UTRGV nursing programs and the clinicals inside them
UTRGV prepares nurse practitioners in two specialties: family practice, through the campus-based MSN in Edinburg and a post-master's FNP certificate, and psychiatric mental health, through a post-master's certificate taught fully online. The School of Nursing also runs an online DNP, the BSN on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses and an online RN to BSN. Each has its own guide below.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UTRGV program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your UTRGV course.
How the FNP and PMHNP routes differ
The FNP route is built around two long clinical courses, NURS 6612 and NURS 6613, with 224 and 336 hours, after a role course with two NP preceptors and shorter clinical pieces in the core. Students hold a Texas RN license and attend class in Edinburg, so in practice their clinicals are in Texas, although UTRGV publishes no Texas-only rule. The PMHNP certificate runs 520 hours with a board-certified psychiatric preceptor in the student's own state.
The clinical hours planner sets the programs side by side, and each program guide walks through its own courses.
Nurse practitioner
Bachelor's
Questions UTRGV students ask
Does UTRGV offer an online FNP program?
No. UTRGV lists its MSN-FNP as a campus program at Edinburg, and the post-master's FNP certificate is campus-based too. The PMHNP certificate and the DNP are the School of Nursing's fully online graduate programs.
Which nurse practitioner specialties does UTRGV offer?
Family and psychiatric mental health. The 2026-27 catalog lists the MSN-FNP, a post-master's FNP certificate and a post-master's PMHNP certificate, and no other NP specialty.
Is UTRGV's DNP split into APRN and leadership tracks?
The catalog shows one 45-credit curriculum that prepares graduates for leadership and administration or APRN roles, with three DNP Project courses. The DNP guide covers the project site and its preceptor.
Does UTRGV still offer MSN nursing education or administration?
Both appear in the 2023-24 catalog and not after it. Some UTRGV pages still mention three MSN programs, but the current catalog lists only the family nurse practitioner MSN.
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UTRGV's own catalog, course syllabi, School of Nursing pages and Texas Board of Nursing rules. Your course faculty and the School of Nursing have the final word.
From the approved list or a brand-new site, we find the preceptor who fits.
Tell us your UTRGV program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We line up a willing preceptor who fits the course and UTRGV's rules, and hand you the details the Clinical Request Form, the affiliation agreement and the preceptor agreement ask for, well before the semester.
- Family practice preceptors for
NURS 6612andNURS 6613, and two NP sites forNURS 6347 - Board-certified psychiatric preceptors for
NURS 6476andNURS 6620, in your home state - Across the Valley and Texas, from McAllen and Brownsville to San Antonio, Houston and beyond
- A replacement lined up fast if a preceptor drops
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.