UTA PMHNP clinical courses: NURS 5324, 5325 and 5650
Three clinical courses carry UTA's psychiatric-mental health NP track: a pair of 3-credit practice courses, then a 6-credit advanced practicum, each centered on psychiatric care from childhood to old age. The track totals 720 clinical hours on UTA's 2020-21 course list, and no current UTA page breaks that figure down by course.
Find a psychiatric clinical site
Tell us which PMHNP course comes next, the ages your sites already cover and where you live. A placement advisor replies with options that fit.
The three PMHNP clinical courses
The PMHNP clinical courses follow the same three-step pattern as UTA's other NP tracks, with psychiatric content from the first day. Titles, credits and prerequisites below come from UTA's 2026-27 catalog.
| Course | Catalog title | Credits | Prerequisites | Catalog focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NURS 5324 | Psychiatric Mental Clinical Practice I (catalog spelling) | 3 | NURS 5222 and NURS 5223, GPA 3.0 | Commonly occurring psychiatric and mental health disorders across the life span |
NURS 5325 | Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Practice II | 3 | NURS 5324 or concurrent enrollment | Commonly occurring and complex disorders across the life span |
NURS 5650 | Psychiatric Mental Health NP Advanced Practicum | 6 | NURS 5324 and NURS 5325 | Family psychiatric mental health advanced nursing practice |
The catalog title for NURS 5324 leaves out the word “Health,” so search for it both ways when you look it up. NURS 5325 can run alongside NURS 5324 rather than after it, which changes how much preceptor time you need in a single term.
Unlike UTA's accelerated online NP tracks, which publish 11-week and 13-week lengths for their clinical courses, UTA publishes no online week counts for these three. The format question is covered further down.
Hours: a 720 total, no course-by-course figure
UTA's 2020-21 PMHNP course list says “46 Semester Credit Hours, 720 Clinical Hours.” Current UTA pages still link that list, though it predates the MSN core courses UTA uses now, so confirm the total against your current syllabus.
No UTA page assigns hours to NURS 5324, NURS 5325 or NURS 5650 individually. The catalog's only clue gives the 6-credit practicum a credit-to-clinical-hour ratio of 1:4 and stops there, never turning it into clock hours. Another track's per-course split is not evidence of yours.
The rules on what counts are firmer. Per UTA's MSN handbook, every hour toward the national 500-hour floor has to be direct patient care; simulation and observation can only add hours past that floor, and UTA waives none of the program's hours. UTA clinical hours by track sets PMHNP beside the other tracks.
Get the hour target for each course from your syllabus or course faculty before a preceptor builds your schedule.
What comes before the first clinical
NURS 5324 requires NURS 5222 and NURS 5223 plus a 3.0 GPA, so the two population courses gate your clinical start. These are the PMHNP-specific courses in the 2026-27 degree plan:
NURS 5410Introduction to Psychiatric Mental Health for the PMHNP (4 credits)NURS 5140Psychiatric Assessment Lab for the PMHNP (1 credit)NURS 5112Therapy Concepts for PMHNPs (1 credit)NURS 5213Psychopharmacology for the PMHNP (2 credits)NURS 5222Child, Adolescent, and Special Populations Psychiatric Mental Health for the PMHNP (2 credits)NURS 5223Adult and Geriatric Psychiatric Mental Health for the PMHNP (2 credits)
Around these sit the MSN core and the NP courses every track shares (NURS 5120, NURS 5130, NURS 5220, NURS 5315, NURS 5334 and NURS 5350). Have the preceptor search well along before NURS 5222 and NURS 5223 finish, because UTA's online FAQ suggests a 12- to 16-week lead on the search, counted back from the first clinical course.
Sites and patients across the lifespan
UTA's PMHNP page describes graduates treating patients of every age, from children through older adults, in three kinds of setting: inpatient psychiatric hospitals, community practices and facilities, and forensic institutions. The first two clinical course descriptions repeat the lifespan focus and the practicum is framed as family psychiatric care, so your sites across three courses should add up to that range.
That shapes how you plan. If your first site sees only adults, work out early where you will see children and adolescents later. UTA publishes no population minimums for PMHNP, so ask your course faculty whether your mix of sites meets what NURS 5325 and NURS 5650 expect.
Telehealth is a frequent question for psychiatric rotations. No UTA source we reviewed addresses telehealth hours at all, so get your course faculty's answer before counting any. Our page on virtual clinical options explains what is and is not settled for UTA hours.
Who can precept a PMHNP course
Two floors apply to anyone who precepts for UTA's graduate programs: a provider license that is active and carries no encumbrance, and a year or more of clinical work in the specialty role. UTA's program pages add that the preceptor should bring expertise in their own advanced practice specialty.
Beyond those floors, UTA's online FAQ says every clinical course names its own approved preceptor types, kept in the course materials rather than online. Nothing public settles whether a psychiatrist, a PA or a licensed therapist may precept a PMHNP course, so check your course's list before you approach anyone; UTA preceptor requirements sets out what is published.
The Clinical Coordinator, course faculty or both sign off on each preceptor and site, and the clinical agency needs an affiliation agreement with UTA before any hours happen there. Ask early whether your site already has one, because a new agreement has to be finished before your first hour counts.
Campus-based or online: what UTA's sources say
The two sources disagree. In UTA's MSN handbook, PMHNP sits on the campus-based list, not the accelerated online one, and no accelerated online PMHNP page turned up in our research. Yet UTA's PMHNP page describes the program in its very first line as fully online. Neither source gives week counts for the PMHNP clinical courses.
Campus-based programs run on the traditional semester calendar with fall and spring starts. UTA says its hybrid courses meet in person only a few times, three being typical. Confirm your own format and course dates with your advisor; the PMHNP preceptor page looks at the wording conflict in more detail.
The Family PMHNP post-master's certificate uses the same three clinical courses. The catalog lists it at 23 credits, the program director adjusts your plan by gap analysis, and the certificate page states no hour total.
Why PMHNP students choose us
PMHNP placements carry a planning problem the other tracks mostly avoid: the courses describe care across the life span, and one psychiatric site may cover only part of that range. Seeing the whole range early is the part of the search PMHNP students hand to us.
A placement advisor plans your psychiatric preceptors and sites course by course, so the adult, child and adolescent, or mixed-age patients you still need are lined up before the course that calls for them. When a preceptor agrees, we assemble the pieces the Clinical Coordinator reviews, namely the preceptor's CV, a license check and the site's details, and if a preceptor withdraws mid-term, we take up the search for the next one. UTA gives the approval, and your request reaches it with every piece in place. Start with the form below; how it works shows each step.
Questions UTA students ask
How many clinical hours is NURS 5650 at UTA?
UTA has not published a figure for NURS 5650 by itself. The catalog says it is 6 credits with a 1:4 credit-to-clinical-hour ratio, without converting that to clock hours, and the 720 total from UTA's 2020-21 list covers all three PMHNP clinical courses together. Your syllabus or course faculty will give the exact target for your section.
Can a psychiatrist precept a UTA PMHNP student?
UTA's public pages do not say. Earlier UTA syllabi for the FNP and AGACNP tracks accepted physicians, but no PMHNP-specific list is public, and the current categories for each clinical course are kept in the course materials. Check that list before you approach a psychiatrist, and make sure they meet UTA's license and one-year minimums.
Can I do PMHNP clinical hours where I work?
Yes, within limits. UTA's online FAQ permits hours with your employer provided the site suits the course's clinical focus. Two exceptions apply: nothing inside your own department, and no precepting by the supervisor you report to now. A nurse on an inpatient psychiatric unit might look at an outpatient or consult service in the same system instead. Details are on clinical hours at your employer.
Do I need to live in Texas for UTA's PMHNP clinicals?
Not strictly, but the map is short. Texas is one of seven states where UTA's NP programs can enroll students; the others are Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Florida and Virginia. Your RN license must cover the state where each clinical takes place, and UTA expects a note to NursingSOA@uta.edu before any preceptor search outside your home state. See out-of-state clinicals.
Does the PMHNP certificate require all 720 hours?
UTA's Family PMHNP certificate page names the same clinical courses, NURS 5324, NURS 5325 and NURS 5650, but does not state an hour total. UTA's handbook says no required clinical hours are waived, and your plan is set by the program director's gap analysis. Ask for your hour target in writing when your gap analysis comes back.
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.
Hand us the search. Keep your term.
Tell us your UTA track, your county and when your clinical course opens. We look for a preceptor and a site that fit what UTA asks for, and we help you put the approval packet together.
- Matched to your track's population and setting
- Paperwork prepared the way UTA's clinical team expects it
- In person near you, or a virtual option where your course allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a UTA-ready preceptor and site look like for you.