UTA post-master's NP certificates: clinicals in a new population
A UTA post-master's NP certificate can shorten the classroom side through a gap analysis, but the clinical side is the new track's full sequence, taken with preceptors who practice in that population. Online certificate sections carry a NURSC prefix, and the seven-state limit and the find-your-own-preceptor model are the same as for the MSN.
Plan clinicals for your certificate
Tell us the certificate you are adding, your current NP role and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what a preceptor in the new population looks like.
Seven certificates, the same clinical courses
UTA lists seven post-master's NP certificates in its campus-based format and five of them in the accelerated online format; Family PMHNP and Neonatal NP are campus-based only. Each certificate's catalog page names the clinical courses, and they are the MSN track's own courses.
| Certificate | Clinical courses | Catalog credits | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| FNP | NURS 5337, NURS 5338, NURS 5660 | 24 | Campus and online |
| AGACNP | NURS 5354, NURS 5355, NURS 5640 | 20 | Campus and online |
| AGPCNP | NURS 5352, NURS 5353, NURS 5645 | 20 | Campus and online |
| Family PMHNP | NURS 5324, NURS 5325, NURS 5650 | 23 | Campus only |
| PNP Acute Care | NURS 5373, NURS 5374, NURS 5680 | 24 | Campus and online |
| PNP Primary Care | NURS 5371, NURS 5372, NURS 5685 | 20 (UTA Online page: 18) | Campus and online |
| Neonatal NP | NURS 5450, NURS 5610 | Set in the catalog | Campus only |
Catalog credit totals assume the gap analysis is done, and NP core courses may be added to them. Because the clinical courses are shared, the setting and population guidance for each MSN track applies to you as well; the track guides are listed on the programs page. AGACNP certificate students have one extra check: UTA's 2026-27 course inventory lists new acute care clinical courses that the current degree plans do not yet use, so confirm which numbers your plan names.
What the gap analysis decides
Every UTA NP certificate catalog page says the required courses “will be determined by a gap analysis completed by the program director.” The MSN and PMC handbook adds how it starts: you submit a GAP Analysis Request Form with syllabi for your earlier courses, from the semester and year you actually took them. If your MSN is several years old, start collecting those syllabi now, because the request form asks for them.
The result sets your didactic courses, which can be few; UTA Online quotes “As few as 5 courses” for its NP certificates. It also sets when your first clinical course arrives, and that date is the one your preceptor search works back from.
What it does not do is shrink the clinical sequence. Every certificate catalog page lists the clinical courses, and UTA's handbook says clinical hours are not waived in any NP track. Read your gap analysis result for the clinical course numbers and their order, and ask the program director for the hour target in each if the result does not state one.
Hours: your first specialty's hours do not carry over
Texas's APRN education rule, 22 TAC §219.9, requires each role and population focus to carry at least 500 separate, non-duplicated clinical hours, and says post-master's students complete at least 500 clinical hours that “shall not be waived.” The Board of Nursing's licensure page uses the same “non-duplicated” wording, and a Texas APRN application must document the program's clinical hours and the population focus they served.
In plain terms, if you completed an earlier NP program, its hours were counted for that population and are not meant to be counted again for this one. An FNP adding PMHNP should plan on the full psychiatric sequence.
UTA publishes an hour figure for only one certificate. The UTA Online post-master's FNP page lists 180, 180 and 360 hours for its three courses. The other certificate pages name the courses without totals, while UTA's MSN tracks carry 720 hours each, or 600 for Neonatal NP, on its 2020-21 course lists. For context, Texas programs reported median precepted hours of 667.5 for FNP and 607.5 for PMHNP post-graduate certificates in 2025. The track-by-track view is on clinical hours by track.
Do not plan your preceptor schedule on the assumption that a certificate means fewer clinical hours. Get the target for each course in writing first.
NURSC sections and the certificate calendar
UTA's accelerated online course schedule lists certificate sections under a NURSC prefix, grouped as “Nursing Certificate Courses.” The four digits follow the NURS course; UTA Online's Administration certificate page, for example, lists NURSC 5342 with the same 45 hours of clinical application as NURS 5342. The catalog does not define NURSC, or the NURSG prefix used on RN-to-MSN pages.
Match by number and title together. The 2026-27 course inventory gives NURS 5454 one title under the NURS prefix and a different one under its NURSC and NURSG versions, so check both before you give a preceptor your course name.
The online certificates also run on their own calendar. UTA Online's certificate pages list earlier application deadlines than the MSN pages, and a Fall III start on 11/2/26 with a 9/25/26 deadline. Once you know your first clinical course, line it up with the dates in the online clinical schedule so your preceptor gets course dates, not program dates.
Finding a preceptor outside your current specialty
If you already practice as an NP, your professional network tends to sit in the population you serve now, which is exactly the population this certificate is not about. If your MSN is in another field, the gap analysis may add NP core courses, and your preceptor contacts start from scratch.
UTA's rule that a preceptor have a year or more in the specialty role means the specialty you are adding, not the one you practice now, and the preceptor's license must be active and unencumbered. A colleague in your current specialty can be a good referral source, but is unlikely to qualify as your preceptor unless they also practice in the new one.
Your workplace is allowed within limits. UTA's FAQ lets you train where you work when the placement fits the course's clinical focus guidelines, though never inside your own department or under the supervisor you report to. Hours are student time: UTA says you cannot be paid by your employer or preceptor for them. The details are on clinical hours at your employer.
Admission requires an MSN from an accredited program and an unencumbered RN license for the clinical courses. An APRN license you already hold does not change which preceptor types each course accepts; those categories are listed for each clinical course in UTA's course materials.
States, clearance and when to start
UTA's state-authorization map groups the certificates with the MSN: “MSN Nurse Practitioner & Post Master's Certificates” are open to residents of Texas and six more states: Colorado, California, Arkansas, New Mexico, Florida and Virginia. Before any out-of-state preceptor search, move or travel assignment, the handbook says to email NursingSOA@uta.edu; see out-of-state clinicals.
The placement model is the MSN's. UTA's certificate page repeats the MSN's wording: you find a preceptor who fits your program, and the Department of Graduate Nursing helps students who run into trouble. You buy Exxat on entry, and your compliance file, minus the background check and drug screen, has to be complete within 60 days of starting your first graduate course.
UTA's online FAQ recommends a 12 to 16-week lead before the first clinical course. With as few as five courses in some online certificates, that window can open almost as soon as you enroll, so start the search when your gap analysis comes back.
Why certificate students choose us
Whether you already practice as an NP or are coming from another MSN, the usual gap is contacts in the new population. A placement advisor searches for a preceptor near you who has at least a year in the specialty you are adding, in a setting that fits the course your gap analysis puts first, and outside your own department and reporting line.
From there we help you build the request UTA reviews, with the preceptor's resume, a license check, the site details and agreement forms in order. If a preceptor drops out between courses or partway through one, we stay available to search again. UTA approves every preceptor, site and agreement, and each request we help assemble answers the reviewers' questions up front. Read how it works, or use the form below.
Questions UTA students ask
How long does a UTA post-master's NP certificate take?
UTA does not publish a month range for its NP certificates. UTA Online quotes “As few as 5 courses,” and online courses run one at a time, from 3 to 13 weeks depending on the course. Campus-based certificates follow the semester calendar. Your gap analysis sets the actual course list, so the result is the best guide to your timeline.
Can I add a second certificate during UTA's AGACNP MSN?
UTA Online's AGACNP page notes that an AGPCNP post-master's certificate can be added and that students may be eligible to sit for two certification exams, saving up to 16 credits. That adds the primary care clinical sequence, NURS 5352, NURS 5353 and NURS 5645, with its own preceptors. Ask your advisor how the two plans fit together.
Which certification exam follows a UTA NP certificate?
It depends on the population. The Texas Board of Nursing's recognized exams include ANCC or AANPCB for FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP, ANCC or AACN for AGACNP, PNCB for both pediatric tracks, and NCC for Neonatal NP. Texas no longer grants interim approval, so you cannot practice in the new population until you are certified and licensed in it.
Do UTA certificate students use Exxat?
Yes. Several UTA Online certificate pages name Exxat as the Graduate Nursing clinical management system, and UTA requires graduate nursing students to purchase it on entry. You upload compliance documents there and submit each self-placement request through MyRequest when the course appears. More on Exxat at UTA.
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
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