CPR, ACLS, PALS and NRP for UTA clinicals
Expect to hold current CPR for every UTA clinical course, and Texas hospitals ask for it at the healthcare-provider level. ACLS, PALS and NRP appear in UTA's clearance policy only as costs students pay. UTA does not publish which tracks need them, so your Exxat list and your site settle it.
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What UTA's clearance policy says
The Graduate Nursing Clinical Clearance Requirements policy mentions life-support training in one place: its list of costs that belong to the student. CPR, ACLS, PALS and NRP all appear there, next to vaccines, titers, TB testing, the background check and the drug screen.
Read that list for what it says and no more. It confirms CPR as a clearance cost for the MSN Education, NP and DNP students the policy covers. It names ACLS, PALS and NRP too, but it does not say which students need them. No public UTA page does; the policy leaves the detail to the clinical management software, where all requirements are listed and tracked.
Several tracks ask for CPR before you are even admitted. The 2026-27 catalog lists CPR certification among the admission criteria for Adult-Gerontology Acute Care, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care, Pediatric Primary Care, Psychiatric-Mental Health and Nursing Administration.
CPR at the healthcare-provider level
Hospitals are more specific than UTA's graduate policy. The DFW Hospital Council Foundation's standard student orientation checklist asks for healthcare-provider-level CPR. UT Southwestern's school attestation letter for APRN students covers BLS, Houston Methodist asks NP students for BLS documentation, and the Texas Medical Center verification form lists CPR.
UTA's undergraduate rule shows how it words the requirement when it does spell it out: prelicensure BSN students need an American Heart Association BLS Provider card that is valid for the whole semester. That rule is published for the BSN, not the graduate programs, but it is a sensible benchmark while you confirm the wording of your own item in Exxat.
When you book a course, check that it is at the healthcare-provider level the DFW checklist describes, and that the card's expiry date runs past the end of your next clinical course.
ACLS, PALS and NRP: what to ask for your track
UTA has not published a track-by-track rule for advanced life-support cards. The table lists the settings UTA itself describes for each clinical track, with the question worth putting to your program before your first clinical course. The right-hand column is a question to ask, not a UTA requirement.
| Track | Settings UTA describes | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| AGACNP | Specialty practice and high acuity health care settings | Is ACLS on my Exxat list? |
| AGPCNP | Primary and long-term health care settings | Is CPR the only card required? |
| FNP | Selected primary health practice sites | Is CPR the only card required? |
| PNP-PC | Primary health practice sites, birth to 21 | Is PALS on my Exxat list? |
| PNP-AC | Hospitals, long-term care, emergency departments, specialty clinics | Is PALS on my Exxat list? |
| NNP | Admission requires RN experience in a Level III or IV NICU | Is NRP on my Exxat list? |
| PMHNP | Inpatient psychiatric, community and forensic settings | Is CPR the only card required? |
Send the question to your program's mailbox in the Graduate Clinical Coordination Team listing, such as AGAcuteNP@uta.edu, PediacuteNP@uta.edu or NNP@uta.edu, and ask the site as well. A site can require a card UTA does not, because the policy lets clinical agencies add requirements of their own. The course pages for AGACNP and PNP tracks describe those settings in more detail.
Keeping cards current in Exxat
Cards expire, and Exxat tracks it. Compliance items move through statuses that include Approved, Expiring and Expired, and the policy expects you to stay compliant for the whole program, not only at admission. A card that runs out halfway through an 11-week or 13-week clinical course leaves you out of compliance in the middle of your hours.
Two habits help. Upload a renewed card through the Compliance tile as soon as you have it, not when the old one lapses. And before each clinical course, check the card's expiry against the course end date, not its start date. The online clinical schedule page shows how those course lengths fall across the year.
Keep your own copy of every card as well. Some sites, Houston Methodist among them, ask for BLS documentation directly as part of their own onboarding.
Who pays, and when to book
You pay. The clearance policy puts CPR, ACLS, PALS and NRP on the list of costs that are the student's responsibility, and UTA publishes no course prices. The clinical clearance page lists everything else on that cost line.
Timing matters more than the fee. Clearance items are due within 60 days of starting the program, so a CPR card belongs in your first semester. If your Exxat list includes an advanced card, check whether it is due with the rest of clearance or before a specific clinical course, and book so it stays valid through that course.
If you are unsure whether a card you already hold meets UTA's item, upload it and watch the status before paying for a second course on a guess. A Not Approved status tells you it falls short.
Why students have us ask the site first
UTA's Exxat list sets the floor for life-support training, and every clinical site can add to it. That second layer is where students get caught out, and it is the layer we check for you.
When a placement advisor approaches a prospective preceptor on your behalf, the site's life-support expectations are among the first questions asked, next to its orientation window and immunization rules. You hear the answer early enough to book an ACLS, PALS or NRP course before onboarding, and the preceptor we bring you already matches your track's setting. For the larger Texas systems, the DFW hospital onboarding page sets out those site rules. Tell us your track and where you live.
Questions UTA students ask
Does UTA require ACLS for AGACNP students?
UTA has not published that. ACLS appears in the clearance policy only on the list of costs students pay, with no track attached. Check the certification items in your Exxat compliance list, write to the AGACNP mailbox at AGAcuteNP@uta.edu if it is unclear, and ask your site too, since clinical agencies can add requirements.
Is BLS the same thing as CPR for UTA?
UTA's graduate policy uses the word CPR. Its undergraduate rule names an American Heart Association BLS Provider card, and Texas hospitals use terms like BLS and healthcare-provider-level CPR. A healthcare-provider BLS course fits all of those descriptions, but confirm the exact wording of the CPR item in your Exxat list before you book.
Do DNP students need CPR?
The DNP handbook's list of items due before the project implementation course names liability insurance, immunizations, a background check and a drug screen, and does not mention CPR. The clearance policy does cover DNP students, though, and lists CPR among clearance costs. Check whether a CPR item appears in your own Exxat compliance list.
Do I need CPR before I am admitted?
For several tracks, yes. The 2026-27 catalog lists CPR certification among the unconditional admission criteria for AGACNP, AGPCNP, PNP-PC, PMHNP and Nursing Administration. After admission it becomes part of your clearance, which you keep current in Exxat for the rest of the program so the card never lapses during a clinical course.
Will UTA reimburse my certification course?
No public UTA source describes reimbursement. The clearance policy says students are responsible for all clearance requirement costs and names CPR, ACLS, PALS and NRP among them. If your employer offers life-support training, that arrangement is between you and your employer; UTA's policy simply treats the cost as yours.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against UTA's own sources. UTA's current handbook and your course faculty have the final word.
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