Updated
CRNA School Requirements: ICU, CCRN, GPA and GRE (2026)
To get into CRNA school you need a bachelor's degree in nursing (or an appropriate major), an unencumbered RN license and at least 1 year of full-time ICU experience, per the COA accreditation standards in effect since January 1, 2026. Every program then adds its own GPA floor, often 3.0, and its own CCRN and GRE rules.
Below is the national minimum, what counts as critical care, the CCRN and GRE rules at ten programs from their own admissions pages, our counts across them and a timeline. Everything was checked November 3, 2026. All 10 programs in our table award a doctorate, because every accredited program now does.
What does every CRNA program require?
The Council on Accreditation (COA) accredits nurse anesthesia programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Its Practice Doctorate standards set three admission requirements that every program shares:
- A bachelor's or graduate degree in nursing or an appropriate major.
- An unencumbered license as an RN or APRN in the United States or its territories.
- At least 1 year of full-time critical care experience as an RN, or the part-time equivalent.
“Appropriate major” leaves room, but many programs are stricter. Duke, for example, requires a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. AANA counts 155 accredited programs as of March 2026, all approved to award doctoral degrees for entry into practice. COA's own CRNA School Search lists each one.
How much ICU experience do you need, and what counts?
One year is the floor. Many programs ask for more or prefer more: Georgetown and Mayo Clinic want 2 years, and Rush strongly prefers 2 and says its admitted students average 2.8 years. Watch the recency rule too. Wake Forest wants the year within the 2 years before you apply, and Texas Wesleyan within 3 years of your start date.
COA defines a critical care area as one where the RN routinely manages at least one of these: invasive hemodynamic monitors (pulmonary artery, central venous pressure and arterial lines), cardiac assist devices, mechanical ventilation or vasoactive infusions. Its examples are surgical, cardiothoracic, coronary, medical, pediatric and neonatal ICUs. The experience must be in the United States, its territories or a US military hospital.
ER, PACU, NICU or cath lab: does it count?
COA lets programs consider other areas if you can show you manage unstable patients, invasive monitoring, ventilators and critical care drugs, and leaves each program to decide whether your unit is equivalent. That is why the answer differs by school. Columbia lists SICU, MICU, PICU, CVICU, CCU, burn, trauma and neuro ICUs. Duke prefers adult acute care with advanced monitoring and ventilated patients. If your unit is not on a program's list, email its admissions office with your unit's patient types and drips before you apply.
Do you need the CCRN?
At some programs. In our table, 4 of 10 require it (Mayo Clinic, Wake Forest, Texas Wesleyan and Cincinnati), and most of the others strongly encourage it. Wake Forest and Cincinnati also want the score report. AACN's adult CCRN direct care pathway asks for 1,750 hours of direct care of critically ill adults in the previous two years, with 875 in the most recent year. There is also a five-year route with 2,000 hours.
Our math: at 36 hours a week (three 12-hour shifts), 1,750 hours takes about 49 weeks of bedside work, so most new ICU nurses can sit for the CCRN near the end of their first year. Plan the exam early enough that the result is in before your deadlines.
For life support, COA requires ACLS and PALS before clinical work begins, and programs such as Duke ask for proof of BLS, ACLS and PALS when you apply.
What GPA, courses and GRE do CRNA programs want?
Most floors sit at 3.0. AANA lists a GPA of 3.0 or higher, a GRE score of about 300 and one year of acute care experience as common prerequisites. Some programs are higher or count a different GPA. Duke sets a 3.2 science minimum, Mayo Clinic 3.25 on your last 60 credits and last 30 science credits, and Cincinnati recommends 3.4 overall and in science.
Course rules vary. Texas Wesleyan wants college chemistry with a B or better within three years of the start date, and Duke requires a graduate research methods or statistics course, which can be finished after you apply. The GRE is split: in our table 5 programs require it, Georgetown requires it only if your undergraduate GPA is under 3.5, and 3 (Duke, Rush and Vanderbilt) do not.
CRNA school requirements at ten programs
Each row comes from the program's own admissions page, read November 3, 2026. The counts above the table are ours. Requirements change each cycle, so confirm on the program's page before you apply.
| Program | ICU experience | CCRN | GRE | GPA minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke (DNP) | ICU experience: 1 year current, continuous, full-time at application (2 preferred) | CCRN: Strongly encouraged | GRE: Not required | GPA minimum: 3.2 science |
| Rush (DNP) | ICU experience: 1 year recent, full-time by the deadline (2 strongly preferred, admitted average 2.8) | CCRN: Highly recommended | GRE: Not required | GPA minimum: 3.0 (admitted average 3.56) |
| Vanderbilt (DNP) | ICU experience: 1 year full-time within the past 5 years | CCRN: Strongly encouraged, counted only if in by the deadline | GRE: Not required | GPA minimum: 3.0 |
| Georgetown (DNAP) | ICU experience: 2 years full-time before you start | CCRN: Not listed | GRE: Required if your undergrad GPA is under 3.5 | GPA minimum: 3.0 overall and 3.0 science |
| Mayo Clinic (DNAP) | ICU experience: 2 years by the program start | CCRN: Required | GRE: Not listed | GPA minimum: 3.25 overall and science (last 60 and 30 credits) |
| Wake Forest (DNP) | ICU experience: 1 year full-time within the 2 years before you apply | CCRN: Numerical score report required | GRE: Within 5 years | GPA minimum: 3.0 in nursing and supporting courses |
| Texas Wesleyan (DNAP) | ICU experience: 1 year full-time, within 3 years of the start date | CCRN: Required | GRE: Required, 300 combined strongly preferred | GPA minimum: 3.0 overall or last 60 hours |
| Samford (DNP) | ICU experience: 1 year full-time or the part-time equivalent | CCRN: Encouraged, not required | GRE: Within 5 years | GPA minimum: 3.0 |
| Cincinnati (DNP) | ICU experience: 1 year full-time within the past 2 years, by the deadline | CCRN: Required, with score | GRE: Required | GPA minimum: 3.4 overall and science recommended (admitted average 3.6) |
| Baylor College of Medicine (DNP) | ICU experience: 1 year after passing the NCLEX (2 preferred) | CCRN: Strongly encouraged | GRE: Within 4 years | GPA minimum: 3.0 |
Across these ten (our count): 2 want 2 years of ICU, 4 require the CCRN, 5 require the GRE and 3 award a DNAP instead of a DNP. Both doctorates lead to the same board exam. How Duke and Mayo Clinic run their interviews is in our Duke and Mayo Clinic guides, and the rest are in our CRNA program guides.
What else goes into a CRNA application?
AANA lists a CV, an interview (in person, virtual or by phone) and often a writing test. Programs add their own pieces: Duke requires a personal statement, Baylor wants a reference from your current critical care supervisor, and Mayo Clinic asks for references from your ICU nurse manager and an ICU physician or advanced practice provider, and recommends shadowing a CRNA. Many programs apply through NursingCAS, and our CRNA personal statement guide has programs' own prompts.
Places are limited. AANA says about 4,200 RNs and APRNs start nurse anesthesia programs each year. Among applicants who meet the floors, the interview often decides who gets in, so practice the clinical questions in our CRNA interview questions guide.
How long does it take to become a CRNA?
At least 8 years from the start of a BSN, and 4 years after it, by our math from the COA and AANA minimums. COA requires at least 3 years of full-time study, AANA says programs run 36 to 51 months, and Duke and Cincinnati both describe 36-month programs.
| Step | Minimum years | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BSN (or another bachelor's plus an RN) | Minimum years: 4 | Notes: A traditional bachelor's. Many programs ask for a BSN specifically. |
| Pass the NCLEX-RN and start in an ICU | Minimum years: - | Notes: Some programs count ICU time only after licensure. |
| ICU experience | Minimum years: 1 | Notes: COA's minimum. Two programs in our table want 2 years, and admitted classes often average more. |
| Nurse anesthesia doctorate (DNP or DNAP) | Minimum years: 3 | Notes: COA's minimum is 3 years of full-time study. AANA lists 36 to 51 months. |
| Pass the NCE | Minimum years: - | Notes: The NBCRNA board exam, taken after you finish the program. |
What the program itself requires: clinical hours and cases
COA sets a minimum of 2,000 clinical hours and 700 cases (750 preferred) for every student. AANA says graduates average 9,432 hours of clinical experience. Duke puts the full-time load at 54 to 64 hours a week across class, clinical and study time.
What happens after CRNA school?
You take the National Certification Examination (NCE) from the NBCRNA. You may take it up to eight times after finishing your program, and up to four times in any 12 months. In 2025, 90.5% of the 3,294 first-time takers passed, up from 89.3% in 2024.
Checklist before you apply
We wrote these from the program pages above. Work through them a year before your first deadline.
- Count your ICU time the way each program does: full-time, after orientation, and within its recency window (2, 3 or 5 years at the programs above).
- Confirm your unit counts. Adult ICUs are always in. NICU, PICU, ER, PACU or cath lab time depends on the program.
- Plan the CCRN for when you will have 1,750 direct care hours, and leave time for the score report before the deadline.
- Check each program's GRE rule. Some dropped it, some require it, and some waive it above a GPA.
- Work out your science GPA and your last-60-credits GPA too. Several programs read those, not only your cumulative GPA.
- Take any missing chemistry or statistics course now, since some programs want a B or better within a few years.
- Shadow a CRNA and keep a dated log. Programs ask what you know about the role.
- Keep BLS, ACLS and PALS current. COA requires ACLS and PALS before clinical work starts.
Practice a question every CRNA panel asks
Programs read your ICU years on paper, then test them in the interview. Expect to walk through a patient you managed, step by step. Try this one out loud.
“Tell us about the sickest patient you have cared for in the ICU.”
CRNA panels ask this to hear how you think under pressure. Walk through what you saw, what you did and why, then what you would do differently now.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
Last spring I admitted a septic patient from the floor whose blood pressure dropped to the 70s over 40s within an hour. I started norepinephrine through the central line, titrated to a mean arterial pressure above 65 and called the intensivist when we passed 20 micrograms a minute.
We added vasopressin, and I drew a lactate and blood cultures while respiratory set up for intubation. During induction I watched for the pressure drop we expected and had a push-dose phenylephrine ready.
Looking back, I would have raised the need for a second pressor earlier. That night is part of why I want anesthesia, because the induction was the moment the whole team depended on one person's judgment.
Sources: the COA standards, AANA, the NBCRNA, AACN and each program's admissions page, linked throughout. All checked November 3, 2026. Confirm each program's requirements on its own site before you apply.
Frequently asked questions
What are the minimum requirements for CRNA school?
Under the COA standards effective January 1, 2026, every accredited program requires a bachelor's or graduate degree in nursing or an appropriate major, an unencumbered RN or APRN license, and at least 1 year of full-time critical care experience as an RN (or the part-time equivalent). Programs add their own GPA, test and certification rules on top. Read the COA Practice Doctorate standards.
How many years of ICU experience do you need for CRNA school?
One year is the national minimum. Some programs ask for 2, such as Georgetown and Mayo Clinic, and many say 2 are preferred. Rush says its admitted students average 2.8 years. See Rush's admissions page.
Is CCRN required for CRNA school?
It depends on the program. Of the 10 programs in our table, 4 require it and most of the rest strongly encourage it. To sit for the adult CCRN through the direct care pathway, AACN asks for 1,750 hours of direct care of critically ill adults in the previous two years. See AACN's CCRN eligibility.
Do CRNA schools require the GRE?
Fewer do than before. In our table of 10 programs, 5 require it, 1 requires it only below a GPA, and 3 do not require it. AANA lists a GRE score of about 300 as a common prerequisite. See AANA's page on becoming a CRNA.
How long does it take to become a CRNA?
At least 8 years from the start of a BSN by our math: 4 years of nursing school, 1 year in the ICU and 3 years in a doctoral program. AANA says programs run 36 to 51 months, and most applicants spend more than a year in the ICU. See AANA's program facts.
What is the CRNA board exam pass rate?
The NBCRNA reports a 90.5% pass rate for the 3,294 first-time takers of the National Certification Examination (NCE) in 2025, up from 89.3% in 2024. The NCE may be taken up to eight times after you finish your program. Read the NBCRNA's 2025 NCE report.