Best CRNA programs, honestly.
There is no single best CRNA program — there is the best program for you. These 151 accredited, doctoral programs span 46 states, so the real work is matching your numbers, your budget, and your life to a program's. Below: what actually separates programs, then the directory sorted by the questions applicants actually ask.
No program publishes its scoring formula, and no one outside an admissions committee can rank these credibly — so a numbered list would be invented, not measured. Instead every accredited program is listed equally, sorted by facts you can verify: GPA and ICU minimums, GRE policy, length, and published cost. Where we don't have a figure, we leave it blank rather than fill it in.
Figures are the published minimums we've verified against program pages, not admitted-class averages — admitted applicants typically sit well above a minimum. Always confirm on the program's own site.
What actually separates CRNA programs
Only a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation lets you sit for the National Certification Exam. An unaccredited program is not a cheaper option — it's a dead end. Every program in this directory is accredited, so treat it as the starting line rather than a differentiator.
Where you spend clinical hours determines your case variety, your autonomy, and the network you graduate into. Ask about total case numbers, specialty rotations (hearts, peds, OB, regional), how many students share a site, and the supervision model you'll actually work under.
Every entry-level program is now doctoral (DNP/DNAP) and runs about three years. Most forbid outside work during clinicals, so the real number is tuition plus fees plus three years of lost income and living expenses. A cheaper program in an expensive city can cost more than the reverse.
Front-loaded, integrated, hybrid; cohort size; whether you can stay near your support system. These sound like preferences until year two, when they're the difference between finishing comfortably and finishing exhausted.
Fit runs both directions. A program whose admitted class looks like your file will interview you, support you, and graduate you. Chasing prestige with a mismatched application mostly buys application fees.
CRNA programs that don't require the GRE
36 of the 151 listed programs say outright that they don't require the GRE. 29 require it of every applicant, 12 require it only in some cases (usually below a GPA cutoff), and 73 don't mention it in their admission requirements — all read from each program's own admissions page. Exam policy changes between cycles, so confirm before you plan around it.
- Barry University Nurse Anesthesiology ProgramsHollywood, FLNot required
- Cedar Crest College Nurse Anesthesia ProgramAllentown, PANot required
- Columbia University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramNew York, NYNot required
- Duke University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramDurham, NCNot required
- Edgewood University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramMadison, WINot required
- Endeavor Health DePaul University Nurse AnesthesiaEvanston, ILNot required
- Franciscan Healthcare School of Anesthesia La CrosseLa Crosse, WINot required
- Franciscan Missionaries Our Lady University Nurse AnesthesiaBaton Rouge, LANot required
- Goldfarb School of Nursing Barnes-Jewish Nurse AnesthesiaSt. Louis, MONot required
- Hunter-Bellevue CUNY Nurse Anesthesia ProgramNew York, NYNot required
- Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Nurse AnesthesiaBaltimore, MDNot required
- Keiser University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramNaples, FLNot required
Shortest CRNA programs
Every entry-level program is doctoral and runs roughly three years, but published length still varies. A few months matters when you're not earning during clinicals.
- AdventHealth University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramOrlando, FL36 mo
- Albany Medical College Nurse AnesthesiologyAlbany, NY36 mo
- Arkansas State University Nurse AnesthesiaState University, AR36 mo
- Augusta University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramAugusta, GA36 mo
- Barry University Nurse Anesthesiology ProgramsHollywood, FL36 mo
- Baylor College of Medicine Nurse AnesthesiaHouston, TX36 mo
- Bellarmine University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramLouisville, KY36 mo
- Boston College Nurse Anesthesia ProgramChestnut Hill, MA36 mo
Lowest published tuition
Total tuition from each program's own site, lowest first — its stated total, or its published rate multiplied by the credits or terms it states; a few stated totals include fees. Living costs and the three years of income most programs' clinical schedules make impossible aren't in it. Treat it as one input, not the answer.
- InterAmerican University Puerto Rico Nurse AnesthesiaArecibo, PR$34,194 (our calc.)
- Florida Gulf Coast University Nurse AnesthesiologyFort Myers, FL$41,819 (our calc.)
- University of Puerto Rico Nurse Anesthesia ProgramSan Juan, PR$43,500 (our calc.)
- Arkansas State University Nurse AnesthesiaState University, AR$45,000 incl. fees
- Idaho State University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramMeridian, ID$51,849
- St. Elizabeth Health Center Youngstown State Nurse AnesthesiaYoungstown, OH$56,041 incl. fees
- University of North Florida Nurse AnesthesiologyJacksonville, FL$56,734 (our calc.)
- University of Texas Cizik School of Nursing Nurse AnesthesiaHouston, TX$61,488 (our calc.)
Programs with the lowest ICU-experience minimum
The published floor for critical-care experience. Meeting a minimum is not the same as being competitive — most admitted applicants bring more, in higher-acuity units — but this is where to look if you're applying earlier in your ICU career.
- University of Alabama Birmingham Nurse AnesthesiaBirmingham, AL11 mo min
- Arkansas State University Nurse AnesthesiaState University, AR12 mo min
- Augusta University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramAugusta, GA12 mo min
- Barry University Nurse Anesthesiology ProgramsHollywood, FL12 mo min
- Baylor College of Medicine Nurse AnesthesiaHouston, TX12 mo min
- Bellarmine University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramLouisville, KY12 mo min
- Boston College Nurse Anesthesia ProgramChestnut Hill, MA12 mo min
- Bryan College of Health Sciences Nurse AnesthesiaLincoln, NE12 mo min
CRNA programs by state
Location decides your clinical sites, your cost of living, and whether you keep your support system for three years. These states have the most accredited programs — or browse every state.
How to build your actual list
Your GPA, science GPA, ICU months and acuity, and certifications decide which tier of programs is realistic. Guessing here wastes a cycle in application fees.
A list of only reaches is a plan to not matriculate. Most admitted applicants apply to a spread, weighted toward programs whose admitted profile looks like theirs.
Separate the minimum from the entering average, find any recency limits on prerequisites or ICU time, and check whether review is rolling — if it is, your real deadline is months earlier than the posted one.
An old GPA is largely fixed. Acuity of assignment, a certification, shadowing hours, and interview readiness are all still in play this cycle.
Common questions
There isn't one. Every entry-level program is COA-accredited and doctoral, and none publish a scoring formula, so a national ranking would be invented rather than measured. The useful question is which accredited program fits your numbers, your finances, and where you can live for three years.
Most programs don't require it of every applicant, but check each one. Of the 151 accredited programs here, 29 require the GRE of every applicant and 12 require it only in some cases, usually below a GPA cutoff. 36 say it isn't required, and 73 don't mention it in their admission requirements. Policies change between cycles, so confirm on each program's own admissions page.
Entry-level nurse anesthesia programs are doctoral and typically run about 36 months of continuous full-time study. Programs vary, and the listings here show each program's published length where it's available.
Published tuition varies widely by program and residency status, and tuition is only part of it: most programs bar outside work during clinicals, so lost income over roughly three years is usually the larger number. Verify current figures on each program's own cost-of-attendance page.
Most programs set a minimum around 3.0, but admitted classes commonly average higher, and a recent upward trend carries more weight than one old rough semester. Minimums and averages are two different facts — check both for every program on your list.
Keep going
The free 12-month guide: timeline, weighting, checklists, and interview answers.
Building a Likely / Possible / Reach list that actually gets you a seat.
How the whole process works, start to finish.
Two routes into anesthesia, compared honestly.
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Program requirements, exam policies, deadlines, and costs change between cycles. Everything here is confirmed against each program's official page and re-checked on a schedule, but a program's own admissions page is always the authority — if it contradicts us, believe the program. Boost builds readiness and confidence; it does not promise admission.