Nurse Anesthetist School requirements vary from school to school. Find out what you can do to make your application more competitive.
Complete this checklist of requirements, then attend a 3-3.5 year doctoral CRNA program, and you’re well on your way to your dream! It should take you anywhere from 7-10 years from start to finish.
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
- Registered Nursing License
- 1-3 years Critical Care / ICU experience
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better (3.4+ to be competitive)
- Combined Minimum GRE score of 300 or better (required by 50% of schools)
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) as applicable
- Certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS)
- Prerequisite Classes
- Shadow a CRNA for 8-40 hours and document your experience (required or recommended by 40% of schools)
- Get your CCRN (required or recommended by 70% of schools)
- Other Standard Requirements
1. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
It is always most competitive to have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. However, if you would like to apply to one of the 30% of nurse anesthetist schools that will accept an RN license in combination with a Bachelor of Science, you’ll want to use our #1 search tool, the CRNA School Finder!
2. Registered Nursing License
As long as you have a current RN license in at least one state, you should be eligible for programs in any state of your choice. Once accepted, you’ll need an RN license in the state or states you’ll be practicing in.
3. 2-5 years Critical Care / ICU experience
Most Nurse Anesthetist Schools require at least one year of recent RN experience in an adult critical care unit. However, most applicants you’re competing with will have 2-5 years experience in a critical care unit and 4-5 years as an RN.
For optimal results, it’s best to apply once you have 3 years of experience in the ICU. If you have more than that, you will need to convince them that you are still teachable.
What is the best type of ICU experience to satisfy the nurse anesthetist school requirement?
In order to be a competitive applicant, you’ll want more than one year of experience as an R.N. in a large ICU or CCU (coronary care unit). Ideally, you’ll work in a level one or level two trauma center.
As a CRNA student, you will care for patients who are neonatal to 100 years old, and stress test results prior to cardiac surgery.
Having said this, the majority of your patients will be adults, so even though experience in the NICU or PICU will always help, it should be balanced by at least 1 year of adult ICU. Fortunately, nurse anesthetist schools will do their best to help you bridge the gaps between your past experience and the broader set of responsibilities you will face as a CRNA.
No one area is perfect in terms of previous experience, although a surgical ICU will give you familiarity with many aspects of anesthesia care, anesthetic medications, postoperative complications, etc.
If you are considering a job change to better prepare for nurse anesthetist school, you might consider changing areas as well, to give yourself a broader experience base. For example, if you are in a small Medical ICU and depth of experience.
It is always best to gain your experience in a large ICU.
In fact, 1-2 years in a large ICU is probably better than 10 years experience in a small ICU. The reason is that large Intensive Care Units offer more experience in the following areas (and these things are critical to your success as a SRNA):
- Dynamic and independent decision making
- Continuous ECG monitoring
- Invasive lines (such as a pulmonary artery, central venous, and arterial catheters)
- Vasoactive infusions
- Ventilator support
- Life-threatening pathophysiology
If by the time you apply, you will only have experience in one area, the following types of experience will give you the best starting point as an SRNA (Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist):
- MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit)
- CICU (Cardiac ICU)
- SICU (Surgical ICU)
- Cardiothoracic Surgery ICU
- Neuro ICU
- CCU (Coronary Care Unit)
- TICU (Trauma ICU)
Job history in the following clinical settings are great as supporting experience, will not be competitive as your primary experience:
- PICU (Pediatric ICU)
- NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)
- ER (Emergency Room) experience from a Level One Trauma Center
- Burn Unit
Though all experience as an RN is helpful, experience in these units is almost never accepted as meeting the one-year requirement of nurse anesthetist schools:
- OR (operating room)
- PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit)
- Cardiac Step-down
- Telemetry
- ER (Emergency Room)
- Obstetrics
4. Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better – nurse anesthetist school requirements
In addition to showing you are capable in a clinical setting, you also need to convince the program you’re applying to that you’re capable academically. A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better is one of the standard Nurse Anesthetist School Requirements. The trend is for schools to get pickier each year.
When I started the site in 2010, there were 5 schools that accepted a 2.75 GPA. Recently, there are NO schools that accept less than a 3.0, and many are requiring a 3.2 or better.
Programs want to make sure you can pass their program, and the evidence they look for is how well you did in your undergraduate degree.
Many programs will also require a 3.0 in the sciences and/or in the last 60 units of your education.
If your GPA is on the fence and you performed better in the last 60 units than you did during the rest of your undergraduate education, you’ll increase your odds of acceptance by applying to one of the 21 programs that more heavily weigh the last 60 units. To find that list, join our pre CRNA community through our most affordable plan, “Search”.
The average GPA of students who are accepted into CRNA schools ranges from 3.4 – 3.7.
BEFORE you re-take any classes or attempt to improve your GPA, make sure it is POSSIBLE for you to raise your GPA enough to get accepted. Use this calculator to see how many courses you need to take in order to raise your cumulative GPA to 3.0. The more courses you’ve taken (with low scores), the more you’ll need to take to tip the scale in your favor.
5. Combined Minimum GRE score of 300 or better.
Roughly half of the nurse anesthetist schools require the GRE and look for a minimum score of 300. Some do not require it, others will waive the requirement if you have a GPA above 3.2 or 3.4, or if you have a master’s degree.
The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) involves math and many topics you likely aren’t an expert on. You will want to commit to a study course in order to learn the material.
6. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) as applicable
If English is not your native language, or you received most of your education in another country, most programs will require a Test of English as a Foreign Language score of 550 for the paper test or 213 for the computer-based test.
7. Certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS)
These certifications are almost always required by the application deadline and should be kept valid through the program.
- BLS (Basic Life Support) or CPR
- ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support)
- PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support)
8. Prerequisite Classes
Because CRNA programs are so intensive, there’s a certain amount of academic preparation you’ll need to do. Schools vary quite a bit in class prerequisites, but there are some definite commonalities between programs. I’ll include a list of the most commonly required classes, listed by the percentage of schools that require them (ex. 58% of programs require that you’ve taken Statistics).
- Statistics 58%
- General Chemistry 46%
- Organic Chemistry 39%
- Physiology 36%
- Anatomy 34%
- Bio-Chemistry 32%
- Other 30%
- Health Assessment 14%
- Research 14%
- Pharmacology 13%
- Physics 12%
- Pathophysiology 7%
Some programs require that the classes be no more than 5 years old at the time you enroll in the CRNA program (usually just for Stats and/ or Chemistry). Most require or prefer that you earn a “B” or better in each of these classes, or an overall science GPA of 3.0 (it makes you much more competitive even if it’s not required).
To find schools that cater to the classes you’ve taken, check out our School Finder. It’s now part of our All CRNA Connect Community
9. Shadow a CRNA for 40+ hours
I highly recommend that you shadow a CRNA, whether or not the program you’re applying to requires it.
Shadowing a CRNA gives you a glimpse into the profession and will help either solidify your decision to pursue the profession or give you the insight that maybe this path isn’t for you.
At a minimum, you should shadow for 8 hours, but I highly recommend that you shadow as much as 40 hours. This sounds a little over the top, but it shows your commitment to learning and then deciding it’s not for you after all (which sadly does happen to some).
10. Get your CCRN
CCRN (Critical Care Registered Nurse) certification is either required or recommended by 70% of nurse anesthetist schools and competence. You will need to have nearly a full year of ICU experience before you are able to sit for this certification exam.
11. Other Standard Nurse Anesthetist School Requirements
- 3 letters of recommendation
- Statement of why you want to become a CRNA/ personal statement
- Resumé
- Criminal background check
- Application fee of $20-$100
- Personal interview (on invitation)
This page was last updated in 2022.