How Many Years Does it Take to Become a Nurse Anesthetist

how many years does it take to become a nurse anesthetistWhen people find out I’m a CRNA, the top questions they always ask me is how many years does it take to become a nurse anesthetist or how many years to become a nurse anesthetist.  The answer used to be 24 months (2 CRNA Schooling Years).  This is because most nurse anesthetist programs were master’s degrees previously.  However, as of today (2020 and 2021), the answer has changed to ‘It takes between 24 to 36 months to become a nurse anesthetist.’  And to make things more complicated, the answer in the next few years will change again to ‘It takes 36 months (3 CRNA Schooling Years) to become a nurse anesthetist.  I’ll explain more below:

CRNA Years of School Required for MSN Masters Degree

Most CRNA schools start their school year in the month of August or September. For an MSN degree, the average CRNA Years of School is 26 months (2 years and 2 month).  This applies to both MSN (Master of Science in Nursing) and MSNA (Master of Science in Nursing Anesthesia) degrees.  All the schools vary between 24 months to 33 months.  The following CRNA Schools are the shortest programs and require 2 CRNA years of school (24 months):

Nurse Anesthetist School Years Required for DNP Doctors Degree

years does it take to become a nurse anesthetistFor a DNP degree, the average CRNA Schooling years is 36 months (3 years).  This applies to both DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) and DNAP (Doctor of Anesthesia Nursing Practice Degrees). Today, all DNP programs require 3 nurse anesthetist school years (36 months) with the exception of:
  • Mayo Clinic CRNA Years of School is 42 months for a DNAP degree
  • La Salle nurse anesthetist school years is 51 months for a DNP degree. The reason for this is because 2 years are conducted online part-time while the remaining 27 months are on campus.
  • Loma Linda CRNA Years of School is 39 months for a DNP degree.
Back in 2007, the AANA (the official Nurse Anesthesia Association in the US) voted to require all CRNAs to get Doctors (DNP) degrees rather than Master of Science in Nursing Degrees (MSN).  Due to this law, all CRNA schools need to abide by the DNP 3 CRNA schooling years requirement by 2025.  Previously, over 70% of CRNA schools were Masters programs while 30% were Doctors programs.  Today, for the 2020 and 2021 school years, those figures are reversed.  Now, we see only 20% of CRNA schools offering master’s 2-year CRNA programs, while 80% of CRNA schools offer the DNP with 3 CRNA Schooling years.  The good thing is that all current CRNAs with master’s degrees prior to 2025 will be grand fathered in and will not have to get doctorate degrees to continue practicing.

CRNA Schooling Years

years it takes to become a nurse anesthetistWe list out all CRNA Schools in the United States with detail on the CRNA program offered (MSN or DNP) and the CRNA Schooling Years with number of months the programs last. All the CRNA programs 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 School. In terms of CRNA degrees offered, MS, MSN and MSNA are Master of Science in Nursing Anesthesia programs.  DNP, DNPA, DNPNA are Doctor of Nursing Practice of Nurse Anesthesia programs.  Roughly speaking, CRNA Schooling years is 2 years for MSN degrees and 3 years for DNP degrees for nurse anesthetists.
All CRNA SchoolsDegree OfferedCRNA Program Length (Months)
AdventHealth CRNADNAP36
Albany Medical College CRNA ProgramMS28
Antillean Adventist UniversityMSN24
Army CRNADNP36
ASU CRNAMSN28
Augusta CRNA ProgramDNP36
Barry University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramDNP36
Baylor College of Medicine CRNADNP36
Bloomsburg CRNAMSN33
Boston College CRNADNPNA36
Bryan College CRNADNAP36
Buffalo CRNA ProgramDNP36
Case Western CRNADNP36
Cedar Crest CRNADNP36
Charleston Area Medical CenterDNAP36
Clarkson College CRNADNP36
Cleveland Clinic CRNA programDNP36
Columbia University CRNAMS27
Detroit Mercy CRNADNP36
Drexel CRNAMSN28
Duke CRNA ProgramDNP36
ECU CRNADNP36
Emory CRNADNP36
Excela Health School of AnesthesiaDNAP36
Fairfield CRNADNP36
FIU CRNA ProgramDNP36
Florida Gulf Coast University CRNADNP36
FranU CRNADNP36
FSU CRNAMSN28
Georgetown CRNADNAP36
Goldfarb CRNADNP36
Gonzaga CRNADNAP36
Integrated Anesthesia AssociatesDNAP36
Inter American UniversityMS28
Jefferson CRNA ProgramDNP36
Johns Hopkins CRNADNP36
Kaiser CRNADNPNA36
Keiser University CRNADNAP36
KU CRNA ProgramDNAP36
La Roche CRNAMSHS24
La Salle CRNA programDNP51
Lincoln Memorial University CRNA ProgramMSN28
Loma Linda CRNADNP39
Lourdes University CRNAMSN28
LSU CRNA ProgramDNP36
Marian University CRNADNP36
Marquette CRNADNPNA36
Mayo Clinic CRNADNAP42
Mayo Clinic Health SystemDNP36
Michigan State University CRNADNP36
Middle Tennessee School of AnesthesiaDNAP36
Midwestern University CRNAMSNA27
Military CRNADNP36
Millikin CRNADNP36
Minneapolis School of AnesthesiaMSNA27
Missouri State University CRNADNAP36
Mount Marty CRNADNAP36
Murray State CRNADNP36
MUSC CRNA ProgramDNAP36
National University CRNADNAP36
Newman CRNAMSNA24
NKU CRNADNP36
Northeastern CRNADNPNA36
Northshore CRNADNP36
Oakland University CRNA ProgramDNPNA36
OHSU NursingDNP36
Old Dominion University CRNADNP36
Otterbein CRNADNP36
Quinnipiac CRNA ProgramDNP36
Raleigh School of Nurse AnesthesiaDNP36
Rosalind Franklin CRNADNP36
Rush University CRNADNP36
Rutgers CRNADNP36
Saint Francis CRNADNP36
Saint Joseph HospitalMSN30
Saint Marys CRNAMSNA27
Samford CRNADNP36
Samuel Merritt CRNAMSN27
SIUE CRNADNP36
St Elizabeth Health CenterDNP36
TCU CRNADNPA36
Texas Wesleyan University CRNADNAP36
Truman CRNA ProgramDNP36
U of M CRNA ProgramDNAP36
UAB CRNADNP36
UAMS CRNA ProgramDNP36
UM CRNA ProgramDNP36
UNC CRNA ProgramDNP36
UND CRNA ProgramDNP36
UNE CRNA ProgramMSNA27
UNF CRNADNP36
Union University CRNADNP36
University of Akron CRNAMSN27
University of Arizona CRNADNP36
University of Cincinnati CRNADNP36
University of Iowa CRNADNP36
University of Maryland CRNADNP36
University of Minnesota CRNADNP36
University of Pittsburgh CRNADNP36
University of Puerto RicoMSNSA29
University of Scranton CRNADNP36
University of South Carolina CRNADNAP36
University of Tennessee Health Science CenterDNP36
University of Tulsa NursingDNP36
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh CRNADNP36
UPenn CRNADNP36
UPMC HamotMSN28
USC CRNA SchoolDNAP36
USF CRNA ProgramDNP36
USM CRNA ProgramDNP36
UTC CRNADNP36
UT Houston CRNADNP36
UTK CRNA ProgramMSN27
VCU CRNA ProgramDNAP36
Villanova CRNA programDNP36
Virtua Our Lady of LourdesMSN27
Wake Forest CRNAMSNA24
Wayne State CRNADNAP36
Webster University Nurse Anesthesia ProgramDNAP36
Western Carolina University CRNADNP36
Westminster CRNAMSNA29
WVU CRNA programDNP36
Yale CRNADNP36
York College CRNADNP36

Top CRNA Schools

best crna schoolsWe spent hundreds of hours studying all CRNA schools and interviewing over 125 nurse anesthetists to create our exclusive list of Best CRNA Schools.  So now you know how many years it takes to become a nurse anesthetist, your next research is to compare the Best CRNA programs with the CRNA School years in order to see which CRNA schools are the best fit and which programs you should apply to.

Nurse Anesthetist Salary

CRNA Starting Salary
As you’re interested in how many years to become a nurse anesthetist, 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.

Conclusion on CRNA Years of School

In conclusion, times have changed for nurse anesthetists.  To answer ‘how many years of school to be a nurse anesthetist’, previously 2 CRNA schooling years were required.  Now due to the new AANA regulations, all CRNA programs require 3 years to become a nurse anesthetist.  As all the CRNA schools are in process of implementing the new rules, it’s still possible to become a CRNA in 2-3 years’ time at the moment depending on the school.
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