Draft 2026-2027 Catalog 
    
    Mar 18, 2026  
Draft 2026-2027 Catalog

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (BSN), DNP


The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program is open to registered nurses who already hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and are interested in providing mental health services for patients across the lifespan in a variety of healthcare settings. The focus is on the diagnosis and management of psychiatric conditions including the provision of psychotherapy and psychotropic medication management.

The PMHNP program at USF is a graduate program. Students complete much of their core DNP courses prior to starting their NP core and PMHNP role courses. Course schedules are designed for full-time students and are responsive to the needs of the working nurse professional. This program is delivered as hybrid format (some in-person and online coursework). The core DNP classes are held at the Hilltop campus in San Francisco on designated Teaching Weekends (Friday-Saturday), plus practica hours. This PMHNP coursework is delivered in an online synchronous format.

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CONCURRENT MASTER’S OPTIONS

BSN-prepared students have the option to complete a concurrent master’s degree in Public Health (MPH).

USF also offers a post-graduate APRN certificate program for the Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.

ACCREDITATION

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, and post-graduate APRN certificate programs at the University of San Francisco, School of Nursing and Health Professions are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

The DNP PMHNP program is included in the accreditation of the DNP degree program in the School of Nursing and Health Professions.

Graduates meet the outcome competencies and practice standards of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) for the DNP. In the program, students complete over 1,000 hours comprised of supervised clinical practice (minimum 750 hours) and an evidence-based practice project (approximately 270 hours).

STATE AUTHORIZATION

Please check our State Authorization Status List for the states and territories from which we can enroll students in specific online degree programs.

Program Learning Outcomes


  • The learner will integrate, translate, and apply established and evolving disciplinary nursing knowledge and ways of knowing, as well as knowledge from other disciplines, including a foundation in liberal arts and natural and social sciences to form the basis for clinical judgment and innovation in nursing practice and  the practice of professional nursing.
  • The learner will practice holistic, individualized, just, respectful, compassionate, coordinated, evidence-based, and developmentally appropriate person-centered care focused on the individual within multiple complicated contexts, including family and/or important others.
  • The learner will participate in collaborative activities with both traditional and non-traditional partnerships from affected communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, and others for the improvement of equitable population health.
  • The learner will generate, synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate nursing knowledge to improve health and transform health care.
  • The learner will employ established and emerging principles of safety and improvement science as core values of nursing practice and enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
  • The learner will demonstrate Intentional collaboration across professions and with care team members, patients, families, communities, and other stakeholders to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes.

 

  • ​The learner will effectively and proactively coordinate resources to provide safe, quality, equitable care to diverse populations, leading within complex systems of health care.
  • The learner will demonstrate the use of information and communication technologies and informatics processes to provide care, gather data, form information to drive decision making, and support professionals as they expand knowledge and wisdom for practice and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality, and efficient healthcare services.
  • The learner will form and cultivate a sustainable professional nursing identity, accountability, perspective, collaborative disposition, and comportment that reflects nursing’s characteristics and values.
  • The learner will participate in activities and self-reflection that foster personal health, resilience, and well-being, lifelong learning, and support the acquisition of nursing expertise and assertion of leadership.
  • The learner will demonstrate compassionate care for the whole person by integrating Jesuit values of cura personalis, persons for other, contemplatives in action, fostering a commitment to lifelong learning, social justice, solidarity with vulnerable populations, and ethical decision-making in their practice.

 

Major Requirements (77 units)


All courses require a B- grade or higher or a Satisfactory grade to count for credit.

Semester 1: Fall (7 units)


Semester 8: Spring (9 units)


Semester 9: Summer (9 units)


Semester 10: Fall (7 units)