner students in general, so check how each applies to your cohort.
One change is fixed. Starting in Fall 2027, GW requires everyone enrolled in NURS 6248 to attend a simulation-based learning event on campus. If your final course falls in Fall 2027 or later, plan a campus trip during that term and tell your preceptor early. GW's on-campus events schedule says specific schedules are released about six months before each event, so watch for yours during the spring term that carries NURS 6244 and NURS 6246. More on the gateway course: NURS 6222 and CLASI.
Clearance across a long clinical stretch
A PMHNP student stays in clinical courses for four terms running, longer than any other GW NP MSN, and clearance has to hold the whole way. GW's pre-clinical checklist asks for a background check and drug screen done within the past 18 months, timed to cover the entire clinical period. Complio should be bought no more than four months before your first rotation, and annual items such as TB, flu, health insurance and GW's HIPAA and OSHA modules will renew somewhere in the middle of the sequence.
Your RN license must be valid in each state that hosts a rotation, and a new site in a later term brings its own affiliation agreement and any site requirements. Put every renewal date on one calendar next to your request deadlines, so no rotation stalls on an expired item.
Why PMHNP students choose our placement desk
Five courses over four consecutive terms is exactly the kind of chain we are built to run. Your placement advisor maps the whole sequence at the start: a preceptor for diagnostic assessment in NURS 6245, coverage for families, groups and individual work in the shared term, population-based experience for NURS 6247, and a PMHNP or CNS secured for NURS 6248 well before it is due.
We search in person where you live, confirm each preceptor's availability for the right term, and prepare the license, bio or CV, site signatory and course fit for every Site Prospector. When one rotation ends, the next is already documented. If a preceptor leaves, we are already searching for the replacement. Each placement goes to GW's program director for approval, and every file we prepare is built to clear that review cleanly. See how it works.
Questions GW students ask
Will GW accept a psychiatrist as my PMHNP preceptor?
For most courses, GW's 2021 guide allows it: MDs and DOs appear on its general preceptor list alongside NPs and CNMs, given two years of advanced practice and an active license. The exception is NURS 6248, where the guide names a PMHNP or clinical nurse specialist. Current rules may differ, so confirm each course with your program director.
Is there a full-time PMHNP MSN at GW?
GW's program page shows part-time study only. The fall-start plan takes eight semesters and the spring-start plan nine, with the same five clinical courses in four consecutive terms. If you already hold an MSN, GW's PMHNP post-master's certificate begins rotations with its first course, NURS 6245.
Can one preceptor cover several PMHNP courses?
GW's published rules set no limit, but each course still needs its own Site Prospector entry in CORE, even when the preceptor repeats. The preceptor must suit that course's objectives, and NURS 6248 has its own credential rule. Your Clinical Experience Faculty can confirm whether one practice fits several courses.
How does the MSN compare with GW's post-BSN PMHNP DNP?
The DNP uses the same five clinical courses and 600 precepted hours, then adds indirect DNP practice hours and doctoral coursework for 74 credits over 11 part-time semesters, with NURS 6245 in semester 7. The Fall 2027 campus event in NURS 6248 applies to both. Details: DNP PMHNP.
Can I do PMHNP clinicals in my own state?
In most states, yes. GW's online programs let you complete clinicals where you live, the post-master's PMHNP page speaks of students meeting requirements in their own communities, and GW's faculty page says it is seeking remote preceptors across most states. Keep an RN license for whichever state hosts each rotation; a handful of states are outside GW's online enrollment.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against GW's Bulletin and GW Nursing's own program and clinical pages. Your course, CORE and GW's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
GW asks you to find your own site and preceptor. Hand that search to us.
Tell us your GW program, where you live and which clinical course is next. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, bio and site details GW's review asks for, so your Site Prospector goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice for
NURS 6230toNURS 6232, older-adult primary care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP - License, bio or CV and the site's agreement signatory ready for your CORE submission
- Close to home, in DC, Maryland, Virginia or wherever you live and hold your RN license
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