UT Tyler preceptor requirements, track by track
UT Tyler faculty approve every preceptor, and the profile they approve changes with your track. NP students need a licensed, experienced NP, physician or PA who practices in their population focus in Texas; PMHNP students need a psychiatric preceptor; the administration, education and DNP tracks each describe their own. Below is what each UT Tyler document asks for, with its date and the points where two documents disagree.
Find a preceptor who fits your UT Tyler course
Name your track and next course number, and your placement advisor searches your part of Texas for a preceptor who meets these rules.
The short answer for each UT Tyler track
Every UT Tyler graduate preceptor passes the same gate: you propose them on the Self-Placement Request, they accept through the Preceptor Agreement survey, and course faculty approve them before a single hour counts. What differs by track is the clinician faculty expect to see.
| Track | Who can precept | Limits to know | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FNP (MSN and certificate) | NP, physician (MD or DO) or PA | 25% of hours recommended with an advanced practice nurse; no supervisor or relative | NURS 5349, Fall 2026 |
| PMHNP (MSN and certificate) | PMHNP, psychiatrist, or PA with a psychiatry CAQ; mostly PMHNPs | Two rotations per preceptor at most; Texas-licensed practitioner and facility | NURS 5373, Fall 2026 |
PMHNP psychotherapy, NURS 5365 | Also LPC, LCSW, LMSW, psychologist or LMFT | No published hours | PMHNP syllabi |
| AGACNP certificate | No separate public profile | "Good to Go" email per site and preceptor | NURS 7386, Fall 2026 |
| Post-master's DNP | Faculty mentor plus industry mentor | Ten years in leadership, or a doctorate with five | Doctoral policy 6.5 |
| Administration and MSN/MBA | BSN-prepared nurse with an MSN, MBA or MHA | Not your employee evaluator | Administration guide, 2022 |
| Nursing Education | Nurse faculty educator with an MSN or doctorate | Academic pre-licensure RN program | Education guides, 2022 |
| Informatics, Quality and Safety | Preceptor optional | Other hands-on routes allowed | NURS 5390, Fall 2026 |
NP preceptors: degree, license and years in the role
UT Tyler's NP Preceptor Guide, revised January 24, 2023 and still linked from the Preceptor Resources page, says the School follows Texas Administrative Code 219.10. For a nurse preceptor it lists a master's in nursing from an accredited university, authorization to practice as an advanced practice nurse, and at least one year working in that role. Physicians and PAs need a license and at least one year of experience.
The Texas rule is broader than the guide. It accepts a licensed APRN, or another licensed health professional able to supervise and teach in a setting that suits advanced practice nursing, and the Board's definition of a qualified preceptor adds an active, unencumbered license and current practice in the student's population focus.
One UT Tyler page sets a higher bar: the online program's preceptor page asks for at least two years in an advanced practice role plus board certification. The 2023 guide also asks for a license in the state where the student trains, wording older than the Texas-only rule; for NP tracks that state is Texas.
The one-year line in the 2023 guide and the two-year line on the online preceptor page are both UT Tyler's. Propose a board-certified preceptor with two or more years in the advanced role and the conflict never reaches your file.
FNP preceptors: the NP, physician and PA mix
The Fall 2026 NURS 5349 syllabus recommends spending a quarter of all program hours with an advanced practice nurse and allows the rest with an MD, DO or PA. The online preceptor page instead expects the majority of clinical time with an APRN. Treat the 25% as a floor: an FNP student who logs most hours beside NPs satisfies both documents.
Patient mix matters as much as the credential. NURS 5453 is pediatrics and NURS 5454 covers sexual and mental health, so a family practice NP who sees few children or no women's health visits can be a poor fit on paper that looks perfect. NURS 5349 also states that acute care hours in a hospital will not be approved for that course.
An archived UT Tyler how-to for InPlace capped FNP students at 240 hours with any single preceptor. That document is no longer live, so confirm the current limit with course faculty before you plan two courses around one clinic.
PMHNP preceptors: psychiatric, Texas-licensed and rotated
PMHNP syllabi name three kinds of primary preceptor: PMHNPs, psychiatrists (MD or DO) and PAs with a CAQ in Psychiatry, with most hours expected under PMHNPs. The 2023 guide adds that the practice itself must be a psychiatric specialty practice, so a primary care NP who manages depression would not meet that line.
UT Tyler's PMHNP program page requires a Texas-licensed practitioner at a Texas-licensed facility for every practicum. No preceptor may cover more than two rotations, which means NURS 5367, NURS 5368, NURS 5370 and NURS 5373 need at least two different psychiatric preceptors, and NURS 5370 needs one who sees children and adolescents. The PMHNP practicums page sets out each course.
For psychotherapy in NURS 5365, the syllabi widen the pool to licensed counselors, clinical and master's social workers, psychologists and marriage and family therapists. Telehealth teaching counts only with the preceptor supervising on site, per the guide, and the syllabi cap it at 63 hours per course.
Administration, education, DNP and IQS preceptors
Nursing Administration and MSN/MBA students pick a bachelor's-prepared nurse who also holds an MSN, MBA or MHA, per the October 2022 Administration guide. That person should not be the one directly responsible for your employee evaluation, and the guide discourages choosing someone in an educator role at the facility. Faculty make the final call.
Nursing Education splits the role in two. The academic mentor for NURS 5329 must be a nurse faculty educator with an MSN or a doctorate, teaching in a pre-licensure RN program, while the optional staff development experience uses a nurse educator you identify at a clinical facility.
DNP students work with a faculty mentor and an industry mentor under doctoral policy 6.5; UT Tyler's online page asks for a master's-prepared leader with at least ten years in a leadership role, and prefers a PhD or DNP with five. The DNP practice hours page covers the site agreement that comes first. In Informatics, Quality and Safety, NURS 5390 treats a preceptor as one option among several hands-on routes.
What your preceptor does once approved
After you file the Self-Placement Request, UT Tyler's Clinical Coordinator checks the preceptor's details and emails the Preceptor Agreement, a short online survey rather than a paper form. Preceptor onboarding pages still name InPlace while the School moves to Exxat, so your preceptor may hear either name. The approval page follows each step.
You give each preceptor the UT Tyler Preceptor Handbook from the Mission Possible course in Canvas and review it together, as NURS 5349 requires. At the end of the rotation the preceptor completes the Clinical Performance Evaluation; FNP students need two passing CPEs, with 80% as the pass mark. Faculty may hold a video meeting with you and the preceptor or visit the site unannounced.
UT Tyler's Preceptor Resources page also tells NP preceptors they receive a record of the hours they precepted each semester, usable for recertification, along with Muntz Library access.
How we match a preceptor to these rules
- Start from your course numberYour placement advisor reads your track and next UT Tyler course first, then searches for clinicians whose license, role and patient mix fit that exact course.
- Check what faculty will checkDegree, Texas license, years in the advanced role, board certification and population focus are confirmed with the preceptor before you are introduced.
- Clear conflicts earlySupervisors, anyone in your reporting line and relatives are ruled out up front, and PMHNP searches keep count of the preceptors you have already used twice.
- Hand over a complete packetYou receive the preceptor details the Self-Placement Request asks for, with a note of which UT Tyler rule each one meets, so faculty review a proposal that already fits.
Ready to start? Send your track, county and start term through the request form.
Questions UT Tyler students ask
Can a physician assistant precept a UT Tyler NP student?
Yes, within limits. In the FNP, PAs share the hours outside the recommended quarter with an advanced practice nurse alongside MDs and DOs. In the PMHNP, a PA qualifies as a primary preceptor only with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Psychiatry. Either way, faculty approve the specific PA and site before any hours count.
Does my UT Tyler preceptor need to be board certified?
The 2023 NP Preceptor Guide does not list board certification, but UT Tyler's online program preceptor page does, together with two years in an advanced practice role. Because faculty approve each preceptor individually, a board-certified clinician with two or more years removes the doubt. Ask course faculty when a strong candidate falls short on one point.
Can a counselor or social worker precept my UT Tyler PMHNP hours?
Only on the psychotherapy side. PMHNP syllabi allow licensed professional counselors, clinical and master's social workers, psychologists and marriage and family therapists as preceptors for NURS 5365. Practicum hours in NURS 5367, NURS 5368, NURS 5370 and NURS 5373 need a PMHNP, a psychiatrist or a PA with a psychiatry CAQ.
Can I keep one preceptor for my whole UT Tyler program?
Usually not. PMHNP students may use a preceptor for two rotations at most. FNP students need pediatric, women's health and family practice patients that one clinic rarely covers, and an archived UT Tyler how-to capped time with a single FNP preceptor at 240 hours. Confirm the current cap with course faculty.
Where does my preceptor find UT Tyler's preceptor guides?
UT Tyler's Preceptor Resources page links four guides: the NP guide revised January 2023, the Administration guide from October 2022, and academic and staff development Education guides from June 2022. The Preceptor Handbook your course requires lives in the Mission Possible Canvas course, and you share it with your preceptor yourself.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against UT Tyler's own catalog, syllabi, program pages and clinical policies, and Texas rules. Your course, your program coordinator and the Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
UT Tyler asks you to choose your clinical site. We find it.
Tell us your UT Tyler track, where in Texas you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and gather everything your Self-Placement Request needs, so faculty can approve it before the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NURS 5453, adult and geriatric care forNURS 5455, psychiatric care forNURS 5367 - Texas-licensed preceptors who clear UT Tyler's supervisor, relative and site rules
- Anywhere in Texas, from the Piney Woods to the Valley
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