How long is CRNA School depends on the type of CRNA program that you are enrolled in. Masters in Nursing at a CRNA School is 24 to 33 months long. On the other hand, a Doctors in Nursing CRNA School is 36 to 51 months long depending on CRNA program. In this page, we will discuss in detail the factors affecting how long is a CRNA program.
CRNA School Length Background
Back in the early 2000’s, most CRNA Schools were Masters of Nursing (MSN) programs which were 2 years or 24 months long. However, that all changed in 2007. The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) had been facing increasing criticism of nurse anesthetists and pressure to increase the education requirements for all nurse anesthetists. Many different proposals were debated, some of which were very dramatic.
Ultimately, the AANA decided that Nurse Anesthesia needed to be a Doctors-level degree rather than just a MSN. To make things fair, they gave plenty of time till 2025 for all CRNA Schools to convert their programs for approval. With this change the CRNA School Length requirement changed from 2 years effectively to 3 years. Fast forward to today, nearly all CRNA Schools have converted to DNP programs in the past 5 years. In fact, there are now only twenty-five CRNA Masters Programs. Of the 25, four are 24-month CRNA programs and the remaining twenty-one are between 27 to 33 months in length. Therefore, as we get closer to year 2025, eventually there will be no more CRNA 24 month programs remaining.
In summary. of the 124 CRNA Schools as of year 2021, the average length of CRNA school is 34 months long. The average credit hours in CRNA School for MSN degrees is 69 hours. To compare, the average credit hours in CRNA School for DNP degrees is 98 hours.
List of How Long is CRNA School
In the table below, we provide the list of all CRNA Schools by Length. All the CRNA Schools have been approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. Please click on the CRNA School name for more detailed information on the selected CRNA program. Lastly, you can also sort CRNA School length by Months and by Credit Hours.
For your CRNA School Length reference, MS, MSN and MSNA are 2-year Master of Science CRNA programs. To compare, DNP, DNPA, DNPNA are 3-year Doctor of Nursing Practice of Nurse Anesthesia programs.
2 Year CRNA School Length Programs
The final four 24-month CRNA programs are Newman CRNA, Antillean Adventist University, La Roche CRNA, and Wake Forest CRNA.
- Newman CRNA is a Masters of Science in Nurse Anesthesia degree (MSNA) and is 24 months long. This CRNA program is located in Wichita, Kansas and has a CRNA ranking of #119 in Best CRNA Schools.
- Antillean Adventist University offers a Masters of Science (MSN) in Nursing CRNA program, which is 24 months. The CRNA School is located in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and is ranked #113 in Best CRNA Schools.
- La Roche CRNA offers Masters of Health Science in Nurse Anesthetist (MHSNA) program, which is 24 months in length. The nurse anesthetist program is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is rank #50 in Top CRNA Schools.
- Wake Forest CRNA Program is a MSN in Nurse Anesthesia degree that is one of the 24 month CRNA programs. The CRNA School is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and has a ranking of #8 in Best CRNA Schools.
3 Year CRNA School Length Programs
There are 99 CRNA Schools offering 3 year DNP degrees. Of the 99 CRNA DNP Programs, 96 Schools are 36 months long. The final 3 CRNA programs are longer in length as described below:
- Loma Linda CRNA, ranked #65, is located in Loma Linda, California. The CRNA School offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice program that is 39 months long.
- Mayo Clinic CRNA is a Doctor of Nursing Anesthesia Practice program that is 42 months long. The CRNA School is located in Rochester, Minnesota and is ranked #14 in Best CRNA Schools.
- La Salle CRNA Program, ranked #43, is a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree that is 51 months long. This is the longest CRNA school length. The reason is because the first 24 months are only part-time with the program being online. With this, you can continue working in your current job. The remaining program is held at the La Salle campus in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Best CRNA Programs
We spent hundreds of hours studying all CRNA schools and interviewing over 125 nurse anesthetists to create our exclusive list of Best CRNA Schools. Although you may be overwhelmed by how long is a CRNA program, it’s a good idea to compare the CRNA program length with the best nurse anesthetist schools for you. You’ll see which ones are the best fit in terms of the timeline you have to pursue your studies in nurse anesthesia.
Map of Nurse Anesthetist Programs by State
Finally, we have listed out all Nurse Anesthetist Schools by State in the map below to complement your research on how long is a CRNA program.
Notes:
The darker the blue color equivocates to more CRNA Schools in the State.
Tier 1 = 6 or more CRNA Schools
2nd Tier = 3 to 5 CRNA Schools
Tier 3 = 1 or 2 CRNA Schools
White means no CRNA schools in the State.
Data source: everythingCRNA
Nurse Anesthetist Salary
As you’re interested in how long is CRNA school, be sure to check out our CRNA Salary Guide and CRNA Starting Salary. If you are still a student or if you’re wondering how much a fresh CRNA can make right out of nurse anesthesia school, this information will be especially helpful. You might be surprised too! We spent hundreds of hours researching salary information from the BLS, the AANA CRNA survey from over 5,000 actual nurse anesthetists as well as from my own CRNA job offers after I graduated. In addition, different states have different demand and supply economics for nurse anesthetists, so our CRNA Salary by State Guide will help you see which States are the best fit for you.