Duke CRNA Program Interview: Format, Dates and Who Gets In
Duke's yearly application window, June 1 to August 1, has closed for 2026, and Duke hasn't named the year of its next window. Here is what happens at the Duke nurse anesthesia (CRNA) interview, how you get one, and how it decides your offer.
Duke's 83-credit Nurse Anesthesia DNP program (36 months of full-time study) takes applications from June 1 to August 1, so the 2026 window has closed, and its pages don't name the year of the next one. Duke typically receives approximately 125 applications yearly (a number that more than doubled in 2023) and accepted 28 students in August 2024 and 28 in August 2023. It invites selected applicants by email to an on-campus interview day, with a personal interview with members of the Nurse Anesthesia Admissions Committee. Invitations go out on a rolling basis after faculty review your file. Decisions to admit, waitlist or decline usually come 1 to 2 weeks after the interview. Duke does not publish the interview's length or format.
Key facts (August start)
- When
- Applications are taken June 1 to August 1 for an August start, so the 2026 window has closed. Duke hasn't named the year of the next window. Interview invitations go out on a rolling basis.
- Format
- A personal interview with members of the Nurse Anesthesia Admissions Committee. Duke does not publish its length, structure or questions.
- Online or in person
- In person. Invited applicants come to an on-campus interview day.
- Who is interviewed
- Applicants selected after admissions checks your file and the nurse anesthesia faculty evaluate it. You must already have 1 year of continuous full-time critical care experience when you apply.
- Decisions
- Admitted, waitlisted or declined, usually within 1 to 2 weeks of the interview.
- Class size
- 28 students started in August 2024 and 28 in August 2023. Duke usually gets about 125 applications a year, and said that more than doubled in 2023.
- Tests
- No GRE. CCRN is not required but strongly encouraged.
What happens on the interview day
Duke says only a little about the day itself, so plan for a formal, in-person committee interview.
- On campus. Selected applicants get an email invitation to an on-campus interview day at the School of Nursing in Durham.
- A personal interview. You meet members of the Nurse Anesthesia Admissions Committee.
- Format not published. Duke does not say how long the interview lasts, how many interviewers there are, or whether it includes clinical questions.
Be ready for clinical depth. Duke prefers adult ICU nurses who manage ventilated patients, advanced monitoring and hemodynamic drips. Expect to explain the patients, devices and drugs on your own unit.
How offers are decided
Duke uses a holistic review, so your experience and personal qualities count alongside grades.
- Three outcomes. After the interview you are admitted, waitlisted or declined.
- Fast answers. Official decisions usually come 1 to 2 weeks after the interview.
- A $1,000 deposit. If admitted, you complete an online enrollment form and pay a nonrefundable $1,000 deposit to hold your place.
How you get an interview
Admissions officers first check that your application meets every requirement. Your file then goes to the nurse anesthesia faculty, and you hear about an interview by email.
Critical care experience
When you submit, you need at least 1 year of current, continuous full-time RN work in a critical care setting. Duke prefers 2 years.
- Preferred units. Cardiac, medical, neuro, surgical and trauma ICUs, and pediatric or Level III neonatal ICUs.
- Adult acute care preferred. Duke prefers adult experience with advanced monitoring, ventilated patients, drug-based hemodynamic management and independent decisions.
- Too new to apply. If you started in the ICU recently, you must reach 1 year of recent, continuous critical care before you apply.
Academics and paperwork
- BSN. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing with an upper-division nursing major from an ACEN or CCNE accredited program. North Carolina nursing licensure is not required for the application process, as a valid, unencumbered RN license from at least one of the 50 United States is accepted at application, though accepted applicants must possess a valid, compact license as an RN and maintain it throughout the program.
- GPA. At least 3.0 cumulative (or strong graduate grades) and 3.2 in science.
- A graduate statistics or research methods course. It may be taken after you submit your application.
- Certifications. BLS, ACLS and PALS are required. CCRN is strongly encouraged because admission is competitive.
- Three references and a personal statement. Three professional references (one must be from an immediate supervisor and include a contact phone number), a current CV, copies of all post-secondary educational transcripts, and a personal statement on your career goals and interest in graduate study. Once uploaded, documents cannot be edited or replaced, and applicants should not submit any content generated entirely by AI.
Dates and other details
Duke takes applications in one fixed window each year and encourages you to apply early.
The application window
Duke's pages give the dates but do not name the year of the next window, so confirm it with admissions before you plan.
- June 1. The application opens on Duke's own School of Nursing portal. The fee is $50.
- August 1. The application and every supporting document are due. Incomplete applications are not considered.
- August start. Students start in August.
The program
It is 36 months of full-time study and 83 credits, averaging 54 to 64 hours a week. Duke discourages part-time jobs, and students may never work in any role that gives anesthesia.
Clinical sites are spread across North Carolina and Virginia, with housing offered when a site is more than an hour's drive from the Duke University School of Nursing. The minimum course grade to remain in the Nurse Anesthesia Program is 83%, and course grades are not rounded up.
S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
How to prepare
With little published about the format, prepare for both clinical and personal questions.
- Know your unit cold. Review the drips, ventilator modes and monitoring you use every shift, and why each one works.
- Shadow a CRNA. Duke highly encourages it and offers a yearly on-campus experience to meet faculty and students. Be ready to describe what you saw in the OR.
- Plan for the workload. At 54 to 64 hours a week, interviewers may ask how you will cope without a paycheck. Have a real plan for money and support.
- Rehearse out loud. Practice short, specific stories about a hard patient, a mistake and a conflict, each with what you learned.
Say what you don't know. If a clinical question goes past your knowledge, say so, then explain how you would find the answer safely.
Practice questions
Questions in the style of a Committee interview (on campus) station, written for applicants to Duke University School of Nursing, Nurse Anesthesia DNP. They are practice questions, not the school's own. Open one for what a strong answer does.
Tell me about your most challenging ICU patient.
Pick one patient, walk through your reasoning and actions, and end with what it taught you about anesthesia.
What vasoactive drips have you managed and how do they work?
Name the drugs you actually titrate, explain the receptors and effects, and tie it to a real patient.
A surgeon wants to proceed with a case you feel is unsafe. What do you do?
Speak up with specific safety concerns, escalate through the right people, and keep the patient at the center.
Tell me about your CRNA shadow experience.
Describe what the CRNA did and decided, not just what you watched, and what it confirmed about the role for you.
How do you feel about giving up a paying job for 2-3 years?
Show you have done the math and have a realistic plan for money, time and support.
What do you know about our program specifically?
Use facts from the program's own pages, such as its clinical sites, and link them to your goals.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Duke CRNA interview in person?
Yes. Duke invites selected applicants by email to an on-campus interview day, where they have a personal interview with members of the Nurse Anesthesia Admissions Committee.
How soon does Duke send CRNA decisions?
Usually within 1 to 2 weeks of the interview. You are admitted, waitlisted or declined.
Does Duke's nurse anesthesia program require the GRE or CCRN?
Neither. Duke no longer requires the GRE. CCRN is not required, but Duke strongly encourages it because admission is competitive.
How many students does Duke CRNA accept and what is the acceptance rate?
Duke typically receives approximately 125 applications yearly, a number that more than doubled in 2023. Accepted class sizes were 28 students in August 2024, 28 in August 2023, 27 in August 2022, 23 in August 2021 and 23 in August 2020.
How much ICU experience do I need for Duke?
At least 1 year of current, continuous full-time critical care as an RN when you apply, and Duke prefers 2 years.
More CRNA program guides
Applying to more CRNA programs? How other programs interview:
Sources
Official pages only, read on the date shown. Schools change their process every year, so check the school's own page before you apply.
- Duke University School of Nursing: Nurse Anesthesia DNP Admissions · read October 26, 2026
- Duke University School of Nursing: DNP Nurse Anesthesia FAQs · read October 26, 2026