The UCCS Post-Graduate NP Certificate, from GAP analysis to clinical hours
UCCS's Post Graduate Certificate in Primary Care Nurse Practitioner lets a nurse who already holds a master's degree add a Family, Adult/Gerontology or Psychiatric Mental Health NP role, entirely online. A GAP analysis of your earlier coursework trims the course list, yet the precepted rotations are the ones MSN students complete, and UCCS expects you to line up those preceptors in the state where you live.
Line up your certificate preceptors
Share your track and the courses on your GAP plan, and your placement advisor starts the search.
What the certificate is built to do
The certificate prepares a master's-prepared nurse for national certification in one primary care NP population. The college describes it as "100% online and primary care-based practicum hours are set up where you reside," so the coursework comes to you and the clinical work happens in your own community.
Its scope is outpatient. Like the MSN, the certificate page says the program is not intended to prepare you for emergency room or inpatient settings, and it points students who want that work toward an acute care NP program, which UCCS does not offer. FNP and AGNP hours are primary care only; the PMHNP track welcomes both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric experience.
To apply you need a master's degree in nursing from an ACEN- or CCNE-accredited school, a 3.0 GPA at both the bachelor's and master's level, and an RN license from an approved state. The college lists three entry terms, spring, summer and fall, and expects complete applications by January 5, May 5 or August 5.
How the GAP analysis shapes your plan
Every admitted student receives what UCCS calls a GAP analysis: an evaluation of previous education that compares your master's transcript with the track's requirements. Depending on what you already completed, your plan may add Advanced Pathophysiology (NURS 6740), Advanced Health Assessment (NURS 6730), Clinical Pharmacotherapeutics (NURS 6280) and Research Analysis and Application (NURS 7024) ahead of the specialty courses.
UCCS's own sources give three different credit pictures, shown below. Read them as a range rather than a promise, and treat your GAP analysis and degree plan as the final word.
| Source | FNP | AGNP | PMHNP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 catalog, maximum "if all courses are required" | 34 | 34 | 35 |
| Program page header | 25-39 for any track | 25-39 for any track | 25-39 for any track |
| Program page, typical student (gainful employment section) | 36 | 37 | Not stated |
The typical figures on the program page sit above the catalog's maximum, which is one more reason to ask the Academic Services Senior Professional for your written plan before you register.
Clinical hours for certificate students
UCCS publishes no separate hour total for the certificate. The 08/2026 practicum handbooks govern certificate and MSN students alike, and they set hours by start term: 45 per credit (630 in all) if you started before Fall 2026, 55 per credit (770) from Fall 2026 on. Because the GAP analysis decides your courses, confirm the exact figure on your degree plan.
If your plan includes NURS 6730, it brings 45 precepted hours in primary care, outside the 630 or 770. If it does not, you still receive badge and Medatrax instructions before your first clinical rotation.
| Track | Population rotations | Each rotation: before Fall 2026 / Fall 2026 on | Synthesis |
|---|---|---|---|
| FNP | NURS 6900, NURS 6915, NURS 6925 | 90 / 110 | NURS 6980: 360 / 440 |
| AGNP | NURS 6950, NURS 6915, NURS 6925 | 90 / 110 | NURS 6980: 360 / 440 |
| PMHNP | NURS 6801, NURS 6802, NURS 6803 | 135 / 165 | NURS 6985: 225 / 275 |
NURS 6982 Pre-Synthesis appears on some FNP and AGNP plans and not others. The clinical hours planner breaks every course down by cohort.
Preceptor rules when you add a population
Each track has its own list of who may precept, and the list follows the new role rather than the one you already hold. FNP and AGNP students work with NPs, MDs, DOs or PAs licensed in the state of the rotation, with two years of experience, and nationally certified NPs holding full prescriptive authority. UCCS recommends at least 200 hours with an NP. The preceptor requirements page covers the details.
PMHNP students need psychiatric prescribers: PMH NPs, PMH CNSs or psychiatrists with full prescriptive authority. A limited number of hours with a licensed clinical social worker, counselor or psychologist can count with Option Coordinator approval, and 200 hours with a PMHNP is recommended.
If you already practice in an advanced role, the site rules matter most. Hours cannot be done where you or a family member work, except at a different location or unit of your employer with the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator's approval, and family or close friends cannot precept you.
States and the admission essay
The certificate follows the 14-state rule of UCCS's graduate NP programs. UCCS takes certificate applications only from people living in Colorado or one of 13 other listed states, from Alaska and California to Florida and Texas, because every clinical hour and all coursework must be completed inside those states. UCCS defines residency as physical location, so a move during the certificate can affect your plan; see approved states before relocating.
The application also includes a mandatory essay asking what you are doing to find clinical spots. The question itself tells you the search is yours, so a concrete plan with named settings and a timeline makes a stronger essay than general intentions. Once admitted, the path from a willing preceptor to a counted hour runs through the site sheet and agreement steps described in the lead time guide.
Why certificate students choose us
When a GAP plan drops courses you already completed, the first specialty rotation can come sooner than it would in the full MSN. We are the specialists in matching that pace. Your placement advisor reads your GAP plan, maps each rotation it contains, and starts searching in your state for preceptors whose credentials fit the new population, whether that is pediatric primary care for an FNP, geriatric sites for an AGNP or psychiatric prescribers for a PMHNP.
For every match, we confirm license, certification and the exact hours, and prepare what the Clinical Site Sheet and UCCS's Affiliation Agreement ask for, including the site contact with signing authority. That lets the Academic Services Professional for Graduate Nursing start the agreement early. When a preceptor has to withdraw, we begin the replacement search at once and keep the next rotation on schedule where possible.
UCCS gives the final approval on every site; we make sure the packet it receives is complete and fits its rules the first time. Send your track and GAP plan through the form below to begin.
Questions UCCS students ask
How many credits is the UCCS Post-Graduate NP Certificate?
It depends on your GAP analysis. The 2026-27 catalog gives a maximum of 34 credits for FNP and AGNP and 35 for PMHNP when every course is required. The program page header shows 25 to 39, and its gainful employment section cites 36 or 37 for a typical student. Your written degree plan settles the number.
Do certificate students need fewer clinical hours than MSN students?
UCCS publishes no reduced figure. The practicum handbooks apply to certificate students without a separate total, and the certificate's clinical courses are the track's NP rotations. The GAP analysis can remove didactic courses you already took, but the hours for your cohort, 630 or 770 depending on start term, should be confirmed on your degree plan.
Does the certificate require NURS 6730 Advanced Health Assessment?
Only if your GAP analysis puts it on your plan. When it does, the course carries 45 precepted hours in a primary care setting, counted apart from the main total. When it does not, the practicum handbook says certificate students still receive badge and Medatrax instructions before their first clinical rotation begins.
Can I complete certificate clinicals at the clinic where I work?
Generally not at your own unit. UCCS bars clinical hours where you or a family member work, with one exception: a different location or unit of your employer, approved by the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator. Ask for that approval, and settle which unit or location qualifies, before you plan a single hour there.
Is the UCCS NP certificate completely online?
The coursework is. The program page calls the certificate 100% online, with practicum hours set up where you reside. FNP and AGNP students may count up to 20 optional hours of simulation or skills lab held on the UCCS campus, and those who cannot attend can ask the Option Coordinator about alternatives.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against UCCS's catalog, practicum handbooks and college pages. Your degree plan, the handbook for your cohort and the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
UCCS asks you to find your clinical hours where you live. Let us run that search.
Tell us your UCCS track, your next clinical course and where you live. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the details your Clinical Site Sheet needs, early enough for the agreement to be signed before the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NURS 6900, acute and chronic care forNURS 6915andNURS 6925, psychiatric prescribers forNURS 6801toNURS 6803 - Credentials, license, certification and the site's signer ready for the Clinical Site Sheet
- In Colorado Springs, along the Front Range, or in any of UCCS's approved states
Start your placement plan
Your program, city and next clinical semester is all we need to begin.